Page 24 of Stealing Home

My shoulders slump. Every time I have to admit how bad my marriage is, how much I put up with for the last several years, I feel weak. It makes me wonder what is wrong with me that the person who promised to love me forever is the person who hates me the most. He must, because love shouldn’t hurt.

“That was Scott,” I say.

“Duh, the smile on your face when you answered told me that.”

“He said that they had a bad practice and Nando is pissed off.”

She nods. “You’ll stay with us then.”

“You don’t think I’m overreacting?” It doesn’t seem to matter how many harsh words he says, or how roughly he handles me, his gaslighting makes me question myself constantly.

She pulls up a chair in front of the desk, and sits down. Her belly seems to be growing daily now. “I think he’s like a powder keg right now, and every little irritation is a match flicked in his direction.”

“Do you have room for me?” I look back at her belly, imagining her house is more than full with a ten-year-old daughter, nine-year-old twin boys, and a nursery room.

Wren waves off my concern. “The twins share a bedroom. As long as Griffin doesn’t get in his head to have any more kids we still have a guest room.”

My jaw drops. “How many kids does he want to have? This baby makes five for him, right?”

“As many as she’ll give me,” he answers from the door.

Wren starts to stand, but he comes behind her and presses her shoulders down until she’s seated again. He crouches down next to her and nuzzles her belly. “How’s my little princess doing?” he coos.

“It’s a girl?” I ask.

Wren nods. “Yeah, we found out last week. We’re going to name her Violet after Dolores, it’s her middle name.”

“We love Dolores, but we’ve already got one child being bullied, we don’t need to saddle another with such an old fashioned name,” Griffin says.

“How did it go at the school?” Wren asks. “Where is Parker? Is she okay?”

He takes both of her hands in his and looks deep in her eyes. “They’re with Hattie. Parker is fine. I can’t say the same about the boy, but my princess is okay.”

Wren cringes. “Please tell me you didn’t scare a child.”

The corner of his mouth twitches. “Would you like me to lie?”

I cover my mouth to hold back my chuckle.

Griffin sighs. “I might have told him that if he was mean to my baby again the principal would be the least of his worries. In my defense, this was after he said that in-school suspension was lame and he wasn’t scared of it. His poor mother looked embarrassed and at her wits end. She actually thanked me for not letting him off easy. I guess our daughter isn’t the only one he bullies.”

“What was he saying about Parker?” Wren asks.

Griffin’s face hardens, and I can only guess how scared that kid was seeing this side of him. “He was going around telling everyone that her dad is also her grandpa. Apparently he overheard one of the parents talking at Little League. He asked her if she was going to marry one of her brothers.”

Wren gasps. “Is she okay? I hate that they’re talking about her like that.”

Griffin laughs and shakes his head. “Oh, she’s fine. She punched him in the gut and pushed him to the ground. She only told me when we left. I guess he was too embarrassed to tell anyone he was beat up by a girl.”

“He probably has a crush on her,” Wren groans.

Griffin turns his attention to me. “What he thinks or feels doesn’t excuse his actions. If he can’t learn to show his interest respectfully, he doesn’t deserve her attention.”

“Harlow is going to stay with us tonight. Apparently, her ex was on a rampage during practice, and her pitcher is scared for her to be home with him,” Wren fills him in.

“You’ll stay with us until we get you settled in on Saturday. We don’t want him taking his own vehicle and coming back early to surprise you,” he declares.

“Tomorrow I’m meeting with a lawyer. I found someone who says he can rush the divorce papers. I don’t expect Nando will actually sign them, so it might get contested.”

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