Page 35 of Single Mom's Christmas Wish

“Yes.”

Archer comes downstairs as if summoned by the universe itself in order to partake in what I’m guessing is going to be a difficult—or at least uncomfortable—conversation.

“What’s up?” Archer asks, immediately picking up on the vibe in the room. “Trevor’s sound asleep. What are we doing?”

“Dakota’s ex-husband is in town,” I say, my tone flat.

“Oh,” Archer mutters, his demeanor shifting into something I recognize immediately. He’s uncomfortable. Curious. Much like Reed and me. And much like Reed and me, he doesn’t really know what to say. “How’d that happen?”

“I have no idea. He’s been texting me more often than usual, the same soppy crap,” Dakota says, sighing deeply, but she keeps her head on my shoulder. I find an odd sense of comfort in that. “He says he misses me. It’s just a bunch of BS.”

“While still owing you eight months’ worth of child support, right?” Archer asks.

“Yeah. And that’s what I tell him every time he reaches out,” she says. “Then yesterday, I saw him at the grocery store. He followed me there. He didn’t want to approach me at home because he saw Chelsea going in.”

“He probably knew Chelsea would tear him a new one,” Archer chuckles dryly.

Dakota offers a faint smile. “Yeah, pretty much. Anyway, he’s back in town, and he claims he wants to make up and reunite. He wants to see Maisie, too.”

“And what do you want to do?” Reed asks carefully.

“Anything but that,” she replies with lightning speed. “I told him to fuck off. He doesn’t have a place in our lives anymore. And until he catches up on his child support payments, I’m not letting him anywhere near Maisie, either.”

“Get your lawyer involved,” Archer advises, taking a seat in the armchair next to me.

She nods slowly, but I sense a hint of hesitation. “Yeah, I’ll do that.”

“There’s something else you’re not telling us,” I say, still on edge, unable to shake this uneasy feeling. There’s a piece missing from what she just told us, something she’s holding back, and it’s starting to irk me.

“Nothing, it’s just that… he bothers me. His very presence bothers me. I’ve got enough on my plate as it is. The last thing I need is my no-good ex-husband prancing around town like he’s entitled to my daughter and me, especially after the way he treated us, the way he left.”

She gets up and starts pacing around the living room. “He left me in pieces, okay? I didn’t see it coming, not even for a second. In the blink of an eye, my whole life was turned upside down, and I was left to fend for myself and my little girl all alone in Los Angeles. I didn’t know anybody there. I was lost, unable to holddown a job because it’s a huge city, and every bartender in LA is an aspiring screenwriter, actor, or director. There was no room for me. Plus, I had no help with Maisie.”

“Dakota, it’s okay. Breathe,” Reed gently says. “You got through it. You came back here, you have Chelsea, and Maisie is safe and loved and in your exceptional care.”

“Thank you, I…” She pauses to take another deep breath, but I can see her emotions are testing her as memories of the past threaten her present with unnecessary stress. I know the feeling, albeit from different circumstances. The sensation is similar. The helplessness. The rage. “He’s got some nerve; I’ll give him that. Did he really think I’d just roll over and welcome him back with arms wide open?”

Archer holds back a dry laugh. “In his defense, he’s an idiot for walking out on you in the first place. That’s not nerve you’re seeing. It’s not audacity. It’s sheer stupidity and entitlement. The man probably thinks he can charm his way back into your pants.”

“Which is ridiculous,” Dakota replies.

“Is it?” I ask, my brow furrowed as I carefully analyze her expression.

She seems insulted, shocked almost. “Yes, absolutely.”

“You were married. He’s the father of your child. You can’t tell me you don’t have any feelings left for the guy,” I say, testing the waters. “I wouldn’t blame you, Dakota. Honestly. You were married.” I say it again, on purpose.

“I don’t love him anymore,” Dakota insists, tears welling in her eyes. “I loved a man that never even existed in the first place.I loved a lie. That’s what I understood when he walked out. It’s what I told myself until I was ready to accept it as the cold, hard truth. The Keith I thought I knew was not the Keith I married or lived with. It may sound ugly, but it is what it is. I felt like an idiot for a long time, but then I signed the divorce papers, and I came back here, where I could breathe again. I’d been living a lie unbeknownst to myself, a fairy tale that I mistook for reality.”

I watch Dakota as she grabs another piece of candy and takes her time unwrapping and eating it. All I can do is sit here like a stone, licking my lips as I stare at hers. She wears her heart on her sleeve, and I’m almost inclined to believe that there’s nothing more to any of this other than her grief causing ripples from the past.

I know I shouldn’t press her any further; it’s too soon in our relationship. I need more information about Keith. I’ll get it. I’m a man of means and resources, and there’s nothing I won’t do to keep a woman like Dakota in my life where she belongs.

“I’m angry,” she says. “Angry that he thinks I’m stupid enough to take him back. In the meantime, I’m still having to tell Maisie that her dad is far away. So far away, in fact, that he can’t reach us, not even by phone. It’s the only way I could explain his lack of… everything.”

“Keith was clearly not cut out to be a father. Or a responsible man,” Reed says. “I am sorry that he caused so much pain. I assume he set you back a lot as well.”

“Don’t even go there,” she chuckles nervously. “I’m now stuck with a mortgage on my house because I had to finance our move to Los Angeles. Keith didn’t have a penny to his name.” She pauses, her eyes widening as she realizes that she may have just given us too much information.

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