Page 108 of Fierce-Michael

He ground his teeth. “So you didn’t ask to come home?”

“No,” Ty said.

“And you weren’t bothering her at the time she asked?” he asked.

“I was watching a movie in my room,” Ty said. “Why?”

Kelly was right and he just gave in without getting all the facts.

He could use the excuse he was knee-deep in the water issue, but it didn’t make it right.

“In the future, if this happens again, I’m going to talk to you first and get your side of it. Would that bother you if Mom calls me to come get you and I decide you need to stay there?”

Ty shrugged. “I like it better here, but I know I have to go there. It’s only overnight. Sometimes she takes me outside to play with other kids so that is fun too. Or she chases me around the house in a game of tag and it makes me laugh.”

He was happy to hear that at least.

“Okay,” he said. “I think it’s important that you spend the time with your mother and that you see all sides of everyone. Not everyone is happy all the time.”

“I know,” Ty said. “I get sad and cry and angry, but I’m happy too. You’re not normally smiling and happy like you’ve been lately and it’s nice. I like seeing that.”

A good way for his son to humble him.

“I like it too,” he said.

But he’d have to fix things with Kelly to get there again.

Ty yawned. “Can I go back to sleep?”

“You can,” he said. “Are you okay?”

“I am,” Ty said. “Kelly will come back tomorrow, right?”

“I don’t think so,” he said. “We hadn’t made plans.”

“When will I see her again?” Ty asked.

“I’m not sure. Soon,” he said. He hoped. He’d hate to lie to his kid, but right now, he had a big bridge to repair and knew it.

He didn’t remember ever fighting dirty and that was exactly what he’d done tonight.

32

REMEMBER THAT

“Hi, Kelly,” her mother said the next morning as she walked into her parents’ house. “You’re not looking good. What’s going on?”

She’d called her mother this morning. She needed to talk to someone after a sleepless night. She thought the cold water on her face had helped but guess it didn’t.

“Michael and I got into a fight last night,” she said.

“About what?” her mother asked.

“His ex,” she said.

Her mother lifted her eyebrows. “I didn’t know there were issues with his ex.”

“There aren’t. Not really. I mean I’ve told you about her.”

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