Page 113 of Fierce-Michael

“It’s easy to do when she doesn’t see him much.”

He smirked. “You mean like the four hours you get weekly and the every other Saturday night? Not much time in the big picture, is it?”

This time her bottom lip trembled, but he wasn’t going to be swayed by tears. He never was in the past and had no intention of it now.

“It’s not easy,” Electra said.

“Parenting isn’t supposed to be easy. In the future, when Ty is with you, you can call if you have a problem. Or there is an issue. But I’m not going to rush over if it’s something minor like you’ve got cramps or a headache. I talked to Ty so I could get the whole story.”

Electra got a tissue and blew her nose. In the process of doing that, she turned her back on him and stuck her ass out in her barely there shorts. She even wiggled it and he hated that he noticed it.

Not that it turned him on, but that he was watching to see if she was doing exactly what she’d boasted to Kelly that she did.

He turned to look around the apartment so that when Electra looked at him, she’d see he wasn’t paying attention.

“What did he say?” Electra asked.

“He said that you were whining you had cramps and a headache. You asked him to watch a movie in his room and he was. When he came out to get a drink you asked him if he wanted to go home. He didn’t ask.”

“He said he wanted to go back to you,” Electra argued.

“Of course he’s going to say it if you ask him, but there was no reason for it. He said you took something and it wasn’t working fast enough. He was doing what he was told. You did what you had to just send him back because it was too much of a bother for you. How do you think that makes him feel that you can’t even suck it up for a few hours to be with him?”

“He’s four,” Electra said, waving her hand. “He has no idea what is going on.”

Which only pissed him off more. His son was more perceptive than she gave him credit for.

“He does know what is going on. If you spent more time talking to him, you’d know that. And just so you know, he does say he has fun here when you play with him. I think he looks forward to it. Maybe if you ask him things or do more than send him to his room, you’ll know that. But if you decide that this is all too much for you, maybe we need to sit down with our lawyers again and do what’s best for Ty. I thought having his mother in his life was, but I could be wrong.”

Electra started to cry. “It’s so hard. I work all day and some nights. I don’t make as much money. I’ve got two Saturday nights I can’t go out on dates or with my friends and I miss out on things.”

Not once did she say anything that had to do with their son.

“Figure out what you want, Electra. I’m over forcing something that might not be the best for anyone. If you push him away now, I doubt he’ll want anything to do with you when he’s older. Just remember that.”

“I said I’d be ready at some point. I’m not sure I am.”

“That was four years ago,” he said softly. “It looks as if not much has changed or that you’ve made any attempt for it to happen.”

He left after that. It’d give her something to think about.

It’s not what he’d thought he’d say to her and wasn’t sure it was the best timing.

He needed to talk to Kelly and now he was going to end up telling her he might have Ty full time. He hadn’t thought she had a problem with him being a single father, but this past weekend proved he was wrong.

It was best to know now though if it was going to change.

He texted Kelly when he got in his SUV and asked if he could stop over to talk.

She replied quickly that she was home. That was something. She wasn’t ignoring him.

“I wasn’t sure you’d want to talk to me,” she said when they got into her apartment. She’d come down to get him when he hit the buzzer but didn’t say a word.

“You’re the one that walked out,” he said. “I was waiting for you.”

Her head went back and forth. “I guess you’ve got a point.”

“How long would you have waited to reach out if I didn’t tonight?” he asked.

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