Page 39 of Fiery Romance

Anya would never forgive me if I let anything happen to Regan. On this count alone, I can never bend.

My phone buzzes with a call.

Miss Hayes.

I tighten my fingers around the cell and nod to Anya’s mother. “We have a family trip planned this weekend.Iwill take Abe to celebrate. You don’t have to worry about that.”

“You can’t fight me forever, Clay.” Miss Gen rises. “You might be the children’s father, but I have more evidence on my side than against me. I’m only holding myself back because I do not want this to get ugly.”

I stare her down. “Miss Gen, the only thing I know how to do is fight. If I was willing to fight for my country, what makes you think I wouldn’t fight for my family?”

She clamps her mouth shut and narrows her eyes.

My cell stops vibrating.

Then it vibrates again.

Miss Hayes is insistent.

I pick up. “What?”

The shouting that ensues makes me pull the phone away from my ear.

“How dare you tow my car, you buffoon! You total waste of oxygen! You cheap, twenty-five dollar plastic wig with synthetic, allergy-causing, cess-pool lowlife!”

As Island hurls curses at me, something strange happens.

The tightness in my chest loosens.

The dark cloud hovering over me shifts a fraction.

Even though memories of Anya are crushing me from every side, guilt is smothering me alive, and Miss Gen is posing a very real threat to a future with my kids, something inside me snaps loose. I find that I’m able to breathe a little. I find that I even want to laugh.

Why is that?

“Miss Hayes,” I say abruptly.

She stops in the middle of her tirade and yells, “What?”

“Come shout at me in person.”

“Who the hell do you think you—”

“I’ll send you the address.” I hang up and pocket the phone.

Deep breath.

Exhale.

I’m a little calmer. A little saner.

It’s like there’s suddenly a place in my head that isn’t filled with junk. I don’t know where it came from or when it got there.

Huh.

When I glance up, Genevieve is staring at me with a curious look. I wonder what she’s seeing on my face. To be honest,Idon’t even know what I’m feeling right now.

I only know that it’s a hell of a lot better than anything I’ve felt in a long time.

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