Page 58 of Buried Dreams

It’s my turn to smirk at her. “I guess you don’t know him like you think you know him.” Her grin turns into a glare.

“I knew him enough to have his child and marry him.”

I put my hand to my stomach to hold in my laughter as Autumn gasps beside me. “Oh, yeah, you would have to know him enough to spread your legs for him.” I put my finger to my chin and look to the side. “And how was the marriage? From what I heard, it was so good it lasted a whole what… six months at that.”

“Fuck you, Everleigh,” she snaps.

“Now, now.” I shake my head. “Must have touched a nerve.”

“I don’t want you around my daughter,” she finally hisses.

“Well, it’s a good thing Brock is a good father, and he also gets to decide who is in his daughter’s life.” I wait for her to tear him down as a father, and I know if she does, I’m throwing hands. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go and have a drink. You have a blessed day, Karla.”

“Enjoy my sloppy seconds.” She thinks she’s taking a parting shot at me.

“Oh, trust me, I will.” I smile big. “Considering he was mine before he was yours, and well, I think we all know that he never really did move on, even if he fucked you.” I look over at Autumn, who is trying to hide her smile behind Landon’s head. “Shall we?”

“We shall,” Autumn agrees. “Also…” She looks at Karla. “How fucking sad is it that you used your daughter for any of this?” I don’t even wait for her to answer. I just pull Autumn away from her.

When we are in the bar, she looks over at me. “Walk all the way to the end and go to my office, now.”

“I’m fine,” I say even though deep down I’m not fine. She puts her hand in mine and drags me to the back to her office.

“Now, you can let it out,” she urges me, and I actually put my hands on my knees.

“I shouldn’t let it get to me,” I tell the floor. “It’s not like I didn’t sleep with anyone after him.” Autumn doesn’t say a word. She knows I have to talk this out with myself. “I have a neighbor who I fuck monthly. I’ve had a couple of guys who I’ve hooked up with. It shouldn’t fucking bother me.” I get up and feel the tears. “Why does it fucking bother me?”

“Because you love him, and the thought of him with someone else is just too much,” she says. “Just like I’m pretty sure if you told him that you have a neighbor you fuck monthly, he would probably burn down your building.” I can’t help but laugh at that. “I know how you feel,” she finally shares softly. “Charlie pretty much fucked the entire town.” I gasp. “Yeah, so you have only one woman; I have them on every single corner.”

“What is going on?” Charlie walks into the office and sees us.

“Nothing. I was telling her what a womanizer you were.” She glares at him, and I have to roll my lips. “And I’m constantly face-to-face with all the women you banged.” His face goes white. “Yeah, exactly. Don’t think I don’t see them batting their eyes at you.”

“What happened from the time you left the bakery until now?” He puts his hands on his hips. “And how did it become my fault?” He looks at me, and I fill him in. “He never loved her,” Charlie reveals quietly, “not for a second, and everyone knew it, including Karla. She just didn’t want to see it.”

“We all have our pasts.” I look at him. “The question is, can we get past them?”

Chapter Thirty

BROCK

“I love you, baby girl,” I say, giving her a hug and kissing the top of her head. “I’ll see you next week, and I’ll talk to you tonight when you get home from school.”

“Okay, Daddy.” Her voice is lower than it was five minutes ago in the car as she sang out at the top of her lungs about Vermont and seasons of sticks. She hugs me tighter for a second before letting me go and walking into the fenced-in yard. Looking back over her shoulder, she waves to me before walking into the school. My hands up, I clench the chain-link fence with one hand, and I hold up the other to my heart as I give her a chin up.

Only when the door closes behind her do I drop my head for a second before looking up at the sky and exhaling. Every single fucking time, it feels like half my heart stops beating when she leaves me. I push off from the fence and walk back over to the truck, pulling out my phone. Knowing this conversation would be happening today, I’ve played it over and over in my head the whole week.

I pull up her number and dial, my heart beating faster in my chest, waiting for her to answer. “Hello,” she answers on the third ring, no doubt doing it on purpose. I know she works with her phone beside her computer keyboard, so there is no excuse.

“Hey,” I say, “just dropped off Saige.”

“How is she?” she asks, clicking away on her side on the phone.

“She’s okay,” I answer and then take a deep inhale. “Listen, Karla, I wanted to talk to you before I go to my lawyer.” The clicking immediately stops, and the tension on the phone is so thick you could hear a leaf fall off the tree outside from inside the cab of my truck.

“Your lawyer?” she questions, her voice tight.

“I would like to have dinner with her once a week when it’s not my turn, and also, you should have a chance to see her too when it’s not your week.” My index finger taps the steering wheel nervously. “It would still be the same time that we spend with her, just it won’t be that long between when we switch.”

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