Page 47 of The Third Girl

CHAPTER 21

MATT

Skylar’s eyes are wide as she shakes her head. “I guess it must be close to ten. Just to clarify, these are your—”

I grit my teeth. “Terri’s parents. I don’t know what their relation is to me anymore to be honest. Isn’t that fucking awful? My former in-laws? My dead wife’s parents?Fuck,”I growl, irritated with myself.

She smiles softly at me as she pats my arm. “What do you want me to do? Should I take Sailor upstairs and get her dressed?”

“Um. Yeah. Quickly, if you don’t mind.” I feel awful for putting Skylar in a position where she’s going to meet Terri’s parents, even if they don’t know her as anything other than a childcare provider. Dennis and Stephanie love Sailor, but they’re generally not very nice people. Kinda rude and condescending. I was never good enough for Terri. Not in their eyes. They hated the idea that Terri was dating a cop.Hatedit. They were so pissed when I went to them and told them I intended to ask Terri to marry me. They never did officially give me their blessing, though Terri married me anyway. She said she didn’t care what they thought, but it was a sore spot throughout our marriage. Sailor’s birth had gone a little ways to mending fences… but Terri’s death wiped away any bit of kindness they had in their hearts toward me. They blame me for her death. As if I didn’t already fuckin’ blame myself.

I wait a few beats until Skylar has Sailor upstairs even though it means Dennis and Stephanie ring a second time, which no doubt is irritating the hell out of them. Come to think of it, that won’t be any different than usual. They’re irritated by everything I do and all the choices I make. With a shrug, I open the door and give them a closed-mouth smile. “Hey. Come on in.”

Stephanie wastes no time at all. “Where’s the grandbaby?” She makes a point of peeking down the hall into the living room—cringing when she sees the mess of toys—then her eagle eyes zoom in on the kitchen area … where there are two plates still on the table.Ah, shit.

I point upward. “She’s getting dressed.”

“On her own?” My father-in-law rumbles. He knows nothing about kids. Terri told me once that her father was rarely home when she was young, so I suppose it makes sense that he’s so clueless. Especially since he’s so far removed now from having children.

I rub my hand over my cheek, shaking my head. “Uh, no. The woman who cares for her overnight is still here. Skylar helps me out by staying sometimes on Sunday mornings so I can get some sleep after my shift. She’s with her now.”

My mother-in-law’s brow arches, eyeing my uniform. “Is that so.” Not a question. Just a statement. She sniffs a bit. “Doesn’t seem like you’ve had a chance to sleep yet. Why’d she bother staying?” Her eyes flick to the kitchen table again. I know what she’s thinking. She’s already put it together that Skylar and I ate breakfast together. Who knows what else is in the woman’s mind.

“Nope, I haven’t slept, you’re right”—with a huff, I shoot her another smile—“because I knew you were coming, so I didn’t see much point in you showing up while I was asleep.”

“Skylar, huh?” My father-in-law frowns. “That’s an odd name.”

No stranger than Sailor. Though he’d made a big stink about it when his daughter chose that name. He’d wanted her named after his grandmother, Mabel. Not that there’s anything wrong with Mabel, but knowing Sailor as I do now, the name never would have felt right. Not to mention, Terri hated it. “Yes. She’s good with Sailor.”

Stephanie tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and rolls her eyes. She lets out this painedharrumphnoise that says she finds all of this absolutely ridiculous.

Hearing some noise coming in our direction from upstairs, I quickly say, “Look, don’t make this difficult. I’m happy for you to have a few hours with your granddaughter whenever you want. But I’d appreciate it if you didn’t show up only to batter me with a barrage of questions about my life and how I choose to live it.”

Stephanie’s gaze shifts from me to the stairs where Skylar has appeared with Sailor in her arms.

Here we go.I clear my throat and mask my annoyance with a happy tone. “Sailor, look who’s here. It’s Granny and Grandad.”

Sailor’s gaze darts between them, and her tiny mouth turns down at the corners. “No! Skywar.” She pivots in Skylar’s arms, burying her face in her shoulder.

Shit.Can’t blame the kid, really. I’d choose Skylar any day of the week, too. But that line of thinking doesn’t really smooth the way here.

“Oh, don’t be silly, Sailor. We’ll have fun. Grandad and I want to take you to get a new toy and some ice cream. How’s that sound?”

Skylar whispers in her ear, and it’s low enough that I don’t catch what she says, but Sailor perks up. “Ice cweam?” She squirms for a second until Skylar sets her down.

Standing upright again, she lifts her hand to give a little wave. “Hi. I’m Skylar.”

My jaw twitches. “Skylar, this is Stephanie and Dennis Sharpe. Terri’s parents.”

My former in-laws—or whatever we’re calling them—give a brief nod in Skylar’s general direction, but don’t say anything to her. It makes for a very awkward and uncomfortable pause in the conversation. I wouldn’t have expected anything different from them, as they’d much rather talk about people than to them. That’s their modus operandi. They’ve always been like this.

Skylar catches my attention. “I’m just going to go grab my purse. If they’ve got Sailor, I can head out, and you can sleep in peace. Nice to meet you both.” She jogs back up the stairs and out of sight.

“Really, Matthew? The nanny? What the hell are you thinking?” Stephanie bites out, all in a rush.

I swing my gaze to her, my jaw locked tight as I stare. She’s not incorrect. And the judgmental tone and blazing eyes say she doesn’t approve at all. She’s pissed. I’d open my mouth, but I’m afraid I’d fire something rude at her to match the way she’s speaking to me.

“I can tell by the way you were looking at her. You watched her retreat. Or rather, you watched her tush as it bounced delightfully all the way up the stairs.” She huffs. “And her lips are all puffy, and there’s whisker burn all over her neck and chin. I’m not blind.”

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