Page 63 of Brews & Bartenders

“I want to take David for the rest of the weekend.”

“It’s not your weekend. So, no.” She rubs her forehead with one hand, and I know she’s already stressing about the problems this can cause. “You can’t pick and choose when you want to be a dad.”

I motion to my sisters, and toss them the keys. They lower their voices, “Want to go with us to get our bags?”

David nods before casting a weary gaze in his mom’s direction. He doesn’t really want to leave her. He’s a kid and shouldn’t have to deal with this shit. I mean Tonya and her baby’s dad have worked out the co-parenting thing, and they are younger than us. It shouldn’t be this difficult. To ease his fear, I walk faster to stand by Caroline. “Is everything okay?”

“It’s none of your business,” Nathan spits out.

“It’s a good thing I wasn’t talking to you, then.” I move between them until my eyes meet Caroline’s. “You good?”

“Yeah.” She stands taller, trying to be strong against this man who has a way of making her feel like shit.

“What part of this is none of your business do you not understand?” Nathan touches my shoulder, and I whirl around. The urge to hit him is there, but that’s not something their son needs to see.

“The part where you’re upsetting my girlfriend.”

He snorts. Disgust written all over his face, and I want to punch him even more. “You meanfakegirlfriend. I have friends all around town and they said she,” he points toward Caroline, “didn’t have a boyfriend prior to the night I showed up. So why don’t you run back to your job and leave us to discuss our son.”

I feel Reaf and Bryce move behind their sister. At least I know they are on my side. “Except that’s not what you want to do. This is all a power play to make her feel like shit. She’s moved on. It’s time for you to take the hint. You can either be in your son’s life, or not, but don’t make your argument out to be something it isn’t. I’ve shown her more love, compassion, and been there for her more than I’m sure you ever did when you were married. I’ve also gotten to know your son over the past couple of months. You don’t get to dictate their lives anymore.”

He laughs. This asshole actually laughs, as if he doesn’t have a care in the world. “I’m making sure she only has our son’s best interest at heart. And dating a bartender isn’t it. Hell, it’d be better if she didn’t date at all. David should be her only focus.”

“Are you fucking kidding me right now? She’s allowed to be happy. You’re just pissed it’s not with you even though you threw her away as soon as you were bored.”

He opens his mouth, but doesn’t get a chance to speak because Caroline moves between us. “She is right here and capable of speaking for herself,” she points a finger at Nathan, “you need to get off my car. Go tell David goodbye, and my lawyer will be in touch on Monday.”

I reach my arm out to wrap her into me, but she holds up her hand. “And you need to go. Your sisters can still stay the night. I’ll drop them off in the morning, but I can’t be around you right now.”

“But.” She crosses her arms, and I know now is not the time. I turn and there’s a crowd of parents looking our direction, and I know right then…I fucked up.

27

Caroline

I can’t believethat just happened. And with a freaking audience. Carlos is protective of me, and I like that. It makes me feel valued. At the same time…it’s not his place to stand up for me to Nathan. I was handling it. What I didn’t need was raised voices, and all my dirty laundry spilled in a public setting.

The other parents move toward their cars now that the show is over. Glad I could provide them some weekend entertainment. At least David wasn’t over here to see the verbal sparring between Carlos and Nathan. I love that Carlos’s sisters took him with them to get their things.

I watch Carlos as he walks across the lot to his own car. His head is down and I kind of feel bad for snapping at him, but this was not the time or place to have that conversation. He stops at the edge of his car and bends down to give David a high five and hug. He tells his sisters goodbye then gets in his car and leaves.

Before the kids make it to us, my mom and brothers surround me. “Everything will work out,” Mom pats my shoulder, “you need time to cool off and so does he.”

“I know.” I lean against my car and make sure David isn’t around us. “But how do I know he won’t do something like that again when it comes to Nathan? I don’t want it to be something David sees even though his dad is shitty.”

Reaf moves beside me and puts his arm over my shoulder. “Look, I can’t guarantee it won’t happen again, but…if you mean that much to him, he’ll figure out when he needs to be silent. It was hard for me when I got with Tonya. Layla’s dad was horrible then. But he’s changed. I know that ship has most likely sailed for Nathan, but it could be what brings him in to be a better father to David.”

“That’s a lot of coulds and ifs.” I run my hand over my hair. It would be more satisfying if it wasn’t in a ponytail. “I just don’t want to get serious with him and this become a normal thing.”

Mom laughs, “Sweetie, it’s been serious with him for a bit. You need to quit lying to yourself.”

My brother shakes his head and looks over at me. “I know it’s scary letting him in all the way. You need to talk to him and tell him your expectations when it comes to dealing with Nathan.” I open my mouth but he stops me. “You also need to get more consistent with your boundaries when it comes to Nathan running over you. Today is the first time I’ve seen you really stand up to him. As long as he knows the lines he can’t cross, everything will work out.”

“Did Tonya do the same thing to you?”

“Yeah,” he sighs, “she’s had me wrapped around her finger since early on in our relationship.”

“Clearly it’s not an issue for you.”

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