Page 57 of The Devil Gets His Due

He glances up as I approach, and his face is clear and untroubled for once. He’s in his element here, fixing shit and pulling up weeds. Working hard and being responsible—my polar opposite.

“I just saw your future,” I tell him. “You’ll settle down with some nice little wife who grows her own vegetables, loves to cook, and worries about getting your shirts done just right.”

He rises, studying me. “You sound like you don’t approve.”

I swallow, staring at the ground as I blink back tears. “It’s all fine until you decide our kid should stay with you permanently because it’s a better environment.”

“Jesus, Keeley,” he whispers, closing the distance between us. “Stop. I would never, ever do that to you.”

My eyes fall closed, my heart aching so much it’s hard to speak. “But you’d be right,” I whisper back. “She’d be better off with you.”

He nestles me against his firm chest, his arms wrapping tight around me. “Bullshit,” he says. “You’ll feed her endless amounts of garbage and she’ll get expelled at least once for saying something wildly inappropriate, but no one will love that kid more than you do, and make sure she knows it. And what could possibly matter more than that?”

I can almost see myself the way he sees me: a version in which my gross irresponsibility is merely a quirk and my heart isn’t jaded at all.

“I made Lola vomit,” I whisper. “I gave her too many treats.”

He laughs. “That sounds about right. But it’ll be okay.”

29

GRAHAM

In the afternoon, there’s a knock at the front door. I open it and a little girl comes rushing into the house. Hayes, Ben’s best friend, stands on the front stoop.

“Sorry,” he says, “Ben said it was okay if we stopped by? My daughter is obsessed with Lola.”

I glance toward the kitchen where Keeley, Lola, and Hayes’s daughter are all on the floor, and two of the three are giggling. I’m pretty sure Keeley has found her peer group.

“Audrey’s grown so much since I saw you guys in January!” Keeley exclaims. “I didn’t even recognize her. How’s the baby? Callum, right?”

“Sleeping in ten-second intervals. He and Tali are finally resting after a very long night and morning, so I thought I’d keep Audrey out for a while.”

He pulls out his phone to show us pictures of the baby, and she coos over them while I fret. What happens if our daughter isn’t a sleeper? I doubt Beverly Hills Skin is going to be okay with Keeley coming in late or stumbling through a day on no sleep if they won’t even let her eat lunch.

“We should get out of your hair,” Hayes says. “Come along, Audrey. It’s time to go to the store.”

“I would like to stay, actually,” says Audrey, so prim that Keeley and I both laugh.

“Can she?” Keeley pleads. “You could go to the store and get her on your way home?”

I fight a smile, watching her. Keeley has no idea what she even brings to the table, but here she is begging for time with a little girl she will cuddle and care for as if her life depends on it. What she brings to the table are the things that matter most.

“You’re indeep, my friend,” Hayes says as I walk him to the door. “It’s written all over your face. I bet she’s got you running out at eleven at night to get her obscure foods.”

I think of the last Froot Loops incident. Yes, I drove to the grocery store at midnight because she wanted Froot Loops. “They’re notthatobscure.”

When I walk back inside, the TV is on, and Keeley and Audrey are curled up together on the couch with Lola across their laps.

“So here’s the deal,” Keeley is saying. “The duke doesn’t want to have kids because his father was abusive, but Daphne does, and now they’re married and happy but it’s about to go downhill. If people are happy at the midpoint ofanything, whether it’s a movie or book, you know you’re in for it.”

Keeley points the remote at the TV. “Oh, we’re probably going to have to forward through some of this based on the look she’s giving him. Cover your eyes.Ugh, kissing in the rain.” She pauses the show. “You can open your eyes because this is important: don’t let a guy do this. It’s not romantic at all, and seriously…no mascara isthatwaterproof. You just wind up cold, and you’ll look like a clown afterward.”

She picks up the remote again and I finally step in. “Keeley, what are you watching?”

She narrows her eyes at me. “We don’t need your help.”

“Clearly, you do.” I attempt to snatch the remote and she slides it under her thigh. “Audrey, what’s your favorite show?”

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