Page 65 of Grumpy Boss Daddy

“You didn’t know it was going to happen, and she must have said things were fine.”

“She did, and she said they would close the case with a note to say it was a malicious complaint, and the cops are going to have a word with the bitch who called in, but I still can’t believe we had a kitchen in this state.”

She is beginning to bang cups and plates down on the counter. If she puts them down any harder, she is going to end up breaking something.

I cross the kitchen and catch hold of her as she reaches back into the dishwasher, easing her away before she can grab anything else. Elle tries to pull away, but I pull her into my arms and hold her. She is stiff, and I can feel her trembling, but she soon melts into my hold, putting her arms around my waist and resting her head on my shoulder. I wait, slowly rubbing her back.

After a while, Elle lifts her head.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers.

“What for?”

“Because I got angry. I’m getting overly emotional about this…”

I kiss her, silencing her. I pull away before she can react, resting my forehead against hers.

“You have nothing to apologize for. You have done nothing wrong.”

“I had a CPS worker in here, along with a cop. I feel like I have.”

“No, you haven’t. And they clearly didn’t find anything wrong if they say they’re going to class it as a malicious complaint.”

Elle snorts and pulls away, moving back to lean against the counter with her arms folded.

“I think it helped that they were able to hear Megan when she called me to…I don’t know what I would call it because it wasn’t gloating.”

“What? Megan?”

“Dad’s wife?”

It takes me a moment to realize what she was saying. I stare at her.

“Are you saying that she said that she was the one who called CPS?”

“Apparently, because I wouldn’t give Amy over like she’s a toy that needs to be shared, they’re going to make my life hell. I don’t know what their endgame is, though, because I still wouldn’t give Amy to them.”

“Did you tell the social worker about this?”

“She heard it. I think it was a few minutes before she stopped looking bewildered.”

I’m not surprised. If I heard something like that, I’m going to be wondering if I had heard it correctly. I knew there were plenty of people who would make a malicious call to CPS, but I never thought it would happen here.

“Megan sounded…unhinged,” Elle goes on, frowning as she stares at the floor. “Like she had lost grip on reality. I think her desire to have a child has just made her slip into insanity.”

“I’ve heard that people can go crazy when someone close to them has a kid and they can’t have one themselves.”

“But they wouldn’t call CPS and lie about the person, would they? All this because I wouldn’t hand over my daughter?”

“Are the police going to do something about it?”

“I hope so. The cop was vague about it, and I was too stressed to ask too much.”

I wish I had been here when the police were. I would be demanding everything to be thrown at Elle’s father and his wife. How dare they do this to us? Just because they couldn’t get what they wanted? It feels ridiculous.

“What are you going to do about it?” I ask.

“I don’t know if there’s anything I can do beyond waiting to see what the cops and CPS say. I’m going to get a follow-up call at some point in the next few days.”

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