Page 122 of The Tangle of Awful

I sit down on the edge of my bed, hugging an arm to my stomach and suppressing a shiver. “Yeah, she came home.”

“Is everything okay?”

“She packed a bag, left me with some choice words, and then took the keys to her car. She’s gone, Hugo. I don’t think she’s ever coming back.”

He sucks in a sharp breath and then a relieved laugh escapes him. “Thank fuck.”

“My thoughts exactly,” I say with a slightly crazed giggle. “When are you coming home?”

“Soon, Love. I’ll be home soon. Everything is going to be okay.”

Finally, I actually believe that it will.

Hugo

“Do you remember what to do?” Jamie asks, grinning at me. “It’s been a long time, old man.”

I casually flip her off before going back to figuring out the buttons on the onesie she brought. Thank God for Jamie. I was so completely unprepared for this baby. She showed up today with a car seat, diaper bag jammed with supplies, and a backpack full of outfits. I certainly don’t remember Spencer needing all this shit just to go home.

But that was nearly two decades ago.

Fuck, I am old.

The green onesie has a big T-Rex on the front that says “rawr” in cutesy writing. I’d just grabbed the first outfit on the pile, much to Jamie’s dismay.

I’ll be glad when Spencer names this baby. I’ve literally been calling him “baby.” The nurses don’t hide their annoyance with me either. They’re probably worried about the well-being of a baby who was born from a mother who escaped the hospital after threatening to kill it and a “father” who can’t even think up a name for him.

Baby Park squawks, kicking one of his skinny legs out. I pull on the matching pants that go with it and then add green socks and a green hat. There. I did it. I dressed a newborn infant without my stepmother jumping in to rescue me.

“Did they give you any trouble about taking the baby home?” Jamie asks, features turning serious.

“How could they? I’m the father.”

We share a pointed look. I’m not the father, but until Spencer decides what he wants to do, I need to play it this way. I’m not taking any chances when it comes to Neena. Aubrey said she showed up at the house after she fled the hospital, packed a suitcase, and disappeared again.

I’ll find her this time.

And when I do, she’ll be met with divorce papers, an NDA, and some other necessary documents to ensure Spencer doesn’t have any of this shit follow him or go on his record. I’ll also give her an opportunity to be in the baby’s life if she has a change of heart.

There will never be shared custody.

Ever.

That woman made her choices and shattered my family in the process. I’ll be damned if I let her wreak any more havoc. Best-case scenario is she’ll sign the papers—because she’s selfish and will want to rid herself of us—and move along with her life. It won’t take long before she’s cozied up to some mega-rich chump wherever it is she lands.

Good riddance.

“You’re all set to go,” Dani, our primary nurse, says with a smile. “Looks like the little man is all ready.”

I pick up the tiny thing and carefully set him in the car seat. It takes some finagling, but I manage to get his squirming arms through the straps and buckle him in.

Jamie picks up the backpack and my own overnight bag I’d packed to stay with him until he was released. I shoulder the diaper bag and then pick up the car seat. Jamie scoops up the blanket lying in a chair and drapes it over the baby.

“I’m ready,” I say, letting a long breath escape.

And I am.

Ready to move on from the ugly Neena chapter of my life.

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