“I don’t think there is anything I can do,” I said. “We’ve tried. I don’t know what else I can do. Rich even thought about having her arrested. There’s nothing illegal going on. My dad is under her spell, and we can’t seem to break it. He’s going to be stuck with her. She’s going to ruin him.”
“I know you are not giving up,” he said. “No way. Not the Thea Hanson I know. She’d be out there fighting until she couldn’t stand up anymore. Even then, she’d crawl. You’re not going to let this woman get away with what she’s doing.”
“I don’t want to let her get away with it, but I don’t know what else to do. She’s got a hold on him that I can’t compete with. He’s going to sell the house and move away. Once the house is gone, he’s gone. I don’t know if we’ll ever get him back. Scratch that, we’ll get him back when he doesn’t have a cent to his name and he’s a withered-up husk of a man. She will suck the life out of him. He’s not the kind of man that can take being used, abused, and then dumped. It will kill him. I honestly don’t know what I’ll do if that happens. I don’t think I trust myself with my reaction.”
“I wouldn’t,” he said. “You are not the woman I would want to cross.”
Technically, he had crossed me once. Not really crossed me but shattered me. They weren’t the same. “All I can do is pray she’s struck by lightning or a freak tornado whips through and carries her out to sea.”
He laughed. The sound washing over me and providing me with a calm I had not felt in a long time. “I guess we both got daddy issues,” I joked.
“That, we do. I am confident you will get your daddy issues resolved. Your dad is not an idiot. He’ll see what this woman is all about and kick her to the curb.”
“I hope you’re right, but I have to admit, I don’t have that same confidence,” I said. “It’s been two years. I don’t know how much of his retirement she’s burned through. I think it’s the reason she suddenly wants to be near her family in Calgary. According to her, she has a job there. I don’t believe that for a second. I think her plan is to get him to sell the house and get access to the money. She’ll come up with some story about the job no longer being available or something like that. He’ll feel bad and support her. Again.”
“Can you declare him unfit?” he suggested.
“You know, that’s not a bad idea, but I don’t know how I could do that,” I said. “He’s not stupid or mentally ill. He’s lovesick. He’s truly under her spell.”
“I have no doubt in my mind you will come up with something. You’re always thinking. You make shit happen when most people couldn’t.”
His confidence in me meant a lot. It bolstered my spirit. “Thank you. I really appreciate the confidence.”
“I should probably go,” he said after a while. “My driver is probably waiting.”
I walked him to the door. He stopped and looked at me. We were just a few inches apart. The urge to kiss him was strong. I knew it would be good. One kiss would chase away so many worries. It wouldn’t have to mean anything. Just a kiss to have some of that human connection I’d been lacking in my life. Our night had been good, almost like old times.
He was looking at me with what I wanted to believe was the same feeling. I leaned toward him. His gaze dropped to my mouth and I knew it was coming. My heart was thudding in my chest in anticipation. His hand moved to my upper arm.
Achoo!
The neighbor on the other side of my house stepped onto his front stoop with a loud sneeze followed by a cough. The moment was over.
Reese smirked and patted my arm. “Goodnight. I’ll be calling you again soon. I’ve got several of these events lined up. Now that I have you as my secret weapon, I’m not about to let you get away.”
“Sure. Okay. Sounds good.”
I felt foolish for thinking it would be a good idea to kiss him. I quickly went inside and closed the door behind him. That had been close. One kiss would have changed everything. I knew that. Maybe that was what I secretly wanted. It was too easy to be with him. I had to remind myself he was a dead end. Not just a dead end, but a heartbreak waiting to happen. I needed to keep my distance.
“Let’s go to bed, guys,” I said with a clap of my hands.
I went to my room and stripped out of the dress. The dogs hopped on the bed and took their usual places while I changed into my jammies. I crawled into bed and turned off the lights. What would it be like to have him in my life again? Would we ever be able to go back to the way things were? Would he even want that?
No. It would never work. Him being here tonight was a reminder of that. He would never be okay with Kona sleeping in the bed. I would never give up my dogs for him or anyone. Which reminded me of Mr. Wedge’s threat. It felt like there was a constant string of attacks coming at me. I wanted peace. I wanted to settle in at the end of a long day with my dog on one side and a man I loved on the other.
Was that too much to ask?