“You got three choices here, lady. You can walk out of here on your own, I can toss you out myself, or I can call the cops. You have about two seconds to decide.”
“Fine,” she huffed out, “I’ll go.”
I could hear her footsteps as she charged through my living room. When she opened the front door, she shouted out one last time. “I know you’re happy about this. I know you wanted him dead! Well, you got your wish! He’s gone, but he’ll always be Cat’s father! Nothing will change that!”
Without saying anything more, she stormed out and slammed the door behind her. I didn’t move. I simply stood there completely motionless in the hallway, waiting for my racing heart to stop pounding in my chest.
I don’t know how long I’d been standing there when I heard, “Momma, is Daddy really dead?”
“Oh, sweetheart.” I quickly turned and knelt down, then wrapped Cat in my arms and hugged her tightly. “I’m so sorry you had to hear all that.”
“Gran said Daddy is dead.”
“Yeah, sweetie, she did.”
“Is he?”
“I’m not sure.” I hugged her a little tighter as I replied, “But I think so.”
“Oh.” She thought for a moment, then asked, “Does that mean I don’t have to go see him at the prison anymore?”
She was too young to truly understand death, but she knew it meant not seeing her father again. It broke my heart that she was still so worried about that. It was a reasonable concern. She didn’t know Trevor—at least, not like a daughter should know her father. He’d been locked up for the past four years and only recently became interested in getting to know her.
The whole thing was so terribly sad. Cat deserved a father who’d love and adore her, protect her at all costs, but Trevor had failed her miserably. I squeezed her as I answered, “No, sweetie. You won’t have to go see him anymore.”
“Okay.” She inhaled a deep, cleansing breath, and as she let it out, the tension in her little body started to fade. She took another moment, then looked up at me and asked, “Can I have some Sugar Smacks?”
“Sure, sweetheart.” I released her from my embrace, then said, “Go make yourself a bowl, and I’ll be down in a minute.”
When she started down the hall, she spotted Thatch and stopped dead in her tracks. For a brief second, I feared that she might have been startled by the sight of him, but then I heard her say, “Hey, Thatch.”
There was no fear in her voice.
Only adoration.
It was the same thing I heard in his voice when he replied, “Hey, Cat. You okay?”
“Mm-hmm.” She nodded. “I’m gonna get me some breakfast.”
“Breakfast sounds good. I might have to get me some, too.” He motioned his head towards me and told her, “I’m just gonna talk to your momma for a minute first.”
“Okay.”
As soon as she started down the stairs, Thatch walked over to me and wrapped his arms around me in a big hug. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I think so.” I rested my head on his chest. “Thank you for dealing with her. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you weren’t here.”
“Glad I could help.” He kissed me on the temple. “I’m gonna get one of my boys over here today to change those locks.”
“You don’t have to do that. I can—”
“It’s not up for discussion, babe.” He looked down at me. “I told you, I take care of what’s mine, and that means doing things like getting the locks changed when they need changing.”
“Okay, fair enough.” I took a step back and looked up at him. “Do you really think Trevor’s dead?”
“I doubt she would’ve come here like she did if he wasn’t.”
“Probably not.” Thatch followed me as I walked back to my room and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Is it bad that I’m relieved he’s gone?”
“No, babe. It’s not bad at all. The guy was a monster. Anybody would’ve been relieved to see him gone.”
“So, what do I do now?”
“You take a shower, get dressed, and come downstairs. I’ll make us some coffee and a bite to eat, and then we’ll take things from there.”
I could feel my heart swell in my chest as I sat there looking up at Thatch’s handsome face. I had no idea how he always found a way to make me feel like everything would be okay—even when it felt like the world was crumbling at my feet. “Okay.”
He leaned down and kissed me on the forehead, then turned and started for the door. He was just about to walk out of the room when I called out to him, “Thatch?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
“No need to thank me, babe. Now, get that fine ass of yours in the shower, so I can go make us some pancakes.”