She’d always been pretty. But as we spoke and bantered back and forth, it was as if I could see her with a whole new appreciation. The curves, which I never would’ve looked twice at before, began to fascinate me. I fucking dreamed about the roundness of her thighs and the soft skin between them, and found myself waking up embarrassed from wet dreams like a teenager.
Things were changing, and they had been for a while.
So I was irritated as hell that no one would let me talk to her. She’d answered my emails for the past two days but never agreed to a Skype date, and every time I called either her parents or mine, no one would tell me what was going on.
“Where the fuck is Kate?” I finally hissed, cutting off Mike mid-sentence. “And why the hell hasn’t she brought my kids home yet? School’s starting soon.”
“Calm down, son.”
“No, this is fucking ridiculous. Tell Kate that I’m going to Skype tonight at seven your time. I want to see my children.”
I slammed the phone down and wiped sweat off my face with a paper towel I’d been carrying around in my pocket. This shit had to end soon. I needed to get home.
* * *
“Hi, Daddy!” Sage said when the call finally connected.
I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Kate sitting in the middle of the kids, with Sage and Gavin on one side and Keller on the other. They were squished in close, and I could barely see anything beyond their faces.
“Hey, guys. Having fun at Grandma and Grandpa’s?”
“Went in the big truck!” Gavin told me excitedly, waving his arms around and almost slapping Kate in the face.
“Oh yeah?”
“Uncle Bram took me on the tractor. Grandpa took us fishing!” Keller said.
“Wow, you guys have been busy.” I smiled at their happy faces, and my stomach stopped churning for the first time in days. “Where’s Gunner?”
“Can you bring him over, Mom?” Kate asked, looking to the side.
I saw his arms first and then the side of his head. I couldn’t believe how much he’d grown since I’d been gone. His hair was so much thicker and longer than the last time I’d held him, and his body seemed so much sturdier.
I grinned as Keller’s face scrunched up in disgust when Gunner blocked his view of the screen.
Then my entire body went cold.
“Mama! Mama! Mama!” Gunner whined, twisting and turning as he reached for Kate.
No. She wouldn’t have.
“Shane?” Katie asked in confusion when she saw the look on my face. “What’s wrong?”
I couldn’t speak.
She wouldn’t have done it. I knew Kate. I knew her. She wouldn’t teach Gunner to call her “Mama.” Would she?
“My time’s up,” I announced with a halfhearted smile for the kids. “I’ll call you guys on Grandpa’s phone later tonight.”
“Bye, Daddy!” the kids called out, almost in unison.
“I love you guys. Talk soon.”
“Shane? What—”
I clicked out of the screen quickly with shaky hands and stood abruptly.
I had shit to do. I just needed to get it done. Keep busy. I’d be home soon, and I’d take care of all of it.
The anger inside me grew as I left the computer room, and by the time I was packing up my things, I felt on the verge of losing my temper completely.
There was no way I could talk to her again before I got home.
No fucking way.
* * *
“Hey, Dad. Kids around?” I asked a couple of hours later. Shit, I’d made more phone calls in one day than I usually did in a week.
“Just Keller. Boy’s having trouble sleeping.”
“Shit, I waited too long to call. I got caught up,” I said in disappointment. I missed my kids.
“What happened earlier? Mom said—”
“Can you put Kell on the phone?” I cut in. The argument was between Kate and me, and I didn’t relish hashing it out with anyone else.
“Sure, son.”
It was quiet for a few minutes before Keller’s sleepy voice came through.
“Hi, Daddy.”
“Hey, bud. What are you doing awake?”
“Waitin’ for you.”
“Aw, I’m sorry. I was working.”
“That’s okay. Grandpa and I were watchin’ fishin’ on TV.”
“Well, I just wanted to say hi and tell you I loved you, bud. Go to sleep, okay?”
“Okay, Daddy. Love you.”
“Bye, Keller.”
“Bye.” I heard him yawn loudly before the phone disconnected, and I sat back in my chair in disappointment.
I was leaving in a few hours, finally heading home, and no one would be there to greet me.
No. Fuck that. I picked the phone back up.
“Hello?” Mike answered gruffly.
“Tell Kate to bring my kids back home.”
“Well—”
“I asked her not to go to Oregon, and she went anyway. I don’t give a flying fuck how much fun she’s having up there. I want my kids in Oceanside when I get there.”
Mike was silent for a moment before he made a harsh sound in his throat. “I didn’t raise you to be an asshole.”