now I—”
“Like I said, she’s told me everything.” He opened the door, ready to be done with the conversation but closed it again because he didn’t want anyone hearing Dani’s business. “She wasn’t actually doing any soliciting but got caught up in a mess where others were and was charged with it anyway. You run with the wrong crowd and that kind of shit is bound to happen. I get it. I was there once too. Being charged with crap just for being there.”
“And you believe her?”
Now he was getting pissed. “Yes, I do. Listen. What I told you before still stands. Because you helped me out when I needed it most, feel free to bring in your car if you ever need it serviced. Just give me a heads-up before you do.” So, he could be sure neither he nor Dani would be there. “But as far as staying in touch for any other reason, I can’t anymore, okay? Only reason I called you now was because you said it was about Dani and it was important.”
He hated to have to be so blunt, but he had at least stopped short of telling her he’d have to block her if she didn’t stop. If it hadn’t been for her willingness to help at a time when he’d felt so lost, he might add that she could stop being so nosey about Dani, but he didn’t want to be rude. He’d give her the benefit of the doubt that she was just looking out for him. Ending the call on that note, he hoped Felicia heeded his request. As usual, he couldn’t get home fast enough to his new little family. Turning into the driveway, he was surprised and disappointed that she wasn’t at the window with Oreo the way she usually was. He walked into the noisy kitchen where she was standing staring at her phone screen and Cri Cri was playing on the under-the-counter TV. The moment Oreo saw him he squealed, holding up his biscuit. “Dada, dada, dada!”
Dani glanced up, looking a bit startled. Clenching his teeth at the sight of the now too familiar unease in her eyes, Orlando did his damnedest not to sound too pissy. “Ted?”
She nodded, putting her phone down on the counter as she reached for a baby wipe. This wasn’t the second or even third time he’d startled her as he’d walked in on her engrossed in reading a text from the fucker. This was the fourth, and it pissed him off. Only in each instance, it’d been perfectly harmless, so there wasn’t a whole lot he could bitch about.
“Yeah,” she said, wiping the baby’s messy hands as he continued to reach out for Orlando. “The last time he texted me the article about the panaderia I told you about, he said he was going to try to get a petition going so it might be saved. He sent a group text with the link to the petition. I was just reading the petition.” She turned to the kitchen window. “I didn’t even hear your truck, and I totally lost track of time because I was making spaghetti.”
The baby held his hand up to him. “Up. Up. Up!”
“Drove the Chevy home again,” he explained as he lifted the baby out of the highchair. “So, he’s just gonna keep sending you shit forever?”
“He knows this is near and dear to my heart, Orlando.” She slipped her hand into his. “It’s why he put the petition together.”
“Oh, I’m sure that’s why he did it.” He brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed it. “But you have to realize he’s gonna keep finding reasons to stay in touch one way or another. You have to cut him off at some point, babe.”
He kissed her lips softly, despite his annoyance because he just couldn’t stand not doing so anymore. The baby squirmed to try and get in between them and then started reaching for Dani.
“Mama, mama,” he said, reaching out for her.
“No, no, baby, I have to get dinner on the table.” She glance at Orlando before turning to the stove. “Can you get his highchair into the dining room, please? I’ll bring out everything right now. It’s ready.” Deciding to let it go because it was just a fucking petition and Orlando didn’t want this asshole’s attempts to stay in touch with her to ruin their evening, he changed the subject once she was in the dining room with the food. He’d