to get pulled into this conversation and get down again. Plus, her sister was right, so why bother arguing?
Willing away the heartache this topic brought on, Danica exhaled. “I promise.” She plopped down, tapping the sofa for Dominic to sit down next to her. “You won’t be hearing of me around either of them again.”
Delia eyed her, not looking totally convinced, but Danica couldn’t fault her for that. Danica had let her down too many times in the past. “You don’t work today?”
“I gave my shift up so I could move out while Ted was out having breakfast with his kids.”
Danica exhaled at the reminder of the only drawback about breaking things off with Ted. His son Blaine was a defense lawyer who’d agreed to represent Danica and help get the felony reduced to a misdemeanor. Even with these two new jobs, there was no way Danica could afford to retain her own lawyer. Court-appointed defense lawyers were only for when you were being charged with something, not for when you’d already been convicted and were trying to get charges reduced after the fact. Ted refused to tell her how much he’d paid his son. All he said was he’d, of course, given him a good deal. But Danica had done some research before he offered to take care of it for her, and the least she’d been quoted was five grand, just to retain someone. If things got complicated, it could be more. Danica had some rethinking to do. That perk had been one of the biggest reasons why Danica had tolerated Ted this long. That was obviously out the window now.
“What happened with Ted?” her sister asked.
Leaning her head against Dominic’s shoulder, Danica took a deep breath. “You were right. He’s a control freak and he’s only getting worse.”
Delia shook her head. “I don’t know how you didn’t see it before. I saw it the very first night you introduced him to me when we met you for dinner, from his telling you what to order to the way he wouldn’t let you out of sight when you went to the ladies’ room. He watched you the whole time you walked there and back as if, God forbid, you might be social with anyone along the way.”
Danica shrugged. “He wasn’t that obvious in front of me and, for a long time, was really good about hiding his control issues. That day I just thought he was trying to help me choose since I’d never been to that restaurant, but little by little, his true colors have started coming out, and I just didn’t want to stick around and see how bad he could really get.”
Delia stood up. “You have breakfast yet?”
“No.” Danica shook her head, lifting it away from Dominic’s shoulder.
“Good, you can tell me what finally made you come to your senses over breakfast. I made chorizo and eggs. You know me. I always make too much, so there’s plenty.”
Turning to Dominic, Danica opened her eyes wide and smiled. “Ready for some papas? Chorizo!”
“Izo. Izo. Izo.”
“Let’s go!” They got up, and Danica took in Dominic from behind as he made himself to the dining room table. He’d been dragging one foot for years, but it appeared to be getting worse. Danica decided she’d wait until he wasn’t around to ask Delia about it. Technically, Dominic was their older brother, since he was older than both. But as each sister past his mental age, which was that of a roughly four-year-old child according to the doctors, he’d become their baby brother. It helped that the Down Syndrome stunted his growth. So, between him being dependent on them and his being a little shorty, they’d forever see him as their baby brother. It’s why Delia had felt compelled to go into the line of work she was in. She was the licensed children’s therapist and even had a whole set-up out back and in the family room for the clients who came over regularly. Danica had assisted her plenty of times, and she had a lifetime of experience with Dominic. She, along with Delia, had a huge hand in helping raise him. More than most sisters would. Their father had suffered a stroke at an early age and had become completely dependent on their mother. Thus, their mom had also had her hands full dealing with him. By then, Danica and her sister were old enough to step in and take over Dominic duty. But Danica didn’t care what