at me. “It is not a good job. You never fight. You never hit someone because they say mean things.”
I turned back around and started the car. I didn’t want to get in trouble with the kid.
“Mom, they were being really mean,” Jace argued. “Caitlyn was crying. You told me it was a nice thing when she stood up for me. I was only being her friend and sticking up for her.”
“But you hit him?” Saige asked incredulously.
“Only one time,” Jace said.
I chuckled but quickly stopped when Saige shot me a dirty look. “This is your fault. You did this.”
“What did I do?” I asked.
“You thought it would be funny to teach him how to fight. Violence isn’t funny. This would have never happened if you didn’t show him how to box. Now he thinks it’s a game.”
“I didn’t tell him to hit anyone,” I argued. “And I didn’t think it was funny. I was trying to help.”
“Mom, I didn’t hurt him,” Jace said. “It wasn’t a hard hit. He hit me harder.”
“What?” Saige gasped and quickly went from pissed to concerned. “Where? Are you okay?”
I looked in the mirror to check his face. I didn’t see any visible signs of injury. “I’m okay. He hit me two times.”
Saige stared straight out the window. “This is out of hand. I’m talking to the principal again on Monday. I’m done. This is going to stop.”
“I’m sorry,” Jace murmured.
“We’ll talk more later,” she snapped. “This wouldn’t have happened if you didn’t butt in. Jace threw the first punch and now he’s hurt.”
“He’s fine,” I said.
She glared at me. “You don’t know that! He shouldn’t have to be fine. If he wouldn’t have started the fight, he wouldn’t have gotten hit. What if he got seriously injured? What if the other kids jumped in and beat him up? Would it be fine then? I don’t know why men always have to talk with their fists. It solves nothing!”
I decided it was in my best interest not to talk. I kept my mouth shut the entire drive back to the office. Every once in a while, she would shoot off about something. Jace was exercising his right to remain silent as well. Saige was talking enough for all of us. I pulled to a stop next to her car.
“Can I come over?” I asked. “I’ll pick up some pizza.”
“No!” she practically shouted. “You are not coming over.”
“I only wanted to try and talk to him. I’ll explain violence isn’t always the first response.”
“I don’t need your help. Quit trying to act like your Jace’s father. I can handle this. Jace, come on. Get in the car.”
“Saige, I wasn’t—”
“You’ve done enough. Thanks for the ride.”
“Can I call tomorrow and see how things are going? We could go to lunch or maybe fishing. It’s supposed to be nice tomorrow.”
“No! Didn’t you hear me? This is done. You don’t get to play daddy with my kid. You don’t get to screw up my kid and then move on with your life. Just don’t.”
She slammed the door and got in her own car. I watched her speed away and knew I had stepped in it. She was pissed. I didn’t see it as a big deal, but clearly, she did.
It was a little playground scuffle. She had to know these things happened. Boys did this kind of thing. Her words stung a little, but I wasn’t going to let them bother me too much. She was pissed and worried about her son. She’d cool down and we could talk.
I thought what Jace did was admirable. He was sticking up for his friend. That was what a good boy did for his friend. I hoped Saige could calm down enough to see how good Jace was. She should be praising him for doing the right thing. A real man didn’t let a woman get treated like shit.
Although punching the kid first was probably not the best move. The kid was eight and was still learning how to solve his problems with words. That wasn’t exactly a crime. At least not in my opinion. But like she said, my opinion didn’t matter. He wasn’t my kid. I was just the fill-in while she searched for a suitable father.
That shouldn’t bother me, but it did. Neither of them was mine. There was nothing between us and it was pretty clear she didn’t want there to be.
“Fuck this. I need a drink.”
I didn’t feel like listening to Davin tell me what an