to be so difficult?”
“It’s a gift, really,” I answer as he stomps away.
He halts and looks over his shoulder, saying, “At least let me tell Hayes that we’re leaving. I have to pack a bag for the road trip.”
“I’m not taking you with me,” I taunt him.
He turns around, his eyes flaring with fury. I smile sweetly because this is one of my new favorite things to do with him. Upset him with nonsense and absurd technicalities.
“You can’t take the kids out of the state without my permission, so yes, you’ll tone down your attitude, and you’ll wait for me,” he presses. “I know you don’t give a shit if you live or die, but I do. At this point, your survivor’s guilt should be under control, don’t you think?”
“Are we back to trying to tell me how to feel?” I protest. “This isn’t about my mental issues. The trip is pretty straight forward, and I am an excellent driver.”
“What happens if Buster jumps out of the truck and you lose him?”
“That was a one-time thing,” I remind him. “He was a pup.”
“Well, forgive me if I worry about you and the dogs,” he snaps. “I’d die if anything happens to either one of you. So, could you please just this time listen to me and let me drive with you?”
“Fine,” I agree, because it’s clear that if I don’t, he’s going to drive right behind me, and I’m not that difficult.
Am I?
Maybe I should start looking more into my behavior. It’s okay to make his life miserable, but if we’re going to live together, I need to bring my attitude down a few levels, don’t I?
Chapter Twenty
Leyla
The transportation company I hired gives us their schedule before they leave. They promise to be in Baker’s Creek on Friday morning. As I requested, they are taking their time so the kids can rest. They give me the addresses and contact information of the two places where they’ll be boarding. One of them is just outside Portland.
Pierce takes his time rearranging his schedule. It is one of those cold mornings that make me want to get back in the car, but instead, I go inside the house. Buster and Daisy aren’t ready to be inside just yet. They have a long journey ahead of them. When we used to go up to the mountains, they were good, but longer trips aren’t their favorites.
Patience isn’t my strong suit when I have things to do. I try to compromise with Pierce and agree to let him drive me to Baker’s Creek. Let’s be honest, the man is a terrible backseat driver and won’t let me be at the wheel during this trip. So, I find things to keep me occupied, like folding the blankets and fixing the pillows on top of the couch. I assume Hayes used them last night.
Pierce should furnish at least one of the rooms upstairs. When we bought the house, we said we’d decide what to do with them later. For me, it was code for as the kids arrive, we will be using them. Now, I’m pretty sure it was code for we have no idea what to do with them. I take a seat and check my email.
“I should be out on the road already,” I complain ten minutes later, heading to the kitchen to search for a snack. There’s nothing. A six pack in the fridge and some dry food in the pantry.
“Did you forget the concept of grocery shopping?”
“I’m barely at home,” he says from somewhere in the house. “It doesn’t make sense to buy perishable food that will become some lab experiment or go into the trash can after its expiration date. Does it?”
I sigh and grab a granola bar. This man could live on cereal, granola bars, and chips and still look hot and trim.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart, I have to skip this one,” I hear him speak with someone. “Set up everything for next week. I’m looking forward to it. Uh-huh…”
I hate the way he laughs, and he’s too familiar with whoever is on the other line. He has another woman, doesn’t he?
“He should bring you along,” he continues, “Because you’re the only one who can control your damn boss, Sophia. We might kill him.”
There’s a big laugh, and that’s when I find him, in one of the empty bedrooms, packing while still on the phone. “Of course, you’d help us bury him. I shouldn’t be surprised that you’re, in fact, supporting our plan