Want You Back - River Laurent Page 0,65

just to the B&B. Unlike you, I fulfil my commitments. I promised to take care of Kayden until Mrs. Horace comes back and that’s exactly what I’ll do.”

“You don’t have to, Alex. Kayden is my responsibility,” she said in a small voice.

I refused to let it get to me. I ignored the swell of a weird emotion in my chest.

“What would you like me to do? Write a letter and run away? Sorry, I don’t roll like that.” I finished dressing and stood over her. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

She sat up. “We need to talk, Alex.”

I shook my head. I had reached the end of my rope with Charlotte. There was nothing she could tell me that would make me contemplate opening my heart to her again.

“I don’t want to hear it.” I stalked out of her bedroom and her house.

I was a fool. Outside, I punched into the air. She thought I was an idiot but even idiots wised up after some time. Nausea rose up my throat as I visualized Charlotte with a guy who looked like my twin. She was sicker than I thought.

Charlotte

It was my favorite kind of summer evening, with a soft warm breeze blowing and the trees swaying gently in the wind. I should have been happy that it was Friday and I had the whole weekend free.

Instead, I dragged one foot in front of the other, dreading the moment when I would get home to Alex’s painfully polite welcome. Since he had walked out that evening after making love.

I’d known that walking out of our marriage would hurt him, badly, but I’d honestly believed that after he went back to New York and his family he would eventually get over me. My chest squeezed painfully when I remembered the bitterness in his voice. It hurt terribly to know that I had turned Alex into the angry man who had walked out of my house that evening.

It was easy to believe that I carried bad luck with me when I remembered the carefree young man Alex had been the day we met. I remembered his smiling open face. His excitement as he spoke about working at his father’s law firm. He rarely spoke about it and I wondered if he was happy there.

I rounded the corner and saw them at the front of the house and I slowed down to watch them. Alex was pushing Kayden on his tricycle in circles. They looked so serious and so alike and at that moment I knew that soon I needed to make a decision.

Maybe I would tell him when we went for Amy’s wedding. Cowardice, I knew. There, we would be surrounded by people and I wouldn’t have to face Alex’s anger. He was an awesome dad and he enjoyed teaching Kayden new things. He would feel cheated and betrayal but I hoped that when I explained all of it, he might be able to understand. Forgiveness that was something else.

“Hi,” I said and strolled towards them.

I tensed as I waited for Alex’s reaction.

He looked up and nodded at me politely as if I was his employer. And an unfriendly one at that. I bent down to kiss Kayden.

“Mama,” he said grinning. He gripped the tricycle handles tighter. “Bike.”

“And you’re riding it!” I said and clapped for him.

Kayden let go of the handles and clapped along. That cracked a smile from Alex who joined us in clapping and cheering.

“How was your day?” I asked.

“It was good. We had a ball, right buddy?”

“Ball,” Kayden said and scrambled off of the tricycle and waddled into the house in search of a ball.

We laughed and followed him.

“Coffee?” I asked when we entered the house.

“Why don’t I make the coffee and you can give Kayden his milk and see if he’ll nap,” he said. “I think I might have excited him too much with the tricycle.”

“It doesn’t matter. That smile on his face is worth a delayed nap.”

I washed my hands, prepared Kayden’s cup and managed to carry him and his ball to the couch. We settled down and within seconds of starting to drink his milk he was dozing and I had to keep jolting him awake to finish his milk.

Alex returned with the coffee as I was placing the empty cup on the table. He chuckled at the sight of Kayden falling asleep clutching his ball. “Do you want me to carry him to his crib?”

“Okay, thanks.”

He gently lifted Kayden from my arms and carried him to