Petal crossed her arms over her chest. “Get Jude to help.”
“He’s got a business to build. It’s going well, but it’s still new. And August is threatening to destroy it.”
She pursed her lips at me. “What does Jude say about all that?”
I set the mug of tea down, not feeling strong enough to keep holding it. “I don’t know. He was out when I got back. Cyrus didn’t seem worried, but he’s not from here. He doesn’t know August.”
She studied me for a minute. “Are you thinking of resigning?”
I shrugged.
“I hate you’re giving in to August. He’s a spoiled, selfish brat sometimes.”
“If I walk away from the job and Jude, it would
give him time to establish his business.” I said it mostly to myself, like I was talking myself into saving Jude’s business by acquiescing to August’s demands.
“What about you? What about Maya? You don’t think Jude is simply going to let you walk and take Maya with you? Not that he knows he’s her father. Regardless of Jude, that wouldn’t be fair to Maya.”
I shook my head, knowing Jude would likely make this harder. “He’ll be able to see Maya and spend time with her, but he and I…It’s best for everyone if I go back to working with August—”
“That’s bullshit, honey.”
“No.” I stood on shaky legs, but willing myself to be strong enough to do what needed to be done. “Maybe I can negotiate with August for more power and control, or recognition.”
Petal smirked. “He’ll see your coming back as a victory for him. He’ll give you lip service that’s it. You know it, April. You’re so close to breaking free. Maybe you can avoid Jude for a time, but don’t go back to August. You can stay with me. I’ll help you find another job.”
“I can’t afford to have August be against me, Petal.”
“He’s already against you, April. The minute he started dictating your life after your parents died, he was against you.”
“No.” As much as I was growing to really dislike my brother, I knew he wasn’t always against me. “It was so hard after my parents died. I don’t know what I would have done without August. I was so young. Pregnant. Alone—”
“Do I need to remind you that August made sure you only had him in your life? You wouldn’t have been alone if he hadn’t stopped Jude from knowing about Maya.”
I sighed. “Maybe that’s what all this is about. He’s keeping me close because without me and Maya, he has no one else.”
Petal pursed her lips. “So, sign him up for Tinder. It’s not your job to keep your brother from getting lonely.”
I gave a soft laugh.
Petal came over and put her hands on my shoulders, giving me a light shake. “Be strong, April. Don’t sacrifice the love of a good man, the chance to have the family you wanted, simply because August is an asshole.”
I sucked in a breath. “I don’t want to, Petal, but I don’t see any other choice.” Not if I wanted to protect Jude. I cared for him and I wanted him to succeed. I didn’t want to make that harder for him. So the best answer was to let him go.
23
Jude
When I arrived back at work, April wasn’t there. My gut clenched in concern that she’d done something stupid, like confronted August. When I checked with Cyrus, he said she took the rest of the day off. I texted her to make sure she was okay.
She indicated she was at Petal’s, which was a relief. Because I intended to fight for her and Maya, I knew I needed to get my head in the game at work. I couldn’t let August fuck things up for me and Cyrus, so I focused on the job for the rest of the day. We had clients, but weren’t yet at full capacity to make the business a success. At this point, I didn’t think building a successful business would change August’s mind about me and April, but the more solid the business was, the harder it would be for him to cause us problems. At least, that’s what I hoped.
When I finished, I messaged April again saying I wanted to see her and Maya. She responded that she and Maya were tired, so they were staying in and going to bed early. I stared at the text wondering what that meant. Did I take it at face value? Normally, I would, but today, things hadn’t been normal. She’d already started withdrawing from me after seeing August for brunch. Was this her way of easing out of my life. Fuck that!
I was on my way to Petal’s when I reconsidered. April was in between the proverbial rock and a hard place. I wanted her, but I also knew that she wasn’t going to walk away from August. If I was going to win her, I couldn’t play tug of war with him, using her and Maya as the rope. She’d been working on getting out from under him, and I’d made that harder. So perhaps my best move was to give her space. For her to stand up to August on her own without pressure from me.
That night I didn’t sleep well wondering if I’d made the wrong choice. She could take the time to build her personal power and tell August to take a hike, but it was just as possible that she’d decide it was better to tell me to take a hike. Of course, I’d never be truly gone. No one, not April, not August, not anyone would keep me from Maya.