I felt particularly relaxed after my yoga classes of the morning, ready to grab my baby girl from my dad and go home and bake some cookies with her to surprise Axel.
I got hung up at the studio when my Aunt Sigrid called, but I didn't mind spending extra time in the back room. It was just as relaxing as ever, with the scent of sandalwood permeating the air that day. If I hadn’t wanted children with every gear in my body, I’d have wanted a home that smelled like the essential oils of the yoga studio. Something minimalist, with only the furniture necessary to live in and nothing extra. "I'm glad to hear that he could turn the day around. I worried about you three all day," she said with a somber note to her voice. She'd never been fond of Chad, always said there was just something off about him and avoided him when spending time with the kids and I, but that didn't mean that she coul
dn't sympathize with the loss we felt when he died.
"It was okay, in the end. It kind of felt like it was exactly what we needed. That one last day to grieve before we really start moving forward. We've just been getting by, but they deserve better," I sighed. "I just don't know how to do better for them."
"You're doing great, sweetheart. You're the best mom I know, but Axel is coming to that age where he will need a male influence in his life. Have you considered getting back out there? Dating a bit and testing the waters?" I sipped my water to stall before I swallowed and answered, even if I knew it wasn't the response she wanted.
"He has a male influence. He has Dad."
"And your father is an amazing grandfather, Calla. But the three of you need someone in that house to be there all the time. They need a father figure, and I know it hurts you to hear that. They can't have their dad, but you could meet someone amazing and give them a great step-father. You just need to open yourself up to that first."
I sighed, glancing at the door and deciding it was time to go get my girl. I was so not ready for this conversation, even if I had been considering the necessity of it myself. "I'm not ready to date. Maybe I'll get there eventually, but for now I just want to focus on us." I grabbed my purse off the table as I stood, cutting off her protests when I continued, "I've got to go. I'm late to pick up Ines, but I'll call you in a couple days. Okay?"
"Yeah, sweetheart," she sighed, her disappointment and pity clear in every syllable of the words. "I'll talk to you soon."
"Love you," I said as I hung up the phone and shoved the phone into my purse.
Stepping out the front door, I turned my back to the street as I dug my keys out of my purse and shoved it into the deadbolt to lock the front door. I’d only barely pulled the key free when a voice made me jump so high, I thought I might hit the overhang. "Mrs. Latour?" a male voice said, and I spun to stare up at the man I recognized all too well for only having met him once.
I’d never been able to forget the day I met Mr. Lombardi. I suspected I never would, not with the way I still felt suspicious of the situation a year later.
"Mr. Lombardi?" I asked, confusion rising as I shook off my fright.
"I apologize. I didn't mean to startle you." There was concern written on his face, much like there had been previously when we'd met in the law office and he'd given me the news of the trust.
"It's alright." I smiled at him, feeling ridiculous for the continual way I felt on edge. Like the way I felt eyes on me wherever I went couldn't possibly be anything other than Chad's work buddies monitoring the kids and I to be sure we were safe. "Can I help you with something?"
He cleared his throat, straightening his shoulders to stand taller. "Your benefactor would like to meet you, if you would please come with me."
"He—what?" I gaped in confusion.
"He feels the timing is more appropriate now that it’s been a year and you are no longer in the throes of your grief." He gestured to the luxury town car parked in front of the studio.
"Now?" I asked incredulously. The audacity of the man to assume that I had nothing better to do than be summoned when it was convenient for him. I owed him an impressive deal of gratitude for the way he'd handled our expenses for the last year, but being called on made me feel like a dog that needed to be brought to heel. "I have to go get my daughter."
"Surely your father can watch her for an extra hour, Mrs. Latour." Mr. Lombardi smiled at me, raising a brow like he dared me to contradict him. I should have known that he would know where Ines went while I worked, given the fact that this mysterious benefactor paid our bills. I had a feeling he knew far more about me than I would feel comfortable with.
"I'm not comfortable riding in your car to some undisclosed location. I'm sorry if that's insulting, it's just—"
"That's alright. I would be more concerned if you got in the car. Would you like me to give you the address, and I can meet you there to make the introduction?"
I considered saying no and requesting he meet me at a location we arranged ahead of time, but the prospect of him turning away when I might finally get the answers I’d wanted for a year was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. I nodded, reassuring myself because of how accommodating he was. Serial killers didn't pay your bills for a year and then let you come with your own vehicle.
Right?
"That would be preferable, yes," I said in an attempt not to show the dark path my thoughts had taken. He slipped a card out of his pocket with a handwritten address on it and passed it to me.
"I'll see you in a little while, Mrs. Latour," he said with a slight smile before he strode for his town car. I went to the lot, dialing Dad to ask him to keep Ines for a bit longer as I went. It wasn't until I got in my car and pulled out that I realized Mr. Lombardi's town car was directly behind me and that he'd waited for me to leave.
I wasn't sure if that should feel reassuring.
But it didn't.
Nine
Ryker