Asshole Husband

“Yes.”

“No fighting. No teasing. You listen in class and remember to always do the right thing,” she said.

“Yes, Mom.”

She hugged Benjamin. “I can do this. It’s easy. You’re his dad.” She pressed her lips together, and it looked like she wasn’t happy with the prospect of leaving him. “You’ve got to take him into class. They like you to read a book with your child. Benjamin’s book is in his bag. You’re sure you can handle this?”

“Piece of cake. Go, do your thing.” Part of the plan was in action now.

She needed him, and well, he was stepping up. This wasn’t exactly what he had in mind, but he was going to work with it because it was all he had right now.

Walking out of the house, he watched as Rachel climbed into the car. She gave them a wave as he was helping Benjamin into the car seat.

“You ready to do this thing?” he asked.

“Yes. Daddy’s taking me to school.” His son looked really happy and excited.

Climbing behind the wheel, he pulled out of the driveway and followed the directions Benjamin gave him, until he saw the marked signs for the school. Again, in his file on Rachel, he made sure Marcus was thorough and checked out the school she wanted their son to go to. It was a public school, not private. He made a note to have Marcus get him all the information on his wife growing up.

Five years ago, he’d not wanted to make anything complicated, and he’d settled on the present problems, so of course, he’d not taken the right time to really get to know the woman he’d be married to.

There weren’t many available parking spaces and as he climbed out and rounded the vehicle, he was aware of the gazes of the other parents. They weren’t late.

“So, Champ, are you going to tell me why your mom drops you off early when we’re not late?” he asked.

“She has to open shop early on a Monday when she had the weekend off. Miss Bernard wants a wedding dress in two months. She’s really pretty, and Mommy is the only one who can do it.”

“I think I’m going to be paying your mommy a visit today to make sure she eats something.”

Benjamin smiled up at him, took his hand, and together, they walked into the classroom. Women watched him, and men glared at him. He didn’t care. Sitting beside his son for nearly an hour, they read through two books before he had to leave. On the way out of the room, he was behind Ryan, the pompous single dad who thought he could weasel in on his woman.

“Monday mornings are always so hectic,” Ryan said.

It appeared they were parked beside each other. Oh, great.

“I was surprised to see you here. Rachel usually drops Benjamin off at morning school so she can get to work. She’s always so dedicated.”

Stood beside his car, he turned to look at Ryan. “I wasn’t joking around when I told you to leave my wife alone.”

“I know.”

“I’m here to stay, Ryan. She’s my wife, and the mother to my child.”

Ryan smiled at him. It seemed a lot of people were very happy to see him. Ryan’s smile though, held an edge of bitterness. He couldn’t blame the guy to a point. Out of nowhere he’d come back, and any plans Ryan had were now up in smoke.

“Our kids can still be friends, but if you think of taking Rachel from me, you better understand I will crush you,” Wolfe said.

“This coming from a man who hasn’t even been around. You think I didn’t see through the lies? I know who you are, Wolfe Montgomery. I wonder what the papers would think of your threats.” Ryan folded his arms across his chest, looking like he just hit the jackpot.

“The same thing the bank will think of you not paying your mortgage on time. You want to play with the sharks, Ryan, I’ll play. Remember though, one story about my and Rachel’s marriage, and your life will become miserable. You’ll wish you’d never even breathed my wife’s name by the time I’m through with you. It’s something you really ought to think about. I don’t joke around.”

“Neither am I,” Ryan said. “I’m the one who has been here for whenever Rachel’s needed me. Something she needed fixing, I’m there. Taking her to the doctor’s when she was sick, that was me. You think you can push me aside. I’ll wait for Rachel to decide what is good for her.”

“She already knows what is good for her, and it’s me. You think you’ve got a shot of winning my wife’s love, I’d love to see it. We’ve been together five years, and I don’t see her leaving me anytime soon.” He tried to forget about the tiny detail of her giving him divorce papers. It didn’t count.