Pierced Hearts (Southern Charmers 1)

She doesn’t move, daring me. So much like Connie. My heart breaks that she’s raising my daughter the way she is.

“Maya Elyse, give me your phone.”

She still doesn’t move.

I shake my head, knowing I’m about to ruin the life of a young girl who has been poisoned by her mother’s hatred. “Fine, you had your chance.” I pull out my own phone, log into our work account, and click on the link to her line.

She whips the phone out of her pocket and watches in horror. “What did you do?”

“I told you when you got that phone that it comes with responsibility. You had the chance to take responsibility and chose poorly. Now, you don’t have anything but calling service.”

“You erased everything!” she cries.

“Well, you saying that you saw me making a fool out of myself on social media means you were not abiding by our agreement.”

“Mom said it was okay.”

“That phone is owned and operated by Kendrick Construction. If your mom wants you on her line, take it up with her. She can pay for it.”

Her mouth snaps shut, and she knows she’s been beat. There is no way Connie is going to take on any extra expense.

“Now, do you want to talk reasonably about what’s happening with me?”

“I do,” Cole pipes in, looking bored with the whole outburst.

I give him a grateful grin and start again. “I’m seeing someone, and she means a lot to me. She knows all about you two. She’s a great woman, and I hope you will give her a chance.”

“She sure is pretty,” he pipes in, and I have to hide my amusement at my son.

“She isn’t anything like Mom.” Maya finally sounds like my girl.

“Darby has nothing to do with your mom.”

“Why can’t you like Mom again?” Her lips tremble.

“Baby,” I lower my voice and try to find the word to explain this, “your mom and I got the best gifts in the world when we had you, but we weren’t meant to be together.”

“Mom says you love this woman more than us, and we’re going to be a nuisance.”

“Well, she’s wrong. That’s why I wanted to tell you about Darby on my own terms. Maybe I should have pushed this conversation before I left town, but the timing didn’t seem right.”

“Darby is such a snazzy name.” Cole surprises me.

“Snazzy?”

“Mom and Maya watch those silly talent shows. I’m suffering through life with women.” He falls to the side dramatically, totally changing the mood of the conversation.

Maya starts to giggle, I find a smile, and Cole pretends to convulse on the countertop. It’s a good place to end this discussion, for now.

“Okay, talk done. Cole, I need you to get the grill ready.”

He scrambles away quickly, relieved to get away from the two of us. When he’s outside, I look at Maya, who is struggling.

“Maya, no one will ever replace you.”

She nods apprehensively.

“Come around here and help me start the salad.”

She comes around and, instead of going to the refrigerator, throws herself at me, her arms around my waist. “Daddy, I’m confused. Mom is mad.”

My mouth goes to her head, and I wrap my own arms around her shoulders. “You need to know I love you with all my heart. I’ll talk to your mom.”

She squeezes me and lets go. “Darby is a snazzy name,” she mumbles.

Chapter 18

Darby

“Sweetie, I’m not sure you’re in the state of mind to meet with her. Maybe you should give it a few days.” I cup Pierce’s cheek, running my thumb along his bottom lip.

“I’m rarely in the state of mind to deal with her, but it’s got to happen.”

When Pierce called last night after the kids were in bed, it was obvious something was wrong. He gave me a brief and vague version of what happened with Maya and Cole. I wanted to press for more details, but it didn’t feel right.

It wasn’t until he showed up at the bakery this afternoon that I knew how bad things were. One look at him told me he was struggling with his temper over Connie’s tricks. He took Runner out while I finished what I was doing, and when they returned, he pulled us to my small sofa and started to unload.

Now, I’m fighting my own anger issues.

“She gave my daughter permission to upload Instagram, then dropped hints on how to dig around. Maya’s a smart girl. She listened to her mom on the phone with Blaire, Googled you, and then did the research. Following your social presence, she got to Scottie’s page and saw the picture of us kissing. That was something Connie hadn’t seen, but Maya showed her.”

“Is that when she called me a floozy?”

“Somewhere in the tirade.”

“I’ll talk to Scottie and ask him to delete the shot.”

“Don’t,” he snaps. “I’m not living my life in hiding, Darby, and neither are you. Scottie has the right to post what he wants. Maya has no business on Instagram at her age.”