“I don’t think it’s important now,” I muttered.
A deafening bang ripped through the air and I jumped before I realized it was a fist to the dashboard of the car.
“Don’t fucking tell me what’s important and what’s not,” he thundered.
His eyes bulged and angry veins formed across his forehead. I’d never seen him like that in the years we had been together. I cowered in fear.
“I want to go home,” I said, my voice trembling.
Then something happened. Alex slumped in his seat, like a balloon that had been popped. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you.” He covered his face with his hands.
Guilt flooded me. I shouldn’t have been frightened. Alex might have rejected me, but I’d brought that on myself. One thing was for sure, he would never hurt me.
He removed his hands from his face and turned the ignition key. “I’ll drop you home.”
Panic engulfed me. “No,” I said. “I’ll be fine.”
He stared at me, his expression unreadable. “Why? Will it upset Kayden? Just so you know, I don’t give a fuck if he gets angry or not. He stole my wife.”
I had no response to his outburst. I fastened my seatbelt. I wasn’t too worried about Alex seeing Kayden because he was next door with Mrs. Horace who watched him when I worked.
I’d have to go and pick him up first. What I was worried about was Alex finding out where I lived. But hopefully, he would be on his way back to New York soon.
“When are you leaving?” I asked him.
“I planned to stop briefly in Woodfield and be on my way but it’s late and I’ll spend the night and leave tomorrow morning. Any recommendations on where to spend the night?”
“Yes,” I said quickly. I’d have given him my right hand just to get him to go away. “There’s a small B&B in town that is pretty decent.” I gave him the directions to the B&B and my rented home.
I loved living on the Horace farm though it was no longer a working farm and only Mrs. Horace lived in the big house. She had had the barn converted into a cozy two-bedroom house and it worked out perfectly for the two of us.
Her husband had died years earlier and her only son had moved to West Virginia where his wife was from. By renting the house to me, she got an extra source of income but more importantly something to occupy her by taking care of Kayden.
She was more of a grandma to Kayden than a babysitter and although she spoiled him terribly, she loved him and we in turn loved her. She’d been a real treasure find when I’d needed help. She had even driven me to the hospital when my water broke.
“Here we are,” I said to Alex.
He looked at my home with interest. I was proud of it. I’d done a lot to make it homey, starting with a gorgeous garden that ran all the way round the house.
“Thank you,” I said, itching to get away.
“You’re welcome,” he said and then said, “Are you happy, Charlotte?”
I looked away as tears filled my eyes. How could I have been happy without him? Alex had been my whole world.
“Does Kayden make you happy?” he added, his voice harsh with pain.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and smiled. A genuine smile. I gave him a genuine answer. “He does. He makes me very happy.”
A flash of pain came to his eyes which in turn made my heart feel like it was tearing to pieces. Afraid I’d say something that I would regret, I quickly opened the car door.
“It was nice to see you.” I smiled as one would to someone who once was a dear friend but was now a stranger. “Have a safe journey tomorrow and I wish you all the best.”
He stared at me for a few seconds without responding. Then he nodded. “You too.”
I banged the door shut and walked up to the house. I stood at the front door and watched his car pull away, then disappear. Only then did I move, heading to Mrs. Horace’s house to fetch Kayden.
Alex
I’d had a restless night and when I woke up the following day, I realized that I wasn’t ready to go home. Seeing Charlotte had awakened all my intense feelings for her. I had hoped that I’d stopped loving her, but it seemed that my love had been hibernating. One look at her and it was all back.
The pain, the love, the desire, the horror.
I hated myself at that moment. What kind of a man was I? She had left me for another man, whom she now lived with and I still could not stay away. Okay, I would say goodbye and then drive away. Go home where I belonged.