I kissed her forehead and hurried downstairs to find the keys, then dropped the van off and grabbed my Tesla.
In my haste to go back and check on Mia, I nearly forgot to stop at the house for a final run-through — but I remembered just as I was about to get on the highway and doubled back.
When I got there, there was a man a few inches shorter than me peeking through the windows. He had long, light brown hair and sunburned skin, and one look at him told me exactly who it was. He may not have looked much like his son at first glance, but I could still see enough of Rio in him to know exactly who he was.
It also made me happy that Mia stayed back.
I parked, then slowly got out and slammed the door loud enough to startle him. “Can I help you, Anthony?”
He looked completely taken aback as he sized me up, then glared at my car. “Do I know you?”
“Nah. No reason you should,” I said conversationally. “You mind telling me why you’re peeking through windows?”
“You the realtor or something? My family lives here ... or they did. Knew that bitch would take my kid away. Can you believe that shit?”
The amount of effort it took not to let the anger show on my face was nearly crippling. I took a single deep breath, then nodded once. “Yeah, actually. I can. I’m gonna warn you once not to talk about her like that. Why are you here? Do you genuinely want to be a part of his life?”
He seemed to catch up after my warning. “Ah, I see. So it’s Captain Save-a-Hoe? No wait, save two hoes. They both letting you hit?”
What in the living fuck did she see in him? Weirdly enough, I felt my anger vanish. I felt sorry for him more than anything. People like him never formed true attachments, they never understood respect or love or sacrifice. “Neither of them need saving, but that does have a nice ring to it. But listen, Anthony. It’s real simple. They don’t live here anymore. If you want to see Rio, that’s fine. Prove to the courts that you’re clean and you deserve it. Until then, you’ll respect her wishes and stay the hell away from her.”
“I don’t know who the fuck you think you are but whatever, man. You’re lucky that bitch isn’t worth shit, that kid was never mine anyway. Rio will always only be hers because she’s that type of chick. Have fun with that mess.” He stormed off, turning around as he backpedaled toward his car. “Make sure you don’t knock her up. She’ll kick your ass to the curb the second you make a damn mistake. You’ll always be last in her book to all them kids.”
“That’s the way it should be, Anthony. The kids should come first, always.” I wanted to hit him — to tackle him and slam his head into the pavement until he understood what a selfish, evil prick he was, but it wasn’t my place and he wasn’t worth it. “Come near them again without Mia’s permission and I’ll kill you.”
Well, I was close.
Anthony laughed, yelling something about how we’ll see about that and how I shouldn’t threaten a man who’s been to prison and then he sped off in his car. He didn’t give a shit about Rio or Mia, he only cared about himself.
And he also wasn’t the only one who’d been to jail.
I shook my head as I walked inside to make sure we got everything, then drove back home. Home, to Mia, Rio, Dinora, and her boys. Home, to the family that Anthony would never have. Home, to the people who made me want to be better ... and home, to the people that I’d always put first.
Anthony could make all the threats he wanted. I’d never let him hurt them, and I’d never let him matter.
He was the past.