“Okay, Mommy,” she whispered. “We can stop and buy some snacks.”
She was glad that sounded appealing to her daughter. She was just glad she hadn’t tried to tell her that they were leaving. It would not go over well.
She felt really bad about that. She really hated doing this to her daughter. But she felt like she had no choice. All the decisions she had made over the years had slowly been ground down over the last month. She could not stay in Anchorage and stick to any of her convictions.
They tiptoed to the front door, and she got it open and closed behind her. She started down the path toward the street and then froze. Tristan was standing there, leaning against a tree. Looking casual, as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
She knew the truth. She could feel his rage. She flinched and he let his shoulders drop, obviously trying to show with body language that he was relaxed. But he could not fool her.
“Out for a midnight stroll?” he asked with a lifted eyebrow.
“Hi, Daddy. Are you coming with us to swim?”
“Oh, is that what you’re doing? You’re going swimming?” He managed to keep all sarcasm from his voice.
“Yes, we are going swimming. You can come with us. Right, Mommy?”
Violet nodded. What else could she do?
“There are some things I need to talk to your mom about anyway, boring old adult stuff so I’ll talk to her while we watch you swim for a few minutes, and then I’ll join you.”
“Yay!” she shouted and bounced along in front of them. Violet tried to imagine what was going to happen next. But she had no frame of reference for it.
“How could you do this?” he asked, voice low. “After everything, how could you do this to me?” He pointed at Arabella. “How could you do it to her? Do you really believe that I don’t matter in her life?”
Violet was having a hard time getting her throat to work. Her mouth was dry, and her tongue didn't want to move either. “I know that you matter. That's not the point.”
How the hell had he known she was leaving? Her own pack would not have sold her out. They just would not have. She wanted to ask, but she didn't want to make him angrier. Not until she knew what he was going to do.
“You must think that I don't matter, or you wouldn't leave. You wouldn't leave without telling me.” He stopped abruptly.
She appreciated that he didn't say anything revealing in front of Arabella. It looked like it was taking every ounce of willpower he had.
“I know a lake with a slide,” he said. “Let's go there.”
Arabella took off happily, skipping all the way there. “Will you swim with me?” she asked.
“Yes. Give me a minute to talk to your mom and then I'll join you.” He got close to Violet and spoke into her ear. “I told you that we would not try to hold you here. I told you that you could come back and visit, or that I would come to you. I told you all these things. Have I not shown you that I mean them? What the hell is wrong with you?”
She flinched when he raised his voice. He took a step backward. “Christ, I’m not going to hit you.”
“I know. I didn't think you would.”
“Then answer me,” he said. “Tell me what the fuck is wrong with you.”