Ben pulled his keys out of his pocket to open up the Aspen Building. The electrician would be back to finish the job inside the Columbine Building, and then Phil of Phil’s Electric was supposed to move on to the Aspen Building. Ben’s subcontracted plumbers were currently replacing the fifty-year-old water and sewage lines. The plumbers were a great group of guys he’d worked with for years. Greg, the owner, had no problem sticking with him after the divorce debacle. Phil’s Electric, on the other hand, were based over in Kebler, and Ben hadn’t worked with him before. So far, Ben thought Phil’s electrical skills were on par, but the man was hit and miss in the reliability department. Whether or not he showed up to work was completely dependent on the season. Skiing season led directly into fishing season, and Ben understood better than most that in Colorado, archery season was almost here and took precedence over most day jobs.
While he wagered the odds of Phil finishing the electrical job before hunting season started, Ben unlocked the deadbolt. The sound of an approaching vehicle caught his attention and he glanced down the alley. He half expected to see Greg, the plumber, but instead he stared at the familiar front end of his ex-wife’s SUV.
Ben didn’t know exactly what time it was, but if his daughter was in the car, he wanted to say good morning. That was the only reason he waited for Kinsey to park.
She shut off the motor but didn’t get out. Ben could see her staring at her phone, and he suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. The back windows of the SUV were tinted dark enough that he couldn’t see if Skyla was inside or not. Standing around trying to be patient wasn’t one of Ben’s strongest personality traits. He walked up to the car and Kinsey continued to ignore him. He opened the bottle of cherry flavored electrolytes and drank half of it before she opened the door.
“Where’s Skyla?”
“At school.”
“It’s early, isn’t it?” Ben said.
“She likes to eat breakfast with her friends before the morning bell.” Kinsey lifted her chin and wore her customary look of being ready for an argument based solely on the way Ben was breathing that morning.
This was news to Ben, and was one more jab at the open wound inside his chest that was labeled “Horrible Parent.” What else was new with his daughter that he didn’t know about? He would have to wait until this weekend’s visitation to find out. “I have work to do. Did you need something?” he asked. The faster he could get to the point, the better.
“I need to talk to you. Can we go inside?”
“No. Say your piece out here,” Ben said. He didn’t want to get comfortable with Kinsey. They were not friends. Nor would they ever be again. She’d lied in court to make him look bad. She’d accused him of doing things that she was guilty of. If she didn’t start talking soon, he was walking away.
“I’m moving and Skyla is coming with me.”
“The hell she is,” Ben said as alarm bells rang inside each and every one of his blood cells.
“Mario is being transferred to Anchorage. The job is too good to pass up. He asked me to go with him.”
“You should go. You should move as far away from Three Peaks as possible,” Ben said with so much calm certainty that Kinsey should have known it was time to climb back inside the car—the car Ben had bought and paid for—and driven away before things got ugly. “But you will not be taking my daughter to fucking Alaska.” He kept his voice steady, but his nerves were already on edge due to the topic of discussion.
When it came to fighting, Kinsey could never walk away and come back when the two of them had calmed down. And Ben had learned everything he knew about bickering and backstabbing from her.
“I’ll do whatever the hell I want. You should be thanking me for telling you in person. My lawyer thought I should send a letter.”
“What? How long have you been planning to take Skyla?”
Her gaze shifted, and she suddenly wouldn’t look at him. Oooh. Anger hummed close to the surface, but Ben held himself in check… for now. She was too easy to read. Kinsey had been planning this for a while. She’d spoken to her lawyer about this and who knew what else.
“I’m closing on the house in three weeks.”
“You sold our house!”
“My house,” she said, lips tightening as she threw him the defiant, bitch-with-her-broom-stuck-up-her-ass look once again.
Ben was about to walk away. He needed to call his lawyer, but Kinsey wasn’t finished. She never was.
“I sold my half of the construction company last month to Dick. You remember Dick, don’t you? The same man you sold everything you owned to, which was practically nothing after our divorce. He was more than happy to buy me out. Although he was pretty mad that I made him pay double what he paid you. How could you give away your business like that?” she asked as if there was something seriously wrong with him and she wasn’t the cause.
Ben wanted to scream that he’d done everything in his power to get away from her as quickly as possible, but instead he said nothing. Kinsey would have her say no matter what Ben said or did. He held onto the image of his girl. For Skyla, he wouldn’t act on impulse and do something regrettable.
“You’re just going to stand there? What is the matter with you? I’m so glad I met Mario. He is the man you will never be.” She was trying her best to make Ben respond, but he didn’t want to fall into her trap. He’d been in this same situation one too many times. Kinsey wanted him to react badly so she could blow her retelling out of proportion and make him look bad. The last thing Ben needed was fresh waves of gossip flooding through town.
“Do you even care that Skyla is moving away with me?” she asked.
“I already told you she isn’t moving. Our visitation agreement is in writing and court ordered.”
“The court won’t do anything to me. I am her mother. We’re moving in less than a month. You have a couple more weekends with Skyla and then we’re out of here. After we get settled, I’ll text you our new address.”
If Ben had his way, she would spontaneously combust on the spot. He held his ground and his tongue. His silence infuriated her.
As much as he tried to hold in the rage, she must have seen the impact of her words on his face. She narrowed her gaze, but there was pleasure in the tight-lipped smile she delivered before adding, “Don’t fuck with me over this, Ben, or I’ll take our daughter to the Alaskan wilderness and you’ll never see or hear from her again. Got it? You should be grateful I’m willing to stay in contact with you at all.”
Ben lowered his gaze and looked away from the hatred that oozed out of her icy blue eyes. How had he let things get so far with Kinsey? Her level of hatred for him was beyond anything he’d ever known before. They’d fallen so hard for one another as teenagers, but they’d grown exponentially farther apart.
“My lawyer will be in touch with yours. If you go against the visitation schedule again, I’ll have you arrested,” he said, feeling sad and weary for a life he never wanted but was now living.
Her palm met his cheek. She screeched, “How dare you threaten me? You would rather see me in jail than give me one ounce of happiness. I’m moving to Anchorage with my fiancé and you can’t stop me!” She hit him again and it stung.