Letting out a sigh of relief, she opened the door and looked down for the box she so desperately needed. But it wasn’t there. Instead, a familiar man peeled away from the wall beside her front door with a groan and wobbled onto the mat as he faced her.
“Hey, babe.” He looked her up and down, then gave her a glassy-eyed frown. “You look like shit.”
This was just one of the many reasons she’d stopped seeing Cash. She’d mistaken him for someone attractive, kind, and marriable for their first couple of months together. As soon as he’d proven unreliable and irresponsible, she’d dumped his ass. Unfortunately, she’d realized she was pregnant after that.
“What do you want, Cash?”
“Shouldn’t I get to meet my daughter?”
“I gave you chances, and you didn’t take me up on any of them. I don’t want you here when you’re drunk.”
“Drunk? I’ve had a couple but…I’m not drunk.”
“Your words are slurred and you smell like a distillery. You’re drunk. You should go.”
“What? No. I haven’t seen my daughter yet.” He directed his unsteady stare at Hallie. “Is this her?”
How many babies did the idiot think she was capable of having at once? “Yes.”
Something on his face softened. “Can I come in and hold her?”
She held back. “Where have you been? I haven’t seen or heard from you in two months. I called the day she was born. I called when I left the hospital. I called when I set a baptism date.”
“I know, babe. I’m sorry. If you’ll just let me in, I’ll explain.” He tried to step inside, staggered, and ended up pushing the door open as he lurched.
When Hallie started, Tessa guided him back onto the porch and blocked the entrance. Thankfully, the baby settled back down. “I already said I don’t want you here. You couldn’t be bothered to go with me to childbirth classes. You couldn’t be bothered to show up when Hallie was born or when I needed you after I came home from the hospital. You definitely haven’t bothered with child support.”
“C’mon, babe. You know too much responsibility freaks me out. And before the baby was born, you were beginning to look like the side of a barn. Big ol’ pregnant.” He made an exaggerated gesture, showing a rounded belly, and grimaced as if he found it all horribly distasteful.
Apparently, he didn’t grasp that he’d been the one to make her big ol’ pregnant. “It’s time for you to go, Cash. Next time you want to see Hallie, call first.”
“Aw, babe. Don’t do this. I’ve missed you. You’re getting your body back, and look at those tits.” He lifted his hands to her as if he had every intention of squeezing them.
She jumped behind the door and tried to slam it shut. His foot, wedged into the opening, kept her from closing the portal. “Don’t, Cash. Say goodbye and move your foot. We don’t have anything else to discuss tonight.”
“Fine. You don’t want me to touch your tits. Whatever. I just want to see you and hold the baby.”
“Maybe when you’re sober.” When he still didn’t budge, she tried to nudge his foot out of the doorway.
“Babe, c’mon. Ten minutes. I’ve missed you.” He swayed closer and leaned in, lips puckered. “I’ll make you feel good again…”
He hadn’t done a spectacular job the first time, and Tessa was done messing around with his drunk ass. She kicked his shin.
He cursed and hopped back, removing his foot from the threshold. Quickly, she slammed the door shut and locked it.
Predictably, he pounded on the door. “Don’t shut me out. I know I didn’t show up when I should have, but I’m here now. Doesn’t that mean anything?”
Nope. Whatever emotional capital he’d had by virtue of being the father of her child he’d pissed away by being absent when she’d needed him most. And she wasn’t about to rely on his good nature when he clearly had lost his in an alcohol haze. She reached for her phone. “Try being sober, respectful, and sincere. Make a child support payment or two. Then I’ll reconsider.”
“So you’re going to squeeze money out of me before I can see my own daughter. You know, my first impression of you was right. You’re a bitch.”
Tessa watched through the peephole as he missed the front step and stumbled to his hands and knees. Slowly, he straightened up, wobbled, then reached into his pocket and pulled out his car keys.
Shit, she couldn’t let him drive. He was a danger to himself and others.
She dialed 911 and reported the make and model of Cash’s ride. Since there was a police station about four blocks from her duplex, it wouldn’t take them long to get here. They’d undoubtedly find him in his vehicle, and at the foot-dragging rate he was moving now, probably before he could even pull away from the curb. She didn’t want to see him arrested or have to dig himself out of legal trouble, but he didn’t belong on her porch or on her property, where he could harass her. If he wanted to talk when he was sober, she might consider that.
To her shock, he stopped suddenly and whipped his head around, catching sight of a piece of siding that had come loose during last night’s crazy thunderstorm. She’d called her landlord to fix it. Tessa wasn’t shocked that, so far, he was a no-show.
Was Cash delusional enough to think he was going to prove what a good guy he was by fixing it for her?
Tessa rolled her eyes at that—until Cash picked up the board and swung at the window, which overlooked Hallie’s crib.
A scream slipped from her throat as glass shattered.
“That’s right. I’m not leaving without holding my daughter. Let me see her!”
He shocked her all over again by knocking more shards out of the casing, then clutching the sill and swinging a leg over like he intended to hop inside.
Thankfully, a pair of vehicles with flashing lights appeared at her curb, and an officer from each squad car hurtled from the vehicle and sprinted for Cash, hauling him away from the window before he could climb inside the house.
“You called the cops?” her ex shouted in accusation, like he was shocked she would do that to him.
It had to be the drink talking, because if he’d been sober, he would have known she would never put up with his crap.
She yanked the door open. “I don’t want you in the house and you shouldn’t be driving.”
“Cunt! I’ll be back…and you’ll be sorry.”
“That’s enough, buddy,” a cop snarled as he cuffed Cash. “You’re coming to the station.”
“What? No. Fuck that. Fuck you!” He struggled to no avail as one cop took him away. Another exited his vehicle to assist.
As the sounds of his struggles dimmed, Hallie stirred again, this time seeking food in her sleep. The cop remaining on her porch flashed her an understanding smile. “I’m Officer Mills, ma’am. My wife is breastfeeding our newborn, too. You need a few minutes?”
“I think so. She’s past due.”
“I can wait. Then I’ll need to ask you a few questions. Until then, I’ll go, um…help with him. You know this guy?”
“Ex-boyfriend.”
Mills nodded. “I’ll let the others know.”