“I told you never to be a bully, but not to be bullied either. And if you see something that’s wrong, to tell the teacher.”
“Great advice. I’ll tell Easton the same.”
“You want me to talk to her?”
“Would you mind, Dad? It might be a good thing coming from a man.”
“I’d be happy to. I can stop by after work.”
I snapped my fingers. “That reminds me. I need to get a move on here. She gets out of school soon and if I don’t get out of here, I’ll be late.”
“Go. I’ll see you later.”
I grabbed my purse and was out the door. My first stop was to pick up Easton. The wait in line wasn’t bad before they walked her out to the car. She climbed into the back seat and one of the teachers’ assistants buckled her into the booster seat.
“Thanks. We’ll see you in the morning,” I said. Then to Easton, I asked, “How’s Mommy’s favorite girl?”
“Duh, I’m your only girl.” She grinned and I looked at her in the rearview mirror. Oh, my heart. She was so precious. She’d lost one of her front teeth and looked positively adorable.
“True, but you’re my very favorite in the whole wide world.”
“I know, because you love me this much.” Her arms spread wide as she said the words.
“That’s right. I love you that much and more. So how was school, peanut?”
Her head dipped as she said, “Okay.”
“Why was it just okay?”
She shrugged. I was driving so I couldn’t pay that much attention to her. I asked, “Was it Jeremy again?”
“He told me if I said anything to Ms. Leonard, everyone would hate me.”
Dammit. Where did these kids come up with this? He was only six. “Is that a fact? We’ll see about that,” I said under my breath. To her I added, “You know what? Mimi used to be a teacher. She was my first-grade teacher. And once when a boy was mean to me, she told me I was to tell her everything. And you guess what happened? The boy was punished. Easton, he’s trying to scare you and he’s not obeying the rules. Do you want me to come to school and talk to Ms. Leonard?”
Her tiny shoulders rose up. It broke my heart to see her so sad and I was enraged that some little punk would do this to my sweet girl. This was going to end tomorrow.
I parked the car and we walked hand-in-hand into the store. We began at the produce section and made our way around the store. When we arrived at the frozen foods, I decided some ice cream was in order for my little one, so I checked out the different kinds and made a selection of one I knew she’d love. As I turned to drop the carton into the cart, I glanced up. My gaze landed on the one person I never wanted to lay eyes on again. Then my heart jackhammered and crashed to the floor.
“English. What a nice surprise.”
He’d changed from the last time I’d seen him. “Stuart. What are you doing here?”
With a glint in his eye, he said, “I live here now. I moved home to take over the family business. Since Dad’s working for the governor now, someone had to take the reins.”
His dad was working for the governor? How had that happened? His dad was the biggest ass. Maybe that was how. Maybe Stuart had turned into an ass-kisser now too.
“Well, good for you. I have to get going.” I put my hands on the cart to get out of there.
“Wait. Who is this?” He was staring intently at Easton. Fuck me.
“None of your business.”
Ignoring my comment, he dropped down and held out a hand. “Hi, my name is Stuart. What’s yours?”
“I’m Easton Sheridan Bridges.” She shook his hand like an adult. She was a dead ringer for me—long curly blonde hair, with a nose and mouth exactly like mine. Only there was one exception. She had her father’s eyes. And as he stared at her, he knew without a doubt that she was his.
“You’re very pretty, Easton Sheridan… Bridges.” He stared holes through me as he said her last name.
“Thank you,” Easton said. “So are you.”
He rose to his feet as he laughed. Stuart was handsome again. He’d cleaned himself up. I’d give him that. He looked much better from this angle than from the floor as he’d beaten me silly. But he was still a girlfriend-abuser and that was a hard no for me. After the way he’d treated me, he was dead to me. “English, can we—?”
“No, I have to go.” I grabbed Easton’s hand and pushed the cart toward the checkout.
“He was very nice, Mommy,” Easton said.
“Uh-huh.”
Like glue, Stuart followed us out to the car and asked for my number. After I buckled Easton in, I told him, “Why? We have nothing to say to each other.”
“I disagree. She’s my daughter and don’t deny it. At least give me the chance to get to know her… no strings attached. She doesn’t have to know a thing. I promise.” As I wavered, he pressed his point further. “Please give me the chance to know my daughter. I’m begging, English.”
That was the deciding factor. I moved further away from the car. “Stuart, may I remind you of the night I told you I was pregnant and you beat me up? What in the world makes you think I would allow that?”
He spread his arms out. “I’ve changed, English. I’ve grown up. I admit, I was selfish and stupid back then. I’m not that man anymore. I’m not asking for anything other than a chance to get to know her. That’s it.”
Shaking my head, I said, “I don’t know. I have to think about it.”
“I understand.” He reached inside his suit coat and handed me a card. “Call me when you’ve reached a decision.”
The entire ride home, Easton questioned me about him. Who was he? How did I know him? Why didn’t I like him? Kids were so astute. How could she tell I didn’t care for him? But he acted differently and he sure looked good. Stuart had always been attractive, until he got a hold of alcohol. But today, he was downright hot. Wearing a suit made him look even hotter. He had dark hair and a day or two’s worth of scruff, but his hazel eyes, exactly like Easton’s, were what I’d loved so much about him.
I was still putting the groceries away when Dad arrived.
Easton ran up to him, yelling at the top of her lungs, “Boppy! Boppy!” He picked her up and swung her high in the air to a waterfall of giggles. “Where’s Mimi?”
“She’s busy at home. How was school today?”
“Good. Mommy and me saw a nice man named Stuart at the store.”
Dad frowned and turned toward me. “Is this true?”
“Yup,” was all I said as I finished putting everything away.
“That’s all you’re going to tell me?”
“Yup.” I glanced over to my daughter so he’d get the hint. He did.
“Easton, tell me about school.”
I was glad he’d changed the subject. She walked to the den and sat down. He followed and pulled her onto his lap. “Talk to me, peanut.”
With her head hanging, she said, “A boy is always mean to me.”
“What does he do?”
“He pulls my hair and pushes me so I fall down.”