Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 28062 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 140(@200wpm)___ 112(@250wpm)___ 94(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 28062 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 140(@200wpm)___ 112(@250wpm)___ 94(@300wpm)
I grip the steering wheel tighter. More than anything, I want to turn around and fight for Tucker. I want to refuse to give him up, but I can’t do that to Ace. He deserves happiness, and I won’t stand in the way of it. Even if it destroys me in the process.
CHAPTER 17
TUCKER
“Karla, I’m telling you right now. I don’t want my son upset.”
“Our son,” she snarls.
I could argue that fact with her because she hasn’t been much of a mother. “Fine. Our son. Do not upset him.”
I move to the bottom of the steps. I’m barefoot and bare-chested, but I can’t do anything about it now. “Hey, buddy,” I call to Ace as he gets out of the car.
He bolts toward me. “Dad, was that Dolly that just left? I thought she was going to get pizza with us today.”
I ruffle his hair. He’s completely ignoring the fact that his mother is standing here, and I can’t say I blame him. “We will go see her later.” I gesture up the porch. “Your mom came to see you.”
Gina and Tom stop at the bottom of the stairs. “Hey, Karla,” Gina says. You can tell she’s happy to see her daughter. A part of me is angry because I know Gina is the reason that Karla is here, but another part of me gets it. If Karla wasn’t returning her calls, she did what she had to do to see her child.
I put a hand on Ace’s shoulder and take the overnight bag from Tom. “Ace and I are going to go inside and let the three of you talk.”
Surprisingly, Karla doesn’t make a scene, and Ace and I walk in the house. I want to lock the door and not have to deal with this drama, but I know I need to take care of this now. It needs to end today.
“Dad, what is she doing here?”
I squat down in front of my son, and then as if I just realized how big he’s gotten, I sit on the coffee table in front of him. “I’m not going to lie to you, son. She heard that Dolly and I are dating and—”
His eyes light up. “You and Dolly are dating?”
I nod. “Yeah. You okay with that?” He nods vigorously. “Right, well, no matter what, your mom is your mom, Ace. I want you to know that any time you want to see her, you can. I won’t ever keep you from her.”
He scrunches up his nose. “Okay.”
The front door slams, and Karla walks in. “Ace, come give me a hug.”
I watch as my son dutifully walks over to his mom and gives her a lackluster hug.
She peers down at him. “Now do you care if your dad and I have a private talk?”
Ace doesn’t hesitate at all. “Nope. Dad, I’m going to my room. Let me know when we’re going to get pizza.”
I look at the clock on the wall and chuckle. It’s nine o’clock in the morning, a little too early for pizza.
My smile drops when Karla moves in front of me. I jump to my feet, and when Karla advances toward me, I move to put the couch between us. “What do you want, Karla?”
She smiles. “You. I want you.”
When she reaches for me, I put my hands up to stop her. “That’s not going to happen.”
She rolls her eyes. “Tucker, you know we were good together.”
Stunned, I blurt out, “We had a one-night stand almost ten years ago.”
“Yeah, but…”
I don’t let her finish. “Forget it. I don’t know how else to say it but just say it. I don’t want to be with you.”
“But…” she starts. She’s getting mad, and when she gets mad, it gets ugly, but I can’t just stand by and let this go on any longer.
I cross my arms over my chest. “Karla, you signed your rights to Ace over to me. I let you see him because I want you and him to have a relationship, but all you do is hurt him. Over and over, you make promises and don’t keep them. You and I will not be together. Not now, not ever.”
She matches my stance. “You know, Dolly acts like a saint, but she’s not. She planned this the whole time.”
I want to tell her that she didn’t make Karla a bad mother. She didn’t force her to walk out on her son and just see him when she felt like it. But I can’t say that to her. “Do you want to spend some time with Ace before you go?”
She’s looking at me like I’m an evil person. “You really won’t give us a chance, will you?”
I shake my head. “No, there’s no us, Karla. There never was, and there never will be.”
She grabs her purse and lugs it up onto her shoulder. “Well, I’m leaving.”