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Leo rustled again.
“He senses the tension between us.” Zoe adjusted the blanket over him. “Let’s leave him be.”
Mitch gazed at his son, then at his wife. “This conversation isn’t finished.”
* * *
ZOE CLOSED THE door behind her, waiting for the soft snick. Mitch had hobbled to the living room ahead of her. She took this time alone to center her thoughts and tamp down her frustration.
So Mitch was going to march into their lives and expect nothing had changed? That he had a right to make decisions affecting her son?
Yes. Her son. She’d given birth to him. Raised him. Protected him. Worried over every aspect of his life. Even if Mitch hadn’t been injured, she didn’t believe he’d have stuck around to help her. His track record spoke volumes.
Squaring her shoulders, she joined Mitch. He paced the room, his agitation evidenced by his clumsy gait. When he passed her, she saw that his face had gone even more pale, if that was possible. He rubbed his temple with his free hand while he leaned heavily on his cane with the other.
“Mitch, there’s nothing to discuss.”
“Really? I beg to differ.”
“You haven’t been a part of his life.”
“Not on purpose,” he said, his words clipped and angry.
She glimpsed the hurt on his face but held firm to her conviction. “I have to look out for his best interests.”
“And that includes keeping him from his father?” He made a turn, stumbled and reached out with the arm she noticed he kept tucked close to his body. He leaned over the couch to steady himself on the armrest. A small gasp escaped her, but his sharp look kept her from rushing to his aid.
“You aren’t in any condition to take care of a child.”
“Not now, but this condition won’t last forever.”
Maybe she should have felt sorry for his plight, but she wasn’t willing to barter the welfare of her child over her sympathy for a man who had left her too many times to count. Did that make her cold? No. It made her a mother.
“So you’re going to recover here? In Cypress Pointe?”
“Yes.” He tried to walk again, but ended up sinking into a nearby chair. His cheeks were red from exertion now. Zoe knew he was a proud man and pointing out his physical limitations would only make the situation more tense.
“And once the recovery is complete?”
He dropped his head into his hand. Remained silent for too long.
“Mitch? Your recovery?”
His head shot up and he winced. “What?”
“I asked about staying in Cypress Pointe while you recover.”
“Yes...that’s...ah...the plan.”
Unease slithered over her. “Are you okay?”
He rubbed his head. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Don’t worry? Mitch, you want to be part of Leo’s life. I have to look out for him.”
“And you honestly think I’d hurt him?”
“Not intentionally.”
He grimaced.
“Look at it from my point of view, Mitch. You aren’t yourself.”
“So you’d keep him away from me?”
“No, but I certainly can’t leave you alone with him until you’re stronger. He’s a bundle of energy right now.”
He opened his mouth, presumably to argue the point, then stopped.
She took a seat on the couch near him. Gentled her tone. “Mitch, I don’t mean to come across as the bad guy, but Leo is my responsibility. It’s not just you and me anymore. Our actions matter now.”
“I’m not going to make demands.”
“Sure feels like it.”
He blew out a breath. “We need to calmly hammer out some sort of...agreement, concerning our son.”
A shiver ran over her. She knew Mitch enough to know that when he set his mind on something, he didn’t give up. Mitch might be okay putting himself in harm’s way, but she never would be. And what if Mitch wanted to take Leo out of Cypress Pointe? She couldn’t entertain the idea.
“I don’t want us to be on opposite sides here, but things are different now,” she told him. “This is nothing like our old life.”
The defeat in his dark brown eyes nearly undid her, but she remained strong. For her son’s sake.
“This is a change of topic,” she said, “but do you have a doctor here?”
“I have a referral. I need to make an appointment.”
“That’s a step.” She hesitated. “We aren’t together, but I’ll try to work something out with you concerning Leo.”
The pain in his gaze made her pause. Emotional or physical? She couldn’t tell.
His shoulders sagged. Resignation seemed to deflate him. “Please call Wyatt and ask him to come pick me up. I’ll wait outside until he gets here.”
She rummaged through her purse to find her cell phone. Before she found Wyatt’s number and dialed it, Mitch said, “I will be a part of my son’s life, Zoe.”
His quiet, firm conviction made her fear that Mitch’s return from the dead could be the end of the quiet, stable life she’d built for herself and Leo.
Chapter Four (#u0e90e2ff-c19c-58c0-b7c7-b9ed57ff5b2d)
EARLY THE NEXT MORNING, Zoe paced the living room while Bethany sat on the floor with Leo, feeding him little round cereal oats. She’d turned it into a game, which Leo loved, if his bursts of laugher were any indication.
“Mitch is serious about being present in Leo’s life,” Zoe said.
“Are you surprised?” Bethany placed another O in Leo’s hand and clapped when he clumsily tossed it in his mouth. “This is a big shock for him.”
“Yes, but he’s never wanted to hang around Cypress Pointe before.” Which, when translated by Zoe, meant he hadn’t wanted to hang around her.
“He’s never had a child before.”
Zoe ran a hand through her short hair. “I can’t believe this whole thing is happening.”
“You’re going to have to deal with this whether you like it or not.”
“I know.” Zoe stopped and sank down to the carpet to join them, smoothing a lick of hair standing straight up on her son’s head. “I’m just not entirely sure how I feel about the sudden change.”
“Since I’m usually the outspoken one, I’m gonna say it.” Bethany placed a hand on Zoe’s arm. “No matter what happens with Mitch, you can handle it. When you set your mind on a task, you can accomplish anything. I’ve been telling you this our entire lives. Why do you think I pushed you to run for mayor?”
“Accomplish anything? I barely leave Cypress Pointe.”
“It’s not that you can’t. More like you won’t.”
Zoe absently rubbed the scar on her arm. The physical reminder of why she worked hard to make Cypress Pointe a safe place to live. “Why would you say that?”
“Because things in life happen.” Bethany nodded at Leo. “You have to be prepared.”
“I’m always prepared.”
“Okay, that may be true.” Bethany ran a finger over Leo’s hair. Nodded her head at Zoe’s arm. “But you have to stop blaming yourself.”
“Who else is there? It was my idea to go shopping. I ran us straight into danger.”
“It seemed like a good idea at the time. And in the end, we were safe.”
“Tell that to your parents.”
Bethany frowned. “It’s time they stopped treating you like some kind of evil person. You didn’t force me to go along with you the day of the robbery.”
Zoe could barely look at her friend. “No, but it still haunts me to this day.”
“Bad things happen everywhere, Zoe. We witnessed a bank robbery sixteen years ago. We survived.” Bethany sent her a probing look. “You’re going to have to deal with the phobia at some point in your life.”
Yes, Zoe knew that. She just didn’t want to face the truth.
“There’s going to come a time when Leo is going to want or need to leave Cypress Pointe. What will you do then?”
Zoe didn’t have an answer.
“It’s time, Zoe.”
She blew out a breath. Her doubts lingered.
“You’ll figure this out, my friend, because this little guy is going to force you to.” Bethany chucked Leo’s chin and cooed in baby speak. “Won’t she, buddy?”
Zoe laughed at her friend’s ease at doling out serious adult advice, then switching to sweet baby talk.
Bethany glanced up. “Face it, Zoe. Leo will get you to confront your fears in ways Mitch never could.”
In her eyes, Mitch had been in such a hurry to get away from her. Or had he just gotten tired of her refusing to do anything about those fears? It had been easier to blame him than consider she didn’t have the backbone to stare her demons straight in the face.
“When did you become so smart?”
“Since you gave me this beautiful godson. I get to spoil him and give him back to you.”
“Thanks so much.”
“You’re welcome.”
The evidence of spoiling lay scattered all over the carpet: toys in all shapes and sizes and brightly colored clothing. Bethany had gone out of her way to bring lots of goodies for Leo.
“You might be looking at this from the wrong angle,” Bethany said as she handed Leo a block.
“Do tell.”
“Embrace that Mitch is back. Help him recover. It’s not like that isn’t in your wheelhouse. You help everyone.”
“In my position as mayor.”
“Please, you’ve been coming up with ways to better people’s lives since we were kids. Always planning fund-raisers or donating time and energy to other organizations. Remember our first lemonade stand?”
Zoe chuckled. “If I recall, all the proceeds went to the animal shelter.”
“Sounds right. We were in our save-the-mutt phase.”
“You always went along with me.”
“Because you always had a compelling argument to do good. Who could resist?”
“We did make a good team.”
“Until Mitch came on the scene.”
Zoe held back a smile. More like Mitch had made a grand entrance into her life.
She’d been at the park, checking off names for a 5K run to support cancer research. The runners had lined up at the start line when all of a sudden a guy with long shaggy hair came careening through the crowd on a skateboard. He barely missed the runners, hopping off the board right in front of her table, stomping his foot on the edge to make the board fly up into his hands. With an unrepentant grin, he asked if it was too late to sign up. She was speechless, but had nodded. After the race, he sought her out and their relationship developed from there.
So long ago. Where had that young love gone?
“He does have a way of making a statement,” Bethany continued.
