He sat down across from me like we were two people happy to meet up for coffee, gently splaying his sport coat behind him. “I need a favor.”
“You want me to do a favor for you? Are you serious?”
He nodded as if this wasn’t the most outlandish conversation. “I want you to call your boyfriend off the road he’s going down. He acted poorly when it came to our business, and he needs to accept the consequences. End of story. I need Aston to accept all this.”
“You’ve gotta be fucking shitting me. First off, I barely know you. Oh, wait, I already said that,” I hissed as I leaned forward, my eyes narrowed on Peter Prescott. “I met you when I was a teen, and it sucked. You judged everything about me, and then you took away the one person I ever loved, the one person who made me believe life may be a little better for me. Later on, you came after Piper when she was a baby, and now you’ve terrorized her.” I continued to whisper when I wanted to scream.
“Look, Aston’s going to get what’s coming to him,” Peter said through gritted teeth. “There is no second chance for you two, and the sooner you realize that, the better.”
“I don’t know what Aston’s going to do, but I’m done with this whole scenario. I’m throwing in the towel.” I stood, talking loudly enough for a few people to notice. “What I do know is that I’m done talking with you.”
With bystanders’ eyes on us now, Peter acquiesced and nodded while he watched me walk away from him.
What was it with these Prescott men demanding what they wanted? Granted, Aston never meant to hurt people the way Peter did. Clearly, Peter meant to hurt Aston in some way with this drug allegation. I couldn’t help but think he was involved or at the center of it.
But why? Why else would he be threatening Aston?
By the time I ordered my coffee and was ready to go, Peter was gone. On my walk back to work, I decided to put all Prescott men out of my mind for forty-eight hours.
Slipping out my phone, I noticed three more texts from Aston asking if I saw his first text. I switched the phone to do not disturb and went to pick up my kids.
I needed a break from all of it.
Bexley
“Hey, sweetie,” I said to Piper when she jumped in the car. “How was your test?”
“Okay,” she said. “I’m glad it’s over. And guess what? I made the soccer team! They posted today.”
“Oh, wow, baby, that’s so awesome.”
Just then, we were interrupted by Tyler getting in the car. “What’s awesome?”
“Piper made the soccer team.”
“Great, can we go for ice cream? To celebrate, right, Piper?”
Memories of running into Aston at the ice cream shop filled my mind. “Maybe this weekend?”
Piper nodded, and Tyler whined.
Pulling away from the school, I told the kids I was going to get pizza for dinner, and their mood changed dramatically. It was mostly smiles and laughs all the way home. I wished my mood could improve at the mere mention of pizza.
“I need to call Dad,” Piper said as we walked into the house.
I didn’t know which dad she meant, and honestly, I didn’t want to ask for clarification.
“Can you give me his number?” Piper said, answering my unasked question, and I pulled out my phone.
“Sure.”
“I want to tell him about soccer. Maybe some good news will cheer him up.”
I pulled my thoughtful daughter in for a hug, smushing her to my chest, unable to look into her blue eyes, so reminiscent of his. She shouldn’t have to be such a grown-up.
“Here you go.” I handed her my phone and watched her press the call button.
“It’s me,” Piper said into the phone.
Of course Aston knew who it was. Even worse, he knew it wouldn’t be me.
“Yeah, Mom said when I get to high school, I can have my own phone.”
I shook my head. He was angling for her to get a phone. The man had been in jail twice in the last month, was wanted for drug trafficking, was in the middle of a divorce and trying to reconcile with me, getting to know his daughter, and now he was worried about buying phones?
“Tyler will be so mad.”
Oh, he will.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said. “I understand. You were mad.” She sat down on the floor, her back to the door, and continued to listen. “Yes, I know we shouldn’t do that.”
Aston talked for a moment, and then Piper spoke.
“I’m sorry that I called my other dad, Seth, you know? Today in school, I thought about it. I don’t think you would want him to know what happened. I’m really sorry.”
The air whooshed out of my lungs.
“You don’t have to do that,” I whispered to Piper.
She shook her head at me, her palm in the air, silencing my words with her version of talk to the hand. “It was wrong of me. But you know, I just met you, and I wasn’t sure what to do. And I’ve known my other dad all my life . . . Uh-huh . . . Uh-huh. Right. It was wrong, though.”
Whatever Aston said put her mind at ease, and she gave up on the apology.
“Well, I wanted to tell you I made the soccer team!”
A smile brightened Piper’s face, and I couldn’t help but think even ice cream wouldn’t have that effect.
“I thought you’d be happy to hear . . . Yeah, I worked really hard . . . Sure, when we get the schedule.”
There was a little more chitchat, and then Piper said, “Yep, she’s right here.”
Before I could protest, she shoved the phone at me and ran off, saying she was going to practice outside.
“Hey,” I said into the phone.
“Thanks
