“I couldn’t let Dad hurt him too.” Tears welled in her eyes. “Mom, I didn’t know what else to do.”
“Oh, honey. I struggled to make sense of it too. I didn’t think you kids knew what was going on. He never hit me when you were in the room and for that I’ll always be grateful. But in hindsight, I should have left earlier, I see that now.”
“You did what you thought was best at the time. I understand that, Mom. You did what you thought was best. I’m not a child. People talk about these things nowadays. We hear it, you know?”
April reached out and hooked a strand of hair behind her daughter’s ear. “You’re wise beyond your ears, Tilly, but I still wish you hadn’t been exposed to that.”
“It happened, but it’s over now. I’m glad we moved here and I’m trying to put it behind me because I know he can’t hurt us anymore. You should do the same, Mom. Live your life how you want to. Don’t let anyone hold you back.”
“I thought you were twelve, Tilly. When did you get to be so wise?”
Tilly reached over and hugged April. “Kids these days are exposed to the real world so much more than they used to be with technology and we have classes at school that teach us about what life is really like. Domestic violence, bullying, and what we can do about it. Nothing like being prepared for the future.”
“You’re growing up way too fast.”
Leo skipped up the path, no sign of his earlier bad mood showing.
“Leo, you need to learn to talk about things, not rush off in a temper.” It was hard to be mad at him after what she’d overheard.
He dropped his head for a second and then looked her in the eye, and grinned that impish look that melted her heart. “I had to talk to Drew. He’s a guy, Mom. He gets me.”
April shared a look with Tilly.
“Drew said to take us to school before you go to work ‘cause we missed the bus. It’s okay, he doesn’t mind. He won’t get angry with you, he told me so.” He ran past her into the house and came out with his backpack in his hand. “Hurry up or we won’t have time to play before the bell rings.”
* * *
Drew heard April come in the back door and waited until she was in her room before approaching her. He’d thought long and hard about what his father said and as much as he didn’t want to agree, he was right. Again.
He knocked on her door and walked in.
“I’m sorry I was late.”
“No, not a problem. That’s not why I’m here. We need to talk, April.”
She turned from him and her shoulders tensed. “I don’t think we have anything to say after last night.”
“I disagree, but that’s only my opinion. I hear that you’re always right because you’re a mom so I’ll be prepared to stand corrected if you can prove to me that I’m in the wrong.”
She made a strangled noise that could have been a suppressed giggle.
“I don’t know how much you heard this morning of my talk with Leo.”
April turned to him, and leaned back against the corner of her desk. “About that—”
Drew held up his hand. “Let me speak.” He sorted out the words in his mind. “Last night should never have happened. It was ill timed and sounded all wrong and I don’t blame you for being upset over it. I told you I wasn’t a retiring virgin. I had affairs but none of them were serious, at least not on my part, and I never went into a relationship without that being known up front.”
“I don’t care, Drew. You had a right to a life. That’s not the problem here.”
“I haven’t finished. I never ever promised more than I was prepared to give. At no point did I ever string anyone along. It was always a no strings attached kind of affair and that was the case with Trina. If she wants more, I can’t be held responsible for that. She’d been drinking last night and got carried away. I couldn’t let her drive home in that state and I’m sorry I had to leave you like that in the middle of dinner. Just for the record, I hadn’t seen her in weeks before you came home.”
“The point of this is not the girls you’ve dated, Drew. I should never have gone against my better instincts and agreed to try to rekindle our relationship. As you saw for yourself today, the children have issues that need to be dealt with first. They’re my priority, not my own happiness.” A swathe of pink tinged her cheeks as she spoke.
“So you admit I make you happy?” It felt ridiculous to be so buoyed up by her words when she was trying her best to tell him it was over.
“Please. Don’t twist my words. You were always good at that.” She huffed out a sigh, but he could see the sparkle in her eyes. It gave him hope. “Drew, I want to work here. I like the job, but I have things to deal with first.” April stared at him with a frown marring her forehead. “I had time to think it over last night. I was upset when I didn’t have the right to be, I get that now. I don’t have any reason to feel as though I own you. But it wouldn’t be fair to either of us to try and start something when it could all go wrong. I need the space to find out who I am and what I want before I start dating again.”
“We’re getting somewhere, finally!” He grinned, a ridiculous warmth settling in his stomach. She wasn’t as immune to him as she tried to make out. “April, about what Leo said. I didn’t know Rob hit
