Frigid Affair(25)

I didn’t anticipate to threaten him, not unless I felt it was necessary to do so. I wasn’t a monster, however, this man held all the answers. He was also the only person who could take everything away from me. I would protect my child, even if it meant doing something drastic and inconceivable.

The moment we approached the house I saw the front porch light flicking on. I turned off the ignition and watched as the man who’d fathered my child stepped outside and met my gaze. He wasn’t wearing a coat, but simply crossed his arms as if he wasn’t bothered by the temperature.

I expected him to say something first, though it didn’t happen. With Christopher squirming in his snowsuit, I unfastened us and climbed off first. I peered down at my son; the little guy I couldn’t leave at the cabin alone while I figured this out. I hated him being with me. I hated knowing the man standing on the newly built porch could take the only thing left dear to my heart.

Once I picked him up and carried him almost to the porch, I stopped and addressed my reasoning for the visit. “I’m ready to listen, but it’s going to be on my terms. You stay away from my son, do you hear me?”

Jensen was no longer looking at me. He was staring into his own eyes. For a second I felt vulnerable, like I’d give in and beg him to be a part of our lives. It was desperate and out of line. I was already being irrational and he hadn’t even responded to my terms. “Are we clear?” I said adamantly.

“Come inside and get warm,” was all he said.

I followed behind him, remaining on high alert the entire time. He sat down in the great room, watching as I managed to sit Christopher down and start removing all his cold weather gear. Ava was sauntering around checking out the place, every once in a while shaking, her collar making a jingle sound.

The large size of the new family room took my breath away. I still couldn’t get over all the changes in design.

“What changed your mind?” He asked.

I held my son tightly and gathered a couple small toys out of the back pack I’d brought. He took a little truck and sat down on the floor in front of me while I removed my coat.

It was hard looking at Jensen. There were a lot of things I wanted to scream at him. He’d lied. He’d used me. He’d lied some more. Yet he’d given me the greatest gift. He gave me a miracle I never knew I needed.

“I know this is unconventional, Jensen, but it’s not like I could call a sitter.”

He kept watching Christopher, never taking his eyes off him as he replied. “When Eve mentioned her neighbor lived on top the mountain with her kid I thought maybe you moved away and someone else moved in. I’d come around sometime last year to explain myself, but you were nowhere to be found.”

“I had to move closer to town while I was pregnant. I couldn’t risk anything happening.”

“Smart.” He kept staring at my son. “He has my eyes.”

I nodded, a burning forming in both of mine. “I’m not here to talk to you about Christopher. I’m here to listen and to tell you I want you to leave us alone.”

He clapped his hands together and finally looked away. I could tell my words hurt him, though I didn’t care. Nothing was going to change my mind. He was a bad person, and I wanted him to steer clear of my child.

“You’re wrong about me, Amantha.”

“Oh really?” I laughed. “How could you even think anything you have to tell me will change my opinion? You are living in the house you set on fire and robbed. You’re a criminal, not to mention a liar. If that’s not bad enough you were married to the person who killed my family. You’re nothing but evil. That’s why I’m here. You will never take this boy from me. I don’t know why you came back, or what you thought you’d find, but I haven’t exactly been waiting around for your return. If anything, I’ve only grown more furious with the whole situation.”



“You have every right to assume I’m all those things. There was a time when I felt like I was the devil. God knows I would have made a deal with him if he could make all my troubles go away, but we both know that’s not the case.”

“Maybe you do,” I reminded him.

“Fair enough. You have a right to your opinion. First and foremost you need to know I’m not a criminal. You don’t have to be afraid of me, Amantha. If I wanted to harm you in any way I would have let you burn to death in the fire. I think you know that.”

“Do I? You and your friends stole things. You’re lucky I didn’t tell Eve who you really were.”

“Eve knows who I really am. It was you who I lied to, and only because I knew you wouldn’t let help you if you found out who I was and where I came from.”

“You’re damn right about that too. I wouldn’t have.”

“What’s done is done. You lived. You look like you’re doing well.”

“I don’t have a choice. Will you get to the point already? It’s getting dark soon and I don’t want to have to take a fifteen month old baby up that mountain at night.”

“I’m not a criminal,” he repeated. “I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I’ve made mistakes in my life, but I didn’t steal from your friends.”

“What about your friends? Doesn’t that make you an accomplice?”