The After of Us (Judge Me Not #4)(48)

Lil loves orange juice, and I guess I’m hoping my thoughtfulness to include a big glass of the stuff might soften her up.

She rolls over on her back, but refuses to make eye contact. Instead, she stares up at the skylight in the ceiling. “I’m not going,” she states.

“Lily,” I say on a sigh. “If I go, you have to go.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Yes, you do.”

“No, no, no!” She starts kicking and thrashing about, and next thing I know the tray goes flying, leaving me covered in yolk and OJ.

“Lily, what the f—” I catch myself, and go instead with a stern, “You’re going to clean this mess up, little miss.”

Lily shoots me an expression that clearly states: Yeah, right.

In the end, she wins. I give in and clean the mess myself.

Fuck. I can’t discipline my daughter, I can’t make anyone happy, and I can’t do anything right.

Later that morning, when Lily asks if she can go next door to play with Sarah, I say in a defeated tone, “Yeah, sure, okay.”

Frankly, I’m mentally exhausted. It’s probably good for Lily to go play and forget about her rough morning, courtesy of my surprise announcement. However, I don’t take into account that my daughter is smart for five. She’s seen too much for her young age, and she’s not above doing whatever she has to in order to feel back in control.

I realize all this ten minutes later when Chase shows up at my place.

“What’s up, bro?” I ask as he walks in without knocking.

I initially assume he’s here to ask me to run to town with him, or some such shit where we can hang and shoot the breeze.

That assumption is blown out of the water when Chase levels me with a what-the-f*ck stare and asks, “What’s this I hear about you moving?”

Shit. Busted.





Will



I explain everything to Chase, and he sure as hell looks disappointed. Nonetheless, he doesn’t berate me or try to change my mind. I think he knows how hard this decision is for me.

I don’t know if it’s him I’m trying to convince, or myself, when I say, “I just want what’s ultimately best for Lily.”

Chase asks, “And you think monetary success fits that bill?”

It’s not a snide comment; he seems to genuinely want to know.

After thinking it over, I say, “I think part of being a good father is providing for your kid, yes. You do it, Chase. You work really hard to give your family a good life.”

“I try,” he replies. “But don’t forget, I have Kay. She’s always there to pick up the slack when I’m not around. And vice versa. We’re a team.” He sighs. “It’s a lot tougher on your own.”

His steely blue eyes pin me down, and I know he thinks Emma could be the one for me.

But, how will I ever know if I leave?

“Dude,” I say on a sigh. “Don’t do this to me. Not today, okay?”

Chase scrubs his hand down his face. “Okay, Will, okay.” And then he asks, “So, what’s next?”

I blow out a breath. “I have to meet with the head of advertising tomorrow. I guess I’ll leave in the morning. I gotta drive up to Chicago. This guy who wants to meet me will be there for a conference that starts Monday. The meeting’s just a formality, according to the recruiter. Guess the company just wants to make sure I don’t have three heads or something.”

“When would you start?” Chase asks quietly.

“Late next week, or the following. Though I’ll have to head up to New York and get settled in before that.”

“Just like you were planning to do back in June?”

“Yeah. Like then.”

Shit, I feel like I’m going backwards here.

“Does Mom still have that hotel room reserved for you?” Chase asks.

I nod once. “Yeah, I never canceled it.”

Realization dawns on my brother’s face. “You kept the room so she’d think you were in New York City, working at your new job, this whole time.”

I admit, “Yeah, I didn’t want to have to tell her why I was staying in Harmony Creek.”

Chase gives me a look. “She’s going to find out about Lily eventually, Will.”

“I know, man. But not yet, okay? She and Greg are still on that cruise. Just let Mom enjoy her time away, okay?”

“Sure. But she’ll be back any day now,” Chase reminds me.

“I’ll tell her, I promise. Just not with all this shit going on.”

Visions of our overly dramatic mom fill my thoughts, making me cringe.

“What is it?” Chase asks.

Running my hand through my hair, I reply, “I just know the first thing Mom’s going to want to do is meet Lily.”

“I’m sure she will,” my brother agrees.

“Which is fine,” I go on. “But only once things settle down. I have enough on my plate at the moment.”

“Hey, your secret’s safe with me.”

“Thanks, bro.”

I trust Chase implicitly. He’d never betray me. And really, truth be told, he’s been incredible since the day I first showed up at his doorstep with Lily. I tell him as much, and he gives me a bro-hug, patting me on the back real hard.