The Rules of Dating(60)

I felt anger rising inside my body. It started in my toes, traveled up through my legs and torso, and settled in to heat my face.

“Colby, she’s going to wake Saylor. And then what?”

I still hadn’t moved. Not until my daughter padded out from her bedroom, rubbing her eyes. “Billie, were you just yelling?”

Billie immediately walked over and bent down to Saylor. “No, sweetheart. There’s someone outside. Umm…a woman got locked out of her apartment, so Daddy is going to go outside and help her.” She turned and gave me a look. “Right, Colby?”

I still didn’t respond. Billie shook her head at me and frowned, then lifted Saylor to her hip. “How about if I tell you another story while Daddy goes out and helps the woman?” She glanced back at me. “I have another one about the witch who flies away on her broom because the handsome prince turned out to be a frog after all…”

My daughter smiled, none the wiser. “I want to hear about the frog!”

“Okay. Let’s go, girlfriend.” She carried Saylor to the bedroom, stopping once more to look back and motion with her head toward the door, silently telling me to go deal with things.

The minute Saylor’s door shut, Maya started again.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

“I’m not leaving, Colby! So you might as well open the damn door before I wake up all the tenants in this building!”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. It did nothing to calm my nerves or quell my anger, yet what choice did I have? I did not want Saylor asking questions. I didn’t want her to see the woman’s face or hear her voice.

Maya straightened her posture when I stepped out into the hall. This woman really had some balls. I pulled the door shut behind me and folded my arms across my chest.

“What the fuck do you want?”

“I need your help.”

I bent my head back in maniacal laughter. “You need my help? That’s a good one. What about your fucking kid? Do you think she might’ve needed your help in the last four years? You’ve got a lot of balls showing up at our door and saying you need anything from me.”

Maya looked away. “I never planned to have a child. When I found out I was pregnant, I thought I could handle it. But I couldn’t. The child is better off without me.”

I leaned forward and put my face in hers. “Saylor. The child has a goddamned name. And you better believe she’s better off without a woman who thinks nothing of handing her flesh and blood off to a guy she’s only met once. You never even called to check on her, for Christ’s sake. Where the fuck have you been for four years? I had a private investigator search for you.”

“You are her father. Not a stranger.”

“So what? The Green River Serial Killer murdered forty-nine women. He had a child, too.” I shook my head. “Though right about now I’m starting to understand how someone can be a parent and murder a woman.”

Maya frowned. “I planned on coming back. I just needed a break, and I had no one to turn to. The baby wouldn’t stop crying, and I thought one night away would help. But one day led to two, and two led to a week. And then I started to get my life back.”

“How nice for you…”

She shook her head. “Listen, Colby. There’s a lot about me you don’t know. First of all, my name isn’t Raven. That was just my stage name.”

“Yes, I know. Raven wasn’t much help when the private investigator tried to find you, Maya Moreno.”

“Oh. Well, do you know I’m not here legally? I came on a summer visa from Ecuador when I was seventeen and never went back.”

“I knew that, too. Anything else you want to tell me about your life?” I shrugged, giving her no time to actually answer before continuing. “No? Good. It’s been great catching up, but why don’t you go back to wherever you came from and forget I exist? Enjoy the rest of your life as much as you have the last four years.” I turned and reached for the door handle, but Maya put a hand on my arm.

“Wait!”

I glared at her. “Don’t you goddamn touch me.”

Maya held up both hands. “Fine. I won’t. But I need a favor from you. I can see you’re upset right now. So why don’t we meet for coffee in the morning to talk after you’ve had some time to cool off? I can explain everything then.”

My face twisted. “I’m not meeting you for coffee.”

Maya raised her voice. “Listen, Colby. You’re going to have to get over your problem with me for the sake of our daughter.”

I spoke through gritted teeth. “My daughter.”

Maya sighed. “I didn’t want to do it like this.” She lifted a flap on her purse and pulled out a thick, manila envelope, holding it out to me.

I continued to glare at her with my arms folded across my chest, making no attempt to take it.

She rolled her eyes. “I’ll be at the coffee shop on the corner tomorrow morning by eight AM. If you’re not there…” She dropped the envelope to the ground between us. “I’ll be filing those papers at nine.”

***

I sat at the kitchen table with a bottle of whiskey and a now-empty glass, staring at the envelope. Billie walked out from Saylor’s room and quietly took the seat across from me.