One Last Time(58)

Fuck. My mouth hangs open as I turn to see Noah coming out of the kitchen in nothing but his boxers as he eats a piece of toast.

The bell rings again. “You going to get that?”

I shake my head. “My kids. They’re—” I look at my tank top and boy shorts and want to hide. They can’t see me like this. Finn may be ten, but he isn’t stupid. He knows his parents are divorced, and now to see me with another man . . . damn it. “Shit.”

“Your kids?” Noah asks.

“Yes,” I whisper and push him to the bedroom. “You have to hide in the closet or . . . I don’t know, go out the window. Damn him for just showing up.”

Once we get to the bedroom, I toss on a pair of pants, put a bra on, and try not to look like a hot mess, which I fail miserably at.

Noah stands there, looking at me.

“Umm.” I point to his lack of pants. “Clothes and then hide.”

“I’m not hiding.” He smiles.

“I don’t have time to argue, Noah. My kids aren’t ready to see me with another man, and . . .”

He walks toward me and then places his hands on my shoulders. “They’re your kids, Kristin. They’re who you are, and we don’t have to tell them anything, but I’d like to meet them.”

I’m so not ready for this. “Noah—”

“No, sweetheart. They’re your life, and I’m really hoping you’re a part of mine. Is it ideal? No, but I’m not hiding in a closet, and I’m not climbing out the window. It’ll be fine. We’re friends, and I’ll be here a lot the next few weeks for the feature, it isn’t a stretch.”

I huff as my phone starts to vibrate against the floor where it must’ve fallen. I can stand here and argue or stop delaying the inevitable. “Fine. Put pants on and stay in here until Scott leaves.”

Noah kisses my forehead and releases me.

Time to go face the firing squad.

I get to the front door, draw a deep breath, and give my best smile.

“Nice of you to open the door,” Scott grumbles as he thrusts Aubrey’s backpack at me.

How I ever loved this man is beyond me.

“Nice of you to drop them off on . . . oh, wait, you’re only eight hours early.”

Scott grabs the other bag sitting on the porch and tosses it in the entry. “They demanded to come home, and I have stuff to do, so I said fine.”

Why? I know they don’t have the most fun there, but they love their dad. For them to want to come home this early makes no sense. “You should’ve called. You’re supposed to have them until a certain time, and I’m not going to have you violate the custody agreement because you have stuff to do.”

Before he can respond, the kids are climbing the steps.

“Mommy!” Aubrey smiles and rushes toward me. “Did you have fun at Aunt Heather’s wedding?”

I scoop her up into my arms, loving how excited she is to see me. “I did!” I kiss her cheeks. “Did you miss me?”

“Yup.” She giggles, trying to push me away so she can talk. “I always miss you, Mommy.”

“I missed you, too.”

Finn walks in with a strange look on his face. I can’t tell if he’s angry or crying. “Finn?” I call out to him.

He doesn’t say a word, just walks to the couch without even a backward glance. I put Aubrey down, and she rushes back toward her room, probably to make sure I didn’t throw out her stuffed animals I hate so much.

I look back to Scott, who appears irritated as he stares at his son. “What happened?”

Scott glares at me. “You made us wait out here for fifteen fucking minutes, that’s what’s wrong.”

I start to laugh incredulously. “Yes, well, I doubt that’s his issue, but I’m glad you’re being so helpful in finding out what’s wrong with our son.”

The one thing I’ve learned is that he doesn’t actually like confrontation. When I kept quiet, he felt empowered. Now, I’m not afraid of him. There’s nothing he can do to hurt me. My kids are legally in my custody, I have a roof over my head, and he has to pay me or I can put him in jail.

“I don’t have time to stand here and argue.” He looks back to the car where I see Jillian in the front seat.

That took a lot less time than I thought it would. “Wouldn’t want you to keep Jillian waiting . . .”

Finn snorts. “Yeah, we wouldn’t want her to be upset.”

Okay, something happened, and I don’t care if he has plans, the kids come first. They have to be our priority. “Why are you angry, buddy? Did something happen that has you acting like this?”

“Ask him.” He points to Scott.

“Enough, Finn,” Scott snaps. “You’ve had an attitude for two days, and I’m tired of it.”

“Like you care,” he mumbles.

I look between them with a sinking feeling. Finn might be struggling, but this is a whole new level. “Finn?” I push.

“He doesn’t want to talk about it.” Scott crosses his arms over his chest.

“Scott!” Jillian yells through the rolled down window.

“One minute,” he tosses back to her. “I’ve got to get going.”