To Have It All(24)

“Why don’t you ask Waverly,” Matt replied snidely, not even looking at her, as he kissed Pim’s hand.

Closing my eyes to avoid rolling them, I let out a defeated sigh. “Hi, Alice. Yes, everything is fine. Matt and I are just having a little disagreement.”

“No,” Matt intervened. “Waverly has just lost her mind.”

“Matt,” I said calmly, remembering that although we disagreed about this, his concern only came from his love for Pim. “You are overreacting.”

“Did he sign the papers?” Again, he didn’t look at me.

I waited a moment, rinsing the pot in my hands before answering. “No.” I hadn’t actually asked again. I was worried sick all day about Pim and ditched my second class because I couldn’t stand the thought of leaving her with Max any longer, only to show up and find that it all went well and he had another woman there doting on my baby girl. A woman that was pregnant to boot. I guess I believed the baby wasn’t his, but only because he never denied Pim was his—he just refused to be a part of her life.

“So your plan didn’t work?” I could hear the I told you so in his voice.

Turning to him, I wiped my hands on a dishtowel. “No, but it will.”

A furrow formed between his brows and his mouth quirked up on one side—the famous pissed off look. “It will?” he asked, his tone serious.

“I’m taking her back tomorrow,” I answered, my decision to do this solid, but my voice definitely lacked the conviction I needed it to have at this moment. Standing, he lifted Pim from her high chair and kissed her face, not at all bothered by the carrots smeared all over her. Pim giggled as he kissed her, even though she was wincing a little from Matt’s facial scruff.

“I’m going to go give her a bath,” he stated curtly. He was pissed and was using Pim as a reason to leave the room.

“Matt,” Alice tried to intervene, to maybe step in as a mediator between us.

“Not now, Alice,” he warned. It wasn’t rude the way he said it, it was more of a give me some space tone. “Right now, it’s bath time.”

“You sure?” I asked, somewhat surprised. “I know you’ve had a long day.”

“I’m sure. We leave tomorrow for our trip, and I won’t get to see her for two weeks,” he mumbled as he walked out of the kitchen. I stared at the doorway after he left, an uneasy feeling settling over me. I hated to upset Matt. He was my rock. What unsettled me most, though, was the idea he might be right. What if this blew up in my face?

“Wanna clue me in?” Alice asked as she pulled out a chair and sat at the table. She’d been with Matt for five years and knew him as well as me, and she’d become more like a sister to me than just my brother’s girlfriend.

“Max wouldn’t sign the papers, so I decided to make him,” I explained simply as if that were explanation enough. I popped Pim’s tray off her highchair and took it back to the sink to wash.

“And how exactly do you plan to make him?” Alice queried.

“I showed up at his apartment and left Pim with him.”

“Waverly!” she gasped as if I were mad.

“Please don’t start,” I begged. “I get it. I do, but extreme times call for extreme measures.”

Going to the fridge, she grabbed a beer and returned to her seat. “Well . . . how did it go?”

This was hard to admit, but I had no choice. “Not exactly how I’d planned, but this will work. It will,” I defended.

“Are you prepared for the consequences if it doesn’t?” It was a fair question, even though I hated her for asking it. Truth was, I wasn’t sure. I hadn’t thought much about it beforehand because I was so sure Max would fold day one. Only he hadn’t.

“Yes,” I fibbed.

“Are you sure putting Pim in this situation is best for her?”

“Max is a gigantic asshole, but he would never hurt her,” I defended with annoyance. I got it, they thought it was bad for Pim, but did they believe I would ever put her in harm’s way? Max would never hurt her . . . not physically anyway. This I believed. As far as him being a selfish assface, Pim was young enough that she wouldn’t remember any of it.

Alice raised her hands in surrender. “Listen,” she began as she pulled her clip out and let her long black hair billow down. “You are one of the best mothers I know. I know you’d never put her in danger, but Waverly,” she sighed. “It’s not just her I’m worried about. It’s taken you years to get over what Max did to you, and you’ve been doing great. I just can’t help feeling like you’re putting yourself back in the lion’s den and taking Pim with you.”

Setting the tray I had just rinsed off on the counter to dry, I huffed. “Either I make Max sign the papers giving me Pimberly, or he stonewalls me for life. I have to feel like I have some control in this. I know all the sayings, don’t poke the bear or don’t wake a sleeping dog. I get it. You guys are worried I’ll provoke him to do something far worse than just being a deadbeat with rights to my daughter, but Alice,” I inhaled deeply, “It’s not fair.”

“No, it’s not,” she agreed. “But life isn’t always fair, Waverly.”

When I didn’t respond, she added, “Please, just be careful. I’ll talk to Matt.” Standing, she squeezed my shoulder then added, “But I’m drinking that bottle of Pinot in the fridge, and you owe me another.”