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“And I’m sayingno,” he said through clenched teeth.
“I have a DNA test from when she was pregnant.” He waved a piece of paper around. “But I’ll do as many as I need to. And when he comes back as mine, I’ll be taking him.”
“You do know Cain is his guardian, right?” I asked. “You can’t just snatch him out of the home he knows.”
He turned to me and got into my space. “I do what I want,honey.”
This man was like Trevor, and I held a lot of anger for people like that. I felt like I was back in my apartment, getting trampled by the man I thought I would marry.
“She said not to call her that.” Cain grabbed Waldren and dragged him down the stairs. “And stay the fuck away from her.”
My heart pounded in my ears. I was used to him using that tone on me. Notforme.
“Get out of here,” I said.
“I’m owed my child.”
“You’re owed nothing. Come back with a fucking lawsuit. Then I’ll listen to you.”
“Oh, I will.” He sneered. “And I’ll make you fucking pay.” Waldren spun on his heel and stomped to his car.
When his car peeled out of the driveway, tires throwing rocks everywhere, I turned to Cain.
“Is he really Eric’s dad?”
“No. There’s no way he could come from a man like that.”
“Maybe you should find a lawyer.”
“He was just here to get a rise out of me.”
“But—”
“Mollie, leave it.”
“Seriously, Cain, this is?—”
Eric poked his head out of the truck, eyes wide and shiny. “Is it safe now?”
Cain rushed over to Eric, his voice soft and kind as he told him things were safe, and he would be fine. I watched the sight with an achy heart. I hoped they would be fine, but something in my gut told me this wasn’t over.
I gave Cain a wide berth for the night. I had a lot of work to do, and I knew he had a lot to do with Eric. I may have wanted to learn everything I could from him, but there were some things that he deserved privacy for.
As the day turned to night, my eyes burned, and I desperately needed a break. The house seemed quiet, so I snuck out the door and went outside.
In the city, I was used to seeing only the brightest stars in the sky. But I had remembered what it was like being on the farm and looking up. One of my favorite things to do as a child had been to sneak out past my bedtime and try to count all the stars.
I’d always thought I was sneaky, up until Papa Bennie brought me a glass of sweet tea and sat next to me.
The cicadas sang a tune, though quieter than they would in the height of summer. I sat on the front porch steps and looked up, getting lost in all the stars.
I didn’t have any constellations memorized, but I made my own. It was easy to get lost in how many white dots were visible in the darkened sky.
My stargazing was interrupted by the screen door opening.
I turned to see Cain in a T-shirt and sweatpants.
“Need to go to your truck?” I asked. “I can move.”