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CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

ARTHUR

Relief slammed into me hard,and I cuddled Sophie close, tears pricking behind my eyes. “I’d really appreciate that.”

She rolled her eyes. She never liked it when I cried. “Well, she shouldn’t be rewarded for running away, so I think we should discuss it later. Sophie?”

I didn’t want to let her go, but Val had a point. I didn’t want Sophie to think she could do dangerous things like this just to get her way. I set her on her feet, squatting down in front of her so we were eye to eye. Squeezing her hands, I lifted my eyebrows at her.

“Your mom is right. Running away was not okay. I understand being upset and I promise we’ll be together soon. But for now, you need to go home with your mom and Lee.”

“But–”

“You are the light of my life, Sofía Grace. If something had happened to you, I wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself. You gave me and your mom a heart attack. So go home andcuddle your mom. Let her see that you’re safe and sound. She loves you just as much as I do, sweetheart. You need to give her time to settle.”

Sophie’s frown was deep and uncertain, but when she glanced back at Val and saw the hurt on her face, she nodded. “Okay, daddy. But you’ll get me after school on Friday, right?”

I held up my pinky, linking it with hers. “I promise. And you can call me whenever you want if you’re unsure.”

“Just no more stealing my phone,” Lee added, though his voice held no actual anger to it. He mostly looked amused. “If you asked, I would’ve let you call him anyway.”

When I frowned, he shook his head. “It’s nothing. Come on, Sophie. Let’s get your stuff. I’m sure your mom and dad want to talk for a minute.”

He held out his hand to her with calm patience. She gripped me in one last soul squeezing hug, and after an encouraging nod from me, she took Lee’s hand and went to gather her things from the playground.

Pushing to my feet, I watched her go before turning back to Val. She was watching too, her lips pressed into a flat line.

“I was always jealous of you. She loves you so much more than me. How long until she refuses to come back home?”

“She doesn't love me more, Val. She loves you just as much. But you need to let up a little. She’s just a kid and you hound her too much about studying. Of course she wants to come with me more. I let her play and breathe for a few days. If you want to be closer with her, then play with her. Hug her. You used to all the time when she was little.”

Her face tightened as she watched Lee help Sophie into the car. “I know. But then I noticed how smart she is. I want her to succeed. She’s going to do something great. Everyone sees that. Even your friend said so.”

She wrinkled her nose at the word friend, ignoring who he actually was to me, but didn’t mention her feelings on the matter again. I was glad for that. I had some serious apologies to make to Hendrix. He offered to leave to help me. When in truth, I needed to help myself. I shouldn’t have let him walk away. Even after I hurt him, he showed up for Sophie. And he kept me in the loop, even though we hadn’t spoken in a few days. He was a good man. I shouldn’t have to give him up just to appease Val.

“He’s… not a bad man. Your… friend.” She grimaced again before continuing. “He didn’t have to call me. He could’ve brought her to you and let me suffer for chasing her away. But he said he’d never do that. And he said…” She frowned at me. “He said he was staying away from you just so you could have Sophie back.”

Crossing my arms, I glared at her. “He was. I intend to change that. You don’t get to dictate who I spend time with anymore. Hendrix is a good man. He makes me happy. And he’s good with Sophie. You should get to know him before judging him.”

With the way she wrinkled her nose, I could tell she had no interest in doing that. But she didn't argue about it anymore.

“I’m good. As long as Sophie’s grades stay up and she’s not in any danger, you can be with who you want. I just… I just want her to be happy.”

There was a tinge of sadness in her tone and I could tell she regretted letting it get this far. For Sophie’s sake, I put my anger aside, putting my hand on Val’s arm.

“I know that. And so does she. You should spend time with her this week. No studying. Just being together. I’m sure she misses the way things used to be.”

Val sighed and nodded. She looked like she was going to walk away without another word, but she turned back to me, a deep frown on her face.

“Were you always…”

She gestured to me, but didn’t finish her sentence. I wanted to roll my eyes at her refusal to say the words, but I pushed past that and answered her honestly.

“Probably. I was curious for a long time. But then I married you and I was content with what we had. I wouldn’t take back our relationship. It got us Sophie.”

Her expression softened a little, and she nodded, walking away without another word. I didn’t feel like Val was going to accept my sexuality any time soon, but at least she was willing to talk openly about it. I had to take baby steps with her.

Letting out a long breath, I watched them drive away. The past few days had been a roller coaster, and I still felt the strain on my system. Things were on the mend with Val and I would see Sophie soon. But there was one person I hurt that I still had to apologize to.