Page 4 of Right the Wrongs (Broken Vows #5)

“Audrey dropped the baby off with Liam today. I doubt she even bothered to check and see if Liam was conscious. He wasn’t, by the way.

I found him lying in a toxic mixture of piss and vomit.

He’s lucky he didn’t choke on his own puke.

The baby had cried until she lost her voice.

She was sitting for God knows how long in a diaper filled with shit.

I think she’s dehydrated and I want to make sure she’s not going to have some kind of mutant diaper rash,” I fill him in.

There’s a long pause on his end. I know he’s still on the phone because of the ambient noises, cars on the street, birds in the trees, and the sound of the wind whistling across the phone. Then he exhales long and slow.

“What is it going to take for that fucking dumbass to get his shit together? Fuck!” There’s a crash of something, and though I don’t know exactly what, I can tell that Charlie kicked whatever got set closest to the door.

There’s always an empty case or pallet stacked up. Julio’s boyfriend, Matt, likes to repurpose the wood, so we always set them aside for him. From the sound of the crash, I think he’s going to need to wait a bit longer for a new supply.

“Do you need me to come there?” he asks after a moment.

That is what I intended to ask when I dialed the phone, but a different question comes to mind. “Would I be an absolute dick if I ask Wren to come here?”

He doesn’t immediately protest and tell me that I wouldn’t be an asshole for asking my pregnant wife to come to the hospital to help me take care of her ex’s affair baby.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” I grumble.

“What are you going to do, man? If Liam’s side bitch ran off, who is supposed to take care of the kid? Doesn’t she have grandparents or something?”

“I’m going to give you a second to let that sink in,” I tell him.

“Shit,” he says, drawing out the vowel. “Yeah, I guess you are the grandparent. I meant, though, that Audrey or whatever her name is, she has parents, right?”

The truth is, I know fuck all about the mother of my only grandchild. I know she betrayed Wren, and she’s a shitty mom. That’s about it. “Fuck man, she could have been hatched for all I know about her.”

Charlie snorts. “So she’s from the bitch hatchery. Get it?”

I groan. “Now is not the time for your poor attempt at dad jokes, dude. I need help with Wren.”

“Maybe the best thing that can happen to Natalie is for CPS to take her. Shit, the kid has a deadbeat for a mom and a drunk for a dad. Are you really going to try and saddle Wren with caring for her ex-husband’s baby while she’s becoming a mother for the first time?”

All good points. For once, I feel more lost talking to Charlie than being alone with my own thoughts.

There aren’t any words to really say all of the things going through my head, so I grunt instead.

I’m fully aware this habit of mine makes me sound like a caveman, but I really don’t give two shits what others think about me. At least not in this town.

“I don’t envy you. If you’re sure you don’t need me to come to the hospital, I need to get back inside and help Julio.”

We go through the usual goodbyes, and I hang up, wondering what the fuck I’m supposed to do.

I don’t have to wonder long, though. A light tap on my shoulder makes me turn around.

How I managed to forget that Wren’s aunt is a nurse and works in this hospital is a testament to how preoccupied I am with this cluster fuck I’m finding myself in.

“I know you didn’t ask me, but trust me, I give much better advice than Charlie. He might tell you to push Wren away for her own good,” Hattie says. I’m not sure why I think I’m picking up a bit of sadness or bitterness from her, but that is a mystery to solve some other time.

Come to think of it, when Charlie first figured out that I was seeing Wren, that is exactly what he encouraged me to do. After he saw how miserable I was when she did leave me, he snapped out of it and encouraged me to go and get my woman. I will never make the mistake of letting her go again.

“Okay, what is your advice?” I’m still walking on eggshells with Hattie. After all, I did show up at her house, whisked away her niece, and told her that she was pregnant with my child. It wasn’t my finest moment, so I’d really like for her not to think I’m just going to ruin Wren’s life.

“My niece is tough. I know you’re privy to some of her more vulnerable moments, but she came through those, mostly alone, too. As long as you stand with her, she can handle this. At the very least, you owe her a conversation.”

I nod my head. Holding up my phone, I tip it her way. “I think I have a call I need to make.”

“I’ll be here until midnight if either of you needs me. The front desk can page me. I’ll come find you if we aren’t too busy,” she promises and walks away.

I pause while I’m pulling up Wren’s number from my Favorites. This is going to suck. No matter how I spin it, this is just going to fucking drain us. Once again, my son is managing to wedge his way between us.