Chapter Eight
Something was definitely wrong, yet Rhys couldn’t put his finger on what it was. Ever since the mall incident, he could feel Sadie withdraw from him. He’d told her several times, he didn’t believe she had intentionally taken the CD. She didn’t have a dishonest bone in her body—or did she?
As soon as that thought entered his head, he immediately shook it away. No, there was no way his sweet Sadie was capable of something like that. Yet, something had changed between them and it made him sad. Not even with his ex-wife had he felt this way for a woman: so madly in love that he felt as if his heart would stop beating without her. She was incredible and he wished there was a way he could express that to her, yet she was growing more distant toward him with each passing day.
“Daddy! Are you listening to me?” Carys waved her hand in front of his face.
Rhys blinked several times, before focusing on his daughter. She had been in the middle of telling him about something that had happened to her that day when he’d completely zoned out. “I’m sorry, darling. What were you saying?”
She rolled her eyes and flipped her hair over her shoulder, her annoyance evident. “When I was at the stables today, Sassafras was grumpy when I brushed her mane. She hasn’t been herself the last few times I visited. I think it’s because Buttercup’s owners sold her. Sassy misses her friend.”
One of his daughter’s passions was horses. She had two of them which he paid to have boarded at a local stable. Carys was good with the animals and took good care of them. She’d even convinced him to get a horse of his own, Sir Percival, a black Arabian. When he wasn’t busy, he and Carys would ride together, something she didn’t still mind doing with old Dad. “She’ll snap out of it eventually. Maybe she just needs some extra attention right now.”
“Maybe. You should come with me next time Daddy. I’m sure Sir Percival could use the exercise. We haven’t ridden together in months...not since…well, it would be fun.”
He raised a brow. “What were you about to say?”
She shrugged. “I mean we don’t spend as much time together as we used to since you started seeing Sadie. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you’re happy and all, but what about me? I’m still your daughter you know.”
His mouth formed an O. She’d never expressed these sentiments to him before. Sure it was nice doing things with his daughter, but as she got older, it was Carys who didn’t want to spend time with him. When she was a little girl, he remembered how she’d sit at his feet and color while he graded papers or did research for one of his books. She used to tell him everything, from who had cooties in school to which boy she had a crush on. There was a time when she wanted to go everywhere he went and there were times when they could sit in the same room without saying a word yet it was okay because the silent companionship was all they’d needed.
Now, she was either at the stables or in her room with her earbuds in texting on her phone or checking her social media. She no longer wanted to be seen at the mall with him because it was ‘embarrassing’ to be caught shopping with one’s parent.
When her friends were over, he felt as if he dropped into some foreign land. ‘Oh, My Gawd!’ was used in every other sentence. Carys and her friends fought over which guy had the most ‘swag’ and Rhys still wasn’t sure what the term ‘lit’ meant and whether it was something he should have grounded her for using. The words these kids used today were the weirdest thing.
And something that puzzled him, even more, was that fact that even when Carys and her friends were in the same room they spoke to each other through text. There would be times when he’d enter a room not understanding why three teenage girls were so quiet only to see each one of them holding their respective cell phones.
If anything he felt like he was on the outside looking in at his daughter’s life which signaled to him she was becoming more independent of him. It was one of the reasons why Sadie’s presence in his life had come at an opportune time. Rhys wasn’t really sure what to think about Carys revealing feelings of being left out. He loved his daughter and did long for the closeness they once shared.
“Come here, sweetheart.” He patted the arm of his reclining chair which was wide enough for her to sit on. When she took the seat, he grasped her hand. “Carys, I hope you know I love you very much. You’re my child and nothing will change that.”
“But you love Sadie don’t you?”
“Yes.” That was a no-brainer. He loved her with everything he had in him.
“More than me?”
He frowned. This wasn’t the line of questioning he ever thought he’d be on the receiving end of. “That’s an odd question. Why would you ask me something like that?”
She shrugged. “A simple yes or no would have sufficed, Dad. But I guess by the way you said that I have my answer.” When she made a move to get up, he tightened his grip on her hand.
“Now wait a minute young lady. I didn’t say I loved Sadie more than I love you.”
She lowered her head and squeezed her eyes shut. “You didn’t have to. Look, it's fine. I understand. Eventually, I’ll be off to college and you can forget my existence right?”
“That isn’t true, Carys. You’re my daughter and you’ll always be an important part of my life.”
When her gaze met his again, he noted the tears threatening to fall. “If you say so, Daddy.”
“Carys. Oh, baby.” Rhys stood up and pulled her into his embrace and stroked the back of her head and rocked her from side to side. “I love you. You’re my princess and nothing will change that.”
“But you admitted that you loved Sadie more than me.”
“I did no such thing. It’s semantics really. The kind of love I feel for her is different from the sort I have for you. But neither love can diminish the other. I really want you to like Sadie because she means a lot to me.”
“Do you think…you’ll marry her?”
Rhys would have been lying if he said he hadn’t already given it a lot of thought. Sadie was everything he wanted in a woman, but because his experience with women hadn’t always been good, he wanted to give them just a little more time. But definitely down the line, he could see himself popping the question to her and maybe even give Carys a little brother or sister. Just the thought of Sadie’s stomach round with his baby sent shudders of longing through his body. Instead of answering her directly, he took a different tactic. “And if I did, what do you think about it?”
She stiffened and sniffed. “Don’t get me wrong, Sadie is a nice lady and all but…never mind.” Carys shook her head.
He grasped her chin between his finger and thumb and raised her head. “What were you going to say? Tell me.”
“Well, sometimes…sometimes I think she doesn’t like me. Maybe she doesn’t mean it but she says some things like it would be better if I wasn’t around. Maybe I misunderstood or something, after all, she does seem nice and all. When you’re around she’s a lot nicer though.”
This was news to him. From his observations, Sadie had been trying really hard with Carys. This didn’t sound like something his Sadie would say. “I’m sure you misunderstood her.”
“I guess so, after all, she’s nothing like those other women you brought home. But then again you believed they were nice at one point too. I’m not saying Sadie is like that for sure, but I don’t want you to be hurt again, Daddy.”
Rhys kissed the top of her head before letting her go. “Sadie isn’t like that, Carys. Just give her a chance, okay? She’s really special to me. And just remember, nothing will ever change the way I feel about you. I’ll tell you what. We’ll spend the entire weekend together.”
Her eyes lit up. “Just you and me?”
“Yes. If you’d like.”
“Oh, I would but…I thought you had plans with Sadie.”
“I’m sure she won’t mind me wanting to spend some quality time with my daughter. She and I can go out another time.”
“Great! We’ll go to the movies and then we’ll go the stables and ride. It will be just like old times when it was you and me.” She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “I love you, Daddy.” Carys practically skipped out of the room from there.
Rhys collapsed in his chair, his stomach tied in knots. Had Sadie really said that to Carys? He wanted to believe she was different from his past mistakes, but coupled with her recent coldness, he was starting to wonder.
* * *
“Are you sure, you don’t want to join us for ice cream? I would love to have you along and so would Carys,” Rhys cajoled on the other end of the phone. His voice had the power to make her panties wet, but Sadie decided to remain firm. Besides, the mention of his evil troll spawn was enough to dissipate any amorous feelings she may have been experiencing.
“No thanks. As you said on Thursday night, you haven’t spent a lot of quality time with your daughter lately. I wouldn’t want to intrude on your special time.”
Lily, who was painting her toenails a few feet away from Sadie, rolled her eyes.
Sadie held up her finger to tell her sister she’d only be on the phone for a few more minutes. “Besides, my sister is visiting right now, so I can’t leave her.”
“So how about we bring over a couple cones for you and her. We’re not too far from your place right now.”
Releasing a sigh, she shook her head even though she knew he couldn’t see her. “Really, Rhys. It’s okay. We’ll see each other another time. I have to go, but enjoy the rest of your outing.”
“Now wait just a minute. You’re ending the conversation like that?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Rhys.”
“The hell you don’t. Something has been going on with you lately and I’m not sure what but this ice maiden act is wearing thin.”
She pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at it. What the hell? “Ice maiden act? Are you serious?”
He sighed. “Okay. That was a bit harsh, but something has been wrong between us lately, and I don’t know what it is and I wish you’d tell me. I thought you might actually like to join us. Silly of me for thinking you’d actually want to spend time with your boyfriend.”
It wasn’t the spending time with the boyfriend she objected to, it was being in the presence of an omnipotent evil and having to constantly be on her guard. She didn’t have the energy to deal with Carys’s snide and hurtful remarks nor did she have the energy to have this conversation when her spirits were already low. “I’m not sure why you would think I wouldn’t want to be with you considering we had plans this weekend. But you were the one who called me to say you needed to spend time with Carys and I’m fine with that. What I can’t understand is why you’re getting excited because I don’t want to come out with you for ice cream.”
“Because perhaps I’m beginning to suspect you have a problem with my daughter.”
Sadie froze. What had Carys done now? It wouldn’t surprise her if the Bride of Chucky was making mischief for her even when she wasn’t there. She just couldn’t win it seemed. “If that’s what you want to believe, I won’t try and change your mind. Look, I gotta go. Take care of yourself, Rhys.” She clicked off before he could respond.
Lily who’d been in mid-stroke, looked up from her task. “What the hell just happened?”
“I…I think Rhys and I just broke up.” She blinked hard to stop the flow of tears she knew were on the way, but they wouldn’t be denied. They swam down her cheeks. Could this day get any more shitty?
Lily was on her feet in a flash. “Oh, sweetheart.” She wrapped her arms around Sadie and rocked her as she cried like a baby. Lily was a sympathy crier and after a moment they were both crying. “That rat bastard.” she sniffed. “I bet it’s all the daughter of Damien’s fault. If you would have given me just five minutes alone in a room with her I would have checked that little bitch like a hockey player. I don’t care about child abuse laws. I am so not afraid to body slam a kid. I knew something was off with that girl the minute I saw her. With an uncle like hers, it’s no wonder she turned out so evil.”
Sadie leaned into her sister until she had no more tears to cry, and when she was done she had a splitting headache. This day couldn’t have been any worse. This was the weekend that Carys was supposed to be spending with a girlfriend and she was really looking forward to having Rhys come over and chill with her, to get their relationship back on the right footing. Things had been strained between them lately mainly because she was scared to do or say anything that would be perceived as bad against his daughter. When Carys was around it took a Herculean effort to bite her tongue. She’d never actively disliked anyone so much, and that was a feat considering how incredibly horrible Terrell’s baby’s mama—wife was.
When Rhys called to cancel, sighting that he needed to spend more time with Carys, she saw the writing on the wall. This was the beginning of the end. She knew she should have walked away the minute he said he had a daughter. Hadn’t she learned from the Terrell incident? Granted the problems were different this time around but they basically all boiled down to the same issue. His child interfered in their relationship. Once again someone was coming in the middle of a relationship that meant a great deal to her, but this time around, she wasn’t sure she had the will to fight.
Sadie never thought herself to be a selfish person, but maybe she was. She adored children but being with a single father complicated things when relationships were difficult enough as they were. Instead of sticking to her guns about not dating a man with children she fell for the first guy who came along with gorgeous green eyes and a killer smile. And now here she was where she’d been after Terrell had discarded her: heartbroken.
Breaking away from her sister, she walked over to her couch and plopped on the cushion. Lily took a seat next to her and put her head on Sadie’s shoulder. “It’s okay little sis. You didn’t need that jerk anyway. If he couldn’t see through that demon seed then who needs his ass.”
“Yeah,” Sadie said listlessly. Maybe her mother, who had called earlier that day, sending her spiraling further into a depression, was right. She wasn’t the kind of woman men settled down with. Something was wrong with her. There had to be.
“Although….”
“What?”
“It’s just… from the brief meeting we had, he seemed like a nice guy. Not an asshole like his brother. And from, what you’ve told me, he sounds like a pretty decent guy. He’s nothing like that jackass Terrell. And he’s pretty cute. Is he not worth fighting for?”
Sadie shrugged, not wanting to talk about this anymore. “What’s to fight for? It’s probably over anyway. Besides, it’s not like I can make him choose between me and his daughter because I’d be the loser in that battle every single time.”
“If only there was a way for him to see what a little hellion she is. I mean….hmm, you know I have a mini tape recorder. Use it the next time you’re alone. That way, when she says something foul you’ll have it on tape.”
“Lily, I appreciate the offer but I think we’re beyond that at this point. I doubt Rhys wants to talk to me ever again. And I’m not really sure I liked the way he came at me with that accusation. Sure I don’t like the little gremlin, but I never treated her anywhere near as bad as she’s treated me. I’ve put up with her for his sake and frankly, I’m tired of it. I need a break from this whole relationship thing.”
“Is this what you really want?” Lily rubbed the back of Sadie’s neck.
Was it? She wasn’t sure what she wanted to be quite honest but how much longer could she take this abuse? “I guess it is.”
“Well, then I have the perfect cure for you.”
“What?”
“Get your ass up, showered and dressed. We’re going out dancing and barhopping.”
“We’re too old for that.”
Lily snorted. “You’re only twenty-eight and I’m thirty-five. Neither one of us has their foot in the grave. Sheesh. Now you get your butt up before I drag you to the shower.”
There was no point in arguing with Lily once she got one of her ideas. With a sigh, Sadie got off the couch although she didn’t feel much like dancing.
* * *
Rhys tossed and turned in bed, wondering what the hell happened. Had he and Sadie broken up? He’d known something was going on, but what? He shouldn’t have accused her of not liking Carys, but he was so desperate to find out what the matter was, he asked the question that had been plaguing him since Carys had bought it up. And now he felt guilty as fuck. His stomach literally ached with worry. After hanging up with Sadie, he’d rejoined Carys in the restaurant where they’d had dinner. Carys expressed disappointment over Sadie’s refusal to join them and again he had to wonder why Sadie wouldn’t want to spend time with them together. In his mind, this was the woman he wanted to settle down with or at least he thought he did, so why not do things as the family he wanted to be.
As much as he tried he couldn’t enjoy the rest of his time with his daughter. And after a certain point, he just said fuck it. But later that night not able to take it anymore, Rhys broke down and called her. There was no answer on her landline or cell. Was she ignoring his call?
The thought killed him. Had he lost the love of his life? Even though he didn’t know why?
* * *
Sadie stumbled to her door the following afternoon, still slightly hungover but happier than she had been for a while. Lily knew exactly how to make her feel better. They’d gone out to a club and met four guys at a bachelor party who bought them drinks and danced with them for the rest of the night. When that club closed, they went to a different club and they danced until four in the morning. Afterwards, the six of them went to a 24-hour diner, ate and got a little rowdy. Sadie couldn’t remember when she’d had such a good time. She and Lily had even collected a couple phone numbers.
Afterwards, she crashed on Lily’s couch for a few hours and headed home. It was nearly two o’clock and she intended to sleep for the remainder of the day. A lazy Sunday was just what the doctor ordered.
After a long leisurely shower and slipping into an old ratty t-shirt that fell to her knees; she grabbed a light blanket, turned the air conditioner on blast, flipped the television to the Lifetime Movie Channel and lay on the couch. One of her favorite Lifetime Movies, She Woke Up Pregnant, happened to be on.
Bliss.
Halfway through the movie with her eyelids heavy from sleep, she heard the doorbell ring. Crap. She wasn’t expecting anyone and Lily had a key to let herself in. Grumbling she got up not caring what a mess she must have looked. When she looked out the peephole she groaned. What was Rhys doing here?
The second she opened the door, he pushed his way through and slammed the door behind him.
“This seems to be the only way we’ve been able to communicate lately,” he said gruffly before taking her in his arms and covering her mouth with a rough kiss.
She could always be mad at him later.