Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 92547 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92547 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Effie looked between us. “What do you have to talk about?”
Fuck if I know.
Katerina smiled. “Just adult stuff.”
“Okay.” Effie shrugged.
Maura flashed me a look. I knew she wasn’t a fan of Katerina, but I appreciated her being cordial for Effie’s sake. She put her hands on Effie’s shoulders. “Come on, honey. Help me clean up and then we can finish that puzzle we started before you have to leave.”
Katerina looked over at me. “Can we take a walk?”
I nodded, following her out of the house, my temperament a bit cold. This felt like déjà vu. I’d never forget Katerina coming to my apartment back in the day and asking me to take a walk before she told me she was pregnant with Effie.
“How have you been?” she asked as we started around Drew’s block.
“We’ve been fine.” I chose my words intentionally. There was no me without Effie. It would always be we.
“Effie told me you have a new friend.”
“Chloe is more than a friend,” I admitted.
“I figured that, considering how much Effie was talking about her. She’s living with you guys?”
“Just temporarily. She was in town taking care of her mom, who just died.”
“Effie mentioned that, too. I’m sorry to hear it.”
“Chloe is actually going back to Chicago tomorrow. That’s where she lives. But I’m hoping that’s just temporary.”
I wasn’t sure how much Effie had told her mother. I’d never told Katerina about my history with Chloe, so she’d probably assumed I’d only recently met my new friend, unless Effie had mentioned otherwise.
Katerina slowed her pace. “I fear I may have come back just in time if you were getting close to someone.”
Her words gave me pause. I slowed my pace. “What are you talking about?”
“I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching the past few months.” She inhaled sharply. “I don’t want to be away from my daughter anymore.”
I turned to her. “It’s taken you four years to come to that conclusion?”
“It’s taken me that long to get whatever that was out of my system.”
I rolled my eyes. “Where’s Xavier?”
“He and I broke up…a few months ago, actually.”
Well, that’s news to me. “So now, because he’s out of the picture, you care about your daughter?”
“I’ve always cared about Effie,” she protested. “I just didn’t know how to be the mother she needed because there was a lot I had to experience before I could settle down.”
“Well, unfortunately, parenting doesn’t work that way,” I spat. “It doesn’t wait for you to be ready.”
“I understand that. I…” She stumbled over her words. “In the few months I’ve been alone, I’ve talked to a therapist and spent time taking a good look at myself. She helped me see that I was just afraid of failure—not only when it came to my daughter, but when it came to my relationship with you. I never felt like I was good enough for you, Evan. I always worried you were only with me because of Effie. I became depressed, and when Xavier came along, he made me feel desired—for a while anyway. It brought me out of the depression, but at the cost of losing my family.”
I shook my head. “Where are you going with all of this?”
She stopped walking and faced me. “I’m ready now to earn back what I lost. I want to be here full time for Effie.” She sucked in a shaky breath. “My hope is that she’s still young enough that she’ll forget these four years I’ve been away, or at least that I can start replacing the bad memories with good ones.”
I huffed. “I can assure you she won’t ever forget that you left. But you’re not gonna hear me complain about you wanting to be part of your daughter’s life. It’s never too late. She will always need her mother, even if I’ve done everything I can to fill the void of you not being here. I’m never gonna fight you on coming back into her life.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that.” She started to tear up. “But I don’t just want to be part of her life, Evan. I want to be part of your life.”
Every muscle in my body tightened. “That’s insane, Kat.”
“I realize it seems that way right now. And I don’t expect you to warm to me overnight or anytime soon. But it’s my goal to get my family back someday. I need you to know that.”
“You realize how crazy that sounds, right? You can’t just disappear for four years, coming back only when it’s convenient for you, and then return one day and decide you want your family back.” I shook my head. “Things don’t just pick up where you left off.”
“I understand why you feel that way. Respect has to be earned.”
“You’re damn right, it does,” I scoffed.
“Anyway, I don’t expect you to have a positive reaction to this news right now. I just wanted to make you aware of my intentions. I fully expected you to resist and be skeptical.”