The Will (Magdalene #1)(126)
Author: Kristen Ashley

She flinched from his blow but he didn’t give a f**k.

His boy was inside talking to the girl who broke his heart two weeks ago and he had to monitor that situation. And he had a conversation to have with his children. What he did not have was time to deal with his ex.

Before he could tell her to get gone, however, she spoke again.

“So Josie makes you happy?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he answered, “Now, listen—”

But it was then Donna cut him off in order to make a very bad mistake.

And this was saying, “She’s pretty, Jake, but she’s super weird.”

Oh no.

Fuck no.

“She’s weird?” Jake whispered.

“She talks funny and, well…acts funny. Is that really what you—?”

“It’s funny to you that she listens to your daughter, takes her shopping, buys her makeup, is interested in what Amber’s interested in and shows Amber she can trust her with pretty much everything she does so Amber actually trusts her?”

“I—”

“And it’s funny to you that when Conner had a pissed off dad in his face, Josie stood between him and that man, calmed the situation down, sorted it out and didn’t waste any time gettin’ Con off the hook for somethin’ he didn’t do in the first place?”

She shut her mouth and stared at him.

“Newsflash, Donna, that shit is not weird. What’s so weird it’s goddamned whacked is a woman who gives more of a shit about gettin’ off, pretending the men in her bed are the husband she had nearly two decades ago, so that woman has no time to be a mother to her children.”

That got him another flinch and he didn’t care about that one either.

He kept at her.

“Josie’s been more mother to them in the last month than you have in the last five years.”

Donna had something to say to that.

“That’s a terrible thing to say,” she whispered.

“It is. And the f**k of it is, every word is true,” Jake returned. “Proof of that is that your kids are inside this goddamned house and you’re not here to see them, you’re here to talk to me. You haven’t even asked about them. And before you think you can backtrack, I’ll give you the heads up, now’s not your time to have with them. Not with you comin’ over without them on your mind. Until you start thinkin’ of them, you got no access to them.”

Pain suffused her face and Jake didn’t care about that either.

He was done.

So he moved to get this scene done.

“I see you haven’t thought about shit in the last week. Or, if you have, you’ve been thinkin’ the wrong things. So I’ll give you more time to do that. In fact, take all the time you want. But don’t come back here. I don’t wanna talk to you. I don’t wanna see you. I can’t stop you from talkin’ to your kids so the only thing I can do is ask, please, God, if you try to sort shit out with them, do it smart, thinkin’ about them and not yourself. I don’t figure you got that in you so it’ll be me and Josie pickin’ up whatever pieces you leave behind. But still, I’m beggin’ you, try to find it in you to be a decent mom for once. For them. Now, that’s all I got to say. Get gone and don’t come back. Yeah?”

Her eyes welled up with tears and she whispered, “I don’t believe this is happening. I can’t believe you’re talking to me this way. Even if we’re over, Jake, this isn’t exactly nice.”

Christ.

What was the matter with her?

“It is and I am. Believe it. You do, finally, you’ll manage to extract your head out of your ass,” Jake returned, moved to the door, opened it, stepped through and closed it without looking back.

When he did, Ethan called out, “Dad! Your phone’s been ringin’!”

Jake moved to the doorway to the family room and replied, “Thanks, bud.”

His son didn’t even look away from the game as he said, “No probs.”

“Eath, we’re gonna have a family meeting in a minute so find a good place to pause,” Jake told him.

Ethan looked to him then and asked, “About what?”

“About Josie,” Jake answered

His son tipped his head to the side. “You marryin’ her?”

His son’s words put the shit he just endured from Donna out of his head, so he grinned but shook his head. “Not yet.”

Ethan’s face changed before he asked, “She okay?”

“Yeah, buddy,” Jake replied quietly.

His expression cleared and he kept up the interrogation. “She movin’ in?”

Jake stifled his laughter and said, “Not exactly. But I want her around more and gotta make sure you guys are cool with that.”

Ethan looked back to the game and announced, “I’m cool with it, just as long as she and Amber don’t gang up on us and make us watch Project Runway and crap like The Voice.” Ethan looked back to him. “So, seein’ as I’m cool with it, I don’t have to pause the game to go to the meeting. Right?”

Jake opened his mouth to reply but said nothing when he heard his phone ringing at the same time he heard the door to the living room open behind him.

“Find a place to pause, son,” he murmured distractedly, turned and looked down the hall to see a sobbing Ellie rushing through it, opening the front door and throwing herself out, slamming it behind her.

Conner then sauntered out of the room and stopped, his eyes to the front door.

Jake moved into the entryway.

Conner felt his presence and looked to his dad. His face didn’t say much except whatever that was was unpleasant but Jake was surprised that whatever set Ellie to running from the house crying, obviously it didn’t bother Con all that much.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

“Not for her,” Conner answered.

“You wanna tell me?” Jake went on.

Conner shrugged. “She wanted to get back together. Feels shit for not goin’ to bat for me. Talked to her folks. Talked ‘em into lettin’ her give me another chance. Another freaking chance.” He shook his head, looked to the door then back at his dad and finished, “It’s too late. She had her chance and blew it.”

Jake held his eyes, knowing this was Conner’s decision and not disagreeing that it was the right one, so he let it lie.

Then he said quietly, “She was in bad shape when she left.”