Chapter Seventeen
Fed up with Victor’s lingering presence and tired of hearing his claim that the boys needed him around during their adjustment period, Joy hated herself for letting her ex win again. She wanted him gone more than she craved a decent night’s rest after four long nights of sleeping on Lorraine’s hardwood bedroom floor.
Why were the boys so attached to the creep anyway? Sure, the guy got mega bonus points for being the dad, but he wasn’t that good at it. He wasn’t dedicated like her father had been when she was their age, or Tristan for that matter. Victor was as self-centered as a cranky infant, with patience thinner than ice in August. Still the kids adored their dad and didn’t let him out of their sight longer than a cartoon episode, so what choice did she have other than to let him hang around until Felicity demanded he come home?
Since it rained nonstop for days, the disconnected family spent most of their time cooped up in the tiny bungalow with big Bruno who came over to act as a buffer. To entertain the boys, the five-some went bowling, to the movies, and the arcade.
Thankfully her ex never laid another lousy finger on her but just being around him was awkward and uncomfortable. Apparently attempted rape and harassment was as far as he was willing to go with Joy’s oversized cousin tagging along, camping out in the living room with Victor until the jerk agreed to move into a hotel for the remainder of his unwelcome visit.
“When are you planning on leaving, Victor?” Joy asked straight out more than once. “Don’t you have to get home to Felicity?”
Victor continued to avoid answering the question, which worried Joy. Not so much at first, but as the days dragged on. The man didn’t seem concerned one iota his fiancée could give birth any moment. He eventually promised to depart on Monday morning, which brought Joy some relief but there was no sense getting her hopes up until he was thirty-five thousand feet in the air. He might be okay with ignoring his obligations, however Joy couldn’t neglect the Christmas Shoppe much longer.
If she didn’t reopen the store for the busy weekend, she risked losing Lorraine’s trust and worried leaving the boys with their father may undo all the progress she made so far. Thankfully Sophia offered to entertain the children for the day as part of her grandmotherly tour of duty.
One thing that might improve Joy’s mood and settle her rattled nerves was seeing Tristan, if only to apologize in person for disrespecting him in front of her ex. She hadn’t the nerve to call him after all these days, not because she didn’t want to, but because if she did no doubt she’d break down and she needed to keep her guard up with Victor around. However they exchanged a few brief texts.
—How’s it going?—Tristan wrote.
—So far, so good.—Joy responded—Doing the mom thing. I’ll speak to you soon when things settle down. Miss you.—
—Me too xo—
Joy left the electronic conversation on a high note, figuring anything more would only make things worse.
After ringing and wrapping up dozens of souvenir Scenic View snowflake ornaments for day trippers en route to the vineyards for Friday night fireworks, Joy saw a break in the action around lunchtime. She finally had a chance to breathe when Tristan strolled into the shop carrying two Styrofoam cups. She couldn’t speak let alone fight the smile stretching wider than the Long Island Sound. Throwing herself into his arms crossed her mind, but she kept her cool knowing if she got too emotional she’d turn into a puddle. “Hi there.”
“Hi, yourself.” Tristan ambled over, set down the coffee cups, and leaned his elbow on the countertop. “What’s the story, Joy? Your ex is in town, so you’re gonna pretend I don’t exist?”
There was no sense acting like he wasn’t right, so she buried her nose in some paperwork to hide her long-lost lust starving for his affection. “I’m sorry. Don’t take it personally. I just have a lot going on.”
“What about your dog? I’m a man—I can handle being ignored. But Rex misses you like crazy.”
His words were a jagged knife in her heart making her feel even worse for neglecting her beloved pet on top of everything else but the pup was in the best possible hands. “How is he?”
“Alive. And a little depressed. He’s not the only one. Nicole misses you too.” Tristan glanced around the place avoiding eye contact as if the closeness was too much to bear. “But I don’t think anyone misses you as much as me.”
“It’s just things are really complicated right now.”
“You don’t have to tell me, sunshine. I can figure it out by the way you threw me outta Lorraine’s house.”
“About that…”
Tristan put up his palm. “No need to explain. I listened to the audio file.”
“That was private,” Joy shrieked. “Lily shouldn’t have shared it with you.”
“Don’t blame her. She was at my place with Nick watching Nicole so I could go look for you. I was next to her when she got the message. She didn’t volunteer it. I snatched it from her hand.” Tristan whipped out his cellphone, pressed a few buttons, and replayed it, fast-forwarding through selected parts.
Joy didn’t recall saying the words, but the voice was undeniably hers: “Come on, Victor. The last thing I want is to lose my boys. I’ll do anything you want. It’s not like we’ve never done this before.” Tears streamed down her cheeks and landed on the glass countertop.
“Don’t cry. I didn’t play it to upset you. I haven’t stopped listening to it since that night. I just gotta know…did you?”
“Sleep with him?” She swiped her nose, shook her head, rolled her eyes. “Of course not. But I would’ve if I had to. Luckily Bruno’s been sticking by my side whenever Victor’s around.”
“Are you all staying at Lorraine’s?”
“Victor’s been sleeping on the couch, but he finally went over to the Scenic View Inn this morning. Bruno’s been sleeping in a chair. I put the boys in Lorraine’s bed. And I’ve been sleeping on the floor.”
“Well, I hope you’re ready to quit roughin’ it.” His gazillion-watt smile was brighter than the sun. “I came to tell you the house is ready for you. I still have a few final touches I was hoping to get done before you moved in. But it’ll give me peace of mind having you next door. I can work around you and the boys.” He winked.
Joy shook her head. “I’m not bringing the boys over until Victor is gone. I don’t want him around when we get settled in. I don’t want him knowing my business. Besides he’s bound to recognize you a side-yard away. I’d rather wait until he leaves.”
“When’s that gonna be?”
“He says Monday, maybe Tuesday, but I’ll believe it when I see it.” Joy shrugged.
The jingle bell on the shop door indicated a customer, but it wasn’t.
It was Victor.
“Well, well, well. He really does work here, huh?”
Joy’s eyes darted from Victor to Tristan back to Victor. “He’s just picking up his paycheck,” she lied. She fingered the stack of paperwork and pulled out an empty envelope and handed it to Tristan. “Here ya go.”
“Uhh, thanks, boss.”
Victor slid a dirty look toward Tristan as he whispered to Joy, “I gotta talk to you.”
“Bye, Tristan. Have a nice weekend.” Joy widened her eyes and nodded toward the front door.
“I almost forgot…” Tristan smacked his palm on the counter. “I left my keys in the stockroom. Lemme grab ’em, then I’ll just slip out the back, Jack. Thank God it’s Friday. I’m gonna blow this baby down at Mr. Lucky’s Pub tonight.” Tristan waved his imaginary paycheck as he swerved around Victor to get behind the counter. “Why don’t you lovebirds meet me for wings and beers? I’m buying.”
Victor stared beyond Joy at the swinging doors of the stockroom, pointing his finger in Tristan’s direction with confusion twisting his face. “Is that guy for real?”
“He’s just being nice after what happened the other night.”
The back doorbell jingled twice before slamming shut, and Joy’s heart sank.
Victor grabbed Joy by the forearm so hard the edge of the countertop dug into her belly. “Where are the boys?”
“I texted you this morning—they’re with my mother.”
“I went by your parents’ place, and no one’s there.”
“She probably took them out for the day. What’s the matter? Don’t you trust her?”
“It’s not that. I’m just wondering where the boys are. Is that a crime?”
Joy lifted a careless shoulder, amused at the sight of Victor lacking total control of the situation for a change. “Did you call her cellphone?”
“No, Joy, I didn’t,” he snapped. “I’m looking for my kids, not a conversation.”
“Why? Afraid she’ll read you the riot act?”
“Yeah, kinda.” He rubbed his eye sockets like this whole ordeal pained him more than Joy.
“Victor, don’t take this the wrong way,” she said, although deep down she didn’t care how he took things anymore, “but when are you going home?”
“I don’t know yet. I might stay another week. What’s the difference anyway? I’m staying in the hotel.”
“Isn’t the baby due, like, any minute?”
He shook his head, looking wearier than she’d ever seen in all the years of knowing him.
Her curiosity piqued, she asked pointedly, “Is everything all right?”
He sighed and shook his head again.
Joy swore he seemed on the edge of tears but that would require him having a heart and somewhat of a soul. A sudden wave of kindness washed over her as she pulled a stool around to the front of the counter and offered him a sip from her bottle of spring water. “What’s the matter?”
Victor closed his eyes and tightened his lips. “The baby…”
Human nature made her reach out to rub his shoulder for moral support but luckily her self-control kicked in and she shoved her hands into the front pockets of her capris instead. “Something wrong?”
He shrugged, nodded, and bobbed his head in an awkward yes-no-maybe-so motion. “It-it’s not mine.”
“How do you know?”
“Felicity told me last night.”
“Maybe she’s messing with you. Just saying it to upset you.”
“No. The math adds up. She was staying with her sister during the time it would have had to happen, so it can’t be mine.”
“And you’re figuring this out now?”
“Unfortunately my head calculated it a while ago, but my heart hadn’t. I’ve been living happily in denial…until today.”
Joy sat speechless, digesting the distressing words falling from Victor’s mouth like a hokey soap opera script. She had a helluva enough experience with this bullshit artist not to fall into his narcissist, sympathy-sucking deathtrap.
“The rotten way I feel in this moment makes me realize what hell I must’ve put you through. Where do I begin to apologize?” Victor swiped a non-existent tear for dramatic effect. “I can’t expect you to forgive me for the amount of trouble I’ve caused you, but I’m praying you’ll put hard feelings aside until I find a way to make things right ’cause I can really use a friend right now. Whaddaya say?” He reached for her hands as if his sentimental charm was too overwhelming to resist, however she maintained her stoic stance, unaffected by his presumptuous gesture, and jammed her fists deeper into her pockets. “Just ’cause we’re divorced doesn’t mean I stopped caring about you. Maybe Felicity and I were never meant to be, and you’ve really been the one for me all this time. Maybe we weren’t meant to have a life in Florida. Maybe we’re meant to start one here in Scenic View. It’s never too late to give it another try, babe.”
Victor’s string of relentless maybes drove Joy definitely crazy. “Let’s get something squared away; you may be my boys’ father, but I am not your babe. It’s not my responsibility to put you back together again, Humpty Dumpty. Get your ass down to Florida with Felicity where you belong. Let’s not forget—you left me for her. So you can go home and work it out with her.”
“You’re selfish, you know that?” Victor spat in disgust, his erratic mood shifting direction like a tornado, reminding her of the bully she was so used to dealing with. “Think how happy the boys’ll be if we get back together.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but no frickin’ way in hell. No, thank you. It’ll never, ever happen, so don’t mention it again.”
“Seriously? You’re not even willing to consider it?”
“Are you demented? Is something wrong with your brain? What part of No don’t you understand? We’ve been divorced for two years. I lied to my whole family just to marry you, and I lied again when you left me because I was scared they’d realize what kind of failure I am. Now I’m finally getting my life on track, getting back into my parents’ good graces, finally able to look at myself in the mirror and not want to punch the person looking back. Now, after all this time, you expect me to just fall at your feet?”
“Maybe I am.” A slow smile slithered across his smug face. “I just thought you’d do it for the greater good of your family.”
“You turned my boys against me.”
“I’ll fix it.”
“Don’t bother. You’ve done quite enough.” Joy snorted, exhausted from restraining her tongue for so long out of fear from Victor’s imaginary power, she couldn’t hold back any longer. “Look, I’m sorry your life is a pile of shit, but think of all the cash you’ll save once you call off the wedding. Plus if the baby’s really not yours, you won’t have to pay child support. Seems like a win-win to me.”
“You think this is a joke, don’t you? You think this is fun for me? That I really wanted to beg you for another chance? Forget I mentioned it.”
“No problem. It’s forgotten.” Joy waved the words away.
Holding her breath, waiting for Victor to leave, she picked up a cardboard box of crystal snowflake ornaments and headed down the aisle of trees toward an empty faux spruce in the center of the shop.
His slow footsteps shuffled away, but the jingle bell on the front door didn’t ring. Instead the faintest snick of the turn-lock filled the void between the low-playing Christmas tunes.
Oh, holy night. Joy shut her eyes and braced for the worst, evoking the self-defense skills she’d learned in kickboxing class, digging deep to harness the power of the resilient fighter.
Bending to pick up two more fragile snowflakes, she spotted the tips of his shoes a foot behind her and ignored his lurking presence. His angry energy radiated through the back of her thin blouse as she hung the ornaments on the nearest boughs. Then with clenched fists raised to her chin, Joy spun so fast Victor jumped back, toppling one fully adorned tree into the next like dominoes, shattering Lorraine’s merchandise.
Huffing and puffing like he would explode on impact, he bellowed, “All I wanted was a little kindness, but you couldn’t do that for me. Could you? For the father of your children. You couldn’t give me a break for once. You love to kick me when I’m down, don’t you?”
“I kneed you in the groin once, but I never kicked you.” She held her on-guard stance ready to clock him.
“I’m not talking physically.” He shoved her shoulder, forcing her off-balance, but she bounced back into position. “I mean with your words.”
Joy retreated, tiptoeing backward over shattered ornaments crackling underfoot, plotting her next move because she had to make it count. “Did you really think I’d get back with you so easily?”
Victor shrugged and smirked as he inched forward. “I can’t see why not. You fell for me once.”
“You’re a narcissistic son of a bitch, you know that? That was before you tore out my heart. Before you turned my boys against me. Before I knew what kind of loser you really are.”
“Stop with the drama, Joy. I’ll make it up to you.”
“Get away from me.” She kept her distance, wishing Tristan hadn’t left. Stealing a glimpse over her shoulder through the wide plate-glass window, she hoped someone outside recognized the state of emergency and called the police.
Victor’s open hand sprang forward and clutched her ponytail, yanking hard enough to snap her neck if he wanted. Dizzy from him rattling her skull to make his point, she clasped two hands on the spot where the ponytail connected to her scalp while he dragged her away from the window.
“All you had to do was cooperate, and I would’ve gladly given you your old life back.”
“I don’t want my old life. I don’t want you.” Joy screamed as he slammed her facedown on the countertop. His knees forced her thighs apart, and he rubbed the barely-there erection in his pants against her bottom.
“I know you want it,” Victor snapped. “Let me hear you say it.” The cold hard tip of something sharp pricked the back of her neck.
“Want what? That mushroom cap you try passing off as a penis? I didn’t want that puny thing when we were married. What makes you think I want it now?”
“Drop the knife,” the familiar voice rumbled from the stockroom door.
Thank God. Joy swallowed the metallic taste inside her cheek as she stole a blurry peek between her lashes at Tristan with his revolver aimed above her head.
Thankfully Victor obeyed, and Tristan holstered his weapon to cuff him.
Joy stuttered her words to the 911 dispatcher. A patrol car arrived and within seconds the officers led Victor out the door.
After Tristan spoke to the police, he locked the front door and flipped the sign to Closed. He slid to the floor beside Joy, stretched out his long denim-clad legs, and hooked an arm around her neck to pull her close.
Instinctively she crawled onto his lap seeking the sanctuary of the soft spot where she could bury her face in the crook of his neck. Oh, how she missed this. Missed him. The earthy scent of his clean skin mingled with leathery cologne and fabric softener. The safety of his tender touch. The roughness of his five o’clock shadow as he dropped little kisses across her forehead.
“You okay?” He caught her chin and tilted it upward to view her face.
She shrugged, forcing a smile. “I’ll be fine.” Just when she had a handle over her emotions, there came a flashflood of new tears. “I’m sorry to get you involved in this mess.”
“Shhh. It’s okay.” He smoothed his palm over her head that Victor nearly scalped. “It’s over. He won’t give you any more trouble, I promise. You have nothing to worry about. No one’s ever gonna take your boys.”
“I know. But what am I gonna tell them?”
Tristan shrugged. “Say he went back to Florida. I’m sure you’ll find the right words to make it work.”
“Speaking of work…did I hear you right when you told those police officers you’re retired?”
“The more I thought about going back on the job, the more I realized I was happier here in Scenic View swinging a hammer for Nick’s company. Plus I didn’t think it was fair to expect you and the boys to move to Star Harbor while your heart’s set on living in the house where you grew up—but that point is probably moot since it turns out you don’t plan on me meeting them, not for a while anyway,” Tristan said in a single breath, followed by a downhearted sigh.
“You were gonna ask us to go with you?”
“Of course. I don’t wanna live without you, Joy. When are you gonna believe me?”
“I do believe you.” Her voice cracked as she tried not to cry. “I really do. I didn’t think I could concentrate on us while everything else in my life is a mess. But now that I have the boys, and Victor’s out of the way, I can. I love you, Tristan. I really, really do.”
“That’s all I need to know.” He pressed a tender kiss to her lips.