Page 77 of Spring Rains

“It’s a school day,” I reminded him, “and you’re violating the order to stay away from both of us.”

He fake-pouted—tried to look contrite. “But I’ve changed, Cal. I’ve realized what I lost, so I’m here for you. And for Fox, of course.” A smirk undermined the sincerity in his voice, and the rehearsed humility that didn’t quite mask the arrogance I knew too well. I’d always been the type of person to cling to the idea of second chances, in redemption, but with Chris’s kiss still lingering on my lips, and the kind of man I’d fallen in love with for real, I couldn’t bring myself to even try to understand Briggs. Particularly, when all I felt was anger, resentment, and—fuck—a healthy dash of fear. The phantom bruises on my wrists and stomach ached with the remembered pain.

Briggs leered at me, all grin, and white teeth, but his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I’m also here to seeyou, Cal,” he repeated, a hint of something insincere lurking beneath his words that only I would ever understand.

“Noah,” I snapped again, and I felt strong.

“Aww, baby, why change your name?” Then he nodded. “Hiding. I see. But Cal is such a pretty name.” He was still loud, and he wouldn’t leave. I should just call Neil now, get him to act on the restraining order, but maybe I could deal with this myself. I’m stronger now.

Loving Chris has made me stronger.

I lowered my voice, casting a glance at Levi, who was pretending to ignore the conversation, but sitting far too close not to hear everything, studying the menu as if it had changed overnight, and as if he hadn’t already eaten half his pancakes. He might be waiting to see what was going on, then maybe he’d tell the town. He was Chris’s friend, but maybe I wasn’t ready for him to go running to Chris, and he was too damn close.

“Go away, Briggs.”

“Just give me one minute, and I’m gone,” he said. “I have so much to apologize for.”

“You’re making a scene,” I warned—aware that everyone could hear him.

“I don’t mean to.” He clutched his chest. “You broke my heart.”

Fuck this shit. Against my better judgement, I decided to talk to Briggs alone. I pulled out my cell and pressed buttons. “I’m recording this for the restraining order, Briggs.”

He waved at my cell.

Waved like he was on camera.

“In here!” I demanded, catching Levi’s concerned gaze, and went into the small hall, and Briggs, complete with oily grin, followed me.

“I’ve missed you.” He reached for me as soon as the door blocked us from the diner, and I stepped back.

He pouted again, all kinds of playful, but there was a hard edge to his expression that, maybe, only I would ever see. “You know, everything was a misunderstanding. You were angry, and I was drunk and?—”

“You hit me, you punched me in the stomach, and you threw me against a wall. You broke my wrist?—”

He moved so fast that I didn’t have a chance to react, placing a hand on the wall next to me, caging me between the stairs and the door to the diner. “It was once, and you provoked me.” He laughed, and there it was, that dangerous hate. “What did you expect when you told me you were taking my son from me, threatening to go to the cops about what youthoughtwas happening. How did you think I was going to react when my husband was betraying me?” He spoke as if this was funny, as if all of what had happened was just some huge cosmic joke.

Fuck, he was delusional if he thought any of his downfall was my fault.

I glanced down at my cell. “Okay, your minute is up. I’m calling 911.”

He snapped in a moment, gripped my hand—hard—and levered the phone from me, then glanced at the screen, stopping the recording as he held me back, deleting what I’d recorded, then frowning at the photo of me, Fox, and Chris playing Scrabble, which I was using as my background.

“My boy,” he said, and I think he was trying for a fond parent tone. “Who’s this guy with you? Is this that Merle guy? Is he fucking you? I told him to stay away. You’re mine.”

“You did what?”

“Merle! He answered your phone as if he was a lover.”

“Merle works here.” I tried to get the phone back, but he used his height to hold it high, the fire of temper in his dark eyes. “Give me back my phone,” I said, not letting any of the fear I was feeling filter into my demand. He fed on my fear, and it was all too easy to be scared of someone as fast and nasty as Briggs.

“You need to change that photo, stat. I don’t like it, and it should be me there, not some random guy who wouldn’t look so pretty after someone takes a baseball bat to his head.”

I froze, panicked, and fear gripped me, but I took a deep breath, steadying my resolve. “You can’t just walk back into my life and expect me not to have moved on.”

His smile faltered, a crack in his confident facade. “That’s bullshit?—”

“Fox is happy here with me, can’t you accept that?”