Page 36 of Forbidden Cowboy
“Get out,” I growled.
“Listen to me, jeez!”
“No!” I cried. “I will not listen to you make another piss poor excuse about why you got fired when we both know you have a bad cocaine habit. And I willnothave you bringing that into my house, and influencing my daughter, who is already traumatized because of you!”
“She’s my daughter too, you know,” Eliana spat. “Not that you’d know that, since you turned her against me and started shacking up with Beau Carter’s whore sister. Did she come all the way back from wherever just for your dick? I bet she’s real disappointed now—although with girls that loose, sometimes it doesn’t matt—”
I cut her off, moving around the kitchen until I was so close to her that I could see every bit of fallout from her mascara.
“Shut your mouth,” I growled, anger rearing in me like an ugly beast. “You cannot come into my house and spew filthy words about the people living here. Howdareyou think you have therightto any part of mine or Anna’s life? If you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave. You’ll go find some other shithole job where they don’t care if you show up high, and you’ll stay away from us.”
I left Eliana standing in the kitchen, and walked out the back doors until I saw Anna and Sierra in the pool below the deck. They were playing happily together, and I was so, so grateful to the woman in front of me for being able to distract Anna like that.
Eliana brought out a very specific sort of anger in me. Closer to rage. It made me wish horrible things upon her, and I knew it stemmed from everything she had put Anna through, but I hated that part of me. I didn’t like to acknowledge its existence.
I almost wanted to be able to give Anna’s mother a chance, because I knew how much better off my daughter would be if she could begin repairing that relationship.
I was too scared, though.
* * *
Eliana left like I asked her to, but not for long.
Every day, she showed up at dinner time and invited herself to the meal. Anna paced a line between anxiety and anticipation at knowing her mother was around. On one hand, she still had some very open mental wounds, but on the other, she still craved her mother’s attention.
I had caught Anna more than once sneaking into Sierra’s room at night, only for me to find the two of them fast asleep and cuddled up in the window seat come morning time. I didn’t know what had passed between them while I was in New York, but they were almost inseparable, and I was glad they had each other to lean on in the wake of Eliana’s destructive appearance.
I hadn’t been able to talk to Sierra about what had happened between us that night, but I wanted to. I wanted to, but I wouldn’t—not in the near future. Not when everything felt so unstable with Eliana around.
“Fine,” I said to Eliana one evening while Sierra cooked dinner. “Tell me what got you fired.”
She grinned, having obviously planned for this victory over me.
“This jackass of an ex,” she said. “We partied, and then I guess he planted it on me because if he got caught, it was going to be his third strike, and I didn’t evenrealizeuntil that conniving bitch Hallie found it in my jacket when she ‘mistook’ mine for hers.”
“So, you did drugs and got caught, and they justly fired you,” I said.
“Ugh, you’re not getting that it wasn’t even my stuff!”
“I’m getting that you fucked up again, and at this point, I’m not surprised.”
“Hey, Mom?” I heard Anna say as she walked up to us.
I immediately bristled. Interactions between Anna and Eliana were necessary, but I was always put on high alert.
“Yes, darling?” she asked, turning to see our daughter walking towards us.
“How long are you staying here?”
“Well, how long do you want me to stay here?”
Her voice was saccharin sweet, and I hated it. I knew it was her best attempt at being good to her daughter, though, so I said nothing. Anna looked between me and her mother, her eyes nervous.
“What is it, Anna?” I asked, trying to decipher what her look meant.
“I just—it would be nice if Mom could keep coming to dinner.”
“Oh, that’s so nice of you!” Eliana crowed, and scooped Anna into her arms.