Submerged

Wesley shuffled his feet. “Becca, I have a favor to ask.”

She held her breath. Here it is.

“I want Colton to stay with me in July.”

From inside the car, Colton nodded. “Say yes, Mom.”

She was livid. Motioning for Colton to roll up the window, she turned to Wesley. “What are you doing? This is something you should’ve discussed with me first.”

“I am discussing it with you.”

“You should’ve called me, not mentioned this right in front of him.” She tried to ignore Colton, who had his grinning face pressed up against the window. “Why didn’t you call me so we could discuss this?”

“I tried calling. I left you two messages last week.”

Rebecca blinked. She checked the answering machine every day, and there’d been no calls from Wesley.

Wesley’s mouth curled. “I’m not lying.”

“Maybe I accidentally erased them.”

“Probably. You always had problems with technical things. And managing money.”

“For the last time,” she snapped, “our financial mess isn’t my fault. We both overspent.”

“But you’ve got your secret stash, don’t you?”

“You know that money is for the kids’ college funds,” she said.

When Wesley had found out about the money that had been set aside for the kids, it had enraged him to the point that he deliberately drove his van into the side of the bridge on the way home from dinner at a restaurant.

Rebecca hadn’t come away unscathed. She suffered a multitude of scrapes and bruises, easily explained by the crash. The doctor had no idea Wesley had beaten her after pulling her from the wreck. She barely recalled that incident. But she remembered the others that followed in the days after the crash. The broken wrist. The bruises on her back and hips.

Every day afterward, Wesley had said he loved her. But love wasn’t supposed to hurt physically. Was it?

She eyed him now, thankful he had never touched the kids. At least she’d done that right, gotten out before he was tempted to unleash his fury on Colton or Ella.

“Becca, why are you staring at me like that?”

“I’m reminding myself of why you’ll soon be my ex-husband.”

Wesley flinched, and she knew her words had hurt him.

Good. He deserves it.

“Do you think it’s possible to be civil to each other?” he said.

She glanced over her shoulder at Ella and Colton. “If you’re willing, I am.”

“For the kids’ sake, right?”

She caught his eye. “For all of us.”

Silence.

“Look, Becca,” he said in a contrite tone, “I’ve been seeing a psychologist, and I’ve taken an anger management class. I’m doing everything I can to show you I can be trusted with the kids. I would never hurt them.”

“Like you’d never hurt me?”

He looked away. “I’ve apologized for my past. I’m not like that anymore.”

She mulled over his words, her heart conflicted with such a heavy decision. If she was wrong and something happened to Colton, she’d never forgiver herself.

But what if he’s telling the truth? I can’t keep him away from the kids. They need him.

She peered over her shoulder at Colton. He had a smile on his face and his hands clasped in front, pleading. How could she resist that?

Finally, she said, “How long do you expect Colton to stay with you?”

“One week. In the middle of July.”

She bit her bottom lip. “I’m not sure…”

“I know it’s not what we agreed on, but I’m taking that week off and I was hoping to spend it with my son.”

“Just you and Colton?”

He rolled his eyes. “And Tracey.”

Tracey Whitaker used to be a receptionist at his father’s law firm. Wesley and Tracey had started seeing each other a few months before Rebecca had asked him to leave. She’d found out about the “other woman” when she’d called her father-in-law one day. Walter revealed to her he hadn’t seen Wesley in weeks. Then he asked if she’d called Tracey’s place. Everyone at the law firm, including her father-in-law, knew about Tracey and Wesley. Her husband hadn’t bothered to keep his affair secret.

Except from Rebecca.

Wesley’s father had been supportive enough to fire the woman after Rebecca stormed into his office, accusing him of trying to break up his son’s marriage. She’d heard Tracey had resumed an earlier career as a caregiver in a senior’s complex.

“So you’re still with Tracey,” she said.

“I’ll dump her in an instant if you let me come home. We can rip up that separation agreement and make our own agreement.” He arched his brows suggestively.

“How come she didn’t come to the game?”

Wesley shrugged. “Tracey has a cold. Picked it up from the old folks. She didn’t come because she didn’t want to pass it on to Colton.”

“How considerate of her,” Rebecca sneered.

“Becca…”

She ignored the warning in his voice. “You two planning to tie the knot?”

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she wished she could take them back. Why had she asked him that, of all things? It made her sound like she was jealous.

Am I?

Wesley smiled, as if reading her mind. “I’ll be sure to send you an invite when we do.”

She reached for the car door handle. “Don’t bother.”