Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 60978 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60978 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
“We can sit,” I finally said, gesturing to the chairs farthest from the few people in the lobby. Privacy was an illusion in hospitals, but we could at least attempt it.
Ash nodded, following as I guided Lily to the corner seating area. He kept a careful distance, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans, shoulders hunched forward. Prison had taught him to take up less space, to make himself invisible. The Ash I remembered had moved with easy confidence, hands always in motion as he talked. This man was a shadow of who I remembered. More contained and watchful.
“CPS contacted me,” he said once we sat, his voice low enough it wouldn’t carry. “They told me Lily had multiple broken bones over the past couple of years. That there were concerns about how she got them.”
I stiffened, my arm tightening around Lily who looked between us with wide, uncertain eyes.
“I told them straight up you’d never hurt her,” Ash continued, his gaze steady on mine. “Told them it was the most ridiculous thing I’d ever heard. Said there had to be something else going on.”
The immediate defense surprised me, though it shouldn’t have. No matter what had happened between us in the past, Ash knew me. Knew I would cut off my own hand before hurting Lily.
“Two years, Ash,” I said, the words sharp despite my effort to keep my voice level. “Two years I’ve been doing this alone. Taking her to doctors who dismissed me, fighting insurance companies, watching her get hurt and not knowing why.” Each word felt like it was being ripped from somewhere deep inside me, wounds reopening. “Where were you when she cried for you at night? When I had to carry her into the ER at three in the morning? Prison. That’s where. Not because you’re a bad person, Ash. Because you didn’t put us first. If you had, you’d never have gone to prison to begin with.”
Lily pressed closer to my side, sensing the tension. “Mommy?” she whispered, looking up at me with concern.
I forced myself to take a deep breath, to soften my expression for her sake. “It’s OK, baby.”
Ash’s eyes never left my face, absorbing each accusation without defense. “I know,” he said simply. “I know, Eliza.”
He shifted his attention to Lily, moving with deliberate slowness as he lowered himself to one knee in front of her chair, careful to give her space. His eyes softened as he took in every detail of her face.
“Hey, Lily-pad,” he said, using the nickname he’d given her as a baby. “You got big while I was gone.”
Lily tilted her head, studying him with the careful observation children reserve for trying to place someone familiar but changed.
“You have pictures,” she said finally, pointing to the tattoos visible at his neck above the collar of his T-shirt. “Like Cash.”
The mention of Cash made Ash’s eyebrows rise slightly, a question in his eyes I ignored. “Yeah, I do,” Ash replied, his voice gentler than I’d heard it yet. “Do you remember me at all, Lily-pad?”
Lily looked up at me, seeking guidance. I kept my expression neutral, unwilling to influence her reaction either way. This was between them, this tentative reconnection.
“You used to make pancakes,” Lily said suddenly, her face lighting with the memory. “With chocolate chips that made faces.”
A genuine smile broke across Ash’s face, transforming him momentarily back into the man I remembered. “That’s right. Silly faces with strawberry smiles.”
Lily nodded, some of her tension easing. She stood and took a small step toward him, though her hand remained firmly in mine. “Daddy?” she questioned, the word sounding strange after so long without use. Ash’s eyes glistened. He nodded, unable to speak for a moment.
A prickling dread crawled up my back, making me feel like we were being watched. Glancing toward the nurses’ station, I spotted Ms. Winters, the social worker who’d accused me of harming Lily. She stood with clipboard in hand, pen moving across the page as she observed our interaction. The sight of her sent ice through my veins.
Ash followed my gaze, his jaw tightening as he understood. He rose back to his feet, putting himself between me and Lily, his movements fluid and controlled. The change in his posture was subtle but unmistakable. He’d spotted a threat and was positioning himself accordingly.
“Is that her?” he asked quietly.
I nodded, keeping my face turned away from Ms. Winters.
Ash’s hands curled into fists at his sides, then deliberately relaxed. He rolled his shoulders back, making his Kiss of Death MC cut more prominent. A message, I realized. Making sure Ms. Winters saw his affiliation.
“I should have been here,” Ash said, his voice barely audible. “I never wanted to leave you either of you.”
“But you did,” I replied, the anger I’d held for two years simmering just beneath my words. “You chose to go with your buddy, even when I begged you not to. You knew what he planned even if you didn’t anticipate the outcome.”