Read Online The Forgotten Child by Lorhainne Eckhart - Free Book Online Page B

to clear the table. But he stopped her with a soft touch to her arm. And that’s all it took for the tears to fall, so much for holding it together. Brad did the unexpected; he ran his hand over her shoulder and pulled her into his strong arms. Arms she was sure could cushion and protect her from every harsh bite reality dished out. An unsettling feeling considering she worked for him. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to fall apart.”
    He must have sensed her embarrassment as he allowed his arms to drop. He stepped back and shoved his chair in with his boot. “That’s a lot of hurt you’re hanging onto. Suppose you start at the beginning and fill me in.”
    He slid out her chair. “Sit down.” He pulled his chair out, so he faced her when he sat.
    “ Look, he’s just a jerk. He’s self-absorbed and thinks of no one but himself. I’m just angry because I didn’t see it. He went to work, brought in a paycheck. I was to look after everything else, pay the bills and care for Katy and the house. If something needed fixed, I did it. He refused to give me a break; even slipping out to the store to buy groceries when he was home became a fight if I wouldn’t take Katy with me. There was no relationship between me and Bob. I mean he worked in Olympia and commuted; the first thing he did when he walked in, most nights, is call his mother. It bothered me but, as the distance grew between us, I started seeing him as he really was, a stranger who I no longer loved. I felt resentment and tension rose between us to the point where we no longer sat in a room together. There was no peace, no communication and his mother became the third person in our marriage. He shared everything going on his life with her through his nightly phone calls. That’s how I found out what was going on with him, by overhearing him on the phone.
    Brad leaned forward resting his hand on the table beside Emily. “You listen to me; no real man would put that entire load on a woman’s shoulders. That’s bullshit, Em. He sounds like nothing but a little boy, not a man.
    “ Is he supporting your Katy, sending you money?”
    Her face heated “Yes, some.”
    “ There are minimum guidelines for child support, is he meeting them?”
    She couldn’t look him in the eye. She’d asked for very little. “No.”
    “ No? Do you not have a lawyer?”
    “ I have a lawyer, who’s already lectured me, on how I let him off the hook. But I want this over, the easiest way possible. I may be a fool for that. And he can’t afford much.” What she didn’t say was he’d probably bought himself a new car or a new entertainment system. He was worse with money than her.
    His brows furrowed. He leaned closer. “He’s an asshole, that’s what he is.”
    “ Brad, that’s not all. I’ve been reading some research online lately about some unusual symptoms in children. I read about a mother whose child would scream and shout and flail his arms during a Christmas lineup. And all she could do was carry the young child out. He wouldn’t play with other children. Noises and scents would set the child off in uncontrollable fits. The behavior was odd and the child wouldn’t talk to other people.”
    “ You do a great job, Em. If you need any help or have any problems with your ex, or his mother, you come to me, you hear me? I know his kind, and I know how to deal with him.” He tapped the table with his fingers.
    Did he hear anything she said? Maybe she was too vague. But then he reached out and slid his fingers down her cheek, then pulled back as if caught doing something he shouldn’t. Brad jumped out of his chair so fast Emily wondered if his chair would tip. But he gave it a shove, balling his hands into a fist. Then he grabbed his coat off the chair and faced her. “I meant what I said, Em. I’m a man of my word.”
    A difficult man walked out the door. One who was hiding his feelings, his thoughts. A man she’d need to be careful with. Keep both eyes open;