My mouth went dry. He was asking the question I hadn’t stopped asking myself.
Ryan came back.
“She’s endangered this whole family,” Gerald said. “To get even.”
I picked up my purse.
“The girls are with Dana. I’m staying there too.”
“For how long?” Ryan demanded.
“She’s given us six weeks.”
“To get even.”
“And then what?” Gerald asked. “Two babies, Claire. This isn’t just about you.”
“I know it isn’t. I tried to work out how to stay, but you care more about your ‘male needs’ than about this family.”
He stepped closer, his face changing.
“I’ll change. I swear. Family comes first from now on.”
“And then what?”
I wanted to believe him.
I wanted the man I’d seen humming to Ava to mean it.
“Stay while we sort it out,” he said. “You don’t have to do this on your own.”
