The Christmas Tree Guy (28 page)

“Are you serious?” She turned on her heel, trying to keep her voice down so the boys wouldn’t hear. “Why in the hell would I even acknowledge who you are, Matt? You walked out on us over two years ago. The boys haven’t seen you at all. You don’t call, write, or return messages, and now all of a sudden you waltz in here and you want us to acknowledge you? You have truly lost your mind.” She snatched up a dishtowel and started furiously wiping down the counter before throwing the towel down and looking up at him. “You want me to acknowledge you? No problem. You are the jackass I should have never married. I’m glad I did though, because I got the best gifts from you I could have ever gotten…MY sons.”

“Are you through?” She watched him walk over to the other side of the counter. His smug arrogance burned her up. How dare he stroll in acting like he had never left?

“What do you want?”

“I want to be a part of my kids’ lives. I want to work on us.”

She knew her eyes must be bulging out of her head at his last statement. “You are kidding me, right?”

“Look, I see you have some little boy-toy you’ve been working out your itches with, and I can forgive you for it. But anyone can see he’s barely legal, and besides, he’s not their father. I am.”

Forgive me? You bastard.
“You are their father by DNA only.” Glaring at his arrogant expression, Sydnee could feel her anger bubbling near the surface and all she really wanted to do at the moment was scratch his eyes out. Matt hadn’t been a father to the boys in two years, hadn’t been much of one while they were married. He was always too busy or had something else to do. Namely, other women.

“Look, Syd, I’m not going to fight with you about this, but I do have a right to see my kids. Hell, I’m paying for them every month.”
Now we get to the real reason he’s here.
She placed her arms across her mid-section and leaned back against the counter.

“So that’s what this is all about? They are your responsibility just as much as mine.”

“Exactly, and I want a chance to get to know them and be in their lives. Is that too much to ask?”
Why was he doing this to her?

She chuckled, rolling her eyes at him. He was such a piece of work. “You will forgive me if I just don’t believe you. I have not heard from you in how long? Why now?”

“Because, they are my sons and I want to know them. By the look of it, I got here just in the nick of time.” Matt motioned to the hallway Quinn and the boys had disappeared through and turned back to face her.

“In the nick of time, what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Look, I don’t mind you getting them a playmate.” Matt looked at her with that infuriatingly conceited smirk. “I mean, he’s the right age to be a Big Brother, right? But he can’t teach them how to be a black man.”

He sounded just like her mother. She wondered if they all attended the same propaganda committee meetings. Matt, Mina and her mother seemed to move to the rhythm of the same drum. “Contrary to what you think, I don’t have to stand here and justify anything I do or any decisions I make, to you.” He had some nerve talking to her about her choices in who she was dating. “And as for being a black man, YOU can’t even teach them that. I want you to leave.”

“Not until I spend time with my sons.”

“I think she asked you to leave,” Quinn interjected, standing with his arms crossed in the doorway. Quickly glancing in the direction of the voice, relief washed over Sydnee seeing the boys were nowhere in sight.

“You’re kidding me, right?” Matt laughed, turned to sneer at Quinn and took a step towards him. “Look, punk, you have no clue who you’re talking to. This is a grownup discussion.”

“Believe me, I got your punk, and I know exactly who I’m talking to. She asked you to leave.” Quinn’s eyes never wavered from Matt’s and the tension in the room elevated to an even more uncomfortable level. She could see the muscles tense in Quinn’s square jaw as he stared at Matt, whose hands were clenched into fists at this point. Sydnee could see the pissing match escalating and she moved to stand between them. Her heart leapt into her chest as the fear of a physical altercation seemed inevitable. She kept her back to Quinn as she pointed at Matt with a long slender finger. “Both of you stop it. Matt, you need to leave.”

Throwing up his hands in mock fear, Matt broke his glare at Quinn, who was still staring a hole through Matt. “I’m not going away that easily. When you’re done babysitting, call me.” He grinned at her as he turned and sauntered out the front door.

Looking at Quinn, Sydnee struggled to keep her composure. “What was that? Were you going to fight him in my house? That’s really mature, Quinn.”

“Are you serious, Syd? You’re mad at me? He’s the one that barged into your house and started with the name-calling
. I’m just trying to protect you and the boys.” She
realized Quinn was right and she was taking her anger at Matt, and possibly her guilt about her mother, out on him. Dropping her head into her shaky hands, she breathed deeply. He hadn’t asked for this. Neither had she, and now the two of them were at odds and it wasn’t where she wanted to be. She was still reeling from her mother’s ultimatum and now her ex-husband had shown up. Sydnee was sure she wasn’t going to be able to handle much more. Quinn walked over and pulled her into his embrace, resting his head on top of hers. “Look, I’m sorry, okay. I shouldn’t have interfered, but I hate what he’s done to you.”

“No.” Looking at the ceiling and then at him, she blew out a breath before leaning into his chest. “It’s okay. I know you’re only looking out for us. It’s just that things were going so well. Why? Why do I let him do this to me?” She instantly felt better in his arms as the warmth of his large and capable hands fluidly caressed her back.

“It’s okay. He’s gone and if you don’t want him here, you have a right to not have him here.” She nodded, but in the back of her mind the only thing she could hear was her mother’s voice resonating the need for Matt to be in the twins’ lives.

“I know. But he is their father,” she pushed away, turning out of his arms.

“Syd, he may be their father, but is it really fair to the boys for him to come in and out of their lives whenever he wants?”

“Quinn, I can’t keep him from them. How’s that going to make me look as they grow up and wonder why they didn’t get to spend time with their dad?” She shook her head. “I don’t want to be the bitter woman.” The last thing she wanted was for her children to believe she didn’t want their father around them. He was still their dad and he had a right to be in their lives. Didn’t he?

“I really don’t think that’s how they’ll look at it. I think they’ll understand you were only trying to protect them.”

“I don’t want to get into this, okay, please?” Matt was not something she wanted to argue over at the moment. Especially with Quinn. “Where are the boys?” She didn’t mean to be so short with him. It wasn’t Quinn’s fault Matt had shown up out of the blue, but she just wanted to forget any of it happened. She noticed his demeanor change and the look in his solemn eyes told her he wasn’t happy with the situation, but he wasn’t going to press the issue.

“I told them to play in their room until I came back to get them. I figured you didn’t want them to hear your conversation.”

“I’m sure they are starving.”

Taking her face in his hands, Quinn exhaled and looked in her eyes. “I’ll go get them. We’ll have lunch and we’ll try to have a good time for the rest of the day, okay?”

“Thanks,” She nodded. She was relieved the little boys didn’t see or hear any of their altercation but it all had her questioning whether she was making the right decision to be with Quinn.

###

“You’re freaking kidding me,” Sara stared at Sydnee in total shock as they finished their Pilates class. “I can’t believe that jerk’s nerve to show up at your house unannounced. You should have let Quinn knock his teeth out.”

“Oh yeah, that would have been great. Quinn is young and in impeccable shape, but Matt wouldn’t have gone down without a serious fight.” Sydnee shuddered at the thought of her boyfriend and her ex-husband coming to blows. That would have been a horrible thing to have to explain away to her kids. Could this be another reason she’d done nothing but toss and turn since they had started dating? She’d had a nagging feeling since her mother left, and now with Matt showing up, it just elevated the doubts she’d initially had about dating Quinn. Granted, he was a wonderful guy, and he was great with her kids, but was it worth it? Was it worth her alienating her mother even more than before and having to deal with her ex-husband and his unexpected ‘come to Jesus’ moment to reconnect?

“Yeah, but that old geezer would have had his ass handed to him. Girl, you better not underestimate that white boy.”

“Whatever, Sara. You’re so crass.” Sydnee shook her head at Sara’s last comment. She didn’t doubt Matt would have had a fight on his hands with Quinn, but she did not want it to come to that, especially around her children.

“You know I’m right.”

“Why isn’t there some life manual?”

“A what?”

“A life manual. You know, a manual for life and how to live it. There should be a step-by-step guide on how to live. Should I or shouldn’t I date this guy? For the answer, turn to page 26.” She giggled as Sara shook her head and laughed at her suggested way of living.

“That would help.”

“I don’t get it, Sara. How do they know?”

“Who? And what do they know?”

Picking up her mat, she followed Sara to the locker room. Timing was everything and this was a terrible time for Matt to show up in her life. “Men. How do they know when you’re finally at the point of moving on and you’re happy? How do they know? Why do they pick that point in time to turn your life upside down?”

“Honey, I don’t know, but I can tell you if I could figure it out, I would make a repellent.” Turning to Sara, Sydnee’s furrowed brows must have given away her confusion. “Oh, yeah. I’d make a repellant and give it to every woman trying to move on from a relationship.” Sydnee laughed as Sara acted like she had a can of bug spray in her hand and added sound effects to punctuate what she meant. “Matt is so selfish.”

“Yes, but I can’t keep him from the boys.” Matt was still their father and he had a right to see them if he really wanted to. She’d struggled with the thought of Matt coming back and being in their lives. For the longest time, it was all she wanted. She wanted Matt to be there for them and reassure them things were okay. To help build their confidence in themselves like a father should. She wondered what would have happened if he’d never left and what would happen if he came back. Now, he was back and wanting not only the boys, but her, and she wasn’t sure what to do.

“Why not?”

“Sara, he’s their father.”

Sara stopped, took Sydnee by the arm and turned her to face her. “By DNA, like you said. Sydnee, don’t you dare discount all you’ve done by yourself. Don’t give Matt that credit. All he did was contribute the sperm to make those two sweet little boys. If you want my opinion, Quinn has been more of a father in the past couple of months he’s known them, than Matt was the entire time you guys were together.”

“You sound like Quinn.” Entering the room, they walked to their lockers to retrieve their belongings when Sydnee overheard voices on the other side of the row.

“Quinn’s good, and that’s why Adam suggested him for the job. I just wonder if he’s going to take it.”

Sara looked at Sydnee as she motioned to Sara to be quiet.

“Why wouldn’t he? Wouldn’t you? If the NFL came knocking at my door, I’d gladly drop everything and move. Especially to Florida. Sunshine and no snow.”

“I know he talked to Adam’s friend, and he’s the head of the team’s training staff. I can’t imagine why they wouldn’t offer it to him.”
The voices, which obviously belonged to other trainers, continued to chat as they walked out of the locker room, leaving Sydnee and Sara staring at one another.

“Oh, Syd.” Sara watched Sydnee lean up against the lockers and slide down to sit on the cold tile floor. “Are you okay, sweetie?”

“I can’t believe this. Why didn’t he tell me, Sara?” Sydnee sat wringing her hands in her lap and tried to get a grasp on what she just heard. Was Quinn leaving Louisville? And if he had applied for a new job, why hadn’t he told her? If anything, they agreed to be honest with each other, especially after both had kept each other secret from their mothers. Now he was keeping another secret?

“Honey, we don’t even know for sure what that was about. And if he didn’t tell you, maybe it’s because there is nothing to get excited about. Talk to Quinn about this before you start jumping to conclusions.”

“First my mother visits unannounced and has practically disowned me. Then Matt comes back. And now Quinn is leaving,” she stood quickly. “I can’t believe this.”

“Syd, don’t jump to conclusions. Talk to Quinn, please?”

“I gotta go.” Grabbing her bag and keys, Sydnee ran out of the locker room.

“Syd, talk to him.” She vaguely heard Sara call out behind her as the door shut. She sprinted across the parking lot and drove to her mother-in-law’s to pick up the boys.
What more can go wrong?
It seemed like things just kept piling up. She was still reeling from the idea of Quinn leaving town and not telling her when she pulled into the driveway and walked to the front door. Noticing a shiny black Escalade parked in the drive, she got a sinking feeling in her stomach.