I bite back my temper. I want to lash out, want to rage, want to hurt him the way he just continues to hurt me. But it’d serve no purpose, it’d heal no wounds. There might be a momentary sense of justice, but the victory would be short-lived. He will always be in my life. As long as the kids are young and must go back and forth between us, I will have to speak to him, interact with him. I have to keep it civil even if it kills me. “I’ll stay with her the rest of the day.”

“What about William?” he asks, hands on his hips, every bit the parent. Even with me.

“Lisa’s picking him up.”

“Lisa’s not working for us anymore.”

“I’ve already talked to her today—”

“I don’t want her around my kids.”

“Be reasonable.”

“I am. How can I trust her? Jessica wasn’t even in her booster seat or wearing a seat belt.”

“Lisa feels terrible.”

“As she should. She was stupid, and her stupidity nearly cost us our child.”

“Jessica’s going to be fine, and I’m not going to hang a guilt trip on a twenty-year-old college student!”

“She’s not taking care of my kids.”

I take a step toward him, drop my voice. “You don’t get to make the call on this one—”

“Watch me.”

“Then get a lawyer, Daniel, because I have custody of the children.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means maybe you’re not a fit parent.” His brown eyes hold mine. “Maybe you’re more interested in chasing after your boy toy than being a mother.”

“I’m a great mother.”

“You’re an absent mother!”

“And what about you, Daniel? What about you being on the road for three weeks every month?”

“That’s business.”

“Is it? How do we know? Maybe you’ve got a girlfriend out of state, another mistress—”

“You’re such a bitch.”

I pull back, shaking. Tears blaze in my eyes, and I’m so angry that I could take a swing at him, I really could.

“You’ve never let me forget,” he hisses. “One mistake, Jackie, one mistake and you throw our lives, our marriage, our children’s future, away.”

“We weren’t happy. You weren’t happy.”

“No, you weren’t. The rest of us were just fine.”

Fine. We’re back to fine, but what the hell does “fine” mean, anyway? But this isn’t the time or the place. I just want to see Jessica now. I want to be with my daughter. “I’m going to check on Jessica. I’ll be here the rest of the day.” And without a glance back, I enter her room and let the door close behind me.