“Hey, Riss. He’s fine,” he replied. “Listen, I have some interns working on things for me at the office and that means I have a break. I thought I could bring Travis over and we could all go out to dinner.”

I wouldn’t mind him bringing Travis over but only if Aaron left him and he could have dinner with Joker and me.

I didn’t say this to Aaron because I didn’t think he’d be big on that idea.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” I mumbled.

“I’ll bring your boxes.”

Darn.

I wanted those boxes.

“Did you get them out of the attic?” I asked cautiously.

“Yes, Riss. I can just load them up, grab Travis, and we could be over there in fifteen minutes.”

He had the boxes down and he was bringing them.

Maybe he hadn’t looked inside.

“How about if you bring them when you return Travis to me on Monday?” I suggested.

“Would like to see you sooner, honey,” he said softly.

“Aaron—” I started.

“We shouldn’t be apart,” he declared, a declaration that seriously concerned me. “This isn’t good for us. For Travis. For you, having to stand on your feet behind a cash register at a fucking grocery store all day. Travis being with people who aren’t his parents while we both work.”

He was such a jerk.

He knew that’d get to me. He knew I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom.

But things had changed. Big Petey was awesome. And as much as I hated to admit it, Tory loved Travis. She watched him during the day for Aaron, and as far as I knew, she liked doing it. It wasn’t optimal, but any child should have as many people love him (or her) as they could get.

Further, I liked my job. LeLane’s was great. They took me on when I was pregnant, knowing I’d have to take a maternity leave imminently, but they’d still done it. Sharon managed everyone’s schedules as best she could to fit their lives. They employed nice people. They were family owned, and as such, they treated their employees as if they were family.

Scanning groceries might not be very challenging, but I liked people. I liked gabbing with the folks who came through my line. I liked making the ones I’d become familiar with feel a part of the LeLane family.

It didn’t pay a lot but it was good work.

I didn’t like the way he’d started knocking it.

I also didn’t think I should tell him that.

“I’m thinking we should start to talk only through our attorneys,” I told him instead.

“Don’t do that, Riss. Not to Travis.”

Emotional blackmail.

Another something not new from Aaron.

But I was in a pickle.

I needed those boxes. I needed to stay in his good graces so he didn’t get angry and do something ugly, not only with those boxes but to me and through me to our son.