“You’re a lucky man, Vince,” he said, and headed into the house to spend the evening with his wife.

Chapter 94

94

“I want to see my kitties!” Haley whined.

They sat at the breakfast table trying to start the day in between Haley’s outbursts. First she hadn’t wanted to get out of bed, then she hadn’t wanted to get dressed. Anne had given in on that one for the moment, saving it as a bargaining chip for after breakfast. Next had come the raisin toast rebellion, now this.

Anne knew where the bratty attitude was coming from. The little girl was struggling with the memories and emotions that had been churned up because of Dennis’s attack. She was frustrated and afraid of those feelings, and didn’t have the tools to deal with them. Consequently, they came out in little fits of temper, and her attempts at taking some control over her environment came out in small acts of defiance.

Of course, understanding didn’t make it any easier on the nerves to listen to a whining child.

Vince gave Haley a look that made her sit down on the banquette. “Enough,” he said quietly. “Or you won’t be going anywhere, young lady.”

Big tears welled up in Haley’s eyes and she started to wail.

They both ignored the tantrum.

“Are you sure you’re feeling up to doing this?” Vince asked.

“No, but I think it will be a good diversion,” Anne said. “For both of us.”

As much as she didn’t want to spend time with Milo Bordain, Anne had decided it would be a good day to take Haley to see her kittens at the Bordain ranch. Let Haley get some fresh air and exercise, and focus on things that were external instead of trying to cope with the tangled ball of feelings inside her head.

The same went for herself. Fresh air and the chance to be around animals and the beauty of nature would do her a world of good.

“Don’t let that woman rattle you,” Vince warned. “She thinks she’s going to a-d-o-p-t. No one has told her yet that she has no standing because the paternity isn’t what she thinks it is.”

Vince had explained the situation to her as they knew it so far. Everyone was waiting to hear from Gina Kemmer, who was probably the only person involved who knew the true circumstances of Haley’s birth.

Anne was trying to put the possibility that Haley had parents out in the world out of her mind. She had to make herself believe that Marissa Fordham—who by most accounts had been a caring, wonderful mother, and a caring, wonderful person—hadn’t stolen this precious child. There had to be another explanation.

Haley had given up on her little fit and was nibbling on a piece of blueberry muffin.