Once he had me in position and his hands settled on my hips, he said, “All right, babe, what’s up?”

“Nothing, I—” I started to lie, his fingers dug into my hips, and he interrupted me.

“I got a new job, a new house, new fuckin’ furniture, and a new woman in my life. That woman comes with a motherfucker of an ex who’s poising to strike—I know it in my gut and I gotta be prepared. My dad’s sick, he may be dyin’, and my family’s fucked up about it. Somethin’ is goin’ on with my boys and I gotta look into that. And today, my bitch of an ex-wife shows up on Thanksgiving to inform me her husband is steppin’ out on her, she doesn’t care, and she knew it was a mistake before she signed the marriage certificate.”

I gasped at this news but said nothing mostly because I didn’t have a chance.

Brock kept talking.

“She went on to say she fucked up with him and me. She sees this clear now, feels that time is of the essence, considering our boys are growing up without a stable family unit, so, upon a great deal of reflection, her fuckin’ words, regardless of the holiday, she felt it prudent she didn’t delay in informing me she wants me and our family back. With all that, you gotta see I do not have it in me to play guessing games. All I got left in me for today is to have a beer with my woman, watch a game, take her to bed, let her fuck me sweet like she always fucks me then go to sleep.”

I stared down at him thinking there was a lot there, a lot, a lot, but I honed in on one thing.

So I asked, “She told you she wants you back?”

“Yeah, if you can believe that shit.”

I kept staring down at him.

Then I stated, not a question this time but still a question, “She told you she wants you back.”

His fingers dug in again and he said, “Yeah.”

“She walked up to your mother’s house on Thanksgiving and told you she wanted you back,” I, yet again but with some added detail, stated.

Brock didn’t reply. He just watched me closely.

“I don’t know what to say,” I told him and I didn’t. I buried my head in the sand, sure, but I knew people did crazy shit, case in point my own husband raping me. But that, that was insane.

“Nothin’ to say,” he told me.

“Do you want her back?” I asked and he did a slow blink.

Then he asked, “Come again?”

“Do you want her back?” I repeated.

“Do I want her back?”

“Yeah, do you want her back?”

His brows drew together and his fingers dug into my hips again before he asked, “Have you lost your mind?”