“That’s sweet, baby, but no.” I shake my head, giving her sides a squeeze.
“Why no?” she asks, as her nose scrunches in confusion and her brows draw together.
“They’re my kids… Tina and my kids. We’ll work it out. The money Max is sending you is for Hunter. The money you make is for you. And the kids and me moving in here means I pay for the utilities and things that need to be done around the house, so we’re not living free.”
“Um… what if that doesn’t work for me?”
“It’ll work.”
“Zach.” She pushes against me until I’m forced to let her go then stares at me from a few feet away, which suddenly feels like miles between us. “I told you.” She points at me. “I told you what happened between Max and me. I told you that he always made me feel like his happiness came before mine, that his wants came before mine.”
“Shel.” I run my hand through my hair in agitation and hold her gaze.
“No, I never want to feel like I’m not contributing, like I’m not the other half of a whole. I cant live like that again. We are either both in this together, or we’re not in this at all.”
“Baby, I love that you want to help me, bu—”
Holding up her hand palm out, she shakes her head, cutting me off. “No, no buts. You either accept that I need to help, that I need to feel like the life we are building is one we are building together, or I can’t do this.”
“They’re my kids.”
“You’re right. They are,” she agrees, with a jerk of her head. “I’ve accepted them. I’ve fallen in love with them and you, but the life I want is one where we are a family, one where we figure out how to share each other’s burdens. I love you.” Her voice softens, cutting me to the bone. “I don’t think I’ve ever fallen out of love with you, but I decided a long time ago that if I ever got into a relationship again, it would be with a man who understands what I need, understands it and gives it to me without question.”
“Baby, plea—”
“I think we both need some time to think,” she states, cutting me off once more, causing my temper to flare.
“We don’t need time,” I growl, taking a step toward her, only to have her take a step back.
“I don’t want you to give me what I need while sacrificing your own happiness. That’s not fair to you either,” she says softly, while her bottom lip trembles and her eyes grow wet.
“You’re pissing me off, Shelby.”
“What?” She frowns, and I close my eyes, pulling in deep breaths through my nose, attempting to get my temper under control. Once I’m good, I open my eyes and pin her in place.
“I love that you want to help. I love you, even when you’re being hardheaded and stubborn, but this isn’t something you need to go to battle with me about.”
“Excu—”
“The kids are Tina’s and mine,” I interrupt, before she can piss me off more. “She and I will figure out how to make this move of hers work. You want to help with everything else? Fine. But your money isn’t going to go to helping Tina see her kids. It’s her choice to leave, her choice to follow her boyfriend. That is not your problem. She has a good job here and a house. She doesn’t need to move. She wants to move. She didn’t even want to tell the kids. She wanted me to break the news to them. Do you know how fucked up that is?”
“What?” she whispers, and I nod.
“We are not arguing about this bullshit, and we are definitely not taking any time to think about one goddamn thing. You and I are together, and there will never be a time when that isn’t true.”
“Zach.”
“No, we work. We’re happy and working on starting our family, and I won’t let you make this shit into something it’s not. I won’t let you use your past as an excuse to push me away. I don’t give a fuck what Max did. He is not here. This is you and me. I’m not asking you to sacrifice your happiness. I’m telling you that Aubrey and Steven’s relationship with their mother isn’t something you need to tie yourself into knots about.”
“But it is,” she replies gently, and I jerk my head back.
“It’s not, baby. She’s the one who should be fighting to stay close to them. She’s the one who should be worried about how she’s going to make it work, not you. I’ll worry about it, because I want them to have as much love as they can get, and because I want them to have their mother in their lives. But that isn’t something for you to worry about.” I sigh, then growl, “Jesus, Max may be a dick, but he loves his son enough to fight for him. He loves him enough to fly here to see him when he hasn’t heard from him for a few days. Don’t get me wrong; I know Tina loves Aubrey and Steven in her own way, but she’d never sacrifice her own happiness for them. Right now, she’s looking out for herself.”
“That’s not fair to Steven or Aubrey,” she whispers, wringing her hands together.
“It’s not, but at the end of the day, all I can do is pray the kids see what we have, what we’re building, and know what love looks like, what family looks like, and hope that sinks in for them somewhere along the line.”
Her face softens and she goes to speak, but is cut off.
“Moms moving?” Steven asks, and I swing my head toward the hall, where he and Hunter are standing, obviously having come in through the back door in the kitchen at some point, only I don’t have a clue when or how much they heard.