Ex-Husband, Back Off

In my arms, my son blinked, puzzled. "Mommy, who's that man?"

"Nobody. Don't listen to him. Let's go."

I scooped him up and turned to leave.

After Chase Reed left, I'd gotten rid of the baby I'd been carrying and married someone else. My husband and I were happy together, deeply in love. The son in my arms had nothing to do with Chase.

"Ivy, are you still mad at me? How can you keep a son from knowing his own father?"

Chase blocked my path, his face dark with anger.

I met his eyes, calm and unshaken. "We've been apart for three years. What makes you think you're his father? He isn't your son."

Chase let out a sigh. "You're still holding it against me that I left for so long. But freedom is in my nature—I was never going to give it up for a child. I needed time to be myself."

I held my son tighter and shook my head. "Chase, I'm not holding anything against you. I love my husband, and you and I have nothing left between us. Move."

Back when we'd agreed to spend the rest of our lives together, I'd let him skip registering our marriage, all in the name of his precious freedom. Then I got pregnant, and he was still off cycling with his "buddy" every chance he got.

Morning sickness, leg cramps, sleepless nights—I endured all of it alone. Even so, he complained behind my back to Monica Cole about how stressful my pregnancy was making his life.

The two of them hit it off immediately and decided to spend three years cycling out to the Rockies. When it came to childbirth and raising a kid, Monica told him not to worry about it—that women just handled that instinctively. Chase believed her.

By the time I was five months along, I could barely move without pain. I went to the hospital for treatment, and when I came back, they were gone. Not even a word goodbye.

That was the moment I made my decision. Shaking, I turned around and walked straight back to the hospital, and had the pregnancy terminated that same day.

I've thanked myself for that courage ever since. If I hadn't done it, I wouldn't have the life I have now.

Sensing how cold I'd gone, Chase frowned. "There you go again, talking like you're still bitter. You must still care about me somewhere in there. Otherwise, why bring the kid to find me before the three years were even up?"

I thought I'd made myself more than clear, but none of it seemed to reach him. I insisted he get out of my way.

Finally, looking as though he were making some agonizing concession, he said, "Fine. For the kid's sake, if you fix that attitude of yours, I'll let you two tag along. But I don't have the energy to look after you both—don't get in the way of my plans."

I glanced over his temp-job uniform. He was probably picking up odd jobs wherever the road took him. Following him would mean nothing but hardship.

I wasn't going to waste any more time on him. I moved to walk around him with my son in my arms, but he threw out an arm and blocked me.

His voice turned urgent. "Ivy, what are you doing? Whatever you say, I'm still his father!"

My son couldn't help lifting his head, glancing between the two of us, and asking with innocent confusion, "Mommy, why do I have two daddies?"