Acts of Atonement: A Single Dad Age Gap Romance (Men of WRATH, Book 1)
Acts of Atonement: Chapter 20

WE’RE AT THE happiest place on Earth, so the slogan goes. However, on this particular day, our motley crew is making it feel like the most awkward place on earth—thanks to the tension bouncing between Ren and I.

I gifted the boys passes to a local theme park and the whole damn team decided to tag along, Ren included, making things awkward as hell. Ren and I haven’t spoken since our conversation last weekend and I’m sure as hell not about to hash everything out in the middle of a children’s theme park. This is why I’ve been avoiding situations where I’d be alone with Ren all morning. I’ve been successful thus far, managing to do the impossible only because of Ashley.

My sister joined us under the pretense that she wasn’t going to miss out on the fun, but I secretly think she knows what went down between Ren and me and decided to come along as a mediator. She’s managed to insert herself between us several times today and we haven’t even been here a full hour.

It’s going to be a long day.

We’re currently in the middle of her latest thwarting maneuver, and I have to say that I’m thankful for her assistance.

Bella took the twins onto the Buzz Lightyear ride, with Titus and Hudson following along, both vowing they were going to be the one to defeat the evil emperor Zurg.

Overgrown Man Children.

Had Ashley decided to join them, I would have been left alone with my one-year-old daughter and Ren. I highly doubt Harper would have been enough of a deterrent, unable to keep Ren from continuing the conversation from last week.

I don’t think he would try to fight me here, but who’s to say the conversation wouldn’t escalate into something more if things got heated. I definitely wouldn’t want my daughter exposed to that.

Harper begins to fuss in her stroller, letting us know she’s ready to get out. I love this stage of development but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit it turns me into a nervous wreck, constantly chasing behind her and making sure she isn’t getting into anything she isn’t supposed to.

Thankfully, Ashley takes pity on me and decides to take over. “Hey pumpkin. Want some ice cream?” She lifts Harper from her stroller and points toward the ice cream cart not too far away. “Ren, would you be so kind as to get your goddaughter and I a chocolate treat to share?”

“Of course.” Ren smiles down at Harper, pulling on her pigtail before shooting me an icy glare. “I’ll be right back.”

Ashley doesn’t waste a second, beginning her tirade as soon as Ren is out of earshot. “I know Bella’s been sneaking into your room all week.”

So this is why she tagged along… not because of Ren.

“Earth to William. Did you just hear what I said?” Ashley looks at me expectantly.

“Yes, I heard you. And yes, Bella and I have been sleeping in the same room. We’re together now,” I say nonchalantly, even though being able to say it out loud has my stomach doing somersaults.

“Does he know that?!” Ashley whisper-shouts as she points in Ren’s direction.

“Yes. He found out last week. We still need to finish hashing it out, so I would appreciate you continuing to insert yourself between us, seeing as how this isn’t the best location to have that sort of discussion.”

“I’d say.” Ashley snorts. “That would be a fu—” She stops herself, looking down at Harper. “I mean fudging disaster.”

“Yeah. You could say that again,” I mumble under my breath.

“You know what else would be a fudging disaster? If Bella were to replace out about our parents from someone other than you,” Ashley warns, cocking a brow and pursing her lips in disapproval.

“You don’t need to beat a dead horse, Ashley. I’m going to tell her, I just haven’t found the right time. There’s been a new development in her vandalism case, and she’s still dealing with her father’s situation. Bella needs to decide if we’re going to keep him here in California or if we’re going to move him to a facility closer to home. Now is not the time to add to her ever growing pile of stress.”

“Poor girl. I wouldn’t want to be in her shoes.” Ashley shakes her head and sighs, making me think she’s done with her inquisition.

I’m wrong.

“So… how are things with your psycho ex? I’m sure that wouldn’t add to Bella’s stress, right?” Ashley snarks.

As if she’s summoned the bitch herself, my phone begins to vibrate with Heather’s number flashing across the screen. “Speak of the devil…” I groan.

“Are you going to answer it?” Ashley asks while rocking Harper side to side, trying to keep her from climbing down.

“Yes. She’s still Harper’s mother,” I spit out bitterly before answering the call. “Hello. What do you—”

“You fucking son of a bitch. You actually filed for divorce!” Heather shrieks so loud I bet Ashley could hear her without me putting her on speaker.

“Of course I filed. I told you I would. It seems my attorney has finally managed to get you served. Now we just have to wait for the next available court date.”

“Oh, you’d like it to be that simple, wouldn’t you? Well news flash, William, over my dead body.” Heather snarls, her erratic breathing becoming louder. “You think I’m this powerless insignificant little person you can walk all over. Well you’re wrong.” An evil cackle escapes her, causing the hair on the back of my neck to stand. “Just ask Aiden. He’ll tell you how little and insignificant I am. I couldn’t harm a fly, could I?”

At the mention of Aiden’s name, my apprehension turns into rage. “What the fuck did you do, Heather? What did you do to Aiden?” Ashley’s eyes go wide at the insinuation, quickly moving to get Ren.

“My dear husband, Aiden has always been good at his job, hasn’t he? As an ex-Navy SEAL, he’s never once allowed himself to get distracted. He’s always been the best.” Another cackle falls from her evil lips. “Well, he was the best until me, that is.”

“Stop playing games and tell me what you did!” I shout, unable to control my temper any longer. “Tell me now or I swear…”

“What?” Heather snarls, her tone suddenly becoming eerily calm. “What will you do when you replace out I told Aiden about your father and his wife?”

“You vile sick woman. Why on Earth would you dredge up the past like that? There was absolutely no reason for you to tell him that!” I shout in disbelief. “You’re the reason he’s in the fucking hospital, aren’t you?”

“How was I supposed to know he’d lose focus because of little ‘ol insignificant me? I’m powerless, remember?” Heather snidely adds, her sarcasm seeping through loud and clear. “Just imagine what little ‘ol insignificant me could do if you continue with this divorce charade.”

“Are you threatening me, Heather? I’d highly advise against it. And this is not a charade. We’re getting a divorce.” I look up to see Ren’s narrowed eyes as he’s trying to decipher our conversation. “I’m going to get to the bottom of what happened with Aiden, and if you’re tied to his injury in any way shape or form—mark my words, Heather, you will pay.”

I disconnect the call, unable to hear her vile bullshit any longer.

“What was that all about?” Ren asks, managing to put aside his anger toward me—at least for now.

“That was Heather. She isn’t taking kindly to our divorce and I think she just implied she was the cause of Aiden’s accident.”

“How in the hell could she cause Aiden’s accident? She’s not even in California.” Ren furrows his brows in confusion as he tries to piece everything together.

“About that… I saw her a couple of weeks ago and apparently she’s bi-coastal.” I take in a deep breath, trying to cleanse away the darkness Heather’s call has left behind. “Based on what she implied, she distracted Aiden with information regarding his wife. Apparently this information left him so distraught he was unable to properly defend the client as well as himself.”

“And what was this devastating information? Did she say?” Ren asks, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

“Heather told Aiden that my father had an affair with his wife.” Staring blankly into the crowd, I avoid Ren’s gaze, not daring to look him in the eye. We’re already on rocky ground and adding this bombshell of a secret could most certainly destroy whatever thin ice we’ve been standing on. “For now, we need to focus on preventing any further damage my psycho ex intends on causing. I have a feeling her next target will be Bella.”

“Let me get this straight. Your psycho ex hurts my family as retribution against you, with something your family did to my family. And now, your psycho ex wants to hurt my family again, because of something you are doing?” Ren walks toward me until our shoes are practically touching. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think the running theme here seems to be you.” Making an emphatic point, Ren shoves his index finger into my chest.

“Boys! Let’s keep in mind that we’re in a theme park—full of children.” Ashley’s high pitched voice manages to break through Ren’s rage infused state, making him blink long and hard before he finally steps back.

Taking advantage of the momentary peace, I try to bridge the emotional gap between us. “Look Ren, I know you aren’t my biggest fan right now, but we need to band together if we want to keep Bella safe. Heather has proven to be extremely unstable as of late and I wouldn’t put much past her.”

“For Bella’s sake, I’ll put our differences aside for now. But we still need to talk about what your intentions are with my niece. I swear by what I hold most dear that if you fucking hurt her, I will end you. Childhood best friend or not. I will fucking end you.”

“Understood. I wouldn’t expect any less from you,” I add, trying to hold back the smile his acquiescence has caused.

“I’m gonna go replace the rest of the team so we can come up with a game plan,” Ren mutters as he begins to walk away. “Though I still think the safest thing for Bella would be to keep her the fuck away from you.”

Full of remorse, I pull my gaze from him, knowing he might just be right.