Jordan felt every muscle in her body tense up in response to the grip on her elbow. This made her clutch Eve tighter. Closing her eyes, she took several shaky breaths. When her eyes opened, she was greeted with the pleading blue eyes of her daughter who had obviously stated that she wanted down, more than once. Grimacing, she set Eve to the floor and took a hold of her hand and turned towards the person stopping her escape. A defeated sigh escaped from her lips seeing that it was indeed Garrett Macy holding onto her arm. "Hello Garrett." She said softly as she pulled out of his grip.
The little girls appearance in the small office had surprised him since Max was very strict about children being in the bar. Spencer was almost nine and Max's grandson so an exception had been made. But what surprised him the most about the little girl, besides her grasp of words at such a young age, was her looks. He would have sworn on anything that the little girl was Jordan's but that had to be impossible. One reason was that Jordan had disappeared seven years ago. And two, no one had the vaguest idea where she was at. But just as he had himself convinced that the child wasn't Jordan's, who appeared? Jordan. She looked older but time had been gentle with her. At first she didn't even notice anyone else was in the room but once she did, she bolted. This made Garrett panic so he went after her. Stopping her before she could run again. "Hello Jordan. It's been awhile." He kept his tone neutral and light not wanting to scare her away before he had a chance to talk with her. A talk that was seven years over due.
'I can do this.' Jordan told herself. She had grown up. Changed into someone better. So why was she running? She didn't know. Seeing Garrett again after so many years brought emotions to the surface that she didn't want to face. And the boy...God...the boy had to be Spencer. There was no question in her mind, with only the glance that she had, that the boy sitting in the office was her son. "Yes. It has." She kept her replies short in hopes that he'd back off but the look in his eyes said other wise.
'Oh, I know what you're doing Jordan.' He said to himself as he listened to her short, curt, reply. 'I'm not that easy to get rid of.' His lips formed a tight straight line as he eyed her. Yes, time had been good to her indeed. She looked no different than she did seven years ago. Except more relaxed. "Sit, I'll buy you a drink." He knew this was a low blow but he couldn't help but feel some left over anger for her. He motioned to a small table not far from where they were standing.
Jordan's eyes narrowed at his remark but instead of throwing an insult at him, she gave him a smug smile. "I don't drink." She said, curtly, as she lead Eve over to the table and sat down. She released her daughters hand and instructed her to take her bag of toys into the corner and play. The little girl did as she was told, without complaint.
Garrett raised an eyebrow and followed her to the table, sitting down also. He couldn't help but watch the little girl for a few seconds before turning his attention back to Jordan. "You don't drink? Well, that is a surprise." A smug smile formed on his lips seeing her wince at his words. "How long has it been? One...two days?"
It was taking all her power to keep control. He was insulting her but she wouldn't stoop to that level. Not with her daughter only a few feet from her. "Seven years." She snapped but said nothing else.
The smug smile faded and he really looked at the woman sitting across from him. She wasn't lying, he could tell. "So what have you been up to? Besides the obvious?" He motioned towards the little girl in the corner.
"I've been living life...to the fullest." This time her voice was calm and steady. "The past seven years have been amazing. I should be thanking you do that, Garrett." She fell silent for a moment before continuing. "Without you taking me to the cleaners, I would have never left and I would have never had an amazing life. I would have never had a loving, devoted husband or a beautiful child. I owe it all to you." Again her voice was calm and steady. She would not be goaded into anything.
It was Garrett's turn to narrow his eyes but he wasn't as controlled as Jordan appeared to be. His hands slammed down onto the table top, startling several of the Sunday patrons into leaving. "Dammit Jordan! You just up and left! One minute you were there and the next you weren't! It was like you just went poof into thin air! I found the signed divorce papers on the coffee table and you were no where to be seen!"
Jordan raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow at his outburst and a frown graced her lips. "Do not use that tone or language around my child. I'm sure you don't use it around your son." She hissed out.
"Our son, Jordan! OUR SON!" He yelled the last part out before collapsing back in the chair suddenly feeling his age. "Spencer is our son." He said softly.
A small, dry, chuckle escaped from Jordan's lips. And her eyes were literally dancing with amusement. "My son? I don't have a son, Garrett. My husband and I never got around to proving Eve with a sibling."
His chest literally tightened at hearing her words. 'What the hell was she talking about? Of course Spencer was her son. She gave birth to him. After all.' He thought to himself but his verbal words were so kind. "Your husband?" He let out a laugh. "I don't see a husband here Jordan. Maybe you have him packed away in a suitcase? Or maybe he grew some brains and left before things got unbearable." He regretted the words as soon as they came out after seeing the look in her eyes.
Jordan gasped at his harsh and unkind words. Tears welled up in her eyes as she fought for control of her emotions once again. "You bastard." She hissed under her breath as she stood and towered over his sitting frame. She was shaking with so much anger that she thought she'd explode at any moment. The words that came from her mouth also shook and were forced through clenched teeth. "Don't you dare pretend that you know me, Garrett Macy. DON'T YOU DARE!" She had to pause a moment to catch her breath. "My husband didn't leave me because he wanted to. He didn't leave me by choice. He left because he was taken from me. From us." She motioned towards the corner where Eve sat playing with her dollies. She forced herself to swallow the lump in her throat. "His leaving was the result of a senseless act of violence. His murder was senseless. So as you can see Garrett...he didn't leave by his own free will. He was forced. Forced to leave behind his family. Forced out of his child's life and not by a court order. Forced out of my life and not by a divorce document. We would have never done that to each other. Never. Because we loved each other." She felt tired now. That outburst took a lot out of her already emotionally fragile body. "I might have given birth to Spencer nine years ago but you make the choice to take him away from me. You made the choice to leave me with nothing. I gave you my heart and in return I got nothing except a taste of cold hard reality." She fell silent now not having noticed the approach of the small boy.
Garrett sat in mute silence feeling like a complete and total ass. He didn't know what to say or even if he should say anything. This was obviously still a fresh wound for Jordan and he ached for her. He wanted nothing more than to comfort her but knew it was impossible. Here he was just a few moments ago panicking that she'd leave again without him getting answers. Now he was sure that she was going to leave. He never wanted to divorce her or take Spencer away but it was the only thing he could think of to force her into changing. She was a workaholic and was using alcohol more and more to relax. After a few short weeks she had turned into a full blown alcoholic. He feared for her safety and the safety of their son. She wouldn't listen to his pleading, demanding, threatening so he went one step further. He pushed her and she pushed back. She never fought him for custody of Spencer like he had hoped. She never contested the divorce like he had hoped. Instead she withdrew into herself and disappeared. But here she was sitting across from him, moaning the loss of a man that had loved her, faults and all. She had obviously changed for Eve's father and it made him wonder if she would have eventually changed for him. Shaking his head, he glanced over at his wide-eyed son. "Shit." He mumbled under his breath. The boy had obviously heard everything by the look in his eyes.
She did feel bad that Spencer heard their argument but it was Garrett that started it and it was Garrett that would have to deal with the results. "Eve, sweety, gather your things. We'll visit grandpa Max another day." She smiled as the little girl began to put her dollies away but in an orderly fashion that had only further proved that she was her daughter. Smiling, she glanced over at Garrett who was consoling the boy. Her heart broke. No matter how many times she told herself and others that she had accepted that her son was no longer part of her life, she still missed him. Any decent, caring, mother would. She licked her lips. "Hey..." She said softly, trying to get the boys attention. Once he looked at her, she offered him a small smile. "I'm sorry you had to hear that. Grown-ups aren't very good at using their inside voices, are they?" That got a small smile from him. She wanted nothing more than to reach across the table and touch him but instead she took hold of Eve's hand and stood. She noticed Max standing behind the bar, looking disappointed. In her? Probably. "Great." She mumbled. All she needed was her father to be angry at her. Coming back was a bad idea. She was sure of that now. She stopped hearing a small voice behind her.
"Are you my mommy?" Nine year old Spencer Macy asked the pretty woman. He had heard her and his father arguing and he recognized the womans voice. Tears welled up on his eyes as he waited for her to answer, never leaving his fathers loving embrace.
Jordan swallowed and glanced down at her daughter. She was so sweet and innocent. Never paying attention to the world around her. This time she was grateful for that. She turned around to face the boy and took a moment to gather her thoughts before smiling sadly. "Ya kiddo. I was your mommy for about two years of your life. And I loved you with all my heart and soul. I still do. I used to sing you a lullaby at night to get you to sleep. You remember that?" He nodded his head and she smiled. "You were perfect and you still are. Don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise." She saw the hope in his perfect brown eyes. A match to hers, she knew. Closing her eyes, she sighed. "But I'm not your mommy anymore and I haven't been for along time. I'm Eve's mommy now and she needs me more than you do. You have a daddy. But Eve doesn't. So I have to be both mommy and daddy. Do you understand?" She could see the tears beginning to spill over and run down his pale cheek. Her own eyes welled up but she left before anyone could see her mourn the loss of her son.
Garrett held Spencer tightly as he cried. The little boy didn't understand. He had always been told of his mother and only good things. But here she was, flesh and blood, telling him that he didn't need her. That she loves him but can't be his mommy anymore. This made all the hope he held inside his little heart deflate in an instant. Hope that he'd meet his mother someday and she'd want to be apart of his life. Swallowing, Garrett glanced towards Max and sighed. "What did I do?" He asked, more to himself than anyone else. "What did I do?" Shaking his head, he just held the sobbing little boy. He would talk with Jordan. He would make her see that Spencer needed her just as much as Eve. He'd try to fix what he had broken. He'd make her see that she was needed and wanted in not only Spencer's life but his as well. He just hoped that she didn't run again.