ME AND MY DADDI - Season 4 Episode 9

He was about ready to find Eve when his phone rang.

“Hello.”

“It’s Darian. I got a call from your detective. He said Reverend Sherman was trying to pull Trisha, Eve’s mom, out of her apartment and was ranting and raving, yelling at her to give him his daughter back. Good thing the detective you had following him was there. He was able to intervene. He called me right away when he couldn’t get you on the phone, and I had him take Eve’s mom to a hotel.”

Patrick cursed. “Shit, that must have been when I was outside with Eve. I’m glad I gave him your number.” He sat back and rubbed his thumb over his bottom lip as he thought. “Should we get them together today?”

“I think I should go to Trisha and tell her what’s going on. I want to get her into a condo in one of our buildings and maybe give her a job at the Stanton building. I’ll ask what she can do. If we think she needs more training, we’ll get it for her. What do you think?”

“I like the idea. The condos have great security, and she’ll make more working for us then the restaurants she’s at now.”

“I agree,” Darian said. “Why don’t you talk with Eve today? Let her get used to the idea, and then we’ll get them together tomorrow. Does that sound okay?”

“I agree. It will give them both time to settle a bit before we unite them again. I’d also like to spend some alone time with Eve so we can bond more and get to know each other better.”

“Good idea. I’ll keep the girls at home today. Eve has had a lot of upheaval in her life, and it’s only going to get worse. She’s going to need stability and learn to trust you. It will make everything a lot easier for her. I’ll talk to Trish. Call me later after you talk to Eve, and we’ll discuss how they both take the news.”

“Okay. I’ll talk to you later. Thank you, Darian.”

“No problem.”

Patrick sat back in his chair. He steepled his fingers together with his elbows on the arms of his chair.

“Patrick, is everything okay?”

He looked up to see Eve standing, seeming unsure at the door. He waved her over and was pleased when she came right to him, so he pulled her into his lap and cuddled her against his chest.

“Everything is great, honey. I think you’ll be really pleased with the information I’m going to give you. But you’ll also be shocked. Just remember, I’m here, and nothing bad will happen to you.”

“Okay,” Eve said nervously and nodded.

“Baby, your father lied about your mother being dead.”

She tilted her head back and stared up at him in confusion. “What?”

Patrick rubbed Eve’s back. “She wasn’t in an accident. She tried to take you away one night, and he caught her. He kicked her out and warned her if she tried to get close to you, he’d kill you both.”

****

Eve looked away as image after image raced through her mind. She looked back at Patrick. She’d had snippets of trying to run with her mother but had always thought she’d been dreaming and not remembering a real event.

Her chest tightened at the thought of all the time lost with her mother and all because of her father. She felt a kernel of hate take root inside of her, replacing the fear he’d always cultivated in her to control her. No more. She was an adult, and he couldn’t make her do anything she didn’t want to. She had friends who stood up for her, and now she had Patrick. A man who was quickly becoming the center of her world.

“Where is she now?”

“She lives in the next county over. She’s been trying to get you away from him, but he’s got too much influence. She’s been working two jobs trying to save up for a lawyer. The reason he took you out of school your senior year was that he caught her watching you. He also found out your mom was trying to get the school involved.”

“Can… Can I see her?”

“Yes, of course. Darian is going to get the two of you together tomorrow.”

A thought popped into her head, and a wave of panic swept through her.

“Will I have to go with her when she leaves?”

“I really hope you choose to stay with me, but you can see her any time you want.”

“I think I just want to see her right now.”

He nodded. “How about we eat lunch and then spend the afternoon in the media room watching movies?”

“I’d like that. I’ve never seen a movie.”

He hugged her to his chest. “You can see all the movies you want, any time you want.”

He helped Eve off his lap and reached for her hand.

She knew she probably looked dazed by the information and was glad that he gave her time to process it.

Agnes had lunch on the table when they entered the kitchen. Patrick held out Eve’s chair and then sat down beside her.

They both dug into chicken salad sandwiches and homemade chips. They talked about the weather, when she wanted to see her friends, and what she wanted to say to her mom.

After they were finished, he helped Eve to stand.

“Thank you for lunch,” Eve said to Agnes as they walked to the door. “It was delicious.”

“Thank you, child.”