Kindergarten Baby: A Novel Read Online Free Page B

come for something like that. And though she was sorely tempted to punch him, getting physical or using any kind of force was out of the question.
    “I’ll be completely alone without Wendell. How can you do this to me? Besides, when couples split up, the child stays with the mother,” she begged, knowing she sounded desperate. She didn’t care. He had to give in!
    But Anthony just rolled his eyes. “If you’re done traveling down memory lane and taking your little fantasy trip back into the ‘50s, I’ll just take Wendell and go,” he snipped. “Shawna and I have a large house and an even bigger yard. Several acres, actually. He’ll be much happ—”
    Her sadness suddenly took a backseat to anger. “What do you mean you have a big house and yard?” She couldn’t stop her upper lip from curling into a sneer. “Don’t you mean Shawna has all this?”
    He looked down his nose at her, affronted. “No, I do. And I don’t like what you’re implying.”
    “Well, if the shoe fits—”
    “Shawna is too young to have earned much money yet. It’s mine. And I worked hard to get it.”
    “And just how can that be?” she demanded. “We were broke! We’ve lived in this tiny house because you said you needed every penny of your income to set up and support your fledgling practice. We’ve lived off my teaching income, so that you‌—‌we‌—‌could accomplish that. Now you’re telling me that you have a large house on several acres of land a mere two weeks after you walked out on me?”
    Pieces of the puzzle were coming together. The life she’d so longed for, so needed to recapture, had all been a lie. A façade. He’d used her as a stepping stone, which meant she was nothing more than a means to an end.
    “Shawna is ‘too young’ to earn that much money? Well, at least you’re not after her money. I feel so much better knowing that,” she snapped sarcastically. “Tell me. Just how young is ‘too young’ to earn a decent living, Anthony? I’m only twenty-six, and I apparently made enough money for you. How old is Shawna, anyway?”
    “That’s not important.”
    “You’re the one that brought it up. How old is she?”
    “Lindsey, come on. Don’t be so unreasonable.”
    “Unreasonable?!” She stepped as close to him as she dared, counting out his sins on her fingers. “You walked out on me. You made love in our bed with another woman. You concealed your financial assets from me.” Her breath quickened, her volume increase. “You concealed an affair that you’ve probably been having for a long time. Now you want to take Wendell, the only thing I have left to care about, and you think I’m unreasonable? You bastard!” she yelled.
    He took a breath, seeming unsure. “You’re losing it, Lindsey,” he said.
    She laughed, a short, cold sound that hardly sounded like her own voice. She definitely wasn’t sounding like a kindergarten teacher at the moment. “You’re damn right I’m losing it. And I’ve only just begun. How old is she? I want to know.”
    “You really don’t want to know. It’s not important. It’s not relevant.”
    “I want to know.”
    Anthony strode past her, then picked up the dog’s jumbo dish, leash, and rawhide bone. He gave a whistle and headed angrily toward the door. Wendell’s tail wag was low and confused. He looked at Anthony, then at Lindsey, questions in his eyes.
    “Get over here, Wendell!” Anthony yelled.
    Tail between his legs, Wendell ran to Anthony and looked up. Anthony nudged the dog’s hip so he moved out of the house, then slammed the door behind them.
    A second later, the door opened again, and Anthony poked his head inside. “Twenty,” he said. “She’s twenty and she’s hot! There! Are you happy now?”
    It took a moment before she could speak. When she did, it was through her teeth. “I hope you end up just like…‌just like The Money Pig !” she screamed back at him.
    He frowned, confused by her strange reply, then shut