The Hanson-Mathews bunch returned to Taryn’s house a little When they got back home, Taryn took Isaac aside quietly. “I just wanted to prepare you,” she said. “I have an escort picking me up and taking me to this party.” Isaac’s heart sank. “Really,” he said, trying his best to sound disinterested. Taryn nodded. “It’s nothing serious,” she said. Isaac put on a half smile. “You don’t owe me any explanations,” he said. “It’s not like we’re together or anything.” Taryn wondered if Isaac was trying to hurt her feelings intentionally. “I was just telling you so you weren’t taken by surprise,” she said. “I’m going to go get dressed.” Isaac leaned down to take Clara out of her stroller. “Fine,” he said. “You do whatever you need to. I can take care of things here.” Isaac watched Taryn walk to her bedroom and close the door. As soon as she was out of sight, his shoulders fell. Shit, he thought to himself. She has a freaking date! Of all the weekends for me to decide to visit. Isaac held Clara tightly and closed his eyes. “It’s okay,” he said. “I’m alright. I’m an adult. I can handle this.” Isaac joined the others in the living room. They decided to order pizza and were arguing about what to get on it when Taryn walked into the room putting on her earrings. She was wearing a knee-length red dress with spaghetti straps and red satin pumps. A delicate gold cross pendant hung around her neck. “Wow, Taryn, you look amazing,” Zac said. Taryn blushed. “Thank you,” she said. “You do,” Taylor agreed. “You look great in red.” Isaac was already seething. “Let’s decide what we want on this pizza and get it ordered,” he snapped. “I have a baby I need to get fed, bathed and in bed. We can’t be pissing around all night.” Taylor, Zac and Iris gave Isaac a confused look as the doorbell rang. “That’s probably Kyle,” Taryn said, excusing herself. “Kyle?” Isaac said, half to himself. “What kind of a name is Kyle?” Taryn returned to the living room with a tall man who looked to be in his mid-20s. He was clean-cut and very tall, with short blonde hair and piercing green eyes. “Kyle, this is Clara’s father, Isaac,” Taryn said. “These are his brothers, Taylor and Zac.” Isaac bounced Clara on his knee and refused to look at Kyle or Taryn. “Nice to meet you all,” Kyle said. “Um, yeah,” Taylor said uncertainly. “You too.” “I’d get up to shake your hand, but I kind of have my hands full here with our daughter,” Isaac said pointedly, stressing the word our. Iris looked from Isaac to her mother and back again. The tension in the room was almost visible. Taryn picked up her jacket from the chair. “Okay, then, we’ll be back later,” she said. “The number is by the phone if you need me.” Isaac still refused to look at Taryn. He didn’t need to see her looking so beautiful. Especially when she was headed out the door for a night on the town with someone else. “We’ll be fine,” he said tightly. “You just have a good time.” After Isaac and Taryn left, Taylor ordered the pizza. Zac and Iris perused the Mathews’ movie selection, and settled on their stomachs on the floor to watch “The Wedding Singer.” Isaac was sitting on the couch giving Clara a bottle, and Taylor sat down next to him. “Are you okay?” Taylor asked tentatively. “I’m fine,” Isaac said stoically. “Are you sure?” Taylor pressed. “You’re not acting fine.” Isaac sighed. “What do you want me to say, Tay?” he asked. “You want me to say it’s okay that she went out of here looking like that with another guy? You want me to say that I think it’s great that she’s dating?” “There are things you could do about that,” Taylor pointed out. “Like what? Like forgive her for keeping my kids from me for a year? Just take her back and give her an all-clear for her conscience?” Isaac asked bitterly. Taylor shook his head. “Man, Ike, you can be a real jackass,” he said. “You know how many people would kill to have what you and Taryn did? And here you have a second chance. You can get it back. It may take some time, but man, you’ve got to meet her halfway. Your being so nasty and distant isn’t going to get you anywhere. If you keep this up, she may end up married to that Kyle guy.” Isaac narrowed his eyes at Taylor. “She’s not going to marry that reknob,” he scoffed. Taylor chuckled. “For not caring what she does with her life, you’re doing a heck of an imitation,” he mused. The doorbell rang, and Isaac handed Clara to Taylor. “I have to go pay for the pizza,” he said. As Isaac answered the door, Taylor looked down into his niece’s brown eyes. “He’ll come around,” he said softly. “I definitely think we’re making progress.”
before six that evening. They had spent the day at the Cam and Lindsey’s, swimming in the pool and lounging.
