The Truth About You

-*- Hunter -*-

The last forty-eight hours have been a damn nightmare. The judge didn't say Candace had to be out of the house when we picked up Lita's stuff. However, he did require a police escort. So, she was standing right up my ass the entire time cursing at me and calling me all sorts of names. Right in front of our daughter. Lita was a mess the rest of the night. She'd never seen her mom act that way.

The mediation was pretty much a shit show too. When the judge confirmed Michael was Craig's son. It was like a red-hot iron was shoved into my gut. Candace's I told you so grin was completely unnecessary. The judge immediately granted her sole custody of him. She refused to even entertain the idea that I stay in Michael's life.

Lita was a little more complicated. The judge entertained My ex's reasoning that she needed to be with her brother for all of five minutes. When he read the report to her about what had happened the day before, she finally sat down and shut up. Craig shook his head in disappointment the whole time.

Ultimately, I was awarded primary custody. Candace will get Lita every weekend and every other holiday. She wasn't happy but apparently, she learned to keep her mouth shut. I may have overheard Craig threaten her to straighten her act up or he was leaving and taking Micheal just like I did with Lita.

I wanted to feel bad for her but after all the bullshit she has put me through, I didn't have a drop of sympathy. As a matter of fact, I hope Sasha takes her dad to the cleaners.

Especially since I just got off the phone with my boss. Apparently, my ex went and ran her mouth again spreading another lie that has costumers concerned. Until all this shit blows over I'm out of a job. Dale reminded me that it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It added to my defamation suit. It also could help when it comes to the divorce proceedings.

If I don't have an income because of her actions her chances of getting alimony are slim to none. Since her dad has the loan on the house, she will get it. I'll leave this marriage with the clothes on my back and my daughter. And honestly that doesn't sound half bad.

A slim pair of arms slid over my shoulders and down my chest. Holly delivered a soft kiss to my neck before whispering, "What'cha thinking too hard about?"

I swiveled to face her and took in her appearance. God this woman looked good in anything. her sleep shorts and tank tops are my second favorite outfit she wears. The first being her birthday suit.

I reached out and slipped an around her waist lifted her over the couch and placed her onto my lap, "the mess my life has become."

She gave me a kind smile and brushed my bangs back, "It hasn't been all bad."

"I know," I replied before during my face into her cleavage.

She giggled and pushed me back.

"DADDY!" Lita screamed from her room upstairs.

I sighed and laid my head on the back of the couch.

"That's the third night of nightmares," Holly said softly. "Has she said what they're about."

"No," I answered as I shifted her to the couch. "She just says she worried about the bad man coming to get her."

Holly worried her lip with her teeth.

"She's gonna be fine. I'm sure it's just the new environment, "I said. I stole a kiss from her as I stood and made my way upstairs and called down to her, "Don't wait up babe. You've got an early morning at the diner. I'll join you in a bit."

"Hey, Princess," I said gently as I entered my daughters' room.

Lita's tiny whimpers were my only answer. With quick feet I slipped across the room and laid down with her. My heart broke a little when her shaking form clung to mine.

"Wanna tell me what it was about this time?" I whispered and kissed the top of her head.

"Mommy," she whimpered.

I sighed and shut my eyes in a silent prayer to give me strength, "You'll see mommy in a couple days, baby girl."

"No," she shook her head and buried deeper into my embrace, if that was even possible. "Mommy took me away."

"Oh, Princess," I gently tilted her head up so she was looking at me. "Mommy can never take your away from me."

"But what if..."

"Never," I said a little more seriously. "Lita I'm ALWAYS going to be here. There isn't a thing your Mom can do that will change that. And if anything like that were to happen, I would find you and bring you home."

"Promise?"

"With every inch of my heart."

My answer seemed to satisfy her because she nodded and cuddle close. "Will your stay with me?"

I dropped a kiss on the top of her head, "of course."

-*- Holly -*-

The next few months were a rollercoaster. The first few time Candace came to pick Lita up for her weekend she screamed and tried to refuse to go. Hunter always felt terrible making her get in the car. But it was court ordered and if he were to refuse Candace visitation, she had grounds to take him back to court again. Thankfully that's not happening anymore.

The rumor mill has begun to dwindle down too. Especially since the divorce has been finalized. Just like we thought she got the house and since Hunter won his defamation case, that was all she got. Craig dutifully paid the entire $150,000 thousand for Candace. I thought that was stupid but whatever its his money.

Hunter turned fifty thousand into a college fund for Lita. The rest he said will sit in savings until we need it. Sometimes I worry if we jumped into this whole relationship too fast. He moved into my room recently making it ours. We've lost a lot of time but considering we're still young we have plenty future to look forward too.

The cool pillow next to mine told me Hunter was already up and has been for a while. With quick flick I tossed the covers aside and climbed out of bed. A glance into the bathroom told me he wasn't there either.

It was six a.m. on a Friday where the heck could he be? Hunter went back to work at the shop a week ago. His days don't usually start until nine and he can be a bit of a grouch gif he's not sleeping until eight-thirty.

I stepped into the hallway and noticed Lita's door open. The room was empty as well so my next destination will be the kitchen. Maybe she had another nightmare and they decided to just stay up. Lita's nightmares are few and far between now. We're too glad too because sometimes she had a rough time getting back to sleep.

When I reached the kitchen, I stopped and leaned against the doorway. Hunter had a large bowl in his hands with a ladle. Lita was standing on a chair with a spatula flipping pancakes on the griddle. she would giggle when the pancake made the flopping noise after she flipped it.

The view made me smile.

This is what my life had been missing.

This is what I was waiting for.

This is my family.

THE END