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“That’s nice.” I handed my ex-wife the water bottle she requested, willing Rhys and Gretchen to join us.

Nothing against Jess, but sometimes I dreaded being alone with her. She was great in some ways; in others, she was just…a lot.

Jess had recently changed careers and was now a real estate agent in Pinecrest, the snootiest town in the Four Forest area. Which explained the snazzy Audi in my driveway, her new diamond bracelet, and the enormous Louis Vuitton bag she’d propped on a barstool at the kitchen island.

I wanted to be happy for her, however, a cynical part of me worried that a downturn in the market might result in a petition to the local judge for an increase in child support per month from yours truly to float her fabulous new lifestyle.

I shot a surreptitious glance at the stairs and was rewarded with my overzealous golden retriever skittering across the hardwood floor, a ball in his mouth, his eyes ablaze with mischief. I patted Tate’s head, took the ball from him, and aimed it toward the great room.

Jess watched the dog, her diamond bracelet jangling as she uncapped the bottle. She was a striking brunet with high cheekbones, gold-flecked brown eyes, and a heart-shaped face. Jessica Campbell had been the prettiest girl in high school. A cheerleader, a prom court princess, and a straight A student who’d somehow managed to get good grades and party like a rock star on the weekends. She’d been friendly, vivacious, and sweet as pie.

My mother had adored her, my dad had thought she was a smart cookie, and my friends had been sure I was the luckiest guy at Wood Hollow High. We’d married young, but we hadn’t rushed into parenthood. We’d gone to college first—Jess had studied psychology and I’d gotten a degree in criminal justice and had entered the police academy in Burlington soon after. She’d been supportive, happy to be a cop’s wife. It was all…kind of amazing.

Until it wasn’t.

Something changed after the kids were born. According to Jess, I’d worked too much or in the mix of trying to establish myself and be a good father, I’d forgotten to pay attention to our relationship. Married couples grew apart. It sucked, but it happened all the time.

We’d divorced when the kids were young—six and three. And that had been…tough. Really tough. The one thing we’d agreed on was that Rhys and Gretchen always came first. I liked to think we were good at coparenting, however, it wasn’t easy. Jess wasn’t the same girl I’d French-kissed under the bleachers in high school.

She was supportive of the kids but mercurial with me—alternately combative and critical, then out of nowhere, she wanted to gab about who she was dating like we were old buddies.

Frankly, I didn’t have the mental capacity to figure her out. I didn’t know Jess anymore, and she didn’t know me. But our kids tethered us together, and no matter how far we drifted, we couldn’t escape each other. Resentment and friction were probably a natural byproduct of our dysfunctional relationship, and let me tell you, it was fucking exhausting.

The exhaustion made me anxious to the point of distraction. I hadn’t felt this edgy since the divorce when every day had consisted of twenty-four hours of battling loneliness, anger, frustration, sorrow, and so much fucking guilt. My therapist had cautioned me to go easy on myself. Change was healing but it hurt, too.

And life was changing again. I could feel it in the air. My dad wasn’t well, my mom was struggling to cope, I had a teenager and a preteen to raise, and an ex who sometimes grated on my last nerves.

I wasn’t sure how to convey to Jess that her newest conquest was of zero interest to me without inciting a cold war, so I hummed along, hoping she’d wrap it up and move on.

“These days everything is online and sure enough, the first man I matched with went to high school with us. Chad Amari. Remember him?”

“What happened to Steve?” I asked, plucking the ball from Tate’s mouth and tossing it.

Jess scoffed. “That was over months ago. Nice man, but too possessive. I’m forty-six, honey. That’s young! There’s no reason I shouldn’t be out there having a good time. And that goes for you too, Reg. When was the last time you went on a date?”

I frowned and didn’t bother hiding my rather desperate glance toward the stairs. “I’m not answering that. In fact, I should start dinner. Anything I should know about the kids’ schedule or⁠—”

“Why do you always do that?”

“Do what?” I countered testily.

“Push me away. Never mind.” She held my gaze, huffing her annoyance before gathering her expensive bag and striding to the base of the staircase, her heels clipping sharply on the hardwood floors. “Rhys, Gretchen, I’m leaving!”

I scooped up Tate’s ball. “Gretch told me she’s studying for the Junior Math Decathlon. Seems early to worry about it in August. Do you know anything about it?”

Jess spared me a gentler smile, softening her tone slightly. “It’s next year. I have a feeling she’s having early junior high school jitters. I hope not, but it’s something to keep an eye on. Don’t forget her ortho appointment on Wednesday after school. And you might want to have another birds-and-bees chat with Rhys. I heard he was spotted k-i-s-s-i-n-g Kelsey Vassar. In case you don’t know or forgot, she’s the cutie from Fallbrook he met at camp last year.”

I furrowed my brow. “Really? I⁠—”

The kids barreled down the stairs for a round of good-byes. It was a perfunctory ritual at this point. I remembered rockier times with weekly tears. Now…you could almost sense them will the odd-parent-out to move on so they could settle in and continue their day in peace.

Rhys and Gretch were raiding the kitchen cupboards long before the Audi pulled away.

“You forgot to buy ketchup, Dad. Aren’t we making burgers tonight?” Rhys asked, scouring the newly stocked fridge.

“No, he bought some. It’s in the pantry, but it’s in the wrong spot.” Gretchen held the red bottle over her head and made a small production of putting it on a lower shelf. “Can I make potato salad? Dex showed me a recipe with sweet pickles that sounds a little gross but is so good. He used it for a donut, though.”

Rhys snickered, helped himself to a can of flavored sparkling water and a bag of chips, and flopped onto the nearest stool. “Camp was cool today. We have some funny kids. They can’t sit still for five minutes. Silas was buggin’ out.”