Then she drives off, not slowly either.
“He calls you by your first name,” my mother says, bouncing Annabelle on her lap.
I’m still so tired and have to remember to be calm. “Yes, he does.”
“You like this one?” she asks.
When I look up at her, her eyebrows are raised, and she has a smile on her face. “I can’t remember the last man you actually liked,” she says, surprising me. “You never brought anyone home, and you’ve never spoken about any, which was so surprising to me when you said you were pregnant.” She looks down at Annabelle. “Do you like him?”
“I do, but he isn’t right for me. For so many reasons. And I have to think of Annabelle now. No one else,” I say, standing and reaching for her. I need to go home and sleep, and preferably sleep with my baby girl by my side.
“Just don’t let that stop you from falling in love, Kat. You do deserve to be loved by someone else other than your family.”
“I will, thanks, Mom.” I take Annabelle to leave. But before I do, my mother gives me food for dinner, which she cooked last night, and I’m thankful. I haven’t told her that she will no longer need to care for Annabelle, since I no longer have a job. Especially not when we’re just starting to get along without biting each other’s heads off.
Driving down my street, I see a car parked out the front of my house, and I know who it is automatically and look to my phone. I see Mitchell’s tried to call.
Shit! Was I meant to meet with him today?
Stopping the car and grabbing my things, I get Annabelle out of her car seat. Mitchell smiles when he sees me and offers to grab some of the things from my hands, which I let him.
“I tried to call. I’ve purchased some things for Annabelle, which I was going to just drop off, but then I saw your car…” he trails off with a smile.
“Oh, thanks.” I look to my porch to see nappies and baby food in a box.
“I asked the lady at the counter what was popular food, she suggested that, so I hope it’s okay. If it’s not, let me know and I will buy exactly what you need.”
Walking inside, he picks up the box and brings it in.
“Look, Mitchell, I’m tired. Really tired. But thank you.”
“Oh, you worked last night?”
“I did.”
He looks around, and there’s a very happy Annabelle who doesn’t seem the least bit tired.
“I can stay if you like. Maybe watch some movies with Annabelle and just play while you sleep. We won’t go out the front or do anything other than stay right here.”
His offer is tempting, and I’m about to say no when Annabelle walks over to him, smacks his leg for him to pick her up, and smiles when he does.
“It will be no issue. I was hoping to spend some more time with her anyway.”
“I don’t know if I can trust you,” I say to him.
“I have signed that contract. It’s my only way to show you straight away that I don’t want to mess with what you have.” He turns, looking to Annabelle, smiling. “I’m here for her, Kat. I want to get to know her, and for her to know me. You will be no more than a few steps away, and I can wake you if I need you.”
“I just need an hour’s rest. So, I suppose…” I look up to my room.
“Rest. I know how to work a television, and we can play with her toys. We will stay right here.”
Mitchell takes her to the couch and sits down with her. I watch for a few minutes before I walk up to my room and crash on my bed, not even bothering to change.
I wake to male voices, which is weird considering I’m in my own house. I get up quickly and look at the time.
Shit! It’s almost four in the afternoon.
How long did I sleep?
I haven’t slept that long for ages.
“Momma,” Annabelle says as I walk down the stairs, now with my heels off and in bare feet. I scoop her up and kiss her cheek as I turn to find Mitchell with my front door open and Blaze standing there.
“What are you doing here?” I ask Blaze.
“Work starts now.”
I walk over, pass Annabelle to Mitchell, and step outside, closing the door behind me. “Leave. Now.”
He scrubs his face. “I was drunk.”
“I don’t care. Leave. I quit. Have fun running the place without me.” I turn to go back inside.
“Come back to work, please,” he says.
“No. You run it since you seem to know everything.”
“Who’s that man?” he asks. I turn to face him again. “I know you’re a single mother, and the father isn’t in the picture. So, who is that?”
“That is none of your business.”
“Didn’t think you to be a whore, but I guess we’re all proven wrong on occasion,” Blaze says, walking away.
My blood boils at his damn words.
How fucking dare him.
My hands clasp the potted plant next to my door and I throw it, aiming for his head, which it hits.
“You fucked this whore, asshole. Remember it! Because it’s the last time you ever will.”
Blaze turns angry and rubs his head.
Luckily for him it was plastic, but not so much for me.
“I’ve killed for less,” he says through gritted teeth.
I wave my hands out. “Try it!”
He laughs and gets on his bike with no helmet and takes off like a shower of shit.
Fuck.
Fuck.
He’s fucking with my head in more ways than one, and I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all.
“That man loves you,” Mitchell says, walking out without Annabelle. “I didn’t come back in hopes of getting back with you, but to say the thought hasn’t crossed my mind would be a lie. But now I see…” He shakes his head. “You like him too. And I’m in no position to say anything about that. But be careful, Kat. I haven’t been here for long, but I know who they are.” Mitchell pulls his jacket on and walks down the stairs to his car.
Looking back, he speaks, “If you need any help, especially with work, let me know.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Blaze
“You need Kat back. She runs this place better than anyone. The girls don’t listen to anyone else,” Steve says, shaking his head. His eyes are dilated, and I can tell he’s stressed. I’ve been helping out as much as I can all week, but he’s right, she runs a tight ship, and the girls clearly don’t listen to anyone as they do her.
“She doesn’t want to come back.”
“Bullshit! She loves it here,” Steve says, walking away, shaking his head.
He’s right, she does love it.
I go into the office and call her. All her things are here because she hasn’t been back to collect anything. Though she doesn’t have many personal items, just a drawer filled with panties and bras, which is weird, but who am I to say anything. I may get a plant thrown at my fucking head again, and I am anything but stupid.
“Fuck off,” she says as she hangs up on me.
Shit.
The door to the office flies open, and a small girl, the one who opens the night, walks in.