3. Quinn
3
QUINN
J ohn disappeared into the crowd, gone before I could speak again. I had seen the horror on his face and heard the shock in his voice when he repeated “daughter.”
He didn’t give me a chance to explain. Instead, he had walked away.
And I didn’t have time to run after him to try to make him understand.
I hurried to the parking lot, sticking to the lighted area and following a couple heading that way. I breathed a sigh of relief and locked the door, heading to Cathy’s place. I shouldn’t have listened to them when they told me to go wander the fair. To get out and clear my head. I should have stayed home. Been there when Abby woke up with a fever. Memories of my ex and his constant criticism about being a bad mother, a terrible wife, an overall failure of a human being played in my head, and I fought to shut them down. He was wrong.
Yet, as often as I told myself that, his ugly words occupied a place in my mind I couldn’t seem to shut off.
I drove back to Cathy’s, parking the car and hurrying inside. Cathy greeted me, laying a hand on my arm. “She’s fine. I gave her some children’s Tylenol and put a cold cloth on her head, and she’s already cooler. She had some water and wasn’t upset you weren’t here. I told her you were running an errand.” She smiled. “Go see her before she falls asleep.” It was only then she noticed the teddy under my arm. “You got that at the fair?”
I nodded. “Long story. Jerk I thought was a nice guy. Ran for the hills when he found out I had a daughter. But the teddy will come in handy for Abby.”
She rubbed my arm in sympathy. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine. Not like I was looking anyway.”
I went past her into the guest room where we were staying. Abby was dozing, opening her eyes and gazing at me sleepily as I sat on the bed beside her.
“Hi, baby.”
“Hi, Momma. Did you get your errand done?”
“Yeah. How are you feeling?”
“Better. I was hot and scared, but I’m okay now. Cathy was nice. And Bart gave me a popsicle. It tasted good.”
“I’m glad. This might help too.” I handed her the bear, the pink fuzzy animal making her smile.
“Oh, Momma, I love her!”
“I thought you might.” As soon as I had seen the tutu and the sparkly necklace on the teddy, I knew it was the one I had to pick. I knew there was no doubt Abby was going to end up getting the bear, so I chose one I was sure she would love.
I checked her temperature, pleased to see it was almost normal again. When I had first left my husband, Abby had often woken up scared, her fever spiking. The doctor put it down to anxiety, and it had stopped not long after we were on our own. I should have expected it tonight. I shook my head, knowing I shouldn’t have left her.
Lesson learned.
“Tomorrow, I’m going to take you and show you the town we’re going to live in,” I said quietly.
“Is it pretty?”
“It is,” I assured her, brushing her hair back from her head. She loved a head rub. “Lots of trees and little houses. I saw a park and a playground. There’s even a local swimming pool.”
“Are we gonna live in an apartment?”
“No, a house. I put in an application.”
“What’s that?” she asked, her voice low as she began to drift.
“Like a questionnaire. They want to know about us so they can let us live there.”
“Good thing we’re nice,” she mumbled.
I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Good thing.”
She fell asleep, her breathing deep and even. I watched her for a while, my thoughts racing.
For some reason, I couldn’t get the jerk out of my head. How kind he’d been at first. His concern for my well-being. His low, rich voice. The way he made me feel safe by simply walking beside me.
I had felt something spark between us. I was certain of it. The warmth of his touch had held me captive.
Then I recalled his reaction to hearing I had a daughter.
I sighed. Single mothers weren’t for everyone.
Even knights in shining armor who seemed wonderful.
I had learned my lesson that not everything was the way it looked.
It wasn’t a lesson I was planning on repeating.
JOHN
The next morning, I woke up angry. I had been furious since I’d stormed away from the pretty Quinn at the fair. The pretty, married Quinn with a child. Hearing the deep male voice on the other end of the phone had hit me, my past playing out in a warped sort of replay. I had to leave before I did something I regretted. Although, the truth was, I already had. I should have walked away after helping her. Instead, I’d acted like an idiot, walking the fair with her, winning her a teddy bear like a lovestruck teenager.
I sighed as I poured a cup of coffee. At least I wouldn’t be seeing her again. She was only visiting, and aside from a quick trip to the bank later, I had no plans on being anywhere I would run into her. I hoped her visit was a short one.
Draining my coffee, I set the cup in the sink and headed out to the fields. Some hard work and sweat would help clear my head.
I needed that.
Hours later, I stepped from the shower, running a towel over my torso and roughly drying my hair. I dressed in jeans and a shirt, rolling up the sleeves as I headed downstairs. My phone was ringing, and I answered my sister’s call.
“Hey, Laura.”
“Hi. Bob needs a favor.”
“Sure.”
“The delivery truck broke down in Mitchell. There’s an order on it he really needs today. The store is still short-staffed, and I have three meetings?—”
I interrupted her. “Not an issue. I’m headed to the bank, then I’ll head to Mitchell and pick it up.”
She sighed in relief. “I owe you.”
“I’d accept dinner.”
She laughed. “I should have known.”
I chuckled. “Tonight is spaghetti night. I love your spaghetti.” I paused. “And I want to give Cody his bike. There’s a meetup in the park tomorrow, and I know he’d love to go.”
“His birthday is soon,” she admonished me. “But you’re right, he’d love it, so go ahead. Not that I could stop you,” she added.
“Nope.”
“See you later.”
The sun was high, shining in the cab of the truck as I drove back to Richton, the delivery Bob required in the back cab. I planned on dropping it off, loading up the bike, heading to Laura’s place and surprising Cody. I would wait until his parents were both home to see his reaction, but I was excited to give him the bike. He was a good kid, and he deserved it.
Ahead, I saw an SUV pulled over on the shoulder, the hatch open. As I drove past, I saw the driver struggling to work on the flat. Unable to leave anyone, especially a woman, in distress on the side of the road, I pulled over, backing up. I swung myself out of the truck, heading to the vehicle.
“Hey,” I called out. “Need a hand?”
She stood, a curtain of dark hair obscuring her face for a moment. Faded denim overalls hung loose on her, a plaid shirt underneath and sneakers on her feet making her look somehow smaller than I expected. Then she brushed her hair back, and our eyes locked. Familiar, striking seafoam met my blue, and instantly, the air between us grew taut with anger.
“You,” I muttered.
“You,” she responded, sounding aghast.
I bit back my question, asking where the hubby was. Instead, I swallowed.
“Need some help?”
“I can figure it out, thanks,” she replied, sounding stiff and turning her back on me.
I watched her as she unsuccessfully tried to loosen the lug nuts. With a shake of my head, I went to my truck, grabbed the right tools, a can of WD-40, and returned.
“You’ll be at that all day,” I said.
“I’ve got it,” she snapped.
“Yep. Looks like it. Don’t be so stubborn.”
When she ignored me, still trying to loosen the lug nuts, I bent and bodily lifted her out of the way, grasping her waist and moving her to the side.
“Hey,” she protested.
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t you have a sick kid you need to get home to?”
I bent down, spraying the rusty lug nuts and fitting the tire iron in place. “Or is hubs more the caregiver than you?” I added, my voice bitter.
She muttered something, but I ignored her, getting the lug nuts off and, with some effort, pulling the tire away from the wheel.
Quinn had managed to get the spare out, and I made short work of putting it in place and tightening the bolts. I tossed the flat in the hatch and turned to her.
“You shouldn’t be driving on those tires. They need replacing. It could be dangerous. You’re lucky it was just a flat.” I warmed up to my argument. “Your city-slicker husband should be taking better care. Not letting you wander in a strange place alone. Letting you drive on bald tires. What if your kid had been in the car?”
She stepped closer, fury etched on her face. “First off, jackass, the tires are being replaced next week. Second, there is no husband. Why the hell would you jump to that conclusion? You think I’m the kind of woman who would flirt with a stranger if she was married?”
“Wouldn’t be the first time,” I snapped, even as I felt a strange sense of relief at the information she shared.
“It would be for me, you jerk.”
Before I could respond, she glared and stepped back, no doubt to walk away. Except she slipped on the gravel and her leg jerked, her foot catching me on the shin. Between my jeans and lack of power behind the movement, it was like being bumped with a hard cushion. Her eyes grew round with horror, upset, no doubt, at the involuntary smack. Unable to stop myself, I grinned, which only seemed to fuel her fury. And for some reason, it made me want to make her angrier.
“Is that the best you got, sunshine? Try putting a little muscle behind it next time.”
“It was an accident, but if I get the chance, I will.” She glared at me. “You deserve a good, swift kick in the butt for your attitude.”
“Well, given the way you kick, I won’t change much.”
“I don’t think you can change, you grump.”
For some reason, her words made me want to smile. Laura called me a grump all the time.
“For the right reason, maybe I could.”
She rolled her eyes and began to walk away then turned around. “For the record, I am a single mother. The voice you heard on the phone was my friend’s husband calling to tell me that Abby had woken up with a fever. His wife was looking after her, so he called.” She shook her head. “But you didn’t wait around to find that out, did you? You heard daughter and immediately assumed the worst.” She slammed her hands on her hips. “Or was it simply hearing that I had a child that changed your mind? I know men hate knowing they wouldn’t be number one in the relationship,” she said scathingly.
“I like kids. What I don’t like are cheaters.”
“Then take up with my ex. And shame on you for assuming I was the one cheating.”
I glared, the words out before I could stop them. “It’s happened before,” I growled.
“I’m not that sort of woman.” She spun on her heel and stormed away. Her door slammed, and the gravel kicked up stones as she hit the gas, driving away in a cloud of dust.
I watched her go, feeling oddly unsettled. She was correct—I had jumped to conclusions when I heard the male tone of the call and then she said the word daughter. I never thought of any other possibility except I was being played again.
And now I was standing on the side of the road, unsure what to do next.
I sighed and headed to my truck.
It wasn’t something I had to worry about. She was only visiting, and the chances of a third encounter were slim.
Right?
Cody finished off his second plate of spaghetti, draining his glass of milk, and wiping his mouth. I couldn’t blame the kid. Laura made great spaghetti, and I had eaten three large plates myself.
Laura and Bob watched us, trying not to grin. They knew I was dying to give Cody his bike, and it was taking all I had in me to wait.
I sat back, casually laying my arm across the back of my chair.
“I got something in the truck I need help unloading, kid. You up to the task?”
He flexed his arms, no doubt thinking he looked tough and strong. “For sure.”
“Great. I’ll lift it, and you can help move it.”
“Sure, Uncle J.” He grinned, looking cheeky, and winked at me. “I won’t even charge ya.”
I laughed, and his parents rolled their eyes. We headed outside, Laura making sure that Cody stayed behind me. They stopped a short distance from the truck, and I reached over the cab, pushing away the tarp that covered the new bike. The rich blue gleamed in the evening sun, the light glancing off the chrome. With a grunt, I lifted it out, turning and setting it on the ground in front of Cody. For a moment, there was utter, stunned silence. He stared at the bike, his mouth open, unblinking. Shock was written all over his face. That gave way to disbelief, followed by pure, unabashed happiness. He looked at his mom, then his dad, then back at me.
“It’s mine?”
“Happy birthday, Cody.”
He was a blur as he rushed forward, flinging his arms around my waist and hugging me hard. I squeezed him back, the joy on his face all I needed. We spent the next ten minutes with him examining his new ride, pointing out every detail that thrilled him.
Which was a lot. I was surprised he took time to draw a breath.
Finally, I laughed. “Why don’t you take it for a spin?”
He climbed on, exclaiming over another detail. “Uncle J—the paint changes color!”
“Yeah, I thought you’d like that.”
“Uber cool,” he enthused. “And BMX is exactly what I wanted! You upgraded the tires too!”
I chuckled at his enthusiasm. “I made sure it had everything on your wish list, kid. Plus, the helmet and safety gear. I expect you to wear it all.”
He met my gaze, suddenly serious. “Thanks, Uncle J. You’re the best. And I love it.”
“Good. Take care of it.”
“I will.”
“Now, take it for a spin.”
He grinned, pedaling away. Laura came beside me, looping her arm around my waist. “You made his year.”
“He’s a good kid.”
She smiled up at me, her eyes glistening. “You’re a good man.”
The thought of seafoam green eyes glaring at me floated through my head. “At times,” I said.
She shook her head. “The way you treat Cody is the real you. And one day, the right person will bring that out in you all the time. I know it.”
I pressed a kiss to her head, having no words.
But again, Quinn came to mind.
I dismissed those thoughts.
Immediately.