by Susan Stoker
“You owe a crap-ton of money.”
Blythe couldn’t stop the snort. “No shit.”
“Yeah, I didn’t think that would be a surprise.”
“It’s not.” Blythe sighed. “I guess I’ll be living off of other people’s charity for a long time, huh? There’s no way I can pay that kind of debt back in this lifetime.”
“Bankruptcy,” Beth said.
“What?”
“You need to declare bankruptcy. It’s not ideal, I get that. But, girl, you have nothing to lose. Many people don’t want to do it when they have huge bills because they have investment accounts, and when you declare bankruptcy, they take almost everything. But you have nothing. And I searched. No long-lost relatives who left you money you don’t know about, no secret stash of money left by your mom. You’re flat broke.”
Blythe couldn’t help but smile. She liked Beth. She told it like it was. “True.”
“Now, there are some drawbacks…like it’ll be on your credit report for seven to ten years, but once it’s done, you don’t have to worry about the medical bills or credit card debt hanging over your head anymore.”
“I have no idea where to start.”
“That’s why you have me. And Soph. And Adeline and all the others. We’ll figure it out and get you through it. Together.”
Blythe looked up at the sky and took a deep breath. It had been so long since she’d been able to truly take in her surroundings. When your stomach was cramping because you were hungry and you smelled like fermenting trash, it was hard to appreciate any beauty around you.
But as Blythe fought to keep the tears from falling, she saw how big and fluffy the clouds looked. The sky was a beautiful light blue, and a memory of her and her mom lying on the grass in a park near their apartment when she was little, flitted through her brain. She’d forgotten a lot of the good times with her mom, the sad memories overtaking them. No more. Blythe made a mental vow to consciously pull the happy memories out of her brain and share them with her friends.
“Blythe? You still there?” Beth asked.
“Yeah, I’m here. And thanks. Seriously. I have no idea how I got so lucky, but I sometimes feel as if I’m Alice and I’ve woken up on the other side of the looking glass.”
Beth laughed at her analogy. “Whatever.”
“Oh, and I got a job today. And I’m buying you and everyone else a drink with my first paycheck. I’m going to blow it all on my new friends. You had better be there.”
“Only if Second gets a bone out of it,” Beth quipped.
“The biggest one I can find,” Blythe swore.
“You’re good people,” Beth said softly. “I’ve been where you are. Not exactly, but needing friends at a low point in my life. I didn’t think anyone could ever look past my issues and see me. But Cade did. And the others. I’m just returning the favor. I’ll talk to you later.”
Beth hung up without another word, but Blythe couldn’t be upset with her. She’d heard how emotional the other woman was. It was hard to admit that you needed help. And Blythe hadn’t even really needed to admit it. The others just knew. Yes, she’d asked Beth to see what she could find out about the hospital bills and the other creditors she owed money to, but she’d gone further and come up with a solution.
Blythe figured sooner or later, she would’ve realized on her own that declaring bankruptcy was the best way to go, but it helped to have someone who wasn’t directly affected taking a look at the situation.
Blythe resumed walking toward her house, feeling a hundred pounds lighter. All her problems weren’t solved. She still didn’t really have much that was hers and hers alone. But she had a job and a plan for her future. It would be a long haul, but she’d get there. She didn’t need a huge house and a lot of stuff; her recent history assured her of that. She’d learned the most important thing was friends. People who would stand by you when you needed them.
Thinking about friends once again led to thoughts of Hope and her son, Billy. She hated that she hadn’t been able to find them. Hated that they could still be on the streets right now.
She was on her way back to a normal life, but what about Hope? What about Billy? If someone like Dog or Tweek got their hands on him, they’d turn him into a little thug.
She suddenly felt guilty about living in Sophie’s house. It wasn’t huge, but it was more than adequate. Hell, she would’ve been happy with one room in the house. As long as she was safe from those who wanted to hurt her, she was good.
An idea came to her. It was crazy, but Sophie was so tenderhearted; Blythe knew without a doubt that she’d agree. Convincing Chief and probably Sawyer would be tougher.
Squaring her shoulders, Blythe continued toward home.
Home.
It wasn’t, exactly. Yet for now, it was.
And hopefully, it would be for Hope and her son. And others after them.
Her thoughts turned to Sawyer. She’d never been to his place, but knew he owned his own house a couple miles from where she was currently living. He’d said it was similar to Sophie’s house. Had four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a one-car garage, and a tiny yard. Sawyer admitted that he didn’t like mowing and weed-eating, so it suited him just fine.
All of a sudden, Blythe really wanted to see it. Knew it would tell her a lot about the man she had come to care about a great deal.
She liked Sawyer. A lot. But more than that, she wanted him. She’d come to know him really well. All those months of texting and talking had laid the foundation for a really strong friendship. And being around him in person made that friendship grow into more.
She was attracted to him. It seemed like such a lame word. “Attracted.” Screw that. Ever since he’d told her that he wanted to prove he could make her come more times than her high school chess club boyfriend, she’d fantasized about him doing just that. His mouth on her, his fingers, his intense gaze fixated on her. And she wanted to show him right back that whatever inadequacies he had about his own looks were totally unfounded…at least as far as she was concerned.
The more she was around him, the hotter he got. He was the total package.
Making a decision as she turned into her neighborhood, Blythe smiled. She’d already come such a long way from the scared, unsure woman who’d lived on the streets. The more she hung around the other firefighters’ women, the more confident she got.
She wanted to see Sawyer’s home, convince him to take her downtown and help her find Hope and Billy, and she needed him naked, inside her…not necessarily in that order.
Sawyer might want to celebrate her new job his way, but by the end of the night, she’d have her own celebration. With him in her bed. But this time, with both of them naked and satisfied after several orgasms.
She smiled the rest of the way home and plotted how to make it happen.
At five-thirty on the dot, Sawyer pulled up to the house. Blythe was ready and waiting for him when he stepped out of his Jeep and walked up to the door. She took a moment to appreciate his form as he came toward her.
He was tall, but not overly so. He was lean, but muscular at the same time. The tight dark blue polo shirt he wore highlighted his biceps. His stomach was flat and his jeans made his legs seem like they went on and on. He had on a pair of black boots, the ones he wore all the time, both to work and on his days off. He walked with a confidence that turned her on.
Blythe knew without a doubt that she was safe with him. He could handle any emergency that might come up. It had become second nature to constantly be on the lookout when she was walking around, but with Sawyer at her side, she didn’t need to. If someone harassed them, he’d be there to put that person in their place. When they were in a store or restaurant, he kept his eyes peeled for anything that might put them…her…in danger. More than once, he’d gently steered her away from someone who came too close to her.
“Hey,” she said when he stepped up on the porch.
“Hey,” he returned. Without pausing, he kept co
ming toward her until he was in her space. One hand went around her waist and he pulled her to him. He leaned down and kissed her as if they were an old married couple.
She welcomed the kiss, wrapping her arms around his waist as he pulled back long enough to say, “Congratulations, baby. Proud of you.”
There it was again. Hearing him say he was proud of her made butterflies swirl in her tummy. “Thanks. It’s not a huge deal. It’s only part-time and only minimum wage.”
“I know, you said that before, but it doesn’t matter. It’s a job. It’s the first step toward getting back to where you want to be.”
“About that…” Blythe paused. She hadn’t talked about this with anyone else. Hadn’t even really thought much about what she wanted to do with her life until that afternoon, when she’d thought about Hope and Billy.
Sawyer didn’t press her to talk, simply waited for her to get her thoughts together and talk to him on her own terms. It was one of a hundred and forty-three things she loved about him. He never rushed her. Never tried to pry into her mind.
“I don’t want to go back to the factory to work.”
“I don’t blame you.”
“I think I want to go back to school and finish my degree. I want to get into some sort of social work. I want to help people like me. Like my friends who are still out there on the streets.”
Blythe held her breath, waiting to see what Sawyer thought. Her mom had been her biggest cheerleader, and she’d been disappointed yet proud of Blythe when she’d quit going to college to help take care of her. But it had been a long time since Blythe had truly cared about what someone else thought of her. And she cared what Sawyer thought. A lot. More than was probably normal for someone in her position.
“I think that’s an amazing idea. They need people like you on the front lines. Someone who’s been there. Someone who can really empathize, rather than just sympathize with the homeless.”
“Really?”
“Really,” Sawyer concluded firmly.
“I want to go see them,” Blythe blurted. “Especially my friend Hope. She has a little boy, Billy. He…” She took a deep breath. They hadn’t talked again about the night she’d called to tell him about Milena and her friend being kidnapped, but Blythe couldn’t not think about it. “I told you Billy was abducted. That’s why I had to tell that guy where Milena was. I didn’t want to, but he showed me a picture of Billy all tied up and scared.”
Sawyer tightened his arms around her. “It’s okay, baby.”
Blythe shook her head. “It’s not really, but if I had to do it again, I’d probably do the same thing. You should’ve seen Billy when I went and got him after that asshole told me where he was. He couldn’t even talk to me, he was that scared. And Hope…she cried so hard when I brought Billy back to her. She feels awful for being homeless. Feels like she’s failing her son. She even talked to me once about going back to her abusive ex-husband. Said being beaten every day almost seemed better than living with the dangers on the street.”
Sawyer immediately shook his head. “No, she can’t go back.”
“I know. I told her the same thing. I need to find them,” she said quietly. “It’s been months. I need to make sure they’re okay.”
“I’ll take you down there. I don’t want you going by yourself. They could be anywhere,” Sawyer told her.
“I’d like that.”
“We’ll go as soon as we can.”
Blythe smiled at him. “Thank you. I didn’t expect you to drop everything and go right away.”
“They’re your friends and you’re worried about them. I’d be a dick to not take you down there as soon as possible.”
“And…do you think…” Blythe bit her lip. This was harder.
Sawyer ran his hand over her short black hair and smiled tenderly at her. “Let me guess…if we find them, you want to bring them back here.”
She sighed in relief. “Is that crazy? I mean, Sophie was nice enough to let Tadd and Louise stay here when they were recovering from that fire, and then she let me stay. I’m sure she has plans to sell the house at some point. Letting all of us refugees live here rent-free isn’t exactly a sound business decision.”
Sawyer leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers as he spoke. “Sophie is one of the nicest women I’ve ever met. She would no more kick you out than she would anyone who needed a helping hand. I’ll run it by Chief to see what he thinks, if that would be okay.”
Blythe nodded and buried her head into the space between Sawyer’s shoulder and neck. “Thank you,” she murmured into his skin. “Thank you so much. The house is definitely big enough, they could both easily stay here with me. And now that I’m working, I can help get food and stuff. There’s a school down the block too, Billy can go to school and—”
“Move in with me,” Sawyer said, pulling back and looking at her with such intensity, Blythe could only stare back at him in shock. “I know it’s fast, but it doesn’t feel fast to me. I’ve been sleeping over here for the last couple of weeks and when I’m at the station, I find myself missing you something awful. I like waking up with you in my arms. I like laughing with you and standing side by side with you in the kitchen as we make dinner.”
“But…what if it doesn’t work out? Where will I go?”
Sawyer’s jaw ticked, but he didn’t raise his voice or otherwise lash out at her. “I swear you will never end up on the streets again. I’m going to do everything in my power to make you want to stay with me. But if for some reason we decide that we can’t cohabitate together, I’ll make sure you have a place to go. Back here to Sophie’s house or into an apartment. But regardless of our relationship, you will never sleep on the street again. You have my promise.”
It sounded too good to be true, but then again, everything that had happened to her over the last month sounded that way. Blythe never would’ve thought she’d be assaulted then given a free place to stay. And now Sawyer. She wasn’t an idiot. They’d been dancing around each other for weeks now. They were attracted to each other, and God only knew why they hadn’t actually made love yet.
Besides, hours earlier, Blythe had been thinking about doing whatever she could to move along her relationship with Sawyer. This would certainly do it. Not only that, she did want to live with him. Wanted to wake up with him and go to sleep in his arms every night. Moving in with him would give Hope and Billy a chance at a more normal life.
“Okay,” she said softly.
“Okay?” he repeated. “You’ll move in with me?”
“Yeah. If Sophie agrees to let Hope and Billy move in here, I’ll come and live with you.”
The smile he bestowed on her was beautiful. He had a gleam in his eyes and she’d never seen him look happier. The fact that her agreeing to live with him did that, was humbling. “I can’t contribute very much to rent,” she told him honestly. “I’ll do what I can in regards to food though. I’ll clean and cook and do our laundry to help earn my keep.”
“Fuck that. I’m an adult. I’ve been living on my own for a long time. I can clean my own shit and cook my own food. And I can certainly do my own laundry.”
Blythe’s spirits fell a bit at hearing that. “But then what will I do to repay you?”
The smile dropped from his face. “You don’t have to do anything, baby. I want you to live with me because I want you. Not what you can do for me. I want to see your hair on my pillow in my bed. I want to see your smile when I come home from a shift. I want to know you’re happy and healthy and loving life. We’ll share whatever chores there are in the house; that’s what couples do. No more talk of paying rent or earning your keep. Okay?”
“Are we a couple?” she asked.
“Hell yeah, we’re a couple,” Sawyer growled before his head lowered once more. He kissed her again, a kiss so long and deep, Blythe forgot where they were. All she could feel and smell was Sawyer. He made her feel womanly again. Human. She loved everything about him.
That
thought brought her out of her lust-filled fog. She blinked up into Sawyer’s chocolate-brown eyes.
She loved him. They hadn’t even had sex yet, and she loved him.
It was crazy. Impossible. And right.
Hugging him tight, Blythe took deep breaths and tried to get herself together.
“Now that we have that settled, you ready to get your party on?” Sawyer asked, his hand moving slowly up and down her spine as she clung to him.
Blythe chuckled and took a step away from him. “I guess so. What do you have planned?”
Sawyer grinned. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”
“You went overboard, didn’t you?”
“Yup.” The admission was immediate and said without a hint of remorse.
She shook her head at him, then turned to lock the door. She felt Sawyer behind her and as soon as she was done, his hand was on the small of her back and he was leading her to his Jeep.
Blythe couldn’t stop smiling.
Chapter Twelve
“Chuck E. Cheese’s?” Blythe asked incredulously when they pulled into the parking lot.
Squirrel couldn’t stop smiling. He was happier than he could remember being in a long time. Blythe had said she would move in with him. He was already thinking about things he could do to make his house more welcoming for her. He was a bachelor after all, and his house was a bit masculine.
“Yup,” he told her, cutting off the engine. “I decided that instead of a stuffy formal dinner, it might be more fun to cut loose. Besides, it’s been a long time since I’ve played Skee-Ball. I was once the neighborhood champion, I’ll have you know.”
“Oh, yeah?” Blythe said. “I’ll have you know that I had the high score on the Skee-Ball machine in my neighborhood arcade for years. I think there’s still a plaque with my name on it in that place.”
Squirrel loved bantering with her. “Well, I was invited by the President of the United States to come to the White House and be awarded with the Presidential Order of Skee-Ball Champions.”
She reached for his hand at the same time he reached for hers as they walked toward the door. “That’s nothing. I was interviewed by Stephen King, who was going to write my biography. It was going to be called, No One Can Beat Blythe Coopman When It Comes to Skee-Ball.”
