Going After What's Mine

by Weston Parker

  “Holy shit!” I muttered, looking down.

  Jenna’s head popped up. “Oh my God! Is it morning?”

  I nodded. “It is, just after seven.”

  “Holy crap! Why didn’t you wake me up?”

  Jenna rolled away from me, leaving a huge cold spot of air in the space she had vacated.

  “I just woke up myself,” I mumbled, rubbing my eyes with the heel of my hand.

  “I have to go!”

  “Are you late for work?” I asked, not realizing she went to work so early.

  “No, but Abby,” she hissed. “She can’t find me here.”

  While I agreed, she was freaking out enough for both of us. Abby rarely got up this early. I wasn’t too worried about getting caught. And I was the adult in the family, after all.

  “It’s okay,” I said, sitting up, only then just realizing I was still completely nude.

  I turned to look behind me and caught a glimpse of her naked breasts.

  “I need my clothes,” she muttered, pulling the sheet over her.

  I grinned. “I’ve already seen you naked.”

  “Stop!”

  I laughed and got out of bed in all my naked glory, picking up her scattered clothes and walking them back to her where she was trying really hard not to look at me.

  “Jenna?”

  “What?”

  “Jenna, are you going to look at me?”

  “No.”

  I leaned down and kissed her. “Look at me.”

  She turned her head and looked up at me. “What?”

  “I just wanted to see your eyes.”

  “I need to get dressed.”

  “All right.”

  I turned back and quickly pulled on my own clothes, giving her the privacy she wanted. When I turned back around, she was dressed and ready to go.

  “Should I go out the window?”

  I raised an eyebrow. “What?”

  She grinned. “I was kidding. I better get going though.”

  I gave her another kiss. It felt right. Once the door opened, the little bubble we were in would burst and we would have to go back to the real world.

  The door pushed open. “Daddy?”

  Jenna’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head.

  Abby turned and looked at her, then me.

  “Abby, you’re up!” I said with surprise.

  She turned to look at Jenna. Jenna looked at me, fear on her face.

  “How come you’re here?” she asked Jenna point blank.

  In an instant, I realized why Jenna had been so anxious to escape. What the hell was I thinking? I didn’t want to explain relationships and all that to a little girl. I didn’t know what to expect with Jenna. I knew I was certainly didn’t want a relationship and I got the feeling she wasn’t all that interested in anything serious either. I supposed it was something we should have discussed before the second time we had sex together.

  “I, uh, I was, hungry,” Jenna said, fumbling over the words. She started nodding. “Yes, and your dad said I could come over for breakfast.”

  “Oh! Are you going to have cereal with me?”

  Jenna smiled. “I am! What kind of cereal do you have?”

  “Fruit Loops.”

  “Oh, my favorite.”

  “All right then, let’s get the two of you fed,” I said, my heart racing with the near miss.

  Abby walked out of the room, clearly very thrilled to have company for breakfast.

  “Thank you,” I whispered as she stepped in front of me.

  I poured three bowls of cereal. It was very strange to sit at the table eating what I was sure was the worst breakfast cereal on the planet, with a woman who was wearing yesterday’s clothes with eye makeup smudged under her eyes. If it wasn’t so damn serious, I would have burst into laughter over the absurdity of the situation.

  “Well, I better get back home,” Jenna said. “I have to get ready for work. Thank you so much for breakfast, Abby. It was delicious. Next time, you’ll have to come to my house for breakfast.”

  “Do you make pancakes?” Abby asked, eyes wide.

  Jenna’s eyes lit up. “I do, with chocolate chips in them.”

  Abby’s mouth dropped open. “For breakfast?”

  “Oh yes, chocolate chips for breakfast are the best! I can’t believe your dad hasn’t introduced you to the best breakfast in the world.”

  I smirked. She knew exactly why I had never fed my four-year-old chocolate chips for breakfast. I was already picturing the mess followed by the sugar rush that would have her bouncing off the walls.

  “Thanks for coming,” I said with a wink, watching her blush at the innuendo.

  She quickly rushed out the door. I took a deep breath and turned to my face my little girl. I would not let that happen again. I was not going to get caught up with a woman, let her get close to my daughter, and then have a nasty breakup with Abby stuck in the crossfire. She’d been through enough. No relationships. I had to make myself stay away from Jenna.

  In the back of my mind, I also had to recognize the danger I was putting Jenna in. If I was found and they caught Jenna at my house, she would be held accountable for my actions. I couldn’t do that to her.

  “All right, bug, it’s time to get dressed. Today is your first day at daycare.”

  She made a face. “Do I have to?”

  “I thought you were excited to go?”

  She shrugged a shoulder. “Can’t I stay with Jenna?”

  “Jenna has to work today.”

  She let out the sigh of a tired eighty-year-old woman. “Okay. I’ll try it.”

  “Thank you. If it doesn’t work, we’ll find another daycare, but I want you to try to like it. Give yourself the chance to have fun. Okay? Is it a deal?”

  She nodded. “Deal.”

  With that, she headed off to get dressed while I put together a gym bag. I grabbed my mouth guard, holding it in my hand and thinking about all the times I had worn it in the past. It felt like a lifetime ago.

  “Are you ready to go?” I asked.

  She smoothed down her dress. “Yes.”

  “All right, let’s put your hair in a ponytail today.”

  She seemed agreeable to the idea, which was half the battle. I was no hair expert and struggled to get the ponytail straight, but it seemed to be better than the tangled rat’s nest she usually ended up with at the end of the day when I didn’t put her hair up.

  We loaded up, and despite telling myself not to, I looked over at Jenna’s house to see she was still there. I spent about ten minutes at the daycare, getting Abby settled before heading to the gym. I was surprised to discover I actually had first-day jitters. I hadn’t experienced that in a long time.

  When I arrived at the gym, it was fairly empty. Landon was in his office, waiting for me.

  “Hey there!” he said. “Ready for the grand tour?”

  “I am.”

  He took me around the gym, introducing me to some of the regulars and showing me the back room and my tiny office that I was pretty sure had actually been a maintenance closet.

  “Any questions?” Landon asked.

  I shook my head. “I don’t think so. Are there only the two clients interested in training?”

  Landon nodded. “So far. I have a feeling that’s going to change once we get you in the gym and working out some of the other guys.”

  “Equipment?” I asked.

  “I’ve got a couple bags on the way. I’m trying to figure out how to get a ring set up.”

  I nodded. “I think if these guys are truly novices, you have some time. We can spar anywhere. They’ll need some time with the bag and doing footwork. I don’t want you rushing into something if it isn’t a good business decision.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

  “If there’s nothing else, I’m going to get a quick workout in for the day.”

  “Please, go ahead. A guy like you standing in front of those big windows is sure to draw some a
ttention.”

  I grinned. “I’m no one special.”

  “Ha!”

  I left the office and headed for the gym floor to get in some weightlifting. It felt good to push myself. It had been too long since I had felt that tingle in my muscles from being stretched and pulled. After working up a good sweat, I called it a day, opting to take a shower at home.

  When I got to the daycare, Nettie rushed out to meet me.

  “She’s had a rough day,” Nettie said.

  “What do you mean?”

  Nettie grimaced. “She was fine for about ten minutes after you left. Then she said she wanted to go home.”

  “Oh no,” I groaned.

  “We tried to get her to play and she did seem to be doing a little better when we went out to feed the chickens, but once we came in for story time, she started crying again. Now, I know this is hard to hear, but she isn’t the first young girl to cry on her first day at daycare. For some, it’s a real struggle those first few days. They usually adapt and will eventually love coming.”

  “Dammit,” I muttered under my breath. “It’s too soon.”

  “Too soon?” Nettie asked.

  I shook my head. “Nothing. Where is she now?”

  I found Abby in the outdoor play area, sitting in a corner and crying. I felt as if my heart were being ripped out and stomped on. I went to her, leaned down to pick her up, and held her over my shoulder like I used to do when she was a baby.

  “I’m here,” I said softly, rubbing her back. “You’re okay. I’m here.”

  “I want to go home,” she whimpered.

  “I know. We’re going right now.”

  I turned to find Nettie standing there with Abby’s backpack in her hand.

  “I’m sorry you didn’t have a good time today, Abby.”

  Abby wiped her eyes before turning to look at Nettie. “It’s okay.”

  “I’m going to take her home now.”

  “Will you please call and let me know if you’ll be bringing her back?” Nettie asked softly.

  “I will. Give me a day or two to get her through this. Is that okay?”

  She smiled. “Definitely. I promise, Abby is not the first kid who has spent the day crying at daycare. It takes some getting used to.”

  “Thank you,” I mumbled, carrying Abby to the truck outside. She was clinging to my neck. I never wanted to let her go.

  I took her to get ice cream in an attempt to make her feel better. It seemed to be working. By the time we got home, she was in much better spirits. I relaxed a little but knew there was no way I could take her back to the daycare tomorrow. I needed some time to figure out what to do next.

  That night, I watched her favorite princess show with her, painted her toenails, and doted on her in general. I was probably screwing up, making it worse while spoiling her. I didn’t care. She only had one parent, which meant I needed to work double time to make sure she was loved, happy, and safe.

  “It’s time for bed,” I whispered, knowing she was already falling asleep next to me.

  She gave a mild protest, but as I picked her up and carried her to bed, I knew she wouldn’t be waking up again. She’d had a long day. I felt horrible about it and vowed to make sure she never had to go through that again.

  Chapter 18

  Jenna

  I knew it. I knew he would get away with it. I was so pissed I could hardly see straight. I drove into my driveway too fast, hitting the bump and nearly smashing my face into the steering wheel. I slapped my open palm against the steering wheel several times.

  “Bullshit!” I screamed inside my car.

  I was mad as hell as I grabbed my purse and stomped up the walkway to my front door.

  My phone was ringing in my purse, but I didn’t want to answer it. I was too pissed to talk. I ignored it, heading to my fridge to inspect the contents. Beer or juice. I went for a beer. It wasn’t three and I was already cracking a beer. It wasn’t like I had to worry about getting up for work tomorrow.

  My phone started ringing again.

  “Dammit!”

  I fished the phone out of my purse. It was Colton. I hit the beat it button. I was not in the mood for that drama at the moment. One life crisis at a time. I kicked off my shoes and flopped down on the couch, settling in for a nice long pout.

  The knock on my front door told me my pout was over.

  “What?” I growled, not giving a shit who it was.

  I heard the door open a little. “Jenna?”

  It was Colton. The man needed to brush up on his cues. When you were sent to voicemail, it meant the person didn’t want to talk.

  “What?” I snapped, feeling a little guilty for taking my anger out on him.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  I turned to look and saw he was alone.

  “I’m fine.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  He came inside, moving to stand in front of my couch. He gave a pointed look to the bottle of beer in my hand and then looked at me.

  “Not now.”

  “What happened?” he asked, sitting on the coffee table in front of me.

  “I’m jobless.”

  He blinked. “You’re jobless?”

  I smiled. “Yep. I got fired.”

  “For the thing the other day?” he asked in a voice that would be scary to anyone who didn’t know him.

  I took a long drink from the beer. “Oh no, not that,” I said, heavy on the sarcasm. “I was fired because apparently I was an hour late for the shift I’ve been working for the last three years.”

  He was looking at me, a strange expression on his face. “You weren’t late?”

  “No! I wasn’t late! I’ve never been late!”

  He held up his hands. “Okay, okay. Look, I’ll be back in a second. I need to check on Abby. Sit tight.”

  I smirked. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  He left me to drink my beer in peace. Unfortunately, he returned a couple minutes later with Abby in tow. I couldn’t properly pout and bitch with her watching my every move.

  “Abby is going to play in the backyard, if that’s okay with you?” he asked.

  “Fine.”

  I heard him walking through my house and didn’t care enough to worry about whether or not there were dishes in the sink. The back door opened and I cringed. My backyard was nothing like his yard. It wasn’t in shambles, but it was much smaller and had a lot less grass.

  A few minutes later, Colton was back.

  “Okay, start at the beginning and tell me everything.”

  I leaned forward, putting the beer on the coffee table.

  “Aaron’s dad owns the place. I’m sure the manager told him what happened the other day. One of the other waitresses was talking about the harassment and suggested we should all band together and report it to the owner. If he doesn’t do anything to stop it, she wanted to take it to a lawyer. I never agreed to do anything of the sort. So, I think my manager—ex-manager I guess—and Aaron’s daddy decided to get rid of me before I could cause problems.”

  He was nodding. “I’m sorry. Can I help?”

  “No. It won’t do any good. I don’t want to get you involved. It was a shitty job anyway.”

  “I’m really sorry. Those guys need to be taught a lesson.”

  I shrugged a shoulder. “What’d you need?”

  “What?”

  “You called and now you’re here.”

  “Oh, I saw your car in the driveway. I wanted to talk to you about the, uh, daycare situation.”

  “What happened?”

  He shook his head and I instantly went on alert. “It isn’t going to work out.”

  “Oh no! Is Abby okay?”

  He smiled. “She’s fine. She’s got a tender side to her and it was a little bruised. She didn’t appreciate me leaving her. She cried the entire time she was there.”

  “I’m so sorry, poor baby girl.”

  “Which is why I’m here. I don’t want to du
mp on you—obviously you have a lot on your plate—but I wanted to see if you’d be up for watching her.”

  I smiled. “Of course. It isn’t like I’m doing anything else.”

  “That gives me an idea. I was going to be paying the daycare. Instead, I can pay you.”

  I shook my head. “No way. I’m not going to take your money.”

  “You wouldn’t be taking my money. It’s a job. I don’t trust anybody with my daughter. She seems to like you and you two get along really well. I can’t take her back to a daycare environment. She’s just not ready.”

  I sighed. “I’ll watch her, Colton.”

  He shook his head. “I’ll pay you to watch her.”

  “You’re putting me in a really weird position here.”

  His response was a sexy smile. “I don’t mean to. This is strictly a business arrangement. I want you to be my child’s daycare provider and, with that, comes a paycheck.”

  “Fine, just until you find a better arrangement.”

  He grinned. “Thank you. Can you start today? Like right now?”

  I looked at the beer on the table. He picked it up, looked at it and shrugged. Less than half was gone.

  “I’m fine. I’m not drunk.”

  “I know you’re not. I’ve been around you enough to know how many you can handle before you’re drunk.”

  “Thanks for the talk by the way. It helped.”

  “You’re welcome. Now, I’ve got an appointment at the gym. I’ll be back in a couple hours. She’s got snacks and toys in her pack. I’ll leave the door to my house unlocked in case you need to get something for her.”

  He stood and walked around the couch, heading for the back door. I trailed behind, watching him talk softly to her before giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. When he came back in, there was another moment of awkwardness.

  We hadn’t talked since I tried to sneak out of the house yesterday. He moved to the side, walking past me. He stopped at the door.

  “Thank you, Jenna.”

  I waved goodbye before picking up the beer and pouring it down the sink. I took a deep breath and walked into the backyard.

  “Hi, Abby. Heard you had a rough day at daycare.” I sat on one of the patio chairs.

  She looked at me and nodded. “I didn’t like it.”