by Aly Nichole
The Valentine Center daycare was for low-income families and was the holy grail of daycares. I tried to get Hailey in there when she was born, but no luck, and I never tried again.
“Yeah, Red said to come in today if you’re not busy, and she can walk you through the process and get Hailey and your baby registered.” Nathan paused and ran his hand through his hair. “I mean if it’s something you wanted.”
I licked my lips. My fingers turned white from the grip I had on the cheap plastic menu. It bent in my hands. “Um, who is Red again?” I wanted Hailey to go there, but I wasn’t going to talk to someone Nathan might have had a fling with.
Nathan’s brow furrowed before he snorted. “Sam Valentine, my sister-in-law and best friend. I’m sorry, I forget that not everyone knows her nickname.”
I blinked. “It couldn’t hurt to talk to her.” The war inside me. Jump at this fantastic offer and anger for him, assuming he could make such arrangements without talking to me.
“I’ll text Red and let her know.” He groaned. “And don’t listen to any of her gossip. She likes to trash talk me.” The smirk on his face told me it didn’t bother him one bit.
“Oh, so make sure I get all the juicy Nathan gossip.” I teased.
Nathan wrinkled his nose. “Please don’t.”
The rest of lunch was quiet, and Nathan walked us to my car.
I watched a flicker of different emotions cross his face when I opened my car door to get Hailey settled. “It gets me where I need to go.” I was getting the impression from his frown Nathan doesn’t like my vehicle.
Nathan lifted his eyes to mine, and something passed through them. “I could have a car service drive you around.”
My body jerked at his statement, and I shook my head. “No.” I knew he was loaded and had important people in his family, but I was no one. I didn’t need crap like that.
Nathan grunted and placed his hands on his hip. He glared at my car.
What was his problem with my car? That glare he had going on was making me feel like my car had personally offended him. I shook my head and squeezed my arms around him in an embrace. “I’ll see you tonight, Nathan.”
Nathan huffed and wrapped his arms around me for a brief hug. “Please text me when you get to the center and then when you get home.”
My body warmed from the concern in his tone. It had been too long since someone cared about me. “I will.”
Nathan kissed the top of my head before the heat of his breath hit my ear. “I would like to talk later about this morning’s phone call.”
My breath hitched, and I jerked away and stared at him.
He smirked with a glint in his eyes. “I’ll talk to you later, Angel.”
The Valentine Center was a unique building. It was huge, but not in an intimidating way. The warm colored bricks and the mural painted of multicultural families and a gorgeous rainbow flag on one side was the front of the building. If you were to follow the road, the clinic and daycare entrance was located there. That side of the building was glass windows from top to bottom.
I parked at the front entrance, unsure exactly where I was supposed to go. I should have asked Nathan, but after his comment, my brain fried, and halfway there, I would not give him the satisfaction of asking.
I blew out a breath. That man was going to be the death of me.
I walked in and was warmly greeted. I was informed Sam would be out in a minute and was encouraged to make myself comfortable while I wait. I sat down and took in my surroundings. There were lots of family pictures and information packets lining the walls.
“Sadie?”
I turned toward the voice.
A woman walked toward me wore a simple tee with MadvineDesign splashed across the front, blue jeans shorts, and high tops. Her flaming red hair was in a double dutch braid. Freckles splashed against her face and arms.
I gave an awkward smile. “Sam?” I raised my hand to shake hers.
She grinned. “Yes, we had met before. I wasn’t sure if you remember.”
My mouth popped open, and heat flooded my cheeks. “Yes, I’m so sorry, it was hectic.”
Sam shrugged her shoulders. “It happens. Let me show you the daycare, and we can go through the paperwork.”
I nodded and followed her through the building. And every few feet people stopped to say hi, ask questions or give Sam a suggestion to make the Center better. She smiled and listened to every single one.
“That happens a lot, doesn’t it?” I asked.
She laughed, turning down another hallway. “Yes, my mother-in-law made an open door policy. And I carried on the tradition. We don't want anyone to feel lesser here. This place is a safe space for anyone in need.”
We turned down two more hallways and then Sam scanned a badge and opened the door to chaos. The room was enormous, with elaborate equipment and so many adults watching the kids.
The laughing and screaming startled me. Hailey squeezed my hand, but her face was more curious than scared.
“This is the primary room where we do inside activities. We have an outside area for them to play as well. We have five rooms that split off this main one. And each room has several dedicated caretakers. We have staff for twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week so that no matter what time you need a caretaker there is one. If there ’s an ongoing problem, we split the kids up in different rooms and make sure they don’t have free time together outside or in the primary room.”
My shoulders sagged in relief. “Good, that is great to hear. In our current daycare, I’m having problems getting anyone to stop the boy who has been hurting Hailey.”
Sam wrinkled her nose. “Idiots. Anything else?” She continued to walk and we followed, taking it all in.
I watched as a man walked in and a child ran to him. I bit my lip. “How does it work if someone tried to take a child out that didn’t have permission? Even if they claimed they were a parent or family?”
I was avoiding the Trey issue. It’s easy to do when I haven’t seen or heard from him in a while. But as much as I wanted it to be a good thing, I knew it wasn’t and I should prepare for him to disrupt my life.
“If they aren’t on the list, they don’t get the child. Full stop. As the teens would say.” Sam winked at me before her blue eyes steeled. “But unless they have a court order and had the cops with me, there is no way they would walk out of here with a kid. They need an ID that matches the information you would provide to pick up a child in our care.”
I blew out a shaking breath. “Okay, thank you.”
Sam clapped her hands together. “All right, let’s go over some paperwork, and if Hailey would like, she could hang out here and play.”
Hailey gave me her big eyes. “Can I, Mom?”
I looked over to Sam. “If you’re sure it’s okay?”
“It’s not a problem.” She turned and cupped her hand over her mouth. “Rachel!”
A dark-haired girl turned and walked over to us. “Yeah.”
“This is Hailey. I’m taking her mom to do some paperwork.”
Rachel smiled and reached her hand out for my daughter’s. “Hi, Hailey, do you want to come play?”
Hailey released my hand and grabbed Rachel’s, and together they walked over to the giant jungle gym.
“Now,” Sam turned to me with a mischievous look on her face. “I can tell you stories about our dear Nate while we go through the papers.”
Sam’s office was not as big as I thought it would be. It had soft pink and greys and a modern desk she sat behind and gestured for me to sit.
Before she could speak, her phone rang. Sam hit the speaker button and answered. “Hello.”
“Have you seen Sade?” Nathan’s panicked voice echoed around the office.
Sam’s one brow raised. “She’s sitting across from me.”
“Fuck.” Nathan’s shaky curse had my stomach bottoming out.
“Nathan?” Sam’s said his name with confusion.
“H
er fucking car is a wreck, no one should be fucking driving it!” He growled, and I heard a distant thunk.
“Hey,” I called and was about to defend my car when Sam’s hand grabbed mine and she was shaking her head. Her face was ashen, and her eyes had unshed tears.
“You didn’t text me, Angel. I was fucking scared shitless.” His ragged breathing stabbed my heart.
“I’m sorry, I was distracted,” I murmured, hoping he heard me, but I wasn’t sure what else to say.
“She’s fine, and I’ll have one of the guys look at her car.” Sam’s voice was soft, and she grabbed another phone and was typing something out.
“Thank you, Red. And Sade, please, please text me when you leave and when you are back home.” The vulnerability in his voice had me clutching the front of my shirt.
What happened to him? He was on the verge of a panic attack. “I promise I will. And I'll see you tonight, okay. I’ll order meat lovers and have a good movie cued up.”
Sam’s brows raised to her hairline.
“All right, Angel.” He sounded better. His voice was more robust. “Thanks, Red.”
Sam looked at the phone hard before lifting her gaze to me. Her blue eyes were looking at me in a new light. “Well, I guess I need to tell you about the time Nate thought he was clever.”
I was smiling, and Hailey was skipping to our door. After a few days of being at the center’s daycare, she was a new kid. It was amazing how her spirit had lifted being away from the toxic environment.
My phone rang.
“Aren’t you supposed to be with your brothers?” I answered.
Something shifted after the panic call at the daycare. I knew we were becoming more. We were more than a patient and doctor and way more than friends. But I couldn’t say he was my boyfriend. I had no clue what we were, but it was something.
“Yes, but I needed to hear your voice before I lost it.” He grumbled.
I snorted. “It can’t be that bad.” Nathan was with his brothers Ira and Mickey. They were looking at some houses for Mickey. I guess his older brother Mickey was finally coming home permanently.
“Angel, Sade. Mick is ridiculous with his house hunting.” He whined.
My heart skipped a beat hearing his one name for me. His other was less desired. My name was long. “You know my name doesn’t need shorting. It’s already pretty short.” I rolled my eyes and looked for my keys.
“It’s a thing I do.”
I shook my head and pressed the phone between my ear and shoulder, and grabbed my door handle, preparing to unlock it, but it turned. My brows furrowed. I knew I locked it before I left.
“Angel.” Nathan barked in my ear.
“Hold on, Nathan,” I whispered, pushing my door open. I moved Hailey to my back.
“What the hell is going on?” From the tone of his voice, I knew he was on edge. But I couldn’t answer him.
I had the door open, and sitting at my kitchen table was Trey and he had his usual lackey standing behind him.
I left my phone on, but I brought it away from my face and dropped my arm to my side. “What are you doing here Trey?”
I wanted to run back out the door. But the man behind Trey looked ready to chase me, and I wasn’t in the condition to take on anyone.
“Needed to talk to you.” He lifted his one shoulder.
My hand went to my stomach, and I took a step back. “You can’t just break into my apartment whenever you want.”
I hoped Nathan was still listening, and my stomach dropped. What did I expect Nathan to do? Did I want Nathan to save me? Did I want him to get in the middle of my mess?
“Don’t make Deek have to chase you. Come in and take a seat. We have a lot to talk about.”
My body was shaking, and I did what he asked. I clenched my phone and pressed it to my leg. It took all my self-control not to look down at my phone. Trey couldn’t see that I had my phone on. Who knew what he would do if he knew I had someone listening.
“Mommy.” Hailey’s whimpered.
My poor daughter. I was the worst mother on the planet. I turned and gave her a small smile and prayed it was reassuring. “Why don’t you put a movie on in your room? Everything is okay. Mommy just has to talk to Trey about a few things.”
She walked away and ran to her room, and the thud signaled she was secure in her room.
Trey kicked out a chair and the screeching sound of metal ached my ears. “Sit.”
Every fiber of my body screamed for me to ignore his command. Instead, my feet took me to the kicked chair, and I sat. My purse slid to the floor. My hands clutched my phone and sat on top of my bump.
My eyes flickered between Trey and his hulking idiot. “I don’t know where my brother is.”
Trey clucked his tongue and shook his head. “I’m not worried about your brother.”
I wished I could check my phone. Was Nathan listening? Had he heard anything, or did he hang up when I didn’t answer him?
“What do you want, Trey?” My shoulders slumped in defeat.
Trey licked his bottom lip. His eyes scanned over me. “Is that my baby?”
My mouth popped open, and my brain went into overdrive. I could lie and tell Trey the baby wasn’t his, that it was someone else.
Trey snorted. “Don’t bother lying. I already know the answer.” He clasped his hands together and leaned onto the table. “Your brother confirmed the baby is mine.”
I blinked back the tears. I knew better. My brother wasn’t the same anymore. He sold me out for fucking dope. I took a shaky breath. I wasn’t about to allow this man to see me cry anymore. “And what is it you want?”
Trey opened his mouth, and the front door slammed open.
I never felt so relieved, and a weird laugh sob escaped me. “Nathan.”
He stood in the doorway like a warrior ready to battle, and behind him were two guys. I assumed his brothers.
Nathan walked in and the others followed. One guy was tall but lean and had the same skin color and amber eyes. The other guy was built with brown hair and dark brown eyes. The three of them packed a punch of power, and I wanted to run into Nathan’s arms.
Nathan’s eyes never left mine. “Are you okay, Angel?”
My eyes closed, and the tears trickled down my cheeks. I took a deep breath in through my nose and out my mouth before and opened my eyes again. “I am now.”
I wasn’t naïve. My problem wouldn’t disappear, but Nathan was here, and Trey couldn’t hurt me with Nathan and the two guys with him.
Nathan’s eyes scanned me over and looked over to Trey and his lackey. “I think it’s time for you two to leave. And if you break in again, it will be a cop greeting you.”
Trey snorted. “She’s carrying my baby. I have every right to discuss things with her.”
The man that had to be Nathan’s brother spoke up. “If you have anything to discuss with her, you can call my office.”
“And who are you?” Trey sneered.
“Ira Valentine,” Ira’s smile was predatory. “I’m Sadie Mosey’s lawyer. By the way, thank you for admitting that you are the father. Getting child support out of you will be a lot easier now.” He took a step around Nathan. His stance was full of power and confidence. He reached in his back pocket and pulled out his wallet, and tossed a card from it onto the table. “That is the number where I can be reached. Now—” He looked to me, then to Nathan. “I think it’s time for you and your associate to leave before we call the cops.”
Trey’s jaw was twitching. His eyes glared daggers. “Is this really how you want to do this, Sadie?”
I held back the whimper. My life was shit, my poor daughter was hiding in her room and a drug dealer was threatening me. I couldn’t live this anymore.
“Yes, and if you show up like this again, I will call the cops.” I knew it would take the cops a while to get here and Trey would hurt me. But I couldn’t do this anymore.
Trey got up. “Fine. I’ll let Zac know you said hi.”
<
br /> My heart raced against my chest, and heat flashed through my body. “You tell the dick I said hi. And you both can fuck yourselves.”
Trey stood up and waved for his guy to follow him. The door clicked a moment later, and Nathan went into doctor mode. He bent down in front of me, and his hands ghosted over me.
“Did they touch you? I didn’t hear everything. Here, sit, let me check you over. Mickey, check on Hailey, please.” Nathan barked out. The man with brown hair walked away and into the hallway.
I still hadn’t said a word. I was overwhelmed and tried to process what had happened. Oh god, I just told Trey to fuck himself. He was going to make my life hell.
“Sade, Angel, I need you to use your voice.” Nathan’s tone jolted me out of my downward spiral.
I swallowed hard, letting the thoughts of Trey drop. “I’m okay. They didn’t touch me.”
His body relaxed. “Hailey, did they—”
I shook my head. “No, never. I asked her to go to her room.” He either had hung up, or he couldn’t hear much.
His head fell into my lap. My hand went to his hair, and I ran my fingers through it.
“Fuck, Sadie, please pack a bag for you and Hailey and please come stay with me. I won’t be able to sleep, worried they came back.” His voice broke.
I took a sharp breath. If Nathan only knew how scared I was about the same thing. The smart thing would be to stay with him at least for tonight and think of a game plan tomorrow.
“Nate.” Hailey collided with Natan. He adjusted, bringing her to his lap, hugging her tight.
I wanted to cry at the sight of my daughter curled into Nathan, and he let her. He gave her the comfort she needed after what happened. My eyes burned with anger and regret.
“Would you like to go stay with Nathan, Hailey?” My cheeks flushed. I wiped the wetness away.
Her smile was so big, “Yes, can we Nate can we stay with you for a sleepover?”
“Of course, I even have a room you can sleep in and an enormous bathtub you can swim in.”
I pictured what Nathan described. My body craved a good bath.
“I’ll come over tomorrow, and we can discuss where to go from here. I had our cousin who is a cop start some paperwork. But I want you to get some sleep.” Ira informed me while typing something on his phone.
