by K. C. Crowne
There were voices inside. Adult, male voices. I stepped closer to the doorway, trying to get an idea of who might be inside with Skyler, but Greg stepped in the way, blocking my view. “Excuse me, this is private property. Please leave before I call the police.”
“Give me Skyler first, then we’ll leave,” Danielle said.
“I have a right to see my daughter whenever I damned well please, Dani,” Greg growled, turning his hateful look toward her.
“You get her every other weekend, and we have a schedule for holidays and special events, as agreed upon in court,” Danielle said, her voice barely raising. She seemed braver than before, and I was proud of her for standing up to him. “This is not your designated time with her, and you were not allowed to take her from her friend’s house. If I were to call the police—”
Greg scoffed, interrupting her. “You know what will happen if we go to court, Dani. You’ll lose the rights you do have, and I’ll make sure you go broke in the process. Is that what you want?”
Those words were like a slap to her face. She stepped back, but only temporarily. After taking a deep breath, she said, “You are not allowed to threaten me.”
“It’s not a threat when I have serious concerns about the woman raising my daughter,” Greg said. “I mean, look at you - you’re a whore, Dani. Single and pregnant, and are you fucking both these guys or just one of them? Because I wouldn’t—”
Before he could finish, my fist collided with his face. I lunged and swung before I even realized what I was doing. Eli grabbed me and held me back. Greg’s head snapped back, and he stumbled. When he righted himself, there was blood streaming from his nose.
“Do not talk to her like that.”
“What? Did I strike a nerve?” Greg growled, a nasally noise due to his bleeding nose. “I urge you to call the cops now, Dani. So I can tell them how your baby daddy is violent and dangerous. That will look great in court.”
I knew I had fucked up. I had done the wrong thing, acted out of impulse to protect Danielle, and I had screwed up.
“No, don’t do that,” Danielle said, tears welling in her eyes. “I just want my daughter.”
“Mommy!” a tiny voice called from behind Greg. She rushed out of the house, not even looking at her father, and she ran right into her mother’s arms.
Relief washed over me as Danielle began backing up with Skyler in tow.
“Mommy, Mommy,” Skyler said, her voice sounding distraught. “I want to go home.”
“We’re going home, baby girl.”
“He said my cousins would be here,” she said, her eyes looking up at her mom. “But there’s no one but boring old men. And all they’re doing is talking.”
Danielle looked at Greg, scowling. He took a few steps forward, but Eli stepped in front of Danielle and Skyler. I was at their side. Greg looked at the two of us, and I was concerned he might call on the men from inside. I had no idea who might be in there or how strong they were. There could be weapons, for all I knew. It could get ugly, but so far, it seemed he wouldn’t act out in front of his daughter.
And he didn’t.
Greg stayed on the porch, and while there was rage in his eyes, he didn’t dare move forward.
“Daddy, I want to go home with Mommy.”
I stood back, no longer wanting to make the situation any worse than it already was, but I waited for his answer. I prayed he would make this easy on all of us.
After what felt like an eternity, he said, “Sure, honey. Just run in and grab your things.”
Both Danielle and I took hold of Skyler’s arm at the same time.
“No,” Danielle said. “Whatever she has here can stay here. She doesn’t need to grab anything.”
“Fine,” Greg said. “I’ll be in touch, so we can talk about how this will change things moving forward.”
Danielle covered Skyler’s ears and muttered. “You’re the one who kidnapped our daughter, not me. So you can go straight to hell.”
She took Skyler’s little hand in hers and we walked back to my truck. Skyler was in good spirits.
We piled into my truck, and I drove toward my place.
“Where are we going?” Danielle asked me.
“We’re going to my house,” I said, my voice low and calm. “We’re going to stick to the plan we talked about earlier. Eli has a place, says it’s ready tonight. I just need to get all the details from him.”
I expected Danielle to argue with me, to say she wanted to go home. But she didn’t. She looked at her daughter, relief in her eyes.
“Thank you for helping us, Mason,” she said softly.
I couldn’t find the words to explain that not helping was simply not an option. Danielle and I were connected now, and I cared about her and Skyler. They were part of my family now, and I would do anything to protect them.
In fact, watching Danielle’s fierce mama bear come out only made me feel stronger about her, and I feared I was falling for her - something she didn’t want.
Not that I could control it. Everything about her just… well, she was just perfect.
Even though I hadn’t planned it, I really couldn’t have picked a better woman to carry my child.
Danielle
“This place is nice,” I said as we stepped into the rental Mason’s brother had secured for us. “Really nice.”
Skyler ran in ahead of me, intentionally sliding on the slick, shiny hardwood flooring of the entrance. She giggled and smiled at me. “This place is huge!”
Our house wasn’t small by any means. It was large enough for the two of us and several large dogs to live comfortably. But this house was big enough for a family of six who bred Great Danes for a living.
Skyler’s giggles echoed through the empty foyer.
“Eli said it’s partially furnished,” Mason said, flipping on a switch to what appeared to be a living room. There was a fireplace and a leather couch, but the room was otherwise empty, making it feel even larger than it was. Skyler rushed into the room and started spinning circles. Normally I’d tell her to be careful, she could knock something over, but there was so much space, it wasn’t even a concern.
Which was good. I was glad to see her so happy. I had to explain to her that we were staying somewhere else as a little vacation. I couldn’t tell her the real reason we didn’t go home. She was too young to deal with all of that.
But this house made for a believable vacation.
“He said the master bedroom and two of the other bedrooms were furnished with beds. The owner sometimes rents it out as an Air BnB but said we could use it as long as necessary. He’s doing some work on the exterior and in the garden, so it’s empty for now. No one should bother you, though, as all the work is being done outside.”
I walked over to the large picture windows and gasped. “There’s even a swimming pool here.”
“Oh yeah, he said you can use it, if you’d like. The yard is also completely fenced in. Twelve-foot-high stone fence, to be exact. There’s also security cameras everywhere, all installed by us,” Mason continued.
Skyler was by my side, staring at the yard and the pool with a grin so large, it made me smile. Even with everything going on, I could smile knowing my daughter was safe and happy.
“Oscar is going to love this place,” Skyler said excitedly.
And my stomach dropped. I knelt beside her, stroking her hair. “Honey, Oscar is living with Calvin now.”
“But I thought we had longer.” Her little eyes filled with tears.
“We can always go visit him,” I said softly. “Calvin actually wants us to visit.”
“Can we, please, Mommy?”
“Of course, honey. And we will still have Griz and Zeus.”
I glanced over at Mason, unsure of the plan regarding the animals. I had originally planned to take them with us when we left, but we hadn’t gone back to the house.
Mason cleared his throat. “As soon as Graham and Sam get off their gig, we’ll run over and p
ick the animals up.”
“Yay!” Skyler said. “I missed them.”
I mouthed, “Thank you,” to Mason, and felt like he’d just read my mind and saved the day. I knew he was still feeling guilty about losing control with Greg. I was upset at him at first as well, but it was hard to stay mad at a man who was doing so much to take care of us.
I stood up and walked to the couch. “Skyler, honey, come over here and let’s chat.”
“I’ll give you some space,” Mason said, stepping back into the foyer.
Skyler joined me on the couch, her eager, excited smile calming my nerves more than she would ever know. She had no idea that I had been so scared only an hour or so before, fearful that I had lost my daughter for good. But she was with me, and she was safe.
“So you said there were men inside with Daddy? Can you tell me about them?”
Skyler sighed dramatically and rolled her little eyes. “They were soooo boring, Mommy.”
I chuckled at the tiny little attitude. “But did you know them? Were they friends of Daddy’s?”
Skyler seemed to ponder this question before saying. “I don’t think so. I’ve never seen them before. Except for one.”
“One of the men? You knew him?”
“Mmmhmm. He was at our house the other night. Remember? When I woke up and came out of my room.”
A chill ran down my spine. Jim King. It had to be.
I knew Jim and Greg knew each other, but even Greg said they weren’t close friends. So who were they? Why were they hanging out at his house after Greg ran off with Skyler? None of it made any sense to me.
I heard a sound and turned to find Mason and his brothers standing in the foyer. Mason had cleared his throat to let us know they were there.
“Eli and I are ready to head over and grab the pets. Sam and Graham are here in case you need them,” Mason said.
God, now I had security detail? When did my life get so out of hand?
“Thank you,” I said softly.
It went without saying that Mason and Eli were also going to remove the cameras at the house while they were there. Hopefully, we could return home soon, but if not, at least the place they had found for us was nice. Very nice, in fact. It might be safer to be somewhere Greg couldn’t find us until I dealt with all the legal issues. And there would be legal issues. If Greg thought he could continue treating me the way he was, he had another think coming. I knew it might take time to build a case against him, and until then, he would likely have legal rights to see Skyler. I didn’t really think he would hurt her or take her away - he just wanted to make my life hell for leaving him.
“Can we look around the house, Mommy?” Skyler asked, her voice cheery.
It brought me out of my dark haze. “Of course, honey. Want to check out the bedrooms?”
“Yes!” Skyler squealed, hopping up from the couch.
After introductions were made all around, we followed Mason and Eli to the front part of the house, where the spiral staircase led to a second floor. Graham and Sam were behind us.
“We’ll be back soon,” Mason said. “If needed, we may make a few trips. Can you prepare an area for the guinea pigs and the rabbit while we’re gone?”
I met his eyes, and I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. I couldn’t believe he was going through all this trouble for me. Well, me, my daughter, his baby, and all our critters. Calvin was right - Mason was a good man.
He turned to leave, but I grabbed his arm. He turned around with a curious look on his face. “What is it?”
“Just be careful, Mason. Greg will likely know what you’re doing, and I worry he might show up or something.”
“We can handle him,” Eli said reassuringly. “And if things get out of hand, I have the sheriff on speed dial. Teddy’s a friend of ours.”
I thanked Eli, but I still couldn’t let go of Mason’s arm. I didn’t really have much else to say, but there was a part of me that didn’t want him to leave. But eventually, I let go.
“We’ll be back soon,” he assured me.
I felt a tug at my other arm and looked down. “Come on, Mommy. I want to see my room.”
“Alright, let’s go see the bedrooms, but then we have to figure out where the piggies and Jellybean go.”
Skyler took off toward the steps, taking them quicker than I was comfortable with.
“Slow down,” I said, following her. “And hold onto the railing.”
“Yes, Mommy,” she said impatiently.
“Do you want us to come up with you?”
I’d almost forgotten about my security detail, and the very idea of having them watch over our every move exhausted me. I stopped walking and glanced back.
“If it’s okay, I’d like some time alone with my daughter,” I said.
“Of course. Just holler if you need anything,” one of them said.
I had a hard time telling them apart. Mason had mentioned they were twins, though not identical. As far as I could tell, they were, though, just with different hair and one had a slightly longer beard. Then again, all the Harveys looks alike. No doubt they were brothers.
At the top of the stairs, there was a hallway with several doors.
“Think we can have a house this big one day, Mommy?” Skyler asked as she tried the first door. It opened to a large bedroom with a twin bed. The walls were pink with delicate, white furniture. It was clearly a little girl’s room at some point, and Skyler squealed with delight.
She ran over to the bed, which had a Princess Peach stuffed doll on it. We had named our guinea pigs after the princesses from Super Smash Bros. She was far too young to remember the old-school games I had grown up with, but she always loved playing as Peach in the game. I watched as she played with the doll, exploring the large room with it.
“This room is perfect for me,” Skyler said.
It was much larger than her room at our house. I walked over to a door and found a walk-in closet. Another door led to a bathroom that connected to the room next door. I walked through and opened the door, finding another room that seemed to be decorated for a boy with blue walls and dark wood furniture. I rubbed my expanding belly and wondered - was the child inside me be a boy this time? Or another girl? And where would they go once they were born?
Skyler had followed me into this room and said, “I like the other room better. This could be the baby’s room.”
“Sky, we aren’t staying here that long,” I laughed.
“How much longer until the baby gets here?” she asked, her impatience charming.
“Months from now, honey. We’ll be home way before then.”
“And where will the baby sleep at home?”
“Good question.”
Our home was nice, though it never could compare to her dad’s. We had plenty of space for the two of us, but I had to admit that adding a baby would make things tough. It was only a two-bedroom house.
But no matter what, I would figure it out.
If I could pay off Jim.
Thinking of Jim, a knot formed in my belly. With everything going on, I hadn’t had much time to contact the insurance company. Last Mason had talked to them, they said the check would be sent out within a few weeks. That was a few weeks ago.
“I’m going to call Mason really quick, honey,” I said, stepping back into the hallway. Skyler went back to the pink room, and I heard her talking to the Peach doll.
I reached for my cell phone and called Mason. He answered on the first ring. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes, everything’s fine. I just wanted to ask if you could check the mail for me? I hope to get the insurance check any day now,” I said.
“Yeah, I can do that. We’re just walking up to the house now,” he said. There was a muffled sound, and I heard him talking to Eli, “You can start on the outside. There are cameras all over the front and sides of the house. I know you can find them.”
“Sorry,” he said, coming back on the line. “I’m checking now. No,
it looks like just an electric bill and some junk.”
My heart dropped. “Damn.”
“You know I can help you, Danielle.”
“The check will come,” I said. “Thanks for checking.”
There was a muffled sound, and then a loud crunch.
“Mason?” He didn’t answer, so I spoke even louder. “Mason? What’s going on?”
My heart raced as I waited. No answer. But I could hear sounds in the background.
Voices. Eli and Mason were screaming, but I couldn’t understand them.
“Mason!” I screamed into the phone, feeling my knees go weak. “What’s going on? Mason!”
He still wasn’t answering me. I heard the words that made my blood run cold. “We have to put the fire out,” one of them said.
“Get the animals out now!”
Fire.
There was a fire at our house.
I managed to pull myself together and make it down the stairs, holding firmly on to the railing so I didn’t slip. Graham and Sam were standing where I’d left them, near the front door.
“What’s wrong?” One of the twins rushed up to meet me on the stairs
My face must have given it away.
“Fire. There’s a fire,” I said, my voice barely working at this point. “They need help.”
“Call 9-1-1,” the man still at the doorway said. “I’m heading over to help.”
My knees finally gave out and I sat down on the steps, feeling dizzy from all the thoughts swirling through my head.
“I’ll go with you,” I said.
“No, you can’t. You need to protect the baby,” the brother with me said, sitting down beside me. He was already dialing 9-1-1.
“Stay with Graham. I’ve got this,” Sam said.
I wanted to fight, felt like I needed to be there. I couldn’t let anything happen to Mason. Oh God, if I lost Mason now…my heart felt like it stopped and there was a dark hole in my chest. I couldn’t breathe for a second.
“But Mason…”
Sam was already gone, so Graham responded. “Mason will be just fine, don’t you worry.”
“He has to be,” I said, speaking softly. My cheeks were soaked with tears, though I didn’t recall crying. I wiped them away, and still more fell. “Mason has to be okay.”
