He frowned at me.
“Wait a moment!” I said, jumping from the sofa.
I was too busy playing detective in the clinic. I didn't recognize the woman next to me. If I had, then I would have known back then.
I did know the mom. How the fuck had I not even recognized her? We might not have known each other that long, I thought that she had been a dream, not my reality. The last time I saw her was ten months ago and she looked completely worn out.
It couldn’t be…
But there was really no other explanation. I’d thought the baby was left with me by accident. But, maybe not.
“Dude, what is it?” Martin blurted out after a few minutes of silence where my friends all stared at me like they were waiting for me to share some epiphany. “Did you think of something? And is it relevant to the current issue?”
I turned a glare at one of my best friends. “Of course it’s fuc—” I cut myself, glancing at the baby— “of course it’s relevant. I just figured it out, who the mom is.”
“Wait, really?” Noah said, eyebrows shooting up. He looked down at the things he’d just brought in. “Dude. You better not tell me I bought all this stuff for nothing. I can't take it all home, my wife would kill me.”
I snorted. “Okay, first of all, you are way too afraid of your wife. And second…” I let my voice trail off as I grimaced, for a moment not sure how to explain this to them. These were the guys that knew me best, after all.
“And?” Chad prompted, after a while. “Well, go on, Dan. Don’t leave us in suspense.”
I sighed. “That whole thing…about the kid not being mine…may not be all that right.”
I didn’t look at any of them as I said it. I could practically feel their need to start shouting shit at me, all at the same time so it was just noise and I’d have no way to even hear let alone answer them. But noises from the baby made us all freeze. I realized Noah had the baby asleep in his arms for the first time. No wonder the kid was staying so quiet. I hadn't realized he’d fallen asleep.
“Okay,” Martin hiss-whispered, being the nearest to me. “You have some serious explaining to do.”
I heard him, but I wasn’t really listening to him. Already, I’d turned my mind to more important shit. I needed to find the baby’s mom first thing, right? I’d barely taken more than a glance at her, but while I was sleeping on the sofa, it came to me, like a fucking tidal wave.
“I know who the mom is,” I blurted out. “And, I know exactly where to find her.”
Again, there was a short silence in the room as everyone took that bit of information in, broken only by some slight cooing noises from the baby. Immediately, Noah was rocking him until he quieted down again.
Seeing Noah cradle a child that might possibly be mine, made me feel a little jealous. He had some practice, so he knew what to do. But if I tried to touch the kid, he’d probably just start crying again.
I pushed that out of my mind for the moment, though. Wherever my sudden paternal thoughts had come from, I didn’t have definitive proof the kid was mine. I was pretty sure, but I also knew that I wanted to see Scarlett.
I remembered when I’d left her, how it had felt so difficult, almost harder than the split with Laila before her. But, I’d thought to myself that it would be for the best. I never thought about her getting pregnant, and that was my mistake. I would own up to it, because I was too busy being caught up in the moment.
I had regretted letting her go almost since the moment I decided to, and I wanted to see her.
“I think I’m gonna go find her,” I said, looking up at my friends.
Martin was giving me a look of disbelief. “Dan, are you sure? What if you made a mistake and it’s not even the person you’re thinking?”
I shook my head. “There’s no way I’m wrong about this. I don't think that I’ve ever been more sure of anything in my life.”
I patted my pockets, until I found where I’d left my car keys. Only to freeze again when my eyes fell to the kid. I grimaced, wondering how I could take him all the way to his mom’s. I wasn’t even sure how she’d happened to be in a clinic in my town, when her town wasn’t all that close by.
Martin sighed with impatience, rolling his eyes. “Come one, Dan. Like we would actually leave you alone with a kid when you don’t know the first thing about how to take care of one.”
“We’re going with you,” Noah added, glancing at Chad, waiting for his nod in agreement before he turned back to me. “You’ll have to drive us there, though.”
I shrugged. “Fine.”
I remembered all the stuff Noah and Chad said they’d left in the car. I turned to them with a scowl as they came up behind me.
“Seriously, you two?” I growled. “Did you buy out a whole fuc—effing store?”
Noah just gave me the stink eye. “Just shove everything in the trunk. So, we got a little carried away. Let's go!”
I sighed, pushing some of the stuff in the front to the back. I really did need to be grateful to them, because I had a feeling I was actually going to use all the shit they bought for me. Martin sat up in front, and Chad and Noah sat in the back with the baby in his chair between them.
I started up the car and drove.
Chapter Twelve
Scarlett
I looked around what used to be the hotel lobby, and felt like I could have cried. Dad was long gone, and I was alone.
Finally, I was ready to close it up.
Well, saying I was ready might be a bit of an overstatement. I was closing up, but it was more because I didn’t have much of a choice, than because I wanted to.
After Dad left, I’d tried to hold on, before I realized I couldn’t. The next thing I tried was selling, but that wasn’t any easier. I’d been trying for months, and still nothing.
I couldn’t keep it, though. Not even for my brother’s sake, after Dad had given up on it. He knew all the business side of things, all I ever did was clean and cook and take care of the guests. That was not enough to run the hotel. Not to mention the fact that Dad didn’t leave any money for running the place, like he was silently encouraging me to close up.
Damn you Harry, I thought to myself, using my dad’s name for the first time in a while. This place is supposed to be your fucking responsibility. How could you just throw it away so easily?
I sighed. I’d come to find it was easy for men to let go of things; my brother just up and left, then Dan, and now dad. I needed to survive somehow, and I couldn’t think of anything. It was my fault for giving up on college before I even tried. I could do was go into town and find a job as a waitress or barista or something. Then again, I didn’t have a place to stay in town, and I couldn’t afford to make back and forth trips, especially since Dad had left with the car. And I sure as hell couldn’t take the bus back. I was at a crossroad and didn’t know how to cross it. I didn’t know how to get ahold of Dad, because he’d changed his number almost as soon as he’d left as if he didn’t want any reminder of here, or even worse anything to do with me. My brother wasn’t coming back, as soon as he walked out of the door he hadn’t called left alone left a contact number. He wanted out of this place, everyone wanted out, apart from me.
I was alone.
“Well, whatever,” I muttered to myself, hunching my shoulders. I gave a sarcastic laugh that bordered on sad. “It was fun while it lasted.”
I had all my things packed into a backpack. Just a few clothes, my papers, and some stuff my mom left behind when she passed away that my dad didn’t either take or sell, and the documents for the hotel. It really wasn’t much, considering all of my life was in that backpack.
“It’s not like I even know how to run a hotel,” I kept talking to myself. I’d picked up the habit over the months, and hadn't dropped it. “No money coming in, I don’t even have food. And all the damn bills…”
I sighed again, and picked up my bag. I had the key for the door in my hand already. I stepped around and closed the door
. I locked it, then turned around and walked down the short steps to the ground. I hesitated there for a moment, before I started walking.
Because there was no car, and the phone bills had piled until the company cut the phone lines at the hotel, I couldn’t call a taxi. I’d had to sell some of the stuff at the hotel to cover bills, even though I never managed to sell the building itself.
Before I could get far, though, I head a car coming up the road. I looked up, surprised. I frowned, because I didn’t remember calling a taxi. But when I looked up, I didn’t see a taxi. It was this black range rover, and I was pretty sure I didn’t know anyone with a car like that.
“A guest?” I mused.
There had been a few, but they’d left when they didn’t find anyone there. And when I was there, I’d sent them away, because I had no car and at times no means to buy supplies. I came to a stop, and stood to the side as the car drove up. I’d have to tell them the hotel was closed indefinitely. There wasn’t any way to get the news to all our repeat clientele, so I could only hope they heard somehow and didn’t bother.
I could ask them for a ride into town, if they have the room. It would save me the walk. I don’t want to be on my feet for an hour…
It was my own fault. I’d known, coming back up here, that I would have no other way to get back down besides walking. I’d gone anyway. I didn’t even have a fucking cell phone yet, but who could think about extra expenses when I was barely keeping up?
The car came to a stop. The windows were tinted, so I couldn’t see much from the outside. No one came out immediately, so I wasn’t sure whether to wave my hand, or do something. Instead, I just stood there, shifting on my feet. I wanted to get this over with. If they weren’t going to give me a ride, I wanted to start the journey immediately so I could be in town before the day started growing dark. I didn’t know exactly what I was going to do when I got there… but I was ready to restart my life.
Then, the car door opened, and the last person I expected stepped out.
“Dan?” I called out, shocked.
Though, I really shouldn’t be. I had hoped that he would seek me out. I just hadn't thought…
“Scarlett,” he said, closing the space between us with long strides.
For a moment, I wanted to take a step back, but then the moment was gone.
“Dan,” I repeated, smiling at him, even as my lips shook around the edges. “What are you even doing here? If you’re looking for a room, I’m afraid you’re out of luck. The hotel is closing up, so I can't do anything for you this time.”
He frowned down at me, standing less than a foot away from me. “You know that’s not what I came here for, don’t you?”
My body trembled. I knew exactly why he’d come to search me out. It wasn’t for what I’d initially wanted. After getting over the shock of him leaving, and my dad announcing he was doing the same thing, I’d hoped he would remember me and come back. The reasoning for that hope had changed, but it had been there, until I’d given it up. And now, here he was.
He hadn't just come because he missed me, though.
“Why did you leave our baby with me?” he asked, point blank.
I sighed. “Really, Dan. We see each other after months, and that’s all you can say to me? How about, explaining why you made love to me and walked away like it was nothing, without so much as a note?”
He flinched. I might have been wrong, but I was staring right at him, and I caught the movement. His frown faltered, and my eyes widened.
“Dan?” I said tentatively. It wasn’t like I was accusing him of something, so why would he react so visibly to some words? He got ahold of himself, though, still frowning, though he looked more unsure of himself.
“About that…” he muttered. He raised a hand to rub the back of his neck, shifting on his feet like I had been just moments before. He sighed. He wasn’t meeting my eyes. “The thing with that—”
“Hey!”
He was cut off by a voice I didn’t know. We both looked behind him, where three guys had come out of the car.
“You didn’t come alone, huh,” I said under my breath.
Dan met my eyes, before looking back to his friends. “Could you guys just give me a bit? I need to talk to her.”
“What do we do about the kid?” one of them called out.
My heart jumped. The baby was in the car. I stared at the car anxiously, like I would suddenly see through the tinting in the windows to see my baby. It hadn't been easy letting go, but if I couldn’t even look after myself, there was no way I could keep a child with me.
I’m so sorry, baby…
Then I looked back at Dan, afraid he would just leave the baby with me. I had to tell him everything that had happened.
Chapter Thirteen
Dan
“Dan?”
The voice that called my name was tentative, and when I turned back to Scarlett, she was fidgeting in place, looking anxious.
“Don’t worry about them,” I said, taking a guess as to what had her so worried. “They’re friends of mine. They all have children of their own, so they’re helping me with the baby. I don’t know the first thing about children, you know.”
She winced. “Well, I didn’t either, technically. Imagine losing your virginity, then finding out you’re pregnant, and the man responsible just up and left without a word.”
I flinched again, and she definitely caught it. I’d hoped she hadn't. She pursed her lips, then sighed.
“I mean, I’m not exactly blaming you. You came with issues, and you were going to leave. It’s not like you had to say something to me, but…it would have been appreciated, Dan.”
I looked away from her, feeling guilty. It had been a shock when she told me I’d taken her first time. And I hadn't exactly been careful about it. Thinking back now, there was plenty I could have done differently. Not trying to use the first woman that had been so nice to me since my wife left me to forget my own heartache was the first thing I shouldn’t have done. I’d left because I was feeling guilty then, too, for ruining her first time, and for using her like that. I’d thought of her plenty after I left. Then shit hit the fan at work, and I pushed her to the back of my mind. Then I got fired, and I could barely think of anything besides how pathetic I was becoming.
Fuck! I hadn’t even recognized her when she was seated right next to me at that clinic, because I’d been focused on the wrong thing at the time.
I’d apologized to her back then, but I owed Scarlett way more than a mere apology.
“Hey, Dan!”
I felt irritation when Martin interrupted again, though I knew that wasn’t fair. They didn’t have to come here with me, they were around to lend support and help with the kid. I just really wanted them out of the way, so Scarlett and I could really talk.
“Can you give me a minute?” I told her. After she nodded, I walked back over to my friends. Martin held up a hand before I could speak.
“Yeah, we know,” he said impatiently. “You want time to talk to your girlfriend.”
“We’ll look after the kid,” Noah added.
“We’re gonna go down to town, though,” Chad said. “So we don’t intrude. Just give us a call when you’re ready to leave. And don’t forget we’re tied for time, here. We do have families to get back to.”
I sighed and waved them off. “Yeah. Thanks for this, you guys. I’ll definitely find a way to pay you back.
I would have to think of looking for a different job. My track record was shit, and there was no way my last job would give me a glowing recommendation. But, it was way past time I got up off my ass and did something, instead of moped around, feeling sorry for myself. Now that I knew I had a kid…a kid I was suddenly unsure whether I wanted to let go of or not.
Martin switched seats and got in the driver’s side. I’d left the key in the ignition, so the guys waved at me as they got inside, and they left. I sighed, then turned back around. Scarlett was standing where I’d left her,
watching the car go.
“They’re just going to town, to find some place to wait for me so we can talk,” I explained.
She nodded. “I figured.” Then she narrowed her eyes at me. “I hope you have a cell phone on you, or we’re screwed.”
“I have one, don’t worry.”
We stood in silence for a moment, and it was awkward.
Scarlett broke the silence. “Would you like to go inside?”
“Yes please,” I said immediately. Then we can just go stand awkwardly indoors.
She led the way to the door as I followed behind her. She opened it, and we stepped inside. I froze with one foot inside, surprised at how empty the place looked.
“Were you thinking of remodeling?” I asked tentatively.
She arched an eyebrow. “Really, Dan? Of course not. I already told you the place is closing up, didn’t I?”
I hadn't thought she’d meant she was closing permanently. I just thought she was locking up to go somewhere…maybe, to find me and explain some things about the baby. That was the reason I was here in the first place, and it was what I should be focusing on, but I couldn’t help getting distracted.
“What happened?” I asked.
She shrugged, looking around what used to be the lobby. “You were right. My dad came back the same day you left and told me he was moving. He didn’t want to keep looking after the hotel, and after he left me alone, I couldn’t do it on my own. And then…news of the baby came.”
“You went through all that on your own, huh,” I mumbled, my thoughts grim.
“It wasn’t easy,” she went on. “Not at all. It was bad enough when my brother left, but after Dad… I didn’t have anyone else to lean on. And I don’t know the first thing of running a business, so after the first couple months, I couldn’t even keep taking guests. I sold nearly everything just to keep myself fed and to keep up with the bills. There’s not much left to sell besides the hotel itself.”
Accidental Daddy Page 6