Marred

by Tess Thompson

  “Six weeks? That seems like forever.” The corners of his mouth turned downward. “This cannot really be happening.”

  It was almost endearing how bewildered and frightened he was. Almost, but not quite. This was Kyle Hicks. Rich and self-satisfied with little regard for anyone but his smug, attractive self. “It’ll be fine. Looking back, those weeks were just a blip on the radar. Honestly, cherish every moment. Before you know it, she’ll be three.”

  He sighed and rubbed his eyes. “I don’t know if I can do this. Truly.”

  “Do you have younger siblings?” Violet asked.

  He looked away, scratching behind his ear. “Yeah. A brother and a sister.”

  “Do you remember helping with them at all?” She couldn’t recall ever hearing that he had siblings. Not that she exactly asked around about Kyle Hicks.

  “No. They were two and four years younger than me. I don’t remember anything under the age of six.”

  “I was an only child, so I had the same problem. No memories to recall—like my mom did this, so I’ll do this. I couldn’t ask her either, since she wasn’t speaking to me.”

  “Were they that uptight for real?”

  “My parents are very religious.” She glanced at Dakota. He was dipping a french fry into his vanilla shake without a thought to what the adults were doing or saying. She lowered her voice anyway. “They were mortified I was pregnant without a husband.”

  “Kind of antiquated, isn’t it?”

  “You don’t know the half of it. My dad’s a real charmer.” She rolled her eyes to hide the pain behind those words.

  “I’d choose supporting my daughter over any belief system I’d read in stories written a long time ago.”

  Not religious. Duly noted.

  “Don’t look like that,” he said, matching her subdued volume. “I’m not a total heathen. All I’m saying is that if I had a daughter like you and a grandson like Dakota, I’d be proud, whether you had a husband or not. The fact that Dakota’s father bailed tells me everything I need to know. Good riddance. Take it from me. No dad is better than one who doesn’t want to be there.”

  She stared at him, shocked. A dozen questions floated across her mind. Had he given her a compliment? What was his father like? Instead, she surprised herself by sharing something of her own father.

  “My dad hasn’t spoken to me in almost four years. We’ve been staying at their house without his knowledge. My mom kept it from him. Their house burned down in South America, so they have to come home. If it weren’t for Brody and Kara, I’d be majorly screwed right now.”

  He ran his hands through his hair once more. “Hey, listen, I’m sorry about your shop. Lance said he offered you a few months free rent, but you turned him down.”

  “Yeah.” She shrugged as Mollie took one last suck and then shook the nipple from her mouth. Violet gathered her to her shoulder and patted her back until a nice loud burp erupted. “Good girl.”

  “Here, I’ll take her,” Kyle said.

  Violet placed her in his arms. He kissed Mollie’s head. “She smells so good,” he said.

  “They always do.”

  “Why didn’t you take Lance up on it?” Kyle asked.

  “Have you ever heard the term ‘bleeding cash’?”

  Kyle grimaced as he cradled Mollie closer to his chest. “I’m familiar, yes.”

  “It was more than just rent. The whole shop was a failure.” She looked away, embarrassed by the tremor in her voice. “I’m not cut out for business, I guess.”

  “A lot of successful people had early failures. Most successful people.”

  “It doesn’t matter. I have no place to live and a son without daycare.”

  “What happened to daycare?”

  “We had an incident today. I was late, and I got into it with Mrs. Knight. He’s no longer welcome.”

  “You have a bit of a temper, don’t you?” He raised his eyebrows, teasing her. It wasn’t funny.

  “I do not have a temper, but I won’t be pushed around. Not anymore.”

  “Anymore?”

  “Never mind that. Anyway, I need to focus on paying down my debt and finding a job.” Stop talking. He doesn’t need to know all this. Keep your guard up. This is the enemy.

  He narrowed his eyes and pressed his lips into a thin line. “This is going to sound crazy…given our past, but we both need something the other could provide. I need a nanny. You need a place to live and a job where you can bring your son to work. What if you moved in here with us for a while? There are two bedrooms and two bathrooms. You and Dakota could have one and I’ll take the other with Mollie. You can have the day shift, and I’ll pay you twice the going rate for a full-time nanny, plus free room and board. You can get back on track financially, and I can rest easy that Mollie will be taken care of by someone I trust.”

  You trust me?

  “I’d ask only that you stop picketing my building.” He smiled, but it stung just the same.

  “It’s done now. There’s nothing to picket. You’ve already ruined the land and the town.”

  “Ruined? Really? Do you actually believe that?”

  “You don’t get it and you never will,” Violet said.

  He sighed and kissed Mollie’s head again. “That’s probably true. But we can agree to disagree, right? Just say yes. I promise to play nice from now on.”

  “What about the night nanny?”

  “I don’t want one. If I have you during the day and someone else at night, it means nothing’s left for me. She’s my baby and I should be the one up with her at night. I should be the one who feeds her and comforts her. You did it.”

  You say that now.

  “I know you don’t believe I can do it,” Kyle said. “For all I know, you might be right. But I should try. I have to try. I can’t bail on my kid like my parents did. I have to be present.”

  “So, you’re really doing this?”

  “I have to.” He stood and rocked the baby in his arms, gazing down at Mollie. His expression softened. Had he fallen in love with his baby already? “I mean, look at her. She’s perfection. I can’t let her down. I won’t.”

  Two sudden thoughts flooded her resolve to remain strong. I wish a man would look at Dakota that way. I wish a man would look at me that way.

  The first step was to recover financially. If she had to work for the enemy, then so be it. Plus, she’d get to hold sweet Mollie every day. A job where she could be with her son every day was the best she could do.

  “What do you say?” he asked.

  “Let’s try it for a month. Trial period only.”

  “Fine, that’s reasonable.”

  He bent over the baby again. His black hair shone in the lamplight. Was it as silky as it looked? No, no, no. This is the man you hate.

  He represented everything in this world she loathed.

  Or, did he?

  She would never have predicted his reaction to the sudden appearance of a baby. Additionally, there were the references to his childhood. Had he grown up in poverty? Were his parents cold like her own? Were these the reasons he was so driven to succeed? Honor had suggested as much before, but Violet had dismissed it, assuming their friend was overstating to persuade her that he wasn’t so bad.

  “Mollie looks like you.”

  “Do you really think so?”

  The hopeful, vulnerable tone in his voice gave her pause. Kyle Hicks was full of surprises today.

  She pointed to Mollie’s mouth. “That’s your mouth. See the fullness of her bottom lip?”

  He touched his fingertips to his own bottom lip. “Yeah?”

  “She has your dark coloring too,” she said.

  “Supposedly we have some Italian in us,” he said.

  “I bet she’ll have your eyes too. If she’s lucky.” His were an unusual blue that turned from light to dark like the fickle Pacific. Not that she’d noticed…much.

  “Her mother was pretty,” he said. “Blond and tall.”
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  Violet didn’t say anything for a moment, thinking about how tricky it would be for him, like it was for her, when his child grew old enough to ask about her mother.

  “Dakota asks about his dad sometimes,” she said as if they’d already broached the subject. He seemed to follow her line of thinking without having to ask.

  “What do you tell him?” Kyle asked.

  She glanced over at her son to make sure he wasn’t listening. He was intently removing the seeds from his pickle wedge and singing the words to “The Wheels On the Bus” under his breath. “I tell him not everyone has one, but that I love him enough for two parents.”

  “Does he buy it?”

  She grimaced. “For now. Later, I’ll have to tell him the truth.”

  “What is the truth? Are you in the one-night-stand club with me?”

  “Not exactly.”

  “Don’t judge me. I can’t take it.” His eyelids drooped as if he were suddenly exhausted.

  “I’m not. Truly.” She touched his forearm, wanting to reassure him. “I’m not in much of a position to judge, even if I wanted to. Which I don’t. I’ve been judged enough today for both of us.”

  He gazed into her eyes for a moment before looking back at the baby. “It was when I was up north working on a project. It was a hard night for me and I drank too much at this dive bar where she worked. We talked. She had this way about her—one of those women who gets you talking about things you wouldn’t normally. Like Kara.”

  “Yes, sure. I know exactly.” Kara Mullen was a witch that way. Two minutes into their first a conversation and she had cut through all the pleasantries.

  “One thing led to another and I followed her home like an injured dog. She was a sweet girl. Way too young for me.” Kyle sighed. “Believe it or not, I felt bad afterward. I let my own weakness get the better of me. It’s not my thing, despite what you’ve heard, to seduce innocents. My women are usually of the savvy and sassy variety.” He paused and gazed down at the baby in his arms. “I don’t know if I can be enough for two parents. I look at you and I don’t know how you do it. Dakota’s a great kid.”

  Her chest swelled with pride. “Not everyone’s a fan of my parenting.”

  “That meanie at the day care? Screw her.”

  “Everything I do seems to turn to sand in my hands.” Why was his kindness undoing her, making words tumble from her mouth?

  “Don’t let anyone tell you that you’re a bad mother. It’s simply not true. As much as you and I disagree over certain things, I’ve always noticed how good you are with Dakota. Why do you think you were the first person we called?”

  She flashed him a rueful smile. “I’m the only one of us who has raised an infant.”

  He laughed for the first time since she’d arrived. “It’s not just that. And listen, I’m grateful you’re willing to help. I know it’s for Mollie, not me, but I’ll take it.”

  “There’s no better reason for calling a truce than a baby.” A motherless baby.

  He kissed Mollie’s forehead. “I couldn’t agree more.”

  “It’s so sad about her mother.”

  “Yeah. Now she’s stuck with me. Katy’s friend told me mortality rates for mothers in poor rural areas is on the rise. In America. There’s a cause in need of Violet Ellis.”

  “Are you mocking me?”

  He met her gaze. “Not one bit. I’m completely serious. We need to figure out what’s happening and do something about it. Isn’t that what you’re all about?”

  “Kind of.” She looked down at her hands. “I don’t seem to have influence on much of anything, despite my efforts.”

  “You don’t know if you are or not. These things aren’t measurable. Not all the way, at least. I know you prompted a few of my decisions on this place.”

  “I did?”

  “Have you noticed how green it is?” He pointed to the ceiling. “Solar panels on the roof? The sustainable kitchen in the restaurants. Ten percent of our profits will go to environmental groups.”

  “You’re lying to me.”

  “I’m not.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “You never asked,” he said.

  “Oh.”

  Dakota called out from over at the table. “Can I be excused now, Mama?”

  “May I be excused,” she said.

  “May I be excused, Mama?”

  “You may. Come on over here, I have something exciting to tell you.”

  Her little boy, her heart, ran from the table on his chubby legs. Why walk when you could run?

  She pulled him onto her lap. “How would you like to move in here with Kyle for a little while? Baby Mollie needs our help. I’m going to take care of Mollie while he goes to work.”

  His eyes widened. “Live in a hotel?”

  “Sure. It’ll be an adventure. And no, you can’t have a milkshake every day.”

  “What do you say?” Kyle asked. “I need another guy around here.”

  Dakota’s gaze moved from her to Kyle. “My friend Jacob has a mom and dad and sister.”

  “He does?” Kyle asked.

  Dakota nodded. “But I just have my mom.”

  “You’re lucky to have such an awesome mom. And we’re just borrowing her for a bit,” Kyle said. “She’ll still be your mom and your mom only.”

  Kyle didn’t understand. Dakota wasn’t expressing angst over sharing his mother. He wanted a family like his friend Jacob had.

  Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea. All she needed was to break her son’s heart when they had to leave.

  No, she had to do this. None of it mattered if she couldn’t provide the essentials. Shelter and food for her son had to be her priority. A job and a place to live had fallen in her lap. Kyle was right. They needed each other. She would just have to hope for the best regarding her own baby. Providing a place to live and food to eat was about as good as she could do now. Later there would be therapy bills, no question. Yet another reason to escape the mountain of debt. For now, however, one grown man, a little boy, and an infant girl needed her to do what she did best—take care of them.

  “We have work to do, gentlemen,” she said. “Operation Take Care of Mollie starts now. Can you both accept the mission?”

  “Yes, Mama.”

  “Bring it,” Kyle said.

  Chapter Three

  Kyle

  * * *

  KYLE FOLLOWED VIOLET into his bedroom. As his temporary home, the suite had been more than satisfactory. He loved the bed and the sheets’ ridiculous thread count. Up until a few hours ago, this bedroom had everything he needed. Now, he needed a nursery. A house that could be a home. Put it aside to figure out later and follow Violet’s lead.

  Violet stood with her hands on her hips surveying the room. “Changing table over there.” She pointed to the armchair. “Dakota, go into the bathroom and bring back three towels.”

  The little guy ran off to do his mother’s bidding. He ran most places. Kyle liked that in a person.

  Mollie wriggled in her burrito blanket. One hand and then a full arm escaped. She opened her eyes and made a face almost like a smile. “Is she smiling at me?” he asked.

  “No. Usually babies don’t smile until around seven weeks. She probably has gas.”

  “Gas. Does it hurt?”

  “You’ll know if it hurts. She’ll start screaming.”

  “What do I do if that happens?” Kyle’s shirt stuck to his damp skin. Thus far, parenting involved a lot of bodily fluids, including his sweat.

  “If she starts crying and she’s not wet or hungry, assume it’s gas,” Violet said.

  “Again, what do I do?” He couldn’t keep the irritation from his voice, but she didn’t seem to notice.

  “Tummy rubs, pumping their legs like they’re riding a bicycle, warm baths, burping. Also, I ordered some slow sip bottles. They’ll help.”

  He sank onto the end of the bed. “All those at once? Slow sip bottles?”

 
; “Sometimes one after the other.” She pulled a drawer from the dresser and placed it next to him on the bed. “It all depends.”

  Depends? On what?

  “Can I dump this out?” she asked. The drawer was lined with his socks, all folded into balls and placed in neat rows.

  “Dump them? Like on the bed?” he asked.

  She squinted her eyes, as if deciphering whether he’d spoken to her in a foreign language or if he was simply slow.

  “I need this drawer for her temporary crib. We need to put the socks somewhere else.”

  “Right, yes, put them here. Sorry, I wasn’t following.”

  Her expression softened. “Just sit there with the baby and I’ll put everything together.”

  He nodded in agreement and watched as she covered the seat of the armchair with a towel and placed a stack of diapers and wipes on the arm. She rolled two more towels and lined the dresser drawer with them. “That reminds me, we should order a pack-and-play, in addition to the crib. You’ll need that for when you travel or visit friends.” She stepped back, seemingly satisfied with the makeshift bed. “Honestly, this is the safest place for her until the crib comes. It’s like a cradle.”

  Dakota climbed up onto the bed and sat next to him, his plump hand resting on Kyle’s knee. He instinctively put his arm around the little boy and pulled him close. Mollie only needed one of his arms. Perhaps this was the reason a man had two?

  “You smell like ketchup,” Kyle whispered.

  “I do?” Dakota yawned and wriggled closer to him.

  “And milkshake.”

  A memory jolted him like a jab of a sharp fork. His little sister, when tiny like Mollie, had slept in a drawer. “My sister slept in a drawer. I’d forgotten that.”

  Violet stopped what she was doing and straightened to look at him. “It’s clever, really. People spend money on cradles for no reason.”

  “A baby shouldn’t have to sleep in a drawer.”

  “It’s safe and that’s all we care about for now.”

  “One night. That’s it. Never again after this.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

  “You’ll have that designer crib by this time tomorrow.”

  Had she rolled her eyes or was it just her tone that told him what she thought of his purchases? “I don’t care if you think it’s ridiculous that I spent so much money. She’s going to have the best.”