by T. S. Ryder
And as it had been for the past year, the face of Rex Tesla came to her mind. A simple one-night-stand that turned into something far, far more. Ginny blew raspberries, and Mindy felt herself relaxing again. There was a reason why she had come to this town, after all.
She had never known her own father. Her mother had never told her anything about him, and whenever Mindy tried to bring him up, it always turned into a fight. Mindy wished she had just a scrap of information to find him and learn who he was.
She didn’t want that same sort of mystery for her own daughter. So shortly before Ginny was born, when she still had some money, she had hired a private investigator to find Rex. Three months ago, he had come back with information. With an address. Rex lived and worked here. She had moved at once, but instead of going to him straight away and telling him that he had a daughter, she had chickened out. She had spent the time working and trying to build up the courage to go to the man who probably didn’t even remember her.
Her heart fluttered as panic built up inside her again. She didn’t want to go to him like this, with nowhere to go and no options left. She wanted him to see her as a strong woman, a woman with options.
But maybe . . . maybe he would remember her. And maybe he could offer her something. An extra room she could crash at, maybe a friend who was looking for a new employee.
“What do you think, Ginny?” Mindy turned a corner, fighting to stay focused on the road while her thoughts spun all over the place. She needed to find someplace to just sit and rest for a moment. “Do you think that your dad will want to help us?”
What if he took one look at her and laughed in her face? There was no reason why he would remember her, and even if he did, he might not recognize her. Since that night on the beach, she had put on a lot of weight. First with her pregnancy, and then as she struggled to get by, she hadn’t been able to buy as much healthy food as she wanted. There were a few weeks when all she could afford was ramen and eggs. Not to mention that she was always too busy and exhausted to do any real exercise.
All in all, she wasn’t the same trim, beautiful bombshell that she was a year ago. Even her clothes were frumpy and ill-fitting. If Rex was only interested in pretty women, he’d kick her out without a second glance.
What if he wanted nothing to do with kids? What if he thought she was only after his money? What if he wanted nothing to do with her—but wanted to keep Ginny? What if he took her to court to take custody away from her? What if he turned out to be a real creep?
“And I’m overthinking again.” Her brain actually hurt from the stress, even as Mindy tried to shove her worries aside.
These were the same things that had been bouncing around her brain for the three months since she moved here, and it was only getting worse. She wanted her daughter to get to know her dad, an opportunity she never had herself. If she kept letting herself go into panic mode over this, she was going to lose her nerve and Ginny was never going to meet Rex.
A white car pulled in front of her and started to slow down. Mindy made to honk the horn at the jackass, but then she saw who it was. Her heart nearly stopped.
How had he found her?
Her mouth went dry, but when the man gestured out the window for her to follow him, she didn’t have any choice but to obey. Her knuckles went white, she was gripping the steering wheel so tightly as she pulled in to a stop next to him at a car park.
Calvin Meyer stepped from his car and smiled at her as she got out of hers. He was alone, which didn’t really ease her mind. The predatory grin on his face was all she needed to want to run. Far, far away. But he had already found her once. Her hands clenched.
“Miss Davidson. You’re behind on your payments.”
Not for the first time, she wished she had never set eyes on the man. “I lost my job,” she said, her throat so dry that speaking was actually painful. “I also lost your number, so I couldn’t—”
“That is a shame.” Meyer moved closer.
He smiled, looking every bit a shark. Not surprising, considering that he was a loan shark. If only she had been smart before she got mixed up with him. But she had been young and stupid. For two years, this man had been dogging her steps. Two years. She thought that maybe she’d lost him when she moved, but clearly, there was no such luck.
“I heard congratulations were in order,” Meyer continued, looking through her car window at Ginny.
Mindy moved quickly, blocking his view. “Yes, well . . . things have been crazy lately.”
“Oh, I understand. These things happen. I’m a generous man. You’ll find that I’m reasonable. You are behind on your payments, but we can adjust things. Perhaps a smaller amount for now, until you get back on your feet. Of course, I’ll have to raise your interest due to your failure to pay. Unless you have something that will make up for that?”
Mindy trembled as his gaze raked over her form, lingering on her exposed cleavage. Perhaps she had misjudged when she thought she wasn’t beautiful anymore. Either that or men like the motel manager and Meyer just got their kinks from being in a position where they could bully women into having sex with them.
“I don’t have—” Mindy started.
“What about that pretty ring around your neck?”
Mindy’s hand flew to the ring she wore as a necklace. It was the diamond ring that Rex had given her a year ago. She had hoped to use it as proof that she was the same woman who had slept with him that night on the beach, in case he didn’t remember. If he didn’t recognize her face, he’d at least recognize the ring he’d bought for another woman.
“It’s a real diamond, isn’t it?”
Mindy hesitated. She had resisted selling it even in her worst times. But her choices were limited right now. She took off the necklace and handed over the ring.
Meyer took a close look at it, then smiled and pocketed it. “I’ll let you know how much it was appraised for. It’s a shame that a pretty woman like you should be so hard up for money. You know, there are many different ways that you could get a job.” A smirk crossed his face. “Of course, if you can’t get a job I could always sell your baby, people are always looking for—”
“Don’t you dare go near her!” Rage unlike anything Mindy had felt before swept through her. She leapt at him, swinging her fists, and he caught both of them. Mindy snarled and threw her head forward, intending on headbutting him. He easily yanked her off her feet. As she fell off-balance, Meyer threw her against his car and pinned her there, hands on her wrists as he grinned at her. The rage didn’t lessen, even though panic started to beat against her ribs. “You stay away from my daughter. Don’t you dare ever threaten her again!”
“Now, now. Let’s not get violent, Miss Davidson. I wasn’t threatening anybody. I was merely suggesting that if you don’t have the funds to pay me, then you don’t have the funds to properly care for your daughter. There are lots of people looking to adopt, and I’ve got connections. I could very easily find her a home far more suitable than what you can give her.”
Mindy tried to yank herself free of his grip, but Meyer pressed against her. Every inch of her went cold.
“Of course, there are other arrangements I could make. I have many rich friends who would love to have a pretty girlfriend like you for a night. It’d wipe your debt out quicker . . . I’m not going to make you do anything, though.” Meyer whipped around and pushed her back toward her own car. He winked. “I’m not a monster, after all.”
He climbed back into his car and drove away with a jaunty wave. Mindy’s stomach roiled. She slid back into her car, then leaned her head against the steering wheel and started to sob.
Chapter Four – Rex
The tie was choking him, but Rex resisted the urge to loosen it. Today had to go perfectly. That was why he had shaven, cut his hair, and put on this monkey suit. His bear snarled and paced at the sight of his rival, Tyrell Jarvis, sitting across the table from him. From the look on Jarvis’ face, the other bear was feeling just as antsy. This wasn’t about
their rivalry though, at least not for Rex. He needed to keep a lid on it.
The alphas sat on one end of the long table, the judge on the other, while Jarvis’ and Rex’s lawyers sat near their respective clients. Rex clasped his hands on the table, resisting the urge to bounce his leg. Nervous energy pent up inside of him, but he made himself stay still and, hopefully, look professional.
Jarvis’ lawyer spoke. “It is the opinion of my client that Mr. Rex has not yet met the requirements that he set out to allow visitation with my client’s daughter.”
Rex clenched his hands so hard they cracked. His bear roared and slammed into his chest, wanting to burst out and attack Jarvis. He clenched his teeth so hard that he thought his jaw might pop. “What haven’t I done? I’ve got a job, I’m giving back to the community, I have kept to your rules about no contact—”
His lawyer put a hand on his shoulder, silencing him. Rex swallowed down his further protests, though the glare he was giving Jarvis was no less acidic. What more did he want?
“From the reports he has received—” The lawyer cut off as Jarvis leaned forward.
“You need to get your personal life in order.”
Rex sent a furious glare at the alphas; Ricky stared back blankly, while Noel looked guilty and Kurtis and Bobby at least looked uncomfortable. What had they told him? Just because his place was empty that one day they came over meant that his whole life was a mess? He opened his mouth to argue, but before he could, Jarvis continued.
“I should say, you need to get a personal life. From everything I’ve seen you are either working or alone. You need more than that, Rex.” Jarvis’ voice was unusually gentle, like he actually had Rex’s interests at heart.
Which, as much as Rex hated to admit, he probably did. He found the fight going out of him, though he still glared at his rival. “Do you want me to join a book club? Get a girlfriend?”
“What you want to do with your personal life is up to you. You just need one.”
Was this because Jarvis was afraid he was still obsessed with Cynthia? Yes, she cropped up in his thoughts every now and then, but he understood what he was feeling now. He wasn’t going to ambush her again. He wasn’t going to press on, convinced that they were mates while ignoring how she felt about the matter. He was keeping his distance, not expecting forgiveness.
All he wanted was to be a part of his niece's life. His parents were gone, his sister was gone. Tamara was the last family he had left, and yeah, he hadn’t taken care of her like he should have when Jarvis trusted him with her as a baby, but that was almost five years ago. She was six years old now, and if someone asked her who he was, she’d have no idea.
“I’ve been working so hard,” Rex pleaded, not too proud to beg even though he hated it.
“I know,” Jarvis replied, still in that gentle voice. “And you’ll get there. Just not right now.”
There wasn’t anything else for it, except for the lawyers to argue. Rex wasn’t interested in listening to that. It was a crushing blow, but he’d recover. He’d figure out the whole personal life thing. If he argued about it, Jarvis might pull back even more.
The fact was that Rex had broken the trust he’d been given. Five years, one year, it didn’t matter how long ago that was. He needed to regain Jarvis’ trust, and Cynthia’s. It wasn’t as easy as gluing a mug back together.
Still, by the time Rex got home, he was exhausted and frustrated. Part of him said that he might as well just give up, that Jarvis wasn’t going to do him any favors and he’d never be part of Tamara’s life.
Giving up was for losers, though, and he was not a loser.
When he walked in through the door, the scent of lilacs assaulted his nose. Then the sound of the TV. And then the sight of a plump woman sitting on his couch, a wineglass in one hand and a bottle of his good wine in the other. He stopped dead, staring into the face of Mindy Davidson. His bear bumped against his chest then froze as well, too stunned by the sight of her to have any other sort of reaction.
“What are you doing here?” he managed to force out.
Mindy lifted her glass to him. “I’ve been looking for you.”
His bear bounded in excitement. It hit him hard in the chest, telling him to rush over to her, sweep her into his arms and make love all night long. There was a time when he would have done so at once. But now? He didn’t trust his bear. His instincts weren’t always correct.
Rex ran a hand through his hair, staring hard at Mindy. She’d gained weight since he last saw her. Now instead of that hard, toned body, she was all soft curves. Even her breasts were bigger. His bear urged him forward, and he took a few steps before he stopped.
Why was she here? She didn’t want to get mixed up in his crazy life right now, did she? She had no idea that he was a bear, and she probably wouldn’t react well if she found out. Diana, the alphas’ mate, and Cynthia were both flukes when it came to human women finding out about the animal inside of them.
Had Mindy sought him out so they could get drunk together like they had a year ago?
“You’ve been looking for me. Why? What on earth are you doing on my couch?” It came out much harsher than he had intended.
The crestfallen look on Mindy’s face made him flinch. She was staring at him as though she wasn’t certain what to say. He moved a little closer, then stopped again. She had broken into his apartment. There had to be a reason why she was here.
“I need a little bit of help,” she whispered hoarsely. “You see . . .”
She trailed off as a baby started to cry in the bedroom. Rex turned on his heel, eyes widening. Mindy rubbed a tear from her cheek and set down the wine. She disappeared into the bedroom while Rex stared after her, his breath shallow in his lungs. She reappeared a moment later with a small, dark-haired baby in her arms.
Mindy cradled the baby to her breast while she rooted around in a backpack near the couch. Rex kept staring at her and the baby, his mind rolling over the various possibilities.
“I shouldn’t be drinking when I’m nursing a baby,” Mindy muttered, sounding like she was about to burst into tears. “What’s wrong with me?”
The anguish in her voice spurred Rex into action. He moved across the room to pick up the diaper bag and found a bottle and a can of formula. Mindy bounced the baby gently, getting the wails to turn into quiet whimpers. It had been quite a while since he had made a bottle, but Rex fixed it up—only to find, when he was done, that there was a bottle of prepared milk in the fridge already. He pulled it out and showed it to Mindy.
“I think you had already prepared something.”
“Oh.” Mindy nodded, tears forming in her eyes. “I forgot. I pumped before I started drinking. But I can give that to her later. It’s too cold for her now.”
Rex brought the bottle with warm formula milk to Mindy and her baby. She settled down on the couch, sniffling now that the baby had gone quiet. Rex rubbed his hands on his pants. He already knew that he wouldn’t turn her out, not when she looked so miserable and when she had an infant in her arms.
“So . . . why are you here, Mindy?”
She looked up, startled.
Rex shuffled and shrugged. “I remember your name.”
Mindy sniffled again and adjusted the baby. “I’m sorry that I’ve dropped in unannounced and I just broke into your apartment and ate your food and drank your wine. Today’s been hell . . .”
“Right.” Rex perched on the edge of the coffee table. The position made his knees go almost level with his chest. “So . . . you decided to come to me. Someone you only met once, a year ago.”
Mindy shrugged. “I just need a place to lay low for a while, so that I can get back on my feet. I lost my job and lost the place I was living in and . . . well, I don’t want to live in my car. Not with a baby, at least. It was fine when I was on my own, but now . . .”
Rex’s bear growled at the mention of her living in her car. There was no reason why a woman should have to do that. What was wrong w
ith humans, that they didn’t take care of each other? How many times had he heard that people who didn’t or couldn’t work didn’t deserve the basic necessities of life? How was that even debatable?
“Maybe he was right,” Mindy mumbled, so quietly she had to be talking to herself. “Maybe she’d be better off without me.”
Rex’s heart thudded painfully, reminded of when he would sit up in the early morning hours with his sister and her newborn baby. Angela would say the same thing as she looked at Tamara, so full of love for her and yet so terrified of what sort of future she could give her child. She had been convinced that the only way to give Tamara a fighting chance at life would be to marry Jarvis—only Jarvis didn’t want to marry her.
“The baby is a girl?” Rex asked, his throat swollen.
Mindy shivered as she met his gaze. “Her name is Genevieve. Ginny. I thought it was a pretty name.”
“It is a pretty name.” Rex squeezed the back of his neck. “Look . . . you can stay the night. In the morning we can talk more . . . when you’re not drunk.”
What would Jarvis and the alphas say about this? Well, he couldn’t see them condoning him kicking them out.
Mindy nodded. She let out a shaky breath. “Thank you. She’s . . . your daughter.”
Rex opened his mouth to say that he had already figured it out but he couldn’t. Instead, the only thing that came out was a breathless wheeze. His head spun as his gaze dropped to the baby again. This couldn’t be real. What the hell did he know about being a father?
The last time he had been responsible for Tamara, he left her in front of the TV and went out to the ocean for a couple hours. She had been fine, he came home to her sleeping on the floor, but he still left her there! His heart started to palpitate as he thought of every stupid, irresponsible thing he had done over the years. Yeah, he had been working on changing who he was, but the fact remained—he wasn’t dad material! Hell, he wasn’t even uncle material!
Should he phone Noel and tell him about this? He had a young child of his own, he’d know what to do.