by Brooke May
Where I am at now.
I cringe as I pull the phone away from my ear and try not to cry as I listen to Marissa wail into the phone while Karmin tries to talk to me.
“Shh, baby.” Karmin coos to Marissa, more than likely rocking her back and forth on her lap. “K.C., I’m calling the doctor tonight to see if I can get her in first thing in the morning. I tried warm salt water in her ears, and that helped for all of ten minutes before she started crying again.”
I squeeze the bridge of my nose. “No, I’ll call as soon as I get off the phone with you. That way you don’t have to go look for her number.” I drop my head to the wall and look up at the ceiling.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, give her some Tylenol and put her in a warm bath to see if that calms her at all.”
“I don’t know about the Tylenol—” Karmin trails off, making me shake my head.
“Please?” I stress. “Marissa needs something. We barely ever give her any; it won’t hurt her this one time.” It’s true; even when she was teething, we never had to give her any pain medicine. She just chewed on anything and everything she could get her little hands on.
“All right. Call the doctor. When I put her in the bath, I’m going to call and see where Jackie. She should be home soon.”
“Okay. Thank you, Karmin. I’ll try to get home as soon as I can.” We hang up, and I slump in my chair and stare at my phone in my hands between my bare legs.
I really dislike this job.
Yes, it has provided for my daughter, but this is not what I want to do with my life. And I really don’t want my daughter knowing that I’m a waitress at a high-end strip club as she gets older.
“Please, let me get this job,” I pray and then open my contacts to Dr. Blue, Marissa’s pediatrician. When a parent calls after hours, it goes straight to her personal cell phone.
“Hello?”
“Good evening, Dr. Blue. This is K.C. Cunningham, Marissa Lawrence’s mom. I hope I’m not disturbing you this time of night.” I cringe.
“Oh no, not at all. That’s why I have my phone pick up for the office,” she answers brightly for almost ten o’clock at night. “What can I do for you, K.C.?”
“I believe Marissa has an ear infection, possibly in both ears.” I feel defeated. I should have called in sick tonight to stay with her. “Is there any way I could get her into your office first thing in the morning?”
“Of course! Bring her in around seven when we open,” she answers pleasantly.
Thank you so much.” I sigh. I’m so glad she was the doctor on duty when I had Marissa; she’s been wonderful to her.
She laughs. “It’s no problem at all, K.C. That’s what I’m here for. I’ll see you two in the morning.”
“See you in the morning,” I confirm and hang up. I send Karmin a quick text telling her Marissa has an appointment tomorrow first thing and put my phone back in my bag in my locker before heading back out to the party.
Even with my spirits lifted, I’m still not looking forward to drunk men fondling me the rest of the night. I grab my tray that I rested by the door and follow the long corridor to the other parts of the club.
Unfortunately for me, I’m not lucky enough to get back to work unnoticed. As I round a corner, I run right into my boss, Clark General. I groan when he clocks me, and his already creepy, evil eyes become enraged.
“Why aren’t you back with the party?” His huge feet stomp toward me, making me tremble a little. He’s as mean as a diamondback rattlesnake.
“I had a break,” I lie.
He looks down at his watch on his extremely hairy arm.
Gross.
“You don’t have a break until midnight.” He growls. Of course, he knows all our break times. “Where were you, K.C.?” He steps into my space, and I take a step back until my back hits the wall.
“I had to make a phone call. My daughter isn’t feeling well.”
“Again?” he shouts. “This has got to stop!”
What?
Marissa is rarely sick. This is the first time in over a year that I’ve had to call and check on her. He steps back and shakes his head, causing the ponytail at his neck to whip around.
“I haven’t done this in a long time.” I can’t keep the disdain from my voice. I really don’t care for this man or his business. “I’m sorry, but my daughter is my number one priority, and if you don’t like it, learn to,” I growl back at him. No one comes between Marissa and me.
Clarks looks at me in complete shock but quickly recovers. “K.C., I think it would be the best for everyone involved if this were your last night here.”
“What!” I drop my tray to my feet, letting it clatter to the floor, and ball my fists. “You can’t fire me just because I care for my child!” I point a finger at his thick, chubby chest.
He looks down at my finger that isn’t even touching him and then back at me with an evil glint in his eyes. “No, but I can for you assaulting me.” He almost laughs.
My eyes widen at his audacity. “Get your shit out of your locker now and get the hell off my property. I’ll send you your last check.” He turns on his heel and stomps down the corridor. I watch him walk away, anger fueling my blood pumping through me. No one was here with us, so no one would know what truly happened. My nose twitches out of anger as my fist collides with the wall opposite me. “Oh, and K.C.?”
I glower at him. “Get off my property in ten minutes, and I won’t press any charges.” He laughs and disappears.
“Asshole,” I grind out. I head back to the dressing room and empty my locker. He didn’t even give me enough time to change, leaving me to walk out of here in this stupid uniform. If you want to call it one. It’s warm enough that I don’t even have a coat, and to add to my luck, Beth drove us here tonight.
I don’t have a ride.
I probably missed Aunt Jackie, and there isn’t a bus that goes to our house. “What am I going to do?” I try not to cry. I won’t give that man the dignity of seeing me in tears. I do, however, change out of the stupid gold boots and leave them as I pull on my sneakers and head out the door of the locker room.
I shoot Beth a text telling her to call me when she gets off. I’m not looking up or paying attention to where I’m going when I slam into a wall. I start to fall backward, but the wall has two hands that reach out and pull me back to it. I grab onto two well-toned and built biceps and feel an old familiar heat flood my body.
Oh, no.
“What are you doing here?” I barely whisper. I’m not sure if I could hear myself, much less Chamberlain being able to.
I refuse to look up into his eyes and stay focused on his massive chest that shakes with laughter. “Nice to see you too, panda.” I want to whimper at his smooth, soft tone. I bet that if I looked up, his eyes would be dark with that predator look of his.
“I asked you a question.” I shove myself from his arms and start to walk away.
I can’t tell if he releases a groan or a growl as he follows me. “Would you believe that I’m here to get you to quit this place?”
I stop walking, causing him to slam into my back. “Why would you do that?”
“My girl is not working at a place like this,” he finishes in disgust.
“Well, good to know you care about that,” I hiss. “And not that it is any of your business, but I was just fired. And I am not your girl.”
“Really?” I roll my eyes at the excitement in his voice.
“Gee, thanks?” I take off once more.
How am I going to get home?
“How are you getting home?” Chamberlain’s question forces me to stop again, and this time, I turn around and look at him. I suck in a sharp breath. He’s wearing a pair of worn jeans with a white button-down shirt. His hair is slightly spiked. He looks … amazing.
“I … don’t know.” I look down at my bag by my side.
Chamberlain grabs my hand and leads me toward the exit. “I’ll take you home.”
The flutters that were forming in my stomach by our connection drop dead. “No, you won’t.” I try to rip free of him, but he’s too strong.
Damn him.
“Sure, I will, and then we’ll have a chance to talk.” He throws me a dimpled grin while pushing the door open.
“You’ve got all the answers, don’t you?” I spit out sarcastically.
“No, but I will soon,” he whispers to me as I pass him. His hand comes down on my bare lower back as he guides me to his car. “I don’t like that you are wearing this outfit in public.”
“Trust me; I don’t either.” I grunt as I’m deposited in the car. I cross my arms over my chest and keep my legs together while looking out the window when he gets in. I refuse to look at his rugged handsomeness.
I will not.
I really wish I had another way to get home. Then I wouldn’t have to deal with him, and he wouldn’t learn where I live. I could just have him drop me off at Beth’s apartment. I have a key ...
“Katie?” His voice cuts through the silence as he pulls into traffic. “Katie?” He says my name again when I don’t turn to look at him. “Will you please look at me?”
Turning my head sharply with a glare, I cause my ponytail to whip around and hit my right cheek. “What, Chamberlain?” I really don’t get why he wants to talk to me. He was entertaining Gwen behind my back while doing and saying wonderful things that made me fall in love with him.
“Well, we could start by you telling me my daughter’s name?” He throws me a warning look. It just makes me narrow my eyes more.
“She’s my daughter,” I hiss at him.
“And mine.” He growls. “What the hell is wrong with you, Katie? What the hell did I ever do, huh?” I snort in disbelief.
Like he doesn’t know.
“I had nothing to do with your parents doing whatever they did. You could have come to me, and I would have taken care of both of you.” His tone lightens, and he sounds almost hurt, almost.
I turn away from him, hurt.
He’s such an idiot!
“Come on, Katie. Talk to me. What happened?” I jolt upright when his warm hand gently presses on my bare leg. I stare out the window, trying my best to ignore the heat that radiates through my body from our simple connection. It reminds me of how it used to be between us.
Why couldn’t Aunt Jackie’s be closer?
This is torture. I want to get away from him.
“Her name is Marissa,” I answer quickly but still refuse to look at him. My anger is slowly growing as the guilt comes flooding in when he sucks in a sharp breath.
“Marissa?”
My hands start to sweat and shake. I nod my head but realize he can’t see the small movement. “Yes, Marissa Fiona.” I finally look over at him and frown. I can’t tell if he is angry or something else? He worries his bottom lip between his teeth as he continues down the road until I tell him where to turn.
“What’s her last name, Katie?” He finally breaks the silence a few minutes later.
Thank goodness we are close to home.
“Lawrence.” I manage to get out and look down at my hands as they clench together to keep from shaking. “I thought it would be easier when she got older and wanted to find you.” I defend myself. “And to hide her from my family,” I add weakly.
“Does she know about me?”
“Of course, I don’t keep anything from her. She knows what you look like from the pictures I took when we were together.”
“You weren’t going to keep her in the dark about her dad?” Great, he sounds angry.
“No!” I look up at him. “I would never do that to her. She deserves to know she has a dad out there somewhere.”
“But I, on the other hand, don’t need to know that I have a daughter out there with the woman who should have never left me?” He growls.
“I left because there was nothing in Boston for me anymore!” I growl back at him.
How dare he?
“You had me, Katie. And Scott. And Fiona.” He pounds the steering wheel.
“Pull into that driveway.” I point it out and do my best to keep myself composed. He pulls in and cuts the engine. “Thank you for the ride.” I grab my bag and get out.
Chamberlain’s hand shoots out and grabs mine. “Please, Katie. There is so much we need to tell each other. Please, I’ll do anything if you would just hear me out.” He pleads with me, and the pain in his eyes almost makes me cave.
But then I see the image play out in front of me all over again of the passionate embrace he shared with Gwen. I blink several times to pull myself together and gently remove his hand. “Thank you for the ride. Good-bye, Chamberlain.” I slam the door and run as fast as I can to the front door, but Chamberlain is faster.
“Katie!” he shouts as he grabs me and turns me to face him, leaving my keys dangling in the doorknob. “Hey.” He pushes his palms to my cheeks, making my head tilt up to face him. “Think about it tonight, okay?” He moves in, and I think he is going to kiss me. I start to panic. But instead, he presses a brief brush of his lips on my forehead over my bangs. “I think we had a huge misunderstanding, and I really want to discuss it with you.” I watch his blue eyes move back and forth between mine. “I really want to know my daughter …”
The front door flies open, and Marissa’s cries flood out as Karmin looks shocked at how close Chamberlain and I are standing together. “MOMMY!” Marissa screams.
I look back up at Chamberlain. “I have to go.” I step out of his space and rush inside to grab Marissa. I drop my bag and scoop her into my arms. “Shh … I’m here.” I rock her in my arms and head upstairs, fully aware that Karmin is still standing at the door staring at Chamberlain.
Chapter Eight
Katie
I SPENT THE rest of the night with Marissa on my chest while she twirled my hair in her fingers as she tried to sleep. It was long and exhausting, but with me home, she didn’t cry as much. She sobbed periodically, but that was it. Before I knew it, the sun was rising outside my bedroom window. I barely got three hours of sleep, but knowing that I was giving her comfort when she needed it made the lack of sleep worth it.
I managed to get her to eat a banana and drink some orange juice before I changed her into some clean pajamas. By the time we got to the doctor’s office, Marissa was sound asleep in her car seat. I did my best not to jostle her when I got her out of her seat and carried into the doctor’s office without waking her.
“Marissa Lawrence.” I shift Marissa from one arm to the other while signing her in and taking a seat in the waiting room. She snoozes quietly with her head buried in my neck. She hasn’t talked at all this morning, something that rarely happens. She has always been a chatterbox; it grew when she started to learn actual words. I can feel the heat radiating off her forehead to my shoulder.
“Marissa can come back now,” the nurse calls. I stand with Marissa and follow the nurse back to one of the exam rooms. “Dr. Blue was called away to the hospital, but our new doctor, Dr. Hill, will be in here shortly.”
“Thank you,” I whisper. Not wanting to wake Marissa just yet, I take a seat in the small room as the nurse shuts the door. “Oh, baby doll.” I pat her on the bottom.
“Mommy,” she whines, rousing from her sleep.
“Do you want to sit on the table and wait for the doctor?” She shakes her head. “You want to stay on my lap?” She nods. “Okay.” I kiss her temple and start rocking her while singing “You are My Sunshine” softly to her.
I had to call and beg the principal at the elementary school where I was supposed to interview at today to reschedule, explaining that my daughter was sick. I was so happy that he was kind enough to give me a few days, telling me he was leaving town and would be back Friday. He was so much more understanding than I thought he would be.
I close my eyes as I continue to rock her. I think a nap will be in order for both of us after we pick up her medicine and get home. I can’t even t
hink of Chamberlain and the rush of memories seeing him again brings back. I have more important things to deal with at the moment. The most important being Marissa’s health.
The door opens, halting my singing. “Sorry for the wait …” The doctor trails off. My look up and am shocked when I find a male doctor. I was expecting another woman. I’m not sure why because Marissa does well with anyone. She’s a people person. “I’m Dr. Hill.” He smiles an all-American smile at me, and I just nod as we shake hands.
“K.C.”
“And this must be Marissa.” He takes a seat in his chair and wheels over to us. “What seems to be the matter?” he asks gently while placing a hand on her back. His eyes connect with mine and stay locked.
Marissa turns sad eyes to him, but her head never leaves me. “My ears huwt.” She pouts, making my lip quiver.
My poor baby.
Dr. Hill looks back up at me after offering her a reassuring smile, the kind only a doctor can give. He smiles at me, but it’s different, and it makes me uncomfortable. I don’t do well with attention from any guy anymore. “Well, could you come sit up on my table so I could take a look and get you some medicine to make the hurt go away?” he asks sweetly.
“Otay,” she replies weakly, climbing off my lap and onto the table with my help. I stand with Dr. Hill but off to the side, staying close to keep her comfortable. She grabs my hand and starts playing with my bracelet.
Dr. Hill looks in both of her ears and brushes past me several times, too closely to be an accident. It unnerves me that he can’t tell I’m uncomfortable with him. But I won’t move away from my daughter.
“She has a double ear infection,” he states, sitting back down as I grab Marissa and hold her to me like a baby monkey. “I’ll call your pharmacy, and you will be able to pick up a painkiller along with an antibiotic.” He smiles at me once more. Even though my daughter is in pain, he’s flirting. Unbelievable.
“Thank you.” I kiss her temple. I shift Marissa to cover me some more. The way he is looking at me makes me very uncomfortable. When Chamberlain looks at me, it is as if he sees into my soul, into my very being, but when others look at me, my skin crawls.