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She scoffs. “Please, I do behave myself. Even if I didn’t, what are you two going to do about it? You both are a bunch of punks.”

  She puts us both in a headlock and squeezes our necks, causing Quito’s head to hit mine. We can escape her grasp with ease, but we always let her have her fun. She does a strong grip though. Between working out for dancing and having five older brothers, I’m sure she can take care of herself in a hairy situation.

  She crushes us to her body even tighter. “What’s my name?”

  Both Quito and I yell, “Mercy!”

  After releasing us, she holds out her hand and blows on her nails before rubbing them on her shirt. “That’s what I thought.”

  Brushing my now messy hair back, I turn to Quito. “I feel bad for the man who has to put up with her on a daily basis.”

  He laughs. “Agreed.”

  We walk through the front door and Quito is practically tackled by Mercedes’ best friend Raven. He wraps his arms around her, kissing the top of her head. “Now, this is a face I have been missing. How is my favorite little sister?”

  Mercedes punches Quito in the arm. “Hey!”

  Raven laughs. “I’m fine.” Her dark green eyes sparkle from the sun streaming into the doorway. She flips her long black hair over her shoulder before giving me a quick hug. “Hi Ryder.”

  “And how is school going for you? Mercedes keeping you up all night with her incessant gabbing and one-woman talent shows?”

  Mercedes reaches over and punches me in the arm now. “Hey!”

  I rub my arm, pretending to be in pain. “You know I love you babes, but you know it’s true.”

  She laughs as both she and Quito walk toward the kitchen. “I’m not talking to any of you for the rest of day.”

  Raven shakes her head and smiles. “That girl is exhausting.”

  I laugh. “True. So, Quito said you have a new job in Seattle. How’s that going?”

  “Perfect. I’ll be there for the next three months so I can save enough money for next semester at Juilliard. The owners of Decadent Property Management are really nice. After next semester is over I can go back to work for them and I don’t have to go looking around for another job. Their afterschool program needs to have a nurse on call, so I’ll be there semi-permanently. When I have to attend school they’ll hire a temporary nurse until I get back.”

  “Sounds like a sweet deal to me.”

  “It is. And I couldn’t have asked for better people to work for. Anyway, I have to get ready to leave. I’m going to the airport right after dinner.”

  “So soon?”

  “Yeah, I have to fly out to Seattle tonight, but I’ll be back before winter break, so I’ll see you then.”

  “We definitely have to catch up some more. I’m dying to know what kind of shenanigans you and Mercedes have been up to.”

  “I’ll keep all the juicy gossip saved up for you.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  The heavenly aroma of roast pork fills the air and I follow my nose in its quest to find the delectable meal awaiting me. Mercedes picks up a serving dish and walks toward the back door. I watch her trying to balance the heavy platter as she lifts her foot to the doorknob, doing her best to spin it so the door opens.

  Mrs. Perez takes the dish from her daughter before I do and shakes her head. “Ay mija. Damelo. Give it to me so you can open the door first. Why are you so stubborn? You don’t have to do everything yourself.”

  Mercedes tries to take the dish back from her mother. “Ma, I said I got it.”

  I shake my head and laugh at the two of them. Both of these women are very independent, and Mrs. Perez is just as stubborn as her daughter is, but I certainly would never say that out loud, so I just offer them my services and take the food out of Mrs. Perez’s hands. “Why don’t I take this and both of you can go sit down.”

  She places a kiss on my cheek. “Mijo! When did you get here?”

  “A few minutes ago. Quito picked me up at the airport.”

  “And how’s your mother?”

  “Better.” I say with a smile.

  “Good. Dinner's almost ready. Tienes hombre?

  “I’m always hungry for your food.”

  She laughs. “Okay. Go sit with everyone outside and I’ll bring out the rest of the food.”

  “Do you need me to take anything else?”

  “No. Go have fun. And don’t let Mercedes beat you boys up.”

  I laugh. “We won’t.”

  Several plates later, not one of us can move from the picnic table we’re all sitting at. Quito is sitting across from me with his brothers and I’m sitting in between Mercedes and her mother and Raven is seated at the end. This family is important to me since my mother and brothers live so far away. This has become my home away from home and they have always welcomed me with open arms. Quito’s father died a few years ago from a heart attack and they all were devastated since they were all so close. Hell, even I was shocked by his sudden death. He was an ox of a man, who seemed to be in good health. I guess sometimes the powers that be have other things in mind.

  Mrs. Perez wipes her mouth with a napkin and turns to me. “Que pasa mijo? You have been quiet all day.”

  I shrug my shoulders, picking up the glass in front of me and take a sip of water. “Nothing. I’m fine” But there is something I’ve been thinking about, or rather someone I’ve been thinking about. Someone I did not feel like discussing at the table with everyone now staring at me.

  Quito bites off a big piece of bread, chews a few times, and talks with his mouth still full, smirking at me the entire time. “Maybe he was thinking about his new girlfriend.”

  I kick him under the table to quiet him. What or who I was thinking about is none of his business and it’s definitely not anyone else’s either. “Why don’t you shut up Quito!”

  Mercedes drops her fork and spins on her seat to face me. “Ooo you have a girlfriend! Okay brother, spill it! Who is she? What’s her name? Is she pretty? What does she look like?” She scrunches up her nose, giving me a disgusted look. “It isn’t Nora is it? God I hate her. You deserve so much better.”

  Raven swats Mercedes in the arm. “Dee stop!”

  Mercedes rubs her arm. “Ow, why did you hit me?”

  “Because you’re being nosey. Maybe he doesn’t want to talk about his girlfriend. Maybe she’s a secret girlfriend.”

  “Then why does Quito know about her and I don’t?”

  “Girls please.” Mrs. Perez glances up at the sky, clasping her hands together. “Ayudame.”

  I shake my head at Quito and glare at him. He laughs and takes another bite of bread, chewing with that fucking smirk still on his face. I just want to punch him right now. “She is not my girlfriend!”

  Mercedes’ eyes widen. “Sooo, there is a girl then?”

  I stand. “That’s it, I’m leaving.”

  Mercedes grabs my arm and pulls me back down. “Okay, okay. Don’t go. But I want first dibs on the details.”

  “There will be no details to be told.”

  When everyone leaves the table to clean up, I throw a piece of bread at Quito. “Thanks a lot!”

  He laughs, wiping the crumbs off his shirt. “What did I do?”

  “Why did you have to go run your mouth off about Madison?”

  “Ohhh, Madison is it? I knew I’d get you to tell me about her one way or another.”

  “You’re fucking annoying.”

  “Yeah, but you love me anyway.”

  “Fuck you.”

  Chapter Seven

  Madison

  I wake to my cell phone buzzing on the nightstand. I don’t know who the hell is calling me at this hour, but at the moment I couldn’t care less after the night I had trying to get the boys to sleep earlier. It felt like only minutes ago that I carried Caleb to his bed after hours of him tossing and turning in my bed. I strain to sit upright. My body is exhausted and I am in desperate need of sleep. I doubt I’ll have enough energy to focus
in the morning and will no doubt be late to work again.

  I turn on the lamp beside my bed and cover my eyes from the blinding light. I rub them vigorously so I can at least see who the moron is calling. Tyler is the only one who would call me at this time, but most likely if it’s an emergency. He did have a date earlier tonight. What if there had been an accident? I suddenly panic at the thought of something bad happening to my best friend. With my heart racing and my stomach muscles beginning to twist, I grab the still vibrating cell phone on the nightstand.

  When I glance at the screen my worry switches to annoyance, then grows to anger. Even though I’m somewhat relieved the call is not from Tyler; that still doesn’t prevent me from wanting to throw the phone across the room breaking it into a thousand pieces so I never have to hear from my ex-husband again. I don’t know if I have the stamina to deal with Mitch and his shit right now. I’m too tired. Too fucking fed up with his excuses and the shit he has put my boys through.

  I don’t even say hello after sliding my thumb over the screen to answer the call. “What the hell do you want calling this late? I was sleeping. Your sons are sleeping. What could be so urgent that it couldn’t wait until the morning?’

  “I wanted to let you know I have an out of town meeting and I can't pick up the boys after school. I can't take them this weekend.”

  My anger turns to fury. “You are so full of shit Mitch. How can you do this to them again? All they want to do is spend time with their father and you purposely disappoint them every time. Way to go. I hope whatever floozy that you cancelled seeing your boys for is worth the pain you caused them yet again. Well, I'm not going to be bearer of bad news and break their hearts. If you don't want to see them, then you can explain to them why a quick roll in the sack is more important than they are. I'm not making excuses for you anymore.”

  I slam the phone down and hear a cracking sound. I lower my head and take a deep breath, praying that I haven’t broken my phone to the point that it needs to be serviced at the store. That is one thing I do not need right now. I need my phone for the boy’s teachers to get in touch with me in case of an emergency. I slowly pick it up and see a thin, diagonal crack in it. I slide my fingers over the screen and to my amazement it still works despite how hard I hit it on the wood table.

  I yank the covers off my bare legs and head to the kitchen to make a cup of hot tea. I need to calm down because all I want to do is rip my damn hair out. Mitch hasn’t spent any time with his kids in the last few months and I’m getting tired of covering for him in order to spare my boys the agony of not feeling wanted. I know that feeling far too well and I will not subject my sons to that pain. Caleb is still a little too young to understand what’s going on, but Aiden is old enough to realize his father isn't visiting anymore and he’s beginning to blame himself for it.

  Aiden has apologized to me on more than one occasion for his father not coming by. He feels it’s his fault that Mitch left in the first place, which is far from the truth. The only thing I can do is reassure him that he is the best kid in the world and his father leaving has nothing to do with him at all. I hate the way Mitch just does as he pleases, when he pleases, without any consequences or regard to his son’s feelings.

  After I finish my tea and stew in my own anger for over an hour I decide to head to bed to get what little rest I can. There is no way I’m going to let Mitch control me or my life anymore. His charm isn’t going to persuade me into enabling his disgusting behavior any longer. No, tomorrow was going to be a new day, a brand-new day.

  I’m not going to be a pushover and a doormat for a man who cares for no one but himself. I need to be strong, not only for me, but for my boys as well. If I’m going to be a single mother I need to get my ass in gear and quit feeling sorry for myself. I have a roof over my head and my kids are healthy. I can make them happy on my own and I do not need help from Mitch in the slightest. He already made it abundantly clear he couldn’t be a responsible father to our kids, so I’m going to have to take on the roles of both mother and father.

  I awake to the sound of birds chirping. It’s my alarm to wake up, but I still need at least ten more minutes before I’ll be ready to even open my eyes and start the day. I press the snooze button, hoping the boys didn’t hear it because there would be no way I could get those extra ten minutes if they came running into my room and threw themselves on my bed.

  I swear I only closed my eyes for five minutes, but when I glance at my phone, thirty minutes have gone by. I hurriedly grab a blouse and skirt and frantically get dressed. I silently reward myself for taking a shower last night so I was able to gain some extra time there. I run to Aiden’s room, but it’s empty. Maybe he had to use the bathroom. I walk to the bathroom and he’s not there either. I swiftly shuffle across the hardwood floor to Caleb’s room and he’s not asleep in his bed either. Bile begins to rise into my throat. Where could they be? Most of the time I have to wake them up and practically pry them out of bed.

  I hear a faint noise coming from the living room and rush down the hall. I freeze in the doorway, thankful the boys are in one piece. Although, there would be no reason for them not to be fine, between not getting enough sleep last night and waking up late I was more than a little disoriented.

  I look down at the floor and there’s a trail of dried milk that starts from the kitchen counter all the way into the living room where both Aiden and Caleb are sitting in front of the T.V. They don’t notice I’m standing behind them because they’re too involved in the cartoon filling the big screen.

  The floor creaks under my next step and Aiden finally turns around to see me. “Hi Mommy.”

  “Hey buddy.”

  I walk into the living room and squat next to Caleb, who is sitting on a towel naked eating his crunchy oat cereal. He shoves his hand into the milk and grabs a fistful of cereal, spilling the cold liquid all over himself. I am horrified by the mess and I take a deep breath to steady my voice because I want to cry seeing what I’m going to have to clean up. Yes, I am literally about to cry over spilled milk. “Aiden, why didn’t you wake me up.”

  He shoves a spoonful of his own cereal into his mouth then swallows. “I tried but you were snoring so I made me and Caleb breakfast so you could sleep. I tried to change his diaper, but he wouldn’t stay still, and he just kept laughing, so I told him to sit on the towel until you got up.”

  I clear my throat and blink away the tears threatening to fall because I do not want to make him feel bad after he performed such a self-less act. I hug him and place a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you Aiden for all your help this morning.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “Well, you look like you’re all ready to go. You stay here and finish your breakfast while I give your brother a quick bath and get him ready for daycare.”

  “Okay.”

  ******

  Ryder

  I made it to work early this morning and decided to get a jump start on loading the truck with today’s deliveries. Okay, so I needed to keep busy and distract myself by doing something other than thinking about Madison. I have no idea why this woman is still in the forefront of my mind. I’m completely distracted by someone who I haven’t even kissed yet. Shit, we haven’t had more than one conversation. I know nothing about her other than she has two kids, her name, and that she is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life.

  I’m so damn torn right now. I want her so badly, yet I don’t want to take advantage of her knowing her situation. I want nothing more than to bury my cock deep inside her, but every time I think about it, guilt seems to get the better of me. What if Quito is right? What if wanting to be with Madison is just a phase and I only want her because she poses a challenge? Although, with one glance into her needy eyes, she did look ready, willing and able for anything I had to offer her. A smile involuntarily spreads across my lips at the thought of her lying beneath me, eyes closed, head thrown back, lips parted, and filling the room with her soft moans.
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br />   “What the fuck are you smiling about this damn early in the morning?” Quito throws a box in my direction and I catch it before it hits the floor.

  I straighten, plastering on an emotionless expression and place the box on the pile next to me. “Nothing.”

  “You’re thinking about her again, aren’t you?”

  “No.”

  “Yes you are. Damn bro, you got it bad. Just fuck her already so I can have my best friend back. I can’t stand this lovesick puppy standing in front of me.”

  “I am not lovesick. I don’t even know her.”

  “Good. Then wake the fuck up and help me get this shit on the truck. I am giving you a hand you know.”

  “I didn’t ask you for help.”

  “No, you didn’t. But I’m helping you anyway.”

  He flings another box at me and I happen to notice the address before setting it down in the back of the truck, 1209 Forest Hill Drive. I recognize it immediately. I could never forget it. It was a sign. A sign that said I should go to Madison’s house. Maybe it wasn’t actually a sign, more like my work order for the day, but that wasn’t going to stop me from getting to know her. I need to know her story. I’m sure I could spare a few minutes of my time with her during my morning route. That is if her son doesn’t decide to jump off any of the other furniture in the house. Man, that kid almost gave me a heart attack a few weeks ago. Now I understand what my mother had gone through raising my brothers and me.

  Parking in front of Madison’s house, I grab the package on the passenger seat. I was more than relieved that I didn’t have to train anyone this morning, otherwise that would have put a serious damper on my plans to talk to Madison. I at least have to find out if she’s in a relationship to know how to move forward.

  I ring the doorbell but get no answer. I knock on the door and still no answer. I peer in the window to my left and see Aiden sitting on the floor in front of the T.V. eating out of a bowl. I don’t see Madison or the baby. My guess is she’s busy doing something in the back of the house that has her too preoccupied to hear me at the door.