“What about Trent?” she asked.
“He knows Robbie and I aren’t together.”
“Yeah, but I’d be like his step-mom figure and that’s so… bizarre. And what if things don’t work out with me and Robbie? I don’t want to confuse the little man.”
Becca loved Trent almost as much as I did, and I understood her point. It would be weird for him to go from calling her Aunt Becca to calling her Mom. Would he call her Mom? I couldn’t decide how I felt about that.
“Maybe try out a relationship, but keep things on the down-low until you figure out if it’s gonna work out. Think about it, Bec. You’re good people. You two deserve happiness.”
Before she could reply, Robbie returned.
The memory no longer brought tears to my eyes. Instead, it left behind a hollow, lonely yearning. They were the closest thing I had to family, and now they were gone. I had to focus on protecting the one person I had left.
Scrolling through Becca’s friends, I found the name I was looking for and stalked his page. People had tagged him in pictures from a party last night. Good. He was still in Silver City, which meant Trent and I were safe.
For now.
***
Saturday nights were usually the bar’s busiest, and today was no exception. Preoccupied with orders, I managed to survive almost my entire shift without feeling, thinking, or worrying about tomorrow. My streak came to a screeching halt when I walked into the break room on my last break and found Wasp sitting at the table.
I hadn’t seen Wasp in the two days since Trent had given him that damn card, and seeing him now stirred up all sorts of emotions I wasn’t prepared to deal with. The realization that I’d been looking for him, and was genuinely relieved to see that he was alive and okay. Confusion at my relief. Why did I care? A strange sort of camaraderie that he’d seen my kid’s meltdown and knew what I was dealing with. Fear because I wanted to keep Trent away from the world and now the guys who frequented my workplace knew about him.
“You look like you’re about to bolt,” Wasp said as our gazes locked. He was back to his T-shirt, biker vest, jeans, and boots, looking far sexier than any man had a right to. “You scared of something?”
There weren’t enough words to cover everything I was afraid of, but I shook my head. “I’m fine. Just surprised. I don’t think you’re supposed to be in here.”
He cracked a smile. “It’ll be all right, babe. I know the owner.”
Cocky bastard. Grabbing a string cheese and some carrot sticks from the fridge, I headed to the table and sat at the opposite end, hoping he’d leave me alone to eat in peace. Hoping he would stay so I wouldn’t be alone. My emotions were so fucked up I didn’t even know how I felt.
Wasp chuckled. “I feel like we bonded at Helping Hands, and here you are giving me the cold shoulder again.” He stood and scooted down to the chair directly across from me.
Bonded? “I don’t know what you think happened, but there was definitely no bonding going on.”
“Oh well, a man can dream. How’s Trent?”
Trent was none of his damn business. I opened my mouth to say as much, but then snapped it shut. Wasp and his team were putting in time at the school because they obviously cared about kids. He cared about Trent before he knew he was my kid. This wasn’t about me and I shouldn’t be all bitchy about it.
“He’s fine,” I replied. That wasn’t much better, but it was all I could give him. All I was willing to tell him.
“So, everyone’s fine?” Wasp asked.
I nodded.
“What are you two doing for Father’s Day?”
I eyed Wasp, wondering why the hell he was firing these questions at me. “Why?”
“He seemed pretty wrecked about the card. I’m just wondering how he’s gonna handle the day.”
“We’ll get through it.”
He frowned. “I could help, you know?”
“How?”
“I’m an excellent distraction. I could take you guys out, show you a good time, help get his mind off what he’s missing. I know it’s not ideal, but… it’s an option.”
