Page 58 of York

Then, with not much else, he made his way out of the apartment.

And I went to bed pretending to ignore the ache in my chest.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Runa

“Look at you,” I said with a laugh. “You look like you’re leaving for a whole week, not a few hours.”

Denny had on a backpack that was nearly bursting at the seams with stuffed animals and the little plastic purse York bought her at the aquarium. The top was barely able to close with how many animal figurines she had inside. She was wearing one of her favorite princess dresses, and the vision of her walking around in that with the big, intimidating-looking York made me smile.

“Daddy said I could bring toys.” She lifted her chin, ready to argue.

“Of course you can.” I wanted her to bring whatever she wanted to feel comfortable being away from me for a good chunk of the day. It wasn’t like it was the first time I’d ever left her, and I knew I could trust York, but my anxious mama’s heart was worried that she might miss me or want to come home.

I technically only needed two hours to go do a cleaning job, but York was going to have Denny for eight or so hours.

I honestly didn’t know what the hell to do with myself for six hours without my daughter to talk to or tag along on errands. But I guess it was good for me to dip my toe in the experience. If all went to plan, not long from now, Denny would be in school for six hours a day. And then after school some days, she might be scooped up by her father, leaving me alone for most of the day.

I guess the plan should be to figure out a career that would keep me occupied. It was a normal thing for most people to have thought about by my age. But my early life living out of tents and in national parks meant I picked up odd jobs. Then with a baby and a child on the run constantly, a nine-to-five was never an option. So I never even thought about one.

Given what I loved most in my past, I figured something outdoors would be ideal. A garden center, lawn care, maybe a park ranger—if they had that sort of thing around here. Or, if such a job existed, maybe working for some organization that helped women and children in high-risk situations or in shelters.

“Mama?”

“Sorry, munchkin. I didn’t hear you.”

“Should I bring food for a picnic?”

“Nope. Daddy is going to take you somewhere to eat for lunch. Then you’re probably going to have dinner at Daddy’s place.”

“With Eddie?” Denny asked, brightening.

“Probably. He’s a really good cook, huh?”

“The best.”

I wasn’t even offended. Even on my best day, I couldn’t cook half as well as Eddie.

There was a knock at the door, making Denny gasp and clap her hands in excitement.

I loved this for her.

I opened the door, and there he was.

My belly flipped.

My sex—well, let’s just pretend there was no reaction there. No muscle memory. No want.

“Hey, princess,” he greeted Denny when she rushed forward to hug his tree trunk of a leg. “Looks like you’re all ready to go.”

“She’s gonna need a bigger backpack,” I said, shaking my head. “Just let me grab shoes. I’ll move over her car seat.”

“No need. I bought one.”

“You bought one? To put in Che’s car?”

“Nope. Bought my own car. Gotta do dad shit like that now, right?”