Page 1 of Flint

Chapter 1

Ronnie

“They’re fine,” my grandmother’s voice startles me from the doorway.

I pull the blankets over the two boys sleeping soundly on the bottom bunk. They have their own beds, but the twins still often end up falling asleep together on the bottom bunk.

They are the reason my heart beats now. So many times during the first days of their lives, I worried I’d lose them. But here they are five years later, healthy and happy. They’re energetic little monsters that I get to spend my days chasing around.

I leave the room and send her a glare with no heat behind it. “Don’t sneak up on me.”

She follows me to the kitchen with the chipped linoleum flooring. I put on the electric kettle for her nightly tea. It’s bright blue and a little dinged up, a perfect thrift store find that makes me smile every time I see it.

“What are you doing?” She fusses at me. “Get out of here.”

“Just making tea first,” I tell her. Normally, I’d join her for a nightly round of tea before leaving to start my second job as a stocker at the grocery store down the road. Since I’m between official jobs, I’m juggling gig work in the day and grocery stocking at night to keep the lights on. It’s not easy, but like a lot of single mamas, sleep is a luxury I’ve long since given up on.

“You’re nervous.” She pins me with that same knowing look she gave me when I was sixteen and first showed up on her doorstep as an anxious girl trying to figure out what the world looked like without her daddy to lean on. Thirteen years later and I still miss him every day. They don’t make them that tough and steady anymore.

“There’s nothing to be nervous about,” I answer, setting out her chipped cup with the rose pattern from the seventies.

“You look beautiful.” She reaches for the matching sugar dish, her gnarled fingers shaking as they wrap around the spoon. We’re lucky to have each other. She watches the boys while I work nights, and the three of us live with her in this falling down shack. It’s not much, but it’s a roof over our heads. Even if that roof leaks more often than not.

Her words register, and I pause to glance at the blue dress that hugs my figure like I was poured into it. It’d be easy to think I paid money for a fit this tight, but no, it was in the back of my closet. Too many chicken nuggets for dinner followed by a milkshake gave me this figure. I don’t care that I’m fat. So, what if my thighs jiggle when I walk and my hips catch on the corner of the kitchen counter? This body has carried the two most special boys into the world. “I don’t even remember the last time I was on a date.”

“You look at me right now, Ronald Davis Hunter.”

My gaze flicks to hers at the use of my full name. My dad insisted that this birthright would give me an advantage in life, but as a little girl, I was ashamed that I didn’t have a name like Megan or Amanda. Now, years later with a degree in business management, I can’t say I’m unhappy with it. I suspect it’s opened more doors than most hiring managers would ever admit out loud.

“Head up. Shoulders back. My girl is a warrior,” she repeats the words my father used to speak over me.

I follow her instructions, lifting my chin and putting my shoulders back. I take a deep breath. “I’ll probably be back early.”

“No, you won’t. You take these three days, just like you planned.” She goes back to focusing on her delicate cup.

I pour her hot water, pass her a teabag, and wipe away the spilled sugar on the table. “Okay, but I don’t care if it is my birthday weekend, if you or the boys need me for anything, I want you to call.”

The smile she gives me is patient. “Go. You’re only young for a few minutes in life.”

I glance at my nearby clutch purse and the black duffel bag by the back door. Three days at an old motel from the sixties sounds like an amazing time. It’s been lovingly restored by a couple to make it look just like it did back in its glory days.

The motel stay is a gift to myself that I’ve saved up for patiently. The hot guy that may or may not show up is a gift from my best friend, Mira Moore. She runs a company selling pet food, and she’s a total bad ass. But when I told her I wanted something fun to ride for my birthday, I never imagined she’d rent me a cowboy.

Of course, she’s busy in love with her own cowboy these days. She hired him to interrupt her wedding, and he took the groom’s place. The next thing I knew, the two of them are madly in love, and she’s spending half her time here in Asheville and the other half on Valor Ranch with the cowboy.

At the thought of Valor Ranch, my stomach flips. That’s where my new job starts in just four weeks. It even comes with room and board which means I can get the boys and my grandmother out of this rundown rental house. I hope going to the ranch will be the start of our new life.

Mira doesn’t know about my new job just yet. I went to tell her on the phone the other day but then the boys had an “incident” in the ball pit. Some kid bit another, and I had to grab the twins before they could join what was quickly turning into a skirmish with strangers they’d never even met.

They have more energy than I know what to do with. It’s one of the things that worries me about leaving them with my grandmother. She tires easily these days even though she’s active with the boys. I worry they’ll be too much for her to handle.

I open my mouth to express all of this, but she calls my name. “Do me a favor.”

“What can I do?” I ask, setting the dishcloth beside the sink. Maybe I should wipe down the counters one more time before I leave.

“I need you to get the fuck out of the house, dear.” Her swear actually prompts a laugh from me because it’s so rare to hear from her.

I move back to the table, pressing a gentle kiss to her weathered cheek. “I’ll see you in three days.”