Mason
I squinted, trying to make out the shape moving toward me. It was clearly Danielle. What was she doing outside?
“What is she carrying?” I muttered out loud.
She walked quickly too, all things considered. She made good time and crossed the road, and that’s when I realized she was carrying a baseball bat. And she was walking directly toward my brand-new truck.
I hopped out of the seat with my hands in the air as if being pulled over by a cop. “It’s me,” I called, making sure to stand back regardless. Just in case it was me she was aiming at.
She halted abruptly. “Mason? What the hell are you doing out here?” The bat was still held high and ready to go. I didn’t dare take a step closer, just to be safe.
“I—well, I don’t really have a good reason for it. I just drove around to clear my thoughts and found myself out here. I didn’t want to disturb you since you’d asked for some space, so I just sat outside.”
Her face softened and she dropped the bat to her side, no longer threatening me with it. In that moment, she looked utterly defeated.
“Jesus, do you have any idea what I thought?” she asked, and there was a cracking in her voice. “I thought you were—” She cut herself off, and instead of words, there were sobs.
I carefully closed the distance between us, and once I was close enough, I took the bat from her. She handed it to me freely. I placed it on the ground before asking, “Do you mind if I hug you? You seem to really need it.”
She nodded her head, and I assumed that meant it was okay. The tears streaming down her cheeks killed me. It was like she’d smacked me in the stomach with that bat. Hell, I would have preferred that over seeing her this unhappy.
I wrapped my arms around her, and she fell into me, her face nuzzled against my chest. Her entire body trembled in my arms.
“Who are you afraid of, Danielle?” I asked her, stroking her hair as I continued holding her.
“No one,” she said between sobs.
“Then why were you coming out here with a baseball bat looking for a fight? Who did you think I was?”
Her body stiffened and she pulled away from me, straightening her posture as she wiped at her eyes. “No one in particular. I just thought you were a creep or something,” she said, and I knew that was a bald-faced lie.
“When you stomped out here,” I said, keeping my voice calm, “you said, ‘Do you know what I thought? Who I thought you were?’ What did you mean by that?”
She sighed and averted her gaze. She crossed her arms in front of her and shook her head stubbornly. “It’s none of your business, Mason.”
“Like hell it ain’t,” I scoffed. “You’re carrying my child, Danielle. Your business - especially when it comes to your safety - is my business now.”
She looked at me as if she saw me for the first time. Her eyes wide, her mouth open as if she wanted to object to me, but no sound came out.
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have said it like that,” I said. “I’m tired of this, Danielle. You keep pushing me out of your life, which I understand is your right. But we’re going to have a baby together. I’m part of your life now, whether you like it or not.”
She sighed and nodded. “I know, and I’m sorry. It’s just a long story,” she said softly.
“I have all night.”
She rubbed at her bare arms as if chilly, even though the air was a balmy seventy degrees. She glanced around as if expecting someone to be watching us.
“Can we take this inside, please? I don’t like being so exposed.”
“Of course,” I said, taking note of her wording.
She felt exposed outside, out in the open? Who was she worried about seeing her? Someone was scaring her, that much was certain. I wondered if perhaps it was that shady ass loan shark. Wouldn’t put it past him. The very idea of that man threatening Danielle caused the rage inside me to boil over. I felt protective of her and willing to fight anyone who caused her any distress.
We walked to her house in silence. She kept searching the darkness around us, her eyes wide as she nearly jumped out of her skin at every shadow. As soon as we walked inside, she turned and locked the doors. Not just the regular lock either, but also the deadbolt. She glanced out the window before turning back to me.
“I don’t even know where to start,” she said, looking at me with a defeated air.
“Well, first of all, why don’t you tell me why Jim King stopped by your place?” I asked.
“Can I get you a coffee? Some tea?”
“Danielle, please stop avoiding the question.”
She sighed and closed her eyes as she blurted out the words. “I took out a loan with him to pay off what I owed the bank for the last few months. I plan to pay him back as soon as I get the insurance money.” She opened her eyes again and waited for my response. “Go on, tell me how stupid I am,” she muttered, pushing past me as she made a beeline for the sofa. “Because I’ve already heard it.”
I took a seat next to her in the chair. “Who called you stupid, Danielle?”
“Greg, of course,” she said, nibbling on her fingernail. “And yeah, it was a dumb move, I see it now. But what choice did I have? It was either that or lose the property and be homeless. If I end up on the streets, my ex will take me to court and get full custody and I can’t lose my daughter.”
“Jim King is a loan shark, a brutal one at that,” I stated matter-of-factly. Danielle looked at me with pain in her eyes, as if she expected me to scold her. “But I can’t blame you for doing what you had to do to protect your daughter and your business. That’s admirable and just proves you’re a good mother.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “You mean that?”
“I do. I’m not going to lie, though - it does concern me that you’re involved with Jim. What was the purpose of his visit tonight?”
“He came by to tell me I already missed my first payment. I didn’t realize there was a payment due within 24 hours of the loan, and my interest rate just doubled.”
“I’m no lawyer, but I don’t think that’s legal.”
“That’s what I said, but my options are fairly limited. I just want to pay him off and get back to normal for my daughter. She’s been through enough already. Not to mention, Jim is also friends with my ex, and I worry they may be working together.”
“Working together?” I cocked my brow.
“Greg’s been trying to get custody of Skyler any way he can. He technically owns this place. I’m paying both him and the bank off, and then the place will transfer into my name. It was the only way to keep my business afloat after the divorce, but now he keeps holding it over my head.” She paused, sighed. “I worry that Jim is going to try to find any way possible to take this place, and then Greg can swoop in and take my daughter. Call me paranoid if you want to, but you haven’t seen the lengths Greg is willing to go to.”
“Don’t worry, Danielle. I don’t think you’re paranoid, and I won’t let that happen.”
She lifted her eyebrows. “You won’t?”
“No, I won’t. I’m here to help you,” I said sternly.
She let out a dry laugh and leaned back on her sofa. “If I had a dollar for every time a man said he’d help me, only to screw me over later, I would have enough to pay off all my debt and move my daughter and me to a private island somewhere, far away from all this bullshit.”
“I mean it, Danielle,” I said.
She eyed me warily. “And what’s it going to cost me?”
“Nothing,” I said. “And I mean that. You’re the mother of my child. You don’t owe me shit for helping out.”
“Yeah, that’s what Greg used to say, too,” she said softly. She let out a sigh and stared off in the distance.
“I’m not Greg,” I reminded her sternly. “So let me help you. I’ll be paying child support anyway, so why don’t you let me help you with money now too.”
“No, oh God no,” she refused, shaking her head adamantly. “No, I won’t take any money from you unless it’s a court-ordered agreement. Because I don’t want to end up owing you anything.”
“You won’t owe me.”
“You say that now…”
I wasn’t going to be able to convince her to trust me. She’d been burned too many times, and I would have to show her - not tell her - that I expected nothing in return for helping her. I needed to start small.
“Fine, if you won’t accept my money, will you at least let me help you deal with the insurance agency? I can make some calls, see what’s holding things up, maybe light a fire under their asses.”
Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
“It’s just some phone calls, Danielle,” I said.
“I’ve called them already. What can you do that I can’t?”
“I don’t know, but I can be a stubborn prick if I put my mind to it.”
“You can say that again.” She chuckled, and it was nice to hear a genuine laugh out of her, especially after everything she’d told me. “Fine, feel free to call them and see what you can find out. I doubt you’ll get anywhere, but who knows?”