He just couldn’t find a way to smooth the way for Bella.
Or could he?
~ * ~
Owen hurried down Main Street full of ideas. Maybe he could pull this off. Maybe he could actually help. Then, there would be the problem of Bella accepting any help. He’d need a way for it to sound like she was helping him. No, he needed to find a way that fixed things and benefitted both of them for Bella to accept help. He could do that. He was good at sorting out problems and figuring out impossible situations. This time he’d use his skill for a high stakes game. He wanted to make Bella happy and make her life easier.
Oh, what the heck, he longed for her to want to date him again. He wanted to kiss her and see her satisfied sexy smile after he kissed her. He’d do everything in his power to see that smile even one more time.
He walked past the park. He loved the idea of a town park right on Main Street where people could gather and picnic or play. He also knew it was the center of the handful of festivals they had each year. The town was really growing on him. He had held out, false hopes now, that he would begin to fit in here. Between Bella’s anger and the fact that Jake could barely stand to be in the same room with him, things weren’t looking good for finding a place to call home, even if it was only for brief periods of time. He was also pretty sure that by throwing Bella out of her home, he had made his fair share of enemies in the town. That thought displeased him. A lot. He wanted the people of the town to like him, maybe even accept him. He wanted Jake to accept him and call him his brother. He wanted Bella to forgive him, really forgive him and go out with him again and see where it led.
As if the universe was listening, he noticed Bella’s boys playing near the swings in the park. Freely admitting to himself he wasn’t good with kids, he decided to go say hi to them. He crossed the grass and walked over to where they were playing. “Hi, boys.”
Both of the boys looked up at him. “Hi.” Jeremy didn’t sound happy to see him. Owen looked hopefully at Timmy. The boy had always seemed to like him.
“Hi.” Timmy looked up at his accusingly. “You’re the one who made my mom sad. My dad said you bought the building we live in and you’re throwing us out.”
“Ah, Timmy, it’s not exactly like that.” Though, to be honest, it was exactly like that. It was beyond him to explain a business deal and how things worked in the real world to the boys. He had no experience talking to kids. He couldn’t explain he had done it to help his brother. That wasn’t his secret to tell.
“Yeah, and now Dad says we need to live with him because Mom doesn’t have a… stable ‘vironment for us to live in. We might have to talk to a judge and everything.” Jeremy’s eyes flashed with a mirror anger of Bella’s.
“What?”
“Dad said Momma can’t support us. She’s not going to make any money with her shop closed. So, we’ll have to live with him. I don’t want to. I love my momma.” Timmy was near tears.
Owen’s heart dropped in his chest. He was out of his element. He didn’t know how to make the boys feel better. He wanted to promise them both that it would all work out. Only, of course, he didn’t know that.
Jeremy put his arm protectively around his little brother. “Don’t cry, Timmy. We’ll still see Mom some.”
“But Dad said we’d stay with him all the time. She won’t tuck me in at night or anything.” Timmy brushed away a tear that ran down his dusty cheek, leaving a trail of hurt in its wake.
The air sucked out of Owen’s lungs. He not only had taken Bella’s shop and her home, he might have caused her to lose the boys.
That was not going to happen. Not.
Rick walked up to them just then. Owen had to keep from telling Rick what he thought of him. What he thought of him threatening to take the boys away. For talking about their mother like that in front of the boys. He had this unfamiliar urge to stand in front of the boys to protect them from their own father.
Owen felt his jaw clench even as he reached out a hand in greeting. “Rick.”
“Owen.” There was no warmth or even a hint of glad-to-see-you in Rick’s voice.
The feeling is mutual, bud.
“Come on boys, time to go. I’m done with my meeting.”
“What did your lawyer say, Dad? Is he going to make me move away from Momma?” Timmy’s eyes held a tinge of hope in them. Hope that Rick wouldn’t force him to leave his mother.
“We’ll talk later, boys.”
Rick nodded at Owen, motioned to the boys, and they all three turned and walked away.
Owen stood there watching them walk away, Timmy in tears. Rick sure hadn’t wasted any time. Owen was going to halt this train wreck he’d created. An unfamiliar pain ripped through him at seeing Timmy’s tears. The feeling punched him in the gut. He had caused this and he would do everything in his power to put a smile back on the little guy’s face.