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  “Are you hungry, buddy?” I asked Jasper, his frail body feeling far too thin for a boy his age, in my opinion.

  Rather than answering, he turned to his mother. I could see the apprehension in his eyes as he stared across the room at Anna-Louise. She rolled her eyes, sighing loudly before finally addressing me.

  “All he wants to do is eat. All day long, he’s asking for one meal and then the next. I’m not a fucking chef, Jake,” she snapped.

  Gritting my teeth, I swallowed the reaction tickling my throat. This was no way or place to raise a child, that much I knew. I’d have to take care of Jasper full-time, one way or another. There was no way I could do it on my own. I’d never cared for anyone, but this wasn’t much of a choice. I had to do it.

  “Don’t look at me like that,” Anna-Louise rolled her dark eyes, turning to face the window. “You don’t know how hard it is. I’m always alone.”

  My stomach turned at the sight of her. She used to be so full of life, but now she looked like a shell of herself, rotting away right before my eyes. Every visit to see my son led to one of these moments, where she urged me to do what was right for Jasper and give him the family he deserved.

  She was right about one thing. Jasper did deserve a family, but there was no way it could happen with the two of us. There was no connection between us, only obligation. I refused to force a relationship just for my son. When I settled down, I wanted it to be for the right reasons – because I loved the woman and she would be a great mother to Jasper. Anna-Louise didn’t fit either of those requirements.

  “I know you’re lonely, Anna-Louise. It won’t always be that way. That’s why I make sure to come by.”

  “These little visits don’t do shit,” she yelled so loudly Jasper cowered behind my legs.

  “Please don’t curse in front of our son,” I spoke slowly to contain my temper.

  “Our son? You haven’t been here! You don’t know what it’s like!” She whined this time, but no tears fell from her dark eyes.

  “I didn’t know. How could I be here?” I wondered aloud.

  “Because I knew we would be a burden. And look,” she held her hands in the air. “That’s exactly what we are!”

  “My son could never be a burden. I want to help. Don’t you understand that?” I could feel the frustration building in my chest. I hated when she made such claims in front of him. He was so young, but I feared he would remember these times.

  “Have you been taking your medicine?” I forced myself to ask, knowing how a question about her treatment could set her off.

  “Stop acting like you care about me. You say you’re going to help, but with your schedule there’s no way you can be with him. You don’t even know how to take care of him!”

  She was right. The idea of taking Jasper full time was terrifying. I had no idea how I could balance my life as it was with all the needs of a child. The dilemma had kept me up at night, constantly worrying about how I could make sense of it.

  “I’m getting a nanny for when Jasper is staying with me. She can help me while I’m away at work, but Jasper will always be my top priority. You have to believe I want the best for him,” I pleaded. She was impossible, fighting me at every turn, when all I wanted to do was help.

  “So that’s who you’re fucking, huh?” She sneered, twisting her lips.

  It was all I could take. Without an explanation or plan, I took Jasper into my arms. I’d planned to take him to the park. But now, as I made my way through Anna-Louise’s filthy living room, I knew I wouldn’t be bringing my son back anytime soon.

  “Where are you going?” Anna-Louise called at my back.

  “I’ll call you later to set up a schedule,” I called over my shoulder, doubtful she could hear me over her screams.

  Jasper’s frail body shivered in my arms as he cried softly. Cradling his head against my shoulder, I tried my best to protect him as Anna-Louise followed us through the front door.

  “Jake, stop! I need you!” She kept with her normal routine, reverting to the victim as the tears finally streamed down her pale cheeks. She wasn’t worried about Jasper, she was worried about herself.

  Turning, I held Jasper close as I sighed deeply, steeling myself. “I need you to get better,” I began.

  “I am! I’ve been taking my meds, going to the classes,” she interrupted. It was a lie. I could see it in her eyes.

  “I want to help you. You just need some time to work through some things. Let me take Jasper for a few days. You can get on your feet,” I watched the tears stop as she realized she wouldn’t have to look after Jasper. She was the one burdened by him.

  “You’re going to bring him back, right?” she asked, her chest rising and falling quickly.

  “Of course. I want you to be a part of his life. I just want you to get better first. That’s good, isn’t it?” I asked, speaking as softly as I could manage. I would always have a soft spot in my heart for Anna-Louise. I knew she was struggling to cope with all that had happened in her young life, but she would have to do it away from Jasper.

  “I love you, Jake,” she squealed. The words were hollow.

  “I will always look after you. Call me tomorrow. Let me know you’re okay,” I begged, hoping she didn’t take offense that I rebuffed her. I couldn’t lie about loving her just to boost her confidence.

  “I will,” she said submissively.

  I nodded slowly before giving her a half smile and making my way to the car. Anna-Louise was back inside her apartment blasting music before I sat Jasper in his car seat. I’d installed it just an hour before, after reading and rereading the instructions. Just as I finished fastening the belts, securing him to the seat, my phone vibrated in my pocket.

  “Hello,” I asked a bit abruptly, frustrated by the process.

  “Hi, I was calling about your ad for a nanny. I saw it posted at William Peace.” The voice was melodic and soft.

  “Oh, hi,” I tried to sound nicer as I climbed into the driver’s seat. “I’m Jake. When can you come by for an interview?” I asked as I pulled out of Anna-Louise’s apartment complex.

  Chapter 3

  ASHLEY

  “LET ME GUESS… Two margaritas and two orders of chicken tacos?” Michelle, the sassy waitress who regularly waited on us, knew our order before we spoke a word.

  “You know it!” Catharine said through giggles. As my best friend since childhood, Catharine knew me better than anyone. Torero’s had been our favorite Mexican restaurant since high school, just as chicken tacos had been our go-to order. Margaritas were added to the order a few months back after my twenty-first birthday, though I usually didn’t finish mine.

  The moment Michelle left us alone, Catharine launched into our necessary catch-up session. For as long as I could remember, she had been my closest friend, the one I told everything. In addition to bouncing my ideas off her, I looked to her for guidance and encouragement. One year my senior, she had always been like the big sister I never had. And since my father’s passing, she was the only family I had.

  “So, why aren’t you in class? I thought you had an eleven o’clock today?” she asked absentmindedly, taking a tortilla chip from the basket in the center of the table before dunking it into the bowl of salsa. So focused on managing to get the overflowing chip to her mouth without spilling a drop of dip, Catharine didn’t notice the discomfort on my face until she bit down on the chip after successfully not spilling a drop.

  “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that.” I felt the nervous smile creep across my lips. It was a strange habit, the way I smiled anytime I felt an emotion deeply. I noticed it at my father’s funeral, as I smiled through one interaction after another to mask my sadness.

  “Ashley, just stick through it. The worst you’ll get is a C. And you know what I say,” Catharine smiled as she reached for another chip. “C’s get degrees!” She laughed at her own joke as she dipped another chip into the bowl of salsa.

  “I kind of dropped all of my
classes,” I tried to look relaxed as I reached for a chip.

  “You dropped what?” Catharine’s eyes widened as she struggled to chew the chip and salsa faster.

  “Yeah, I’ve been having some issues,” I said, focusing on the salsa to avoid making eye contact with the only person who could read me like a book.

  “What kind of issues?” Her words shot through the air like bullets.

  “I couldn’t pay for it anymore,” I finally admitted, feeling the tears build in my eyes as I raised my head.

  “Because of Nathan?” She screeched so loudly the older couple sitting a few tables down turned in our direction.

  “Don’t make a scene, please.” I slowly chewed my chip, wishing I’d gotten more salsa.

  The waitress appeared with our margaritas, buying me a few extra moments as she carefully placed the decorative glasses on two coasters. With a smile, she was gone.

  “I thought you said he was going to pay you back.” She tried whispering, but her voice was still close to hollering as she leaned across the table.

  “That’s what he said. He wanted to enroll in school, but…” I felt my voice fade. I hadn’t been able to build up the courage to explain the whole truth to her. It was too humiliating to admit that I was scammed by the boy who I thought loved me. He and I had known each other since our senior year of high school, but now I felt he only came around after my father’s death to cash in on my inheritance.

  “But what?” Catharine asked.

  I waited as long as possible, staring into her stern hazel eyes for strength. Knowing that Catharine would love me through anything did little to the mounting shame I had been carrying for weeks.

  “I am pretty sure Nathan never planned to pay the money back,” I admitted. After confronting him when I discovered his betrayal, I’d kept the collapse of our trust and relationship to myself.

  “What do you mean? He said he just needed it to make the enrollment deadline. He has that…” she snapped her fingers as her eyes clamped shut searching her memory. “That settlement, right? He’s going to pay you back, Ash,” she used my nickname as her eyes grew heavier.

  “No, he’s not. I got suspicious when he never brought any paperwork home. He would have these random updates about school, and told me everything was fine, but there was never any paperwork or welcome packet – nothing. So, I went down to the school myself. They had never heard of Nathan, and he wasn’t enrolled in a single class. At this point, I still thought there was some misunderstanding, so I went to him thinking they were actually scamming him.” A soft laugh fell from my lips as I recalled my absurd level of naiveté.

  “He didn’t even hide it. He laughed in my face. Said he’d never planned on going to school. He told me I would’ve known that if I ever listened to him,” I shook my head at his audacity. It was the first time I’d spoken the words aloud, and a weight felt lifted as the words rolled off my tongue.

  Reaching for my margarita, I took a large gulp as Catharine searched for words. It was a lot to unload on her. Certainly more than she had anticipated for this lunch update. But there was no reason to delay the inevitable, or sugarcoat the truth.

  “Catharine, say someth—” I started before she smacked the table loudly as she rose to her feet in a flash.

  “Get your shit! We’re going over there! I’m going to kill him!”

  Now the couple a few tables down gathered their things quickly and walked to the front of the restaurant. I was both amused and horrified. Tugging at her wrist, I yanked her back to her seat.

  “There’s nothing we can do, Catharine. He moved out that day. He stopped taking my calls and now he’s changed his number. I’m blocked on social media, and you probably are too.” I shrugged, sharing more of the embarrassment. My detective skills had gotten me nowhere, but that didn’t stop me from trying. Nathan had closed every possible avenue for me to tell him how much of an asshole he was.

  “There is always something we can do!” she urged, joining me in a sip of tequila-infused courage.

  “Well, I’m all ears.”

  “I’m going to get your money back, Ash. Just watch. How much was it? Twenty-five thousand?” Her lips tightened into a line as I nodded. Not much, but it was what had been left of my father’s inheritance. “Maybe we could have someone beat him up.” She scrunched her eyebrows together deviously as her mind worked rapidly.

  “I’m not going to jail over Nathan. Besides, he lives in the gym. Who could beat him up?” I tilted my head to the side with curiosity, failing to add that I’d already considered the option.

  “You’re right. It shouldn’t involve anyone else, either. It has to be us. Something we can do,” she spoke slowly as she ran her fingertip along the salty rim of the margarita glass.

  Too emotionally tried to argue, I asked, “What do you mean?”

  “Do you have any of his old nudes?” she asked unexpectedly.

  “What? Ew, that’s gross!” I shook my head. I’d never been one of those girls to take or accept nude photos with my boyfriend.

  “We could catfish him.” Catharine’s voice was so low I thought she might not be speaking to me.

  “Catfish?”

  “Yeah,” she glanced up, her eyes wide like she’d forgotten I was there. “We create a fake profile online and befriend him. Get him talking to us, and then seduce him. All we need are a few nude photos and he’s ours,” she smirked dangerously.

  “He’s ours?” I didn’t follow along.

  “Doesn’t he work for the school board or something?” she asked.

  “Yeah, he’s like an in-house tutor,” I said, still confused by her plan.

  “Right. He can’t do that and have nude photos online. It’ll ruin his career. I bet he’d be willing to pay anything to stop me from posting them on the school’s website. Even twenty-five thousand dollars,” Catharine announced, her smirk blossoming into a full-blown grin now.

  “You’re crazy,” was all I could say.

  There was no way it could work. Catharine wasn’t the best at hiding her emotions. She would lose her cool before it ever got far, that much I was sure of. Nathan had gotten over on me, but I didn’t want to dwell on it or make it worse by devoting my life to seeking revenge.

  “Ashley, I’m getting you that money back and you’re finishing your degree. That much I’m sure of,” she stared directly into my eyes as she proclaimed the revenge I wasn’t sure I wanted.

  A loud alarm from my cell went off just as the waitress returned with our tacos. Digging into my purse, I retrieved my phone to silence it.

  “I almost forgot I have an interview after this,” I shook my head, grateful I’d had the foresight to set a reminder.

  “An interview for what?”

  “A full-time nanny position. It was the silver lining the day I left campus,” I smiled, lifting one of the two tacos.

  Catharine looked with a sympathetic excitement before adding the encouragement I’d come to expect from her. “They’re going to hire you on the spot!”

  “That’s not likely. I brought a list of references, but they’ll probably need to run a background check and a bunch of other safety measures before I can start working,” I assured her.

  “You’ve always said a full-time nanny gig would be a hell of a payday.” She tried to hide the bitterness in her voice. I knew as well as she that I’d prefer to be in school than worrying about a payday, but thankfully she didn’t speak the words.

  “That’s the plan,” I nodded before taking another bite, grateful the conversation had moved onto a less dangerous topic than revenge.

  ***

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Lulu Pratt’s Books

  All available from Amazon

  Quickies: A Romance Novella Collection

  Pretend Daddy

  Relentless Pursuit

  Long and Hard: A Bad Boy Box Set

  Going Down

  In Deep

  Best Jerk

  Billionaire Neighbor

  Baby’s First Christmas

  Fake Marriage Act

  Recharged

  Rough and Ready

  Claimed