Sean

Two days after that kiss, I drove to the outskirts of the city to a suburban office park. That kiss had filled my thoughts, both waking and sleeping. I’d thought the effect would be short, hoped that maybe after a day or two, I’d be able to move past it.

I hadn’t.

If anything, the kiss had only gotten more potent. It seemed impossible that it could affect me as much as it had, but I couldn’t deny it. I suspected I had known it from the first time I’d met her, but now there was no doubt.

The attraction between Jess and me was real and I would no longer ignore it.

I’d also made some other decisions regarding Jess and Jake, and it was time to put those into action. After I parked in the open lot, I waited. Patrick and Declan preached preparation, and for one of the first times in my life, I would happily take their advice.

So I scoped out the nondescript parking lot, a mix of midpriced domestic and imported sedans, a couple of SUVs, a few pickups. All expected and ordinary, but when my gaze landed on the huge black town car, I knew I was in the right place.

I waited a few moments longer, though, watching as people entered and left the equally nondescript office building. It was one of those where the owner rented out suites to get the appearance of having a legitimate office without the cost of upkeep.

I let out a little chuckle at the irony that a slumlord felt compelled to put on a good face, but didn’t linger on it. Once I was satisfied that I had a pretty good understanding of where I was and what I could expect, I got out and made my way to Suite 317, the home of General Property Holdings.

I tried the door and was relieved when it opened.

Teddy Bryce, however, was not.

“What the fuck!”

Teddy, who had been about halfway through a meatball sandwich looked up at me with his eyes bugged out, his hands spread wide, and a napkin tucked inside of his shirt.

“You have good table manners, Teddy,” I said, walking in casually and propping on the corner of his desk.

He threw his sandwich down and then glared at me, but he didn’t demand that I leave. I suspected he knew doing so would be futile. I also suspected he knew this wasn’t a social call, but I sought to confirm that.

“Do you know who I am?” I asked.

Inside I was chuckling. Michael would never let me live down such an obnoxious question, but in some instances, ones like these, it was effective.

A fact that was proven when Teddy nodded quickly.

“I do,” he said, swallowing thickly around his sandwich and the fear I could hear in his voice.

“Do you know why I’m here?” I asked, still serious on the outside.

Teddy shook his head quickly. “No. I’m completely clean, Mr. Murphy,” he said.

That was debatable, but a point I chose not to push.

“Does that matter?” I asked.

Teddy looked confused and then terrified.

“Does that matter?” I repeated.

Teddy froze, and I could see his mind trying to process what the right answer was. Then, it finally seemed to dawn on him.

“No,” he said. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Excellent.” I smiled. “Teddy, I need a favor.”

* * *

Jess

Today, I had worked the early shift, which meant I had a few hours between work and Jake getting home. I was excited about that and had great plans as to how I would put that time to use.

One way I certainly would not spend that time was thinking about Sean Murphy. That would be hard, maybe impossible, but I needed to keep perspective. That kiss was just a thing. A one-time explosion of emotion that did nothing to change our current situation.

He was Jake’s father, and he was determined to be in his son’s life. It was my responsibility to facilitate that, and I would.

What I felt, what I wanted, who I wanted was of no importance. All that mattered was making sure that Jake had everything he needed, including his father. Which meant my feelings couldn’t come into play.

Certain that I had my head screwed on straight, when I reached my apartment building, I ran up the stairs to my door.

Like always, I grasped my keys tight and at the ready to open the door with no delay. But before I even reached it, I noticed something was different.

The gold lock that I had paid for myself had been replaced. Instead there was a heavy-duty silver one. I’d looked for one like it, but it was far out of my price range and had to be left at the store. I could remember stewing in anger at having to replace the cheap lock with one that was only slightly better when it was my landlord Teddy’s responsibility but also knowing that Teddy was so damned cheap, I’d never get one if I waited on him.

And now that lock was gone.

I walked closer to the door, on edge, wondering what had happened, but not exactly afraid.

Though I knew it wouldn’t work, I shoved my key into the lock. And even though it was no surprise, my heart dropped when the key wouldn’t turn.

I took the key out, careful not to break it in the ill-fitting lock, and reached for my cell phone.

I dialed Teddy’s number from memory, but this time rather than an explanation as to why the rent would be a little late, or a desperate request for him to fix something, I was steaming mad.

“Hello?”

“Teddy! It’s Jess. Did you change my locks?” I asked, trying to stay calm but knowing he could hear the irritation in my voice.

I heard Teddy clear his throat, and wondered at that reaction. He almost sounded nervous, and that wasn’t like Teddy at all. If anything, I’d expected him to be surprised that I’d spoken to him in a tone that was something other than obsequious.

To be honest, I was a little surprised myself. Teddy was a jerk, but he’d let me pay rent late without too much trouble, so I tried to keep the peace with him and overlooked some of the disrepair around the building. But that couple of hours alone that I had been looking forward to were gone, and now I was focused on getting this straightened out before Jake got home.

“Yeah,” Teddy finally said. “I changed them.”

“Then you get your ass over here and change them back,” I said, my voice calm, firm, though I was outraged, too outraged to even ask him why.

“No can do, Jess,” Teddy said.

“What the hell does that mean?”

“It means you were late last month,” he said.

“You made a mistake, Teddy. I paid you on the first,” I responded emphatically.

“Rent’s due by 3:00 p.m. on the first. Yours didn’t get here until seven. So you’re evicted,” Teddy said.

I practically snarled. “Teddy, if you don’t—”

The resounding click told me Teddy had hung up.

I stared at the phone, gaping, my heart pounding, but my skin feeling chilled. My hands started to tremble as the reality threatened to creep over me.

This couldn’t be happening, but deep down I knew it was. I would have taken as many buses as I needed to go find Teddy in person, but he never told anyone his address, and we dropped rent off at a mail drop. I knew that was no coincidence, and given what I wanted to do to him, I figured it was probably smart.

I looked at the phone, then looked at the silver lock yet again. I was tempted to try to break it, while some other, disbelieving part of my brain hoped this wasn’t happening.

It was.

I let my hands fall limply to my sides, the implication hitting me all at once.

I didn’t have anywhere to go, which meant Jake and Misty didn’t have anywhere to go.

And there was no one I could call for help.

Unless…

Sean had offered me money before. Maybe he’d be willing to help Jake and me until I could find another place.

And then another realization hit me like a bolt of lightning.

I ran down the stairs as fast as I could.