Chapter Three – Mindy

Sneaking out the window probably wouldn’t help prove her innocence, but Mindy never did have much trust in the legal system.

“Diapers, bottle, formula, wipes, extra clothes . . .” She nodded, satisfied she had everything she would need in a pinch. The motel room, the only long-term accommodation she could afford in this town without running through all of her savings, was empty except for the disgusting furniture that came with the place.

Part of her would have liked to do what she was accused of: trashing the place, destroying the furniture and stealing removable fixtures. She knew she was pushing it just by getting out of this dump, though. There wasn’t anywhere for her to go . . . Maybe she should just stay here and deal with it?

A glance at her three-month-old daughter wriggling in her car seat swept that thought from her mind entirely. With her financial situation right now and the motel manager’s accusations flying at her, the cops might take her baby away from her.

No way in hell was she letting that happen.

Mindy picked up the car seat, smiling down at her daughter as Ginny grinned and chewed on the ear of her stuffed rabbit. A rush of love filled her from the top of her head to her toes. Her daughter was the best thing to ever come into her life, and she wasn’t going to give her up, not for nothing. She just had to deal with this situation and then figure out where she needed to go from there.

Moving quickly, Mindy put the car seat through the open window at the back of the room (she was grateful now that the manager refused to buy screens for them) and then climbed out after. She tossed the keys into the room just as a harsh pounding started on the door.

“Open up!” the manager shouted from the other side. “You’re in trouble now, Missy. The cops are coming, and you’d better be prepared to give me my money for everything you’ve damaged!”

Mindy hissed between her teeth, collected Ginny’s car seat and darted away. Her car was parked across the alley, full of the belongings she had already sneaked out of the room.

“Pay for your own damages,” Mindy hissed furiously under her breath as she quickly clicked the car seat into place and checked it to make sure it was secure.

All of the things she was supposed to have stolen from the motel room hadn’t been there in the first place when she moved in. And the damages that the manager accused her of doing had already been there. At the time she thought nothing of it. Now, though . . . She jumped into the driver’s seat and drove away just as she heard a loud shout. When she glanced back, she saw the manager hanging out of the window.

“Let this be a lesson, Ginny,” she said aloud, trying to calm her nerves. “When a guy says he’s easy-going and can always be flexible when it comes to paying rent, don’t trust the slimy weasel.”

Up until two months ago, she had been working as a receptionist at a chiropractor’s office. Then they were shut down, the reasons still being a little vague, and her savings had dwindled quickly. The third month, she had told the manager that she was going to have trouble paying the rent on time, all the while assuring him that she was looking for a new job and would get the money to him as soon as she could. He had all but insisted that she sleep with him.

When she had said no, he accused her of damaging his property and stealing from him.

A strangling feeling rose up her throat, and she resisted the urge to let loose a string of curse words. She might not be in the best situation, and she might not be an upstanding member of society, but that didn’t mean that she was so desperate to prostitute herself. Especially not for a gross, slimy man like that. She wasn’t yet so desperate.

Not that she hadn’t considered it. Not the actual prostitution, that was far too dangerous. But she had thought about doing some cam work. She’d even gone so far as to discuss it with women who were actually in the work. Lots of them said that it was a choice they’d made because they needed the money and it gave them the time and flexibility to spend time with their kids.

In the end, though, there were a lot of reasons why Mindy thought it was a last-ditch, bottom-of-the-barrel job for her personally. It was degrading, since either she’d be seen as a sex object or as a fallen woman. Not to mention the fear that someone she knew might end up seeing her, or worse—that somehow a vague, faceless ‘they’ would take Ginny away from her because of it.

“Mommy needs to stop thinking about that slimy little man,” she said aloud, more to herself than to Ginny, although she received a delighted squeal in response. Her tense muscles relaxed as she glanced in the rearview mirror, even though she couldn’t see Ginny’s face since she was in a backward-facing seat. “That’s right. Mommy needs to figure out where we’re going from here, doesn’t she?”

A bubble of panic rose in her throat. What the hell was she going to do without a place to live and no money coming in?

The plus side was that she had a couple of job interviews lined up already. If she had to live in the car for a week or two, she would deal with it. The weather was nippy, but she had plenty of blankets to keep Ginny warm, and she had a year-long membership to the pool at the YMCA that was already paid for. So showering wasn’t going to be a problem and libraries were always open during the day so that she could use the internet there to send in more resumes.

I will figure it out, she told herself firmly. I always do.

And as it had been for the past year, the face of Rex Tesla came to her mind. A simple one-night-stand that turned into something far, far more. Ginny blew raspberries, and Mindy felt herself relaxing again. There was a reason why she had come to this town, after all.

She had never known her own father. Her mother had never told her anything about him, and whenever Mindy tried to bring him up, it always turned into a fight. Mindy wished she had just a scrap of information to find him and learn who he was.

She didn’t want that same sort of mystery for her own daughter. So shortly before Ginny was born, when she still had some money, she had hired a private investigator to find Rex. Three months ago, he had come back with information. With an address. Rex lived and worked here. She had moved at once, but instead of going to him straight away and telling him that he had a daughter, she had chickened out. She had spent the time working and trying to build up the courage to go to the man who probably didn’t even remember her.

Her heart fluttered as panic built up inside her again. She didn’t want to go to him like this, with nowhere to go and no options left. She wanted him to see her as a strong woman, a woman with options.

But maybe . . . maybe he would remember her. And maybe he could offer her something. An extra room she could crash at, maybe a friend who was looking for a new employee.

“What do you think, Ginny?” Mindy turned a corner, fighting to stay focused on the road while her thoughts spun all over the place. She needed to find someplace to just sit and rest for a moment. “Do you think that your dad will want to help us?”

What if he took one look at her and laughed in her face? There was no reason why he would remember her, and even if he did, he might not recognize her. Since that night on the beach, she had put on a lot of weight. First with her pregnancy, and then as she struggled to get by, she hadn’t been able to buy as much healthy food as she wanted. There were a few weeks when all she could afford was ramen and eggs. Not to mention that she was always too busy and exhausted to do any real exercise.

All in all, she wasn’t the same trim, beautiful bombshell that she was a year ago. Even her clothes were frumpy and ill-fitting. If Rex was only interested in pretty women, he’d kick her out without a second glance.

What if he wanted nothing to do with kids? What if he thought she was only after his money? What if he wanted nothing to do with her—but wanted to keep Ginny? What if he took her to court to take custody away from her? What if he turned out to be a real creep?

“And I’m overthinking again.” Her brain actually hurt from the stress, even as Mindy tried to shove her worries aside.

These were the same things that had been bouncing around her brain for the three months since she moved here, and it was only getting worse. She wanted her daughter to get to know her dad, an opportunity she never had herself. If she kept letting herself go into panic mode over this, she was going to lose her nerve and Ginny was never going to meet Rex.

A white car pulled in front of her and started to slow down. Mindy made to honk the horn at the jackass, but then she saw who it was. Her heart nearly stopped.

How had he found her?

Her mouth went dry, but when the man gestured out the window for her to follow him, she didn’t have any choice but to obey. Her knuckles went white, she was gripping the steering wheel so tightly as she pulled in to a stop next to him at a car park.

Calvin Meyer stepped from his car and smiled at her as she got out of hers. He was alone, which didn’t really ease her mind. The predatory grin on his face was all she needed to want to run. Far, far away. But he had already found her once. Her hands clenched.

“Miss Davidson. You’re behind on your payments.”

Not for the first time, she wished she had never set eyes on the man. “I lost my job,” she said, her throat so dry that speaking was actually painful. “I also lost your number, so I couldn’t—”

“That is a shame.” Meyer moved closer.

He smiled, looking every bit a shark. Not surprising, considering that he was a loan shark. If only she had been smart before she got mixed up with him. But she had been young and stupid. For two years, this man had been dogging her steps. Two years. She thought that maybe she’d lost him when she moved, but clearly, there was no such luck.

“I heard congratulations were in order,” Meyer continued, looking through her car window at Ginny.

Mindy moved quickly, blocking his view. “Yes, well . . . things have been crazy lately.”

“Oh, I understand. These things happen. I’m a generous man. You’ll find that I’m reasonable. You are behind on your payments, but we can adjust things. Perhaps a smaller amount for now, until you get back on your feet. Of course, I’ll have to raise your interest due to your failure to pay. Unless you have something that will make up for that?”

Mindy trembled as his gaze raked over her form, lingering on her exposed cleavage. Perhaps she had misjudged when she thought she wasn’t beautiful anymore. Either that or men like the motel manager and Meyer just got their kinks from being in a position where they could bully women into having sex with them.

“I don’t have—” Mindy started.

“What about that pretty ring around your neck?”

Mindy’s hand flew to the ring she wore as a necklace. It was the diamond ring that Rex had given her a year ago. She had hoped to use it as proof that she was the same woman who had slept with him that night on the beach, in case he didn’t remember. If he didn’t recognize her face, he’d at least recognize the ring he’d bought for another woman.

“It’s a real diamond, isn’t it?”

Mindy hesitated. She had resisted selling it even in her worst times. But her choices were limited right now. She took off the necklace and handed over the ring.

Meyer took a close look at it, then smiled and pocketed it. “I’ll let you know how much it was appraised for. It’s a shame that a pretty woman like you should be so hard up for money. You know, there are many different ways that you could get a job.” A smirk crossed his face. “Of course, if you can’t get a job I could always sell your baby, people are always looking for—”

“Don’t you dare go near her!” Rage unlike anything Mindy had felt before swept through her. She leapt at him, swinging her fists, and he caught both of them. Mindy snarled and threw her head forward, intending on headbutting him. He easily yanked her off her feet. As she fell off-balance, Meyer threw her against his car and pinned her there, hands on her wrists as he grinned at her. The rage didn’t lessen, even though panic started to beat against her ribs. “You stay away from my daughter. Don’t you dare ever threaten her again!”

“Now, now. Let’s not get violent, Miss Davidson. I wasn’t threatening anybody. I was merely suggesting that if you don’t have the funds to pay me, then you don’t have the funds to properly care for your daughter. There are lots of people looking to adopt, and I’ve got connections. I could very easily find her a home far more suitable than what you can give her.”

Mindy tried to yank herself free of his grip, but Meyer pressed against her. Every inch of her went cold.

“Of course, there are other arrangements I could make. I have many rich friends who would love to have a pretty girlfriend like you for a night. It’d wipe your debt out quicker . . . I’m not going to make you do anything, though.” Meyer whipped around and pushed her back toward her own car. He winked. “I’m not a monster, after all.”

He climbed back into his car and drove away with a jaunty wave. Mindy’s stomach roiled. She slid back into her car, then leaned her head against the steering wheel and started to sob.