She watched him take the bite, and she realized she’d been staring. Scooping a forkful herself, she let her eyes close as it hit her tongue. It was sweet and creamy, and she realized it’d been since last night, or early morning, that she’d eaten.

“You don’t eat regularly, do you?” Eddie observed.

Opening her eyes, she saw him frowning at her.

“My schedule gets all mixed up so I eat when I can. Sometimes I forget. When I do get a chance, it’s rarely a full balanced meal,” she admitted. Like he cared that she ate cold spaghetti last night.

“That’s not healthy,” he said.

“I know, my son always eats healthy, though. He’s a good boy, eats all his veggies. Loves fruit,” she said, with a smile.

“He seems like a great kid. His mom needs to take care of herself, though, to take care of him. I can see you work hard. Ever thought of a different job? Something that is just during the day?”

Gemma set down her fork. How to explain that she didn’t have the skills or schooling for anything better than what she did now?

Seeing how uncomfortable she was, Eddie picked up the conversation so she wouldn’t have to.

“I know the hospital is hiring. Great benefits. The cafeteria food sucks but outside that, it’s a nice place to work,” he suggested.

“I doubt I’m qualified. All I’ve ever done is waitress or work retail jobs. Nothing that took any skill.”

“You’d be surprised. It takes a lot of juggling to manage your customers and all of their orders. I bet you do stock and inventory at the gas station.”

“Yeah, but that’s just normal work,” she said, confused.

“Swap chips and soda with office supplies, it’s the same thing. In the file room, replace orders for food with orders for files. Being able to manage the organization is more important than anything. I can put a good word in for you; I know a few people,” he said with a wink.

“I bet you do,” she murmured. Gemma wasn’t going to say no thanks; a stable job at the hospital wouldn’t be a bad thing. It would most definitely have insurance, and that was a big step for her. She didn’t even care if it was a night shift; she was used to those – but if it were during the day, she could put Dash down to bed every night. Read him stories and pat his back like he loved when he was drifting off to sleep. Things she missed.

“Well, that would be great. Working one day job would be a change,” she said, shyly.

“Glad to help. So back to the more important question at hand. Are you going to let me take you out?”

Gemma was hoping he’d forgotten about that. Clearly not.

“I’m not a big dater,” she said lamely.

He chuckled. “Dater?”

“You know what I mean. I don’t date. I work and take care of Dash. That takes all the hours in the week.”

“His dad’s not around?” Eddie wanted to know if there was a guy in the wings waiting to interfere with his mate.

Gemma gave a sad little laugh. “No, Dash’s dad isn’t around. He’s in Idaho, where we lived before we came here.”

“He still take care of Dash?”

Her laugh turned a little hysterical. “Uh, that would be a no. He actually frequently calls to try to convince me to give up on that. I don’t expect it for me, but he is still Dash’s dad. He’s just pissed he can’t work a regular job without getting his wages garnished.”

“That’s not right. No matter what, you should take care of your kids,” Eddie said, his voice dropping to a growl.

“You are preaching to the choir here,” Gemma said. She liked how low his voice got. It was a little scary but oddly appealing.

Eddie didn’t like that a man – a father – wasn’t taking care of the child he produced. He couldn’t imagine turning his back on a child. In fact, the night before, he dreamt about a future with Gemma. Having a little girl of their own, a little sister for Dash; then another four or five more kids after that. Eddie knew he wanted a mate, but he hadn’t realized that having babies, kids, was just as important to him and his bear.

Gemma could see Eddie didn’t like that idea of her ex being a lame-ass who ignored his son. She didn’t like it, either, but it was the hand she’d been dealt. No point in trying to change what was always going to be. It was her life, and she lived it the best she could. She thought it was sweet he seemed annoyed at her situation, but it was easy to frown on other people’s lack of responsibility when it wasn’t yours.

“So, what about you? Doctor, that’s a huge life choice. Did you always want to be a doctor?”

“Pretty much. I knew I didn’t want to work in the woods like the rest of my family. I was lucky to be able to go to school and then come back home to work. My family, although happy and proud that I’m a doctor, probably still would have preferred me cutting down trees,” he said with a smile.

“I’ve heard about the Rochons. I mean – not in a bad way, just that most of the town is Rochons,” Gemma covered.

“Factual. We hunkered down here a few generations ago, and it will take dynamite to get our family out of these woods. You moved here from Idaho?”

“Yes, born and raised. There wasn’t anything there for me, so I drove west. Dash and I stopped here to spend the night. The next day, he wanted to walk in the woods. We went out, and he loved it and asked if we could stay. I didn’t have any reason to say no, so we stayed. I found a job, and then another one. Hopefully, we’ll be able to build a life here.”

“I’m sure you will be successful here, Gemma. You are focused and driven. I see big things for you in the future,” Eddie said.

“You think? A lottery win? That would be great. Of course, I’d actually have to play,” she said with a laugh.

“I find that wishing doesn’t get you very far. Action does; making good choices does. Like I know you are clearly smart enough to realize that going out with me is a phenomenal idea. I promise a good time. When is your next day off?”

Gemma started to say she couldn’t possibly go out with him; that it was a bad, bad idea. But a part of her, a part she barely recognized, was preening under his attention. She liked the way he smiled at her. She’d given him a number of opportunities to back out of his offer. Whether it was a date or just a pity meal, she knew she might not get another chance like this.

“I’m off on Sundays. It’s the only day during the week I don’t work. I usually spend it with Dash,” she told him. It would be a sacrifice to spend any time away from him.

“Well, then Dash comes, too. What does he like to do? You know, I have a friend with a son about Dash’s age. Maybe we could meet them at the park and have a picnic?”

Okay, that was not what Gemma was expecting. She figured he’d buy her a cheap dinner and maybe some alcohol to up the chances of getting in her pants. Gemma didn’t drink often. A little alcohol and she thought everything was a good idea, no matter how terrible it was.

“That would be great. He doesn’t get to play with other little kids much. What time?” Gemma felt a tiny bit of confidence building inside of her. She was making a date with a man. It was the first time in her life that she’d done that. Getting knocked up by – and married to – your high school boyfriend didn’t exactly give you the social skills for adult dating.

This was all new to her, but she felt pretty confident that she wasn’t coming off as a complete dweeb.

“I can pick you guys up at eleven? Cage and Sophie can meet us there. Their son Micah will love another little boy to run around and get dirty with,” Eddie said. Gemma could see the clear affection in his eyes when he spoke about the little boy.

“Okay, do you need my address?”

Eddie didn’t want to admit that he’d already been to her house. “I have it in his file.” That was an easy way out for him.

“Well, I better get back to work. Let me know when you are ready for your bill,” she said, standing.

“I think I’ll have a cup of coffee if you don’t mind. This booth is comfy,” he grinned.

“Sure, I’ll get that.” Gemma didn’t know if it was true that he was comfortable, but she realized she’d be sad if he left. She was sure the idea of going on a date with Eddie would make her want to vomit. Instead, a casual outing with Dash and the others would make her feel much more at ease.

After she brought him his coffee, she continued working her shift. He had three refills of coffee. It wasn’t lost on her that he stayed throughout most of her shift, leaving just before she did. What she didn’t see was that he was waiting in the parking lot. He followed her home to make sure she got there safely.