Chapter 2
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“No!” Lexi flailed her arms and ducked away from the plastic cup hovering over her head as she tried to escape the dreaded rinse off.
Adriana Hale was mid-yawn when water splashed into the air. She flinched and turned. Sadly, her reflexes weren’t fast enough and heavy drops hit her like a bullseye on the face. Lifting her heavy, tired arms, she wiped her eyes with the back of her wrist and ducked her head. It was then that she noticed the dark orange stain from tonight’s spaghetti dinner splattered across her right boob.
“No,” she whispered in defeat.
Unlike her daughter’s powerful protest, her objection was barely audible as her heart sank. She fought back the tears that were threatening to make an unwanted appearance.
It’s just a shirt, she told herself. In the grand scheme of things, it means nothing. It’s cotton material held together by thread.
But that cotton had been there for her since her freshman year of college. It had survived six moves, two heartbreaks, pregnancy, and the death of her cousin and best friend. To Adriana, the shirt was her adult version of a security blanket, and she had no one to blame for its demise but herself.
Before dinner, she’d had every intention to change out of her oldest, most comfortable, cherished University of Michigan T-shirt. But somewhere between getting a splinter out of Lexi’s finger, removing gum from her sister Laney’s baby soft hair, and breaking up a fight over whose turn it was to play with Mr. Bear, she’d completely forgotten her save-the-shirt mission.
She mentally made a note to treat it with OxiClean before she went to bed.
Refocusing on the task at hand, Adriana drew upon the ninja-like speed that she’d been forced to acquire since the twins were born. In one fluid movement, she dipped the plastic cup that she kept beside the bath beneath the surface of the water and filled it. Then, using her other hand to shield first Lexi’s and then Laney’s foreheads so that the water wouldn’t drip down onto their cherubic faces, she dumped the contents over the crown of each head. She was saved from the two blood-curdling screams that would’ve pierced the air had even a single drop slipped past the barrier and landed in one of their eyes.
Setting the cup back into the cubby that was its home, because the key to order was that everything had a home, she grabbed the two identical towels beside her.
Using a parenting strategy that she’d learned from listening to a Kristen Bell interview she asked her girls, “Do you want to get out of the bath in one minute or two minutes?”
“One.” Lexi’s chubby forefinger stretched out in Adriana’s face.
“Two.” Laney, AKA Miss Independent, of course, took the other.
Adriana smiled as relief sank into her bones. It still surprised her every time the tactic worked. Give them a choice, do not demand.
Instead of saying, “You need to finish your dinner,” ask, “Do you want to take eight more bites or twelve?”
Instead of picking out their outfits, grab three and ask which one they want to wear. Instead of asking what book they want to read before bed, narrow it down to two to choose from.
There had been significantly fewer tantrums and breakdowns since she’d implemented this technique. The approach had proven itself to be less overwhelming for both her and the girls. And since she was now a single mom of three children, anything that made her life more manageable was priceless.
“Rina, it’s time!”
Adriana looked over her shoulder and saw Jonah standing in the doorway breathless. When he was learning to talk he couldn’t say her name, so he’d always called her Rina. It stuck. His milk chocolate eyes were gleaming with more excitement than she’d seen in them in the past year.
When Adriana’s cousin and best friend, Emily, had made a will after her son was born and asked her to be Jonah’s legal guardian should anything happen to her she’d agreed, never thinking for one second that time would come. Em passed six months ago from an inoperable brain tumor that she’d been diagnosed with only three months before.
Jonah’s dad had never been in the picture and the twins’ father was a musician who decided he wasn’t ready to settle down a month before Adriana gave birth. So now, she was a twenty-six-year-old single mom of three-year-old twin girls and a nine-year-old boy. And every day she questioned whether or not she was enough.
“Are you coming?” he asked eagerly.
“Yeah, bud. I’m just finishing up with the girls.”
A worried expression crept up on his face, squelching the enthusiasm that had been there a moment earlier as his shoulders deflated. “Okay.”
“I already ordered it so you can start without me.” She might’ve forgotten to change her shirt before she made dinner, but she hadn’t forgotten to order the Pay-Per-View fight that Jonah had been talking about nonstop for the past three weeks.
His wide, toothy grin lit up the small bathroom before he tore off toward the front room and called over his shoulder, “Thanks, Rina!”
That kid had a light in him, a magic that she knew she had to do whatever it took to protect. He’d already learned at much too young of an age that this world was cruel and life wasn’t fair. Adriana couldn’t do anything about the tragedy that he’d endured, but she could do everything in her power to protect him from anything else hurting him. And she would. And if he wanted to watch two men kicking and punching each other, she’d drop $100 to let him do it.
MMA wasn’t her cup of tea, but Jonah had been obsessed with it ever since he’d started karate lessons two years ago. At the time, Adriana had been concerned that it was too violent for a kid, but Em believed it was a healthy outlet for him and would teach him discipline and focus. As always, her cousin’s instincts were right. Jonah had always been distracted in school, but since starting his martial arts classes, his grades had improved, and it had given him a sense of purpose and community.
And even more importantly, it had been one of the main things that had gotten him through the past few months.
Taking a deep breath, she turned back toward the girls and held up the first pink towel. “Alright, I need my one-minute piggy to put in the blanket.”
Lexi giggled as she stood and Adriana lifted her out of the bath, wrapping her up tight in the soft terrycloth. After being dried off, piglet number one followed the nightly routine: pajamas, the brushing of teeth and hair, and getting into bed to wait for the story. Laney followed along a minute behind her sister.
Routines were lifesavers in Adriana’s life. Without them, her world would crumble into chaos.
By the time she’d wiped out the tub, put the bath toys back in their mesh holder, and dried off the counter, both girls were waiting in their respective beds with their chosen bedtime books in hand.
After fifteen minutes of story time, Adriana kissed both of her sleeping beauties good night, flipped on the nightlight that lit up the ceiling like a starry night, and slipped out of the room.
This was her favorite time, when they were tucked in their beds, safe and sound, and quiet. She exhaled a sigh of relief as the door clicked shut and she rested her forehead against the wall beside it. One more day was in the books.
When the twins were born, there were some days that Adriana hadn’t been sure she was going to make it through. Life as a single mom of twins had been so overwhelming. Just going to the grocery store had seemed like an insurmountable task. But with each passing day that she’d kept everyone alive, her confidence had grown.
As they got older, some things got easier, but then others were more difficult. Every single day brought new challenges. This past year even more so.
She still hadn’t come to terms with the fact that her cousin was gone. She hadn’t processed that she couldn’t pick up the phone and call her. She hadn’t accepted that she wasn’t going to be walking through the front door carrying a bottle of wine and a bag of Doritos, their girls’ night snack of choice.
Tears filled her eyes, but she blinked them back. She had to be strong. For herself, for the girls, but most of all, for Jonah.
That little boy deserved the world after what he’d been through. She’d promised Emily that she would take care of him and that was exactly what she planned to do. She’d also promised to try to find his father, but that search was coming up with diddly-squat. It didn’t help that Em couldn’t remember the guy’s last name. All she knew was that his first name was Jake. She did have a photo strip that they’d taken in a booth together, but the small snapshots weren’t a heck of a lot to go on.
Jonah had been conceived during a one-night stand in Vegas. It was a trip that Emily had taken for her twenty-first birthday and she’d hooked up with a guy she’d met at a club. Adriana sat the trip out since she was only sixteen at the time. Six weeks later, Em found out she was pregnant.
Adriana had moved in with her and helped when Jonah was a baby. She’d lived with them for the first two years of his life. And Em had stepped up by spending all of her free time helping her with the twins. They were each other’s person, and now she was gone.
“Rina! Are you coming?” Jonah called out.
She didn’t answer for fear she’d wake the girls. She lifted her head and wiped the tears that had formed in her eyes as she let out a forced breath.
On her way to the family room, she shook out her arms and pushed out her bottom lip, blowing air up her face in an effort to dry any moisture that remained. If Jonah had even an inkling that she was upset he always felt responsible for cheering her up. He had the sweetest heart, and he already had to grow up way too fast.
“Do you want popcorn?” she asked as she walked into the room.
He nodded but didn’t take his eyes off the screen.
Yes!
She’d been trying not to snack at night, a bad habit she’d picked up when she was pregnant.
On her way to the kitchen she did a little happy dance, and when she did, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the hallway mirror.
“Oh boy,” Adriana said beneath her breath.
Her dark brown hair was haphazardly piled on top of her head and looked like a rat’s nest. There were large, dark circles beneath her bloodshot eyes. And…she squinted as she leaned in…Yep, there was red sauce splattered on the side of her cheek and her nose.
If you Googled “hot mess,” she was sure this image would be the first result, or if not, it should be.
Not wanting to be faced with the reality that was her appearance, she turned, opened the pantry door and tore open the popcorn pouch before unfolding the bag and placing it in the microwave.
As she waited the two minutes and twenty seconds, she tried to remember the last time she’d taken a shower. Her first instinct was the day before, but she ruled that out when she realized that she was still wearing the same sweats that she’d been wearing when she’d taken the kids to the park. The day before that was a possibility, but it might’ve been even longer than that.
She was blessed to work from home. She loved owning her own business, Love by Design, which had become quite profitable after two celebrity stylists had started using her pieces on their clients. Thankfully, they’d discovered her when she was pregnant with the twins and she’d been able to turn her part-time passion into a full-time career. Her schedule was flexible, and she didn’t have to be away from her kids. The only downside was that things such as showering, getting dressed, putting on makeup or feeling like a human being sort of fell by the wayside.
The nature of jewelry design only required her to go to trade shows and conventions about four times per year. And all of her supplies could be ordered online and shipped to her front door. So could her groceries and dinners, for that matter. If Postmates or Instacart had been around when the girls were newborns, her life would’ve been so much easier. But then, she wouldn’t have known what she was capable of.
That was a philosophy she’d adopted over the past few years, and she’d held onto it like a port in the storm that had been her life over the last six months. Every challenge that she faced and met served to build up her confidence and resolution that everything would be okay. It had to be.
The pop, pop, popping of the kernels started, and she grabbed a large bowl and a couple of fruit juices from the fridge and made a mental note that no matter how tired she was after this fight, she was going to take a shower before she went to bed.
After the timer beeped, she pulled out the bag and shook it before tugging on the corners and pouring the contents into the bowl. She leaned over and inhaled the heavenly aroma. Sweets were never her weakness. Salty, carb-filled goodness was. But she was trying to eat better. Healthier. She had to do everything in her power to be around for the three little lives that needed her.
On her way out to the front room, a pain pierced the bottom of her foot, and she cursed beneath her breath as she hopped on one foot and juggled the bowl and fruit pouches.
Hearing the commotion, Jonah turned to look over the back of the couch. “Are you okay?”
“Lego,” Adriana hissed her one-word response.
“Oh,” Jonah nodded in understanding.
Adriana’s hate-hate relationship with the tiny, plastic toys was common knowledge.
She took a seat at the corner of the couch and set the bowl between them.
“That’s him, Rina!” Jonah pointed to the TV. “Gabe Maguire!”
For the past week, Jonah had been talking about an MMA fighter who was a hero firefighter. The whole thing sounded like a publicity stunt to Adriana, but then, she’d grown cynical over the past year.
Her hand was filled with popcorn and halfway to her mouth she looked up at the screen and froze when she saw a close up of a man that had her body feeling things she’d forgotten she could. Her breath caught in the back of her throat. Tingles started brewing low in her belly. Her heartbeat fluttered in her chest like a scarf in a windstorm.
Large brown eyes framed with lashes that, if there were any fairness in the world would’ve been on a woman, stared out at her. Full lips that made her own tingle were surrounded by the scruff of a beard. A strong jaw and thick, light brown hair finished off the perfect package.
The frame changed, and a montage of Gabe’s training started playing. Adriana watched, mesmerized, at the footage. His face alone had her lady parts waking up and taking notice, but his body. Dear Lord, his body was a work of art and it was covered in art. He had tattoos running up his arms, across his chest, and down his back. Saliva filled her mouth as she watched him prepare for the fight. He was a modern-day gladiator. A warrior.
“He’s the one that saved that lady.” Jonah continued. “He’s a hero!”
He was hot, that’s what he was. He might be a hero too, but he was a hot hero.
And he looked familiar. Not in an immediately recognizable sort of way. It wasn’t as if she thought, oh yeah that’s the guy from such and such. She couldn’t quite pinpoint where she’d seen him before, but she knew that she had.
“Gabe Maguire,” she said his name out loud in an attempt to put the puzzle pieces together of where she might know him from.
“Yeah, Gabe Maguire.” Jonah echoed excitedly as he tucked his feet beneath him so that he was sitting up taller.
Gabe’s montage ended, and another picture appeared on the screen. On the bottom of the frame, it read: Glenn Maguire (brother). Apparently, Glenn had been a boxer, and the interviewer was asking him what he thought about his baby brother being an MMA fighter. His answers were what you’d expect; he was proud, yadda, yadda, yadda.
Adriana tuned out as the man spoke. She was searching her mental database to try and place where she’d seen Gabe Maguire before. She’d just concluded that Gabe’s familiarity must’ve been from the small thumbnail pic she’d seen when she’d ordered the fight. At that moment a picture of a younger Gabe with his arm around Glenn as he held up a belt in a boxing ring appeared on the screen.
That’s when it all clicked into place.
“No,” Adriana heard herself gasp as she felt all of the blood drain from her face, causing her to be lightheaded.
The room started spinning, and now her lips and fingers were tingling for an entirely different reason.
“What’s wrong?” The fear that tinged Jonah’s voice pulled her back to her senses.
“Nothing,” she assured him as she plastered on the fake smile that she’d had to use more times than she could count over the past year. “I just forgot I need to check something.”
His too-smart eyes narrowed, and she knew that he could smell the distinct scent of fishiness that was exuding from her vague answer, but she hopped up from the couch before he could ask any more questions. “I’ll be right back.”
She rushed out of the room as he blessedly got distracted by the television.
“There’s no way,” she whispered beneath her breath as she hustled down the hall. “It’s impossible.”
When she stepped into her bedroom, she shut the door behind her and sprinted to her closet. Her hand was shaking as she lifted the box from the top shelf and the contents spilled out. All of the envelopes that Emily had written to Jonah for birthdays, Christmas, and life events like when he got his first girlfriend, when he graduated high school and college were scattered on the floor. She dropped to the ground and rifled through them.
Within seconds she found what she was looking for. It was the photo strip that “Jake” and Em had taken.
She pulled out her phone and Googled Glenn Maguire fight and the date, which she knew because it was Em’s birthday. The picture that she’d seen on TV was at the top of the first article she clicked on. She quickly scanned it. The dates worked. The city worked. Glenn’s fight was in Vegas the day after Em’s birthday.
It was him.
“Jake” was Gabe Maguire.
Which meant…Gabe Maguire was Jonah’s father.