Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

E mmerleigh

After twelve hours of manual labor the day before, my body screamed to sleep in but my mind was a busy little hamster, spinning its wheel for all it was worth.

Marry me .

I'd heard some real dumbass things in my life, mostly courtesy of my ex-boyfriend, but that one took the cake. What the hell was Warrick thinking? It was one thing to let us temporarily move in until we could find housing, but to offer to marry me? The man was certifiably insane.

Thankfully, I didn't have to see his handsome mug today. I was taking Saturday off to be with Georgia. Sadly, I was letting the television entertain her while I finished packing up our belongings into cardboard boxes that were already labeled from our move here to Blueball.

Being an unemployed, single mom had brought me some painful lows in my life. I'd always been able to pull myself up by the bootstraps and get us back on a firm foundation. My brothers stepped in when they could, but I mostly kept them in the dark about my true financial situation. Lord knew I didn't need them interfering any more than they had when Cayden had showed his true colors. It was a miracle one of them hadn't ended up in jail longer than one night.

And yeah. I was a stubborn mule. Always had been. Didn't plan to change anytime soon. You try growing up with four older brothers and see if you don't forge a backbone of solid steel. It was that stubborn streak that had gotten me through the rough times. And watching my beautiful daughter twirl around the living room in a princess costume with a big smile on her face was all the confirmation I needed that we were doing just fine.

We were currently in the middle of another one of those lows, which was why I'd reluctantly agreed to take Warrick's handout of moving in. Very temporarily. I still made several phone calls a day, looking into places to rent. But I was also a practical woman and I knew I couldn't fight Cayden in a legal battle while also homeless. I'd pick my battles carefully, my eye always on the prize: making a happy, stress-free life for my little girl.

The doorbell rang out, a monotone buzz that made me jump. Georgia went right on watching her show, babbling to the characters on the television while my heart leaped into my throat. I wasn't expecting anyone, and in my limited time on this earth, doorbells ringing when you weren't expecting it, usually meant bad news. I wiped my palms on my jean shorts and headed for the door, looking through the peephole first. My shoulders dropped away from my ears when I saw two women on my doorstep.

Swinging the door open, I pasted on a polite smile. "Can I help you?"

The tall blonde woman spoke first, looking adorable in a sundress and evenly tanned skin. "Hi! I'm Paisley and this is Marlo. We heard you're new here in Blueball and wanted to welcome you."

"We brought brownies," deadpanned the black-haired woman with an even expression that gave nothing away.

I blinked. "Um, thanks."

She shoved the pan of brownies at me, the tin foil covering crinkling loudly. I took it, touched that someone was welcoming me to the town. "I appreciate you swinging by. I need to get out and meet more people, but I've just been busy with work."

"What do you do?" the blonde woman asked.

"I'm a general contractor," I said, shifting on my feet. I wished I was more social. More comfortable around people. I used to be, but that trusting, easygoing spirit had been wrung out of me by my ex.

"Nice! I'm a line woman," Paisley responded.

I grinned. Damn. I rarely met a woman who did hard labor like that, though her shoulder muscles confirmed it was true. Honestly, it made me like her instantly. "That's amazing. You don't happen to know any female subcontractors, do you? I'm trying to build my crew and am finding most of the men to be big ol' babies."

Marlo snorted. "Ain't that the truth. Can't even handle a dead body."

I did a double take at that bizarre comment. Marlo was Paisley's exact opposite in every way. I focused on Paisley instead, mostly for safety reasons.

"Hey, you want to have lunch with us tomorrow? There's five of us women that get together and maybe between us we can think of some subs to help you." Paisley looked so excited I wanted to say yes.

I hooked my thumb over my shoulder. "Oh, I would, but I have a little one."

Paisley brightened further. "So do we!"

Georgia chose that moment to shove between me and the doorframe, staring up at the ladies. To my surprise, it was Marlo who squatted down and held out her hand.

"Hello, princess. Do you like chocolate?" Georgia nodded and put her hand in Marlo's. "Then you're going to love what we just gave your mama."

Georgia's face lit up as she quickly looked up at me.

"You should bring her," Paisley said. "We bring all our kids too and the owners of Grass are so nice, even though we make a mess." Then she looked down at Georgia. "I have a daughter your age. Her name's Aster."

Georgia gasped and tugged on my leg. "Mama! Tha's my friend! Ashter!"

I smoothed Georgia's hair away from her face and looked at Paisley. "Big bouncy light brown curls?"

Paisley nodded. "That's her! This is Georgia? I've been hearing so much about her!" She reached out and put her hand on my arm. "Now you have to join us tomorrow!"

I knew making friends would be good for business, but as friendly as these two were, I still felt out of place. Like I'd never be cute enough, smart enough, at ease enough to fit in.

"That would be great," I heard myself say, cringing internally. Georgia squealed and Marlo showed her how to fist-bump before they said their goodbyes and left.

Georgia tottered around the house, babbling about Aster and our plans together tomorrow. I had butterflies in my gut about meeting new people, but there was no going back now. Instead, I found the box marked Em-clothes and dug out a sundress I hadn't worn since before I had Georgia. Hopefully it would still fit.

At the very least, it took my mind off Warrick's offer and my ex's sudden appearance.

Pure chaos. That was what lunch turned out to be, and while that would normally drive me insane, the ladies were so kind I couldn't help but hope they'd invite me back. We had eight kids between us, all six years and under. Food did, indeed, litter the floor beneath our feet, but as a whole, we tipped outrageously to make up for the cleaning that would have to happen after we left. Diego, the owner of Grass, waved me away when I told him that if he brought a broom, I'd be happy to sweep everything up.

"I am a father, I understand these things. Children are messy, and one day, they'll learn to clean up their own messes. But today is not that day. Let them be kids a little longer." He patted my shoulder. "Also, will you swing by later this week? I have a project on our restaurant that I need a general contractor for."

I assured him I'd stop by. Keva, one of the other ladies who'd showed up for lunch today, reached over to squeeze my hand. "I hear you need more female subcontractors."

I nodded. "I hired some men, but they turned out to be pretty worthless. I thought I might have better luck with women."

"You are indeed in luck. I meet a lot of women in my business, both here in Blueball and in Hell. I'll ask around for you."

"Thanks. I have yet to make it to Auburn Hill, but hear it's a cute town."

Audrey, a tiny thing with long blonde hair and a million-dollar smile, laughed. "It's cute, but not as cute as Blueball. My brothers all live in Hell, so this is a long-standing argument."

"I think a lot of the women move to Hell just to gawk at those brothers of yours," Rainey drawled, the youngest of the group. She had a newborn on her shoulder. The women all twittered, agreeing with her.

"It's the silver-fox affect," Audrey said. "Though we have some of those here in Blueball too."

"Have y'all seen that Wolfe brother who's back in town?" Paisley said loudly, wiping food off Aster's face.

"Warrick, right?" Marlo asked. "They were several years ahead of us in school. I didn't know them back in high school, but I remember his parents being awesome. They'd let us pet their farm animals. Like our very own free petting zoo."

My face grew warm at the mention of my new client.

"But I'd like to know them now," drawled Keva, making the ladies all laugh.

"You're married, woman. Keep your hands to yourself," Audrey said, giving her friend a wicked look.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking too. Not that I had any right to Warrick.

"I'm not touching!" Keva said innocently before her face morphed into an evil grin. "I'm just looking. He's very nice to look at, don't you think?"

The girls all agreed. I stayed silent, wishing I could disappear into the background. I absolutely would not be commenting on the looks of my client. Or say anything about moving in with him.

"Listen, we're all happily married, Em, but if we weren't, Warrick Wolfe would be the first man I'd flirt with." Audrey winked at me.

"He wears snakeskin boots," I finally said, offering my first thoughts on the subject.

Paisley whistled under her breath, her voice barely a whisper. "He looks like he'd be an animal in bed."

Audrey leaned forward, eyes gleaming. "Overpowering, you know?"

Marlo nodded. "Strong, for sure. "

Keva dealt the deathblow. "You know he could last all night, even in middle age."

I scraped my chair back, face so hot I felt like I might have a sunburn. Their thoughts mirrored just a shade too closely to my own. "Sorry to dash out of here, but I have some work I have to do this afternoon. Thank you all for such a lovely lunch."

The ladies all stood and gave me hugs, promising to invite us to the next lunch. Despite the conversation topic that had me running like a scared goat-dog, I'd enjoyed our lunch. I could see myself being friends with them.

Georgia tried to pitch a fit about leaving Aster, but I promised we'd arrange a playdate soon and that was enough to get her to leave the restaurant without a full-blown meltdown. Her mother, on the other hand, was having an internal meltdown. The talk about Warrick had taken that nagging little voice that whispered how handsome the man was and poured gasoline on the fire.

I needed to get home and take a cold shower. I had zero intention of ever getting involved with a man again, and certainly not now that I was in the middle of a shit show in my personal life. It was all the marriage talk Friday that had gotten to me. That was it. I just needed to tell him no and then everything would go back to normal. I'd call him Dick, he'd call me Slaywright, and I'd work on his house while throwing insults at him. He'd smirk and walk off, getting his ass handed to him by a farm animal. All of that I could handle.

Except when I got home, I didn't get that cold shower until much later that night. Because I'd spent the rest of the day on my phone, researching court cases and calling lawyers' offices again. The panic was back and this time it had nothing to do with Warrick.

My ex had texted me while I was out to lunch with the ladies.

Cayden: You might as well call me back, Emmerleigh. The court won't like how you absconded with my child. Better we work this out before we go in front of a judge.

My hands shook so hard with rage I could barely read the screen. Absconded with his child?? There were so many things wrong with that one sentence I didn't know where to start. I didn't take Georgia from him. I begged him to be involved in her life, but he refused. In fact, he fired me and then left me out on the street to fend for myself, pregnant with his child. Once I realized who he really was, I hadn't even gone after him for child support like I should have. I just wanted him out of our lives. Hence, the move to Blueball and our fresh start here.

Now he wanted to come back into our lives acting like he was the victim? Hell no.

Georgia may have some of his genes, but that didn't mean she was his in any way that mattered. I'd raised her by myself for five years and he could rot in hell for trying to take her from me now. I would fight this with everything I had. Every dollar, every ounce of my sanity. Even if I lost, Georgia would know that her mama went down swinging for the fucking fences.

Me: Go to hell. See you in court.

I threw the phone on my nightstand. The loud clatter made me wince. I paused, listening for Georgia, wondering if I'd woken her up. When I heard nothing for long minutes, I sagged to the bed and hung my head.

I would fight this, there was no doubt.

Even if it meant asking for help. Even if it meant humiliating myself.

Sucking in a deep breath and letting it go again, I grabbed the phone and fired off another text. This time to Warrick.

Me: I accept your proposal.

The bubble indicating he was writing me back appeared instantly.

Warrick Wolfe: I'll call the courthouse tomorrow and get the ceremony set up for Tuesday after you drop Georgia off at preschool.

My thumbs hovered over the screen. I bit my bottom lip and tried to push down the rising panic about the direction my life was going in. I should say thank you. I should explain why I'd said yes when I had had every intention of saying no up until that text from Cayden tonight.

Instead, I turned my phone off without a reply and went to bed.