Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

E mmerleigh

"We can kill the dummkopf ," Pip offered in between swings of the sledgehammer. She paused, wiping sweat from her prominent brow and flashing me a tight smile that caused more anxiety to flare in my stomach than the damn court summons from last night.

Pip had known something was off the second we started working this morning. I didn't know her well yet, but I had to talk to someone. And that someone could not be Warrick. Jesus, I'd practically melted in his arms last night, letting him hold me up and rub small circles on my back until I got my shit together enough to go back inside the house and clean the pizza off Georgia's face. No more hugging. No more talking. Leaning on Warrick was dangerous. I'd like to think I'd learned a thing or two over the years.

"I don't want to kill him, Pip. I just want him to go away." I'd spilled everything to her, down to the last hideous detail. She was a surprisingly good listener .

She shrugged her massive shoulders and swung again at the countertop in the primary bathroom. The side of the cabinet fell to the floor. Keeping a close eye on her weapon, I edged closer and pulled the debris out of the way.

"Yes, I know. The best way to disappear someone is to?—"

"I'm not killing him," I said firmly, interrupting before she could plan out a murder and send us both to prison. She'd survive prison. I probably would not.

Pip patted me on the back and nearly sent me flying into the mirror that still hung on the wall above the half-demolished cabinet. "We would not be caught, Ms. Em. I know people back in the old country. Very discreet."

She swung again and pieces of the cabinet splintered in all directions. When she leaned the sledgehammer against the wall, we both got busy grabbing the debris and putting it in the buckets and trash bags. As a unit, we exited the bathroom with our hands full to head for the dumpster out front. Warrick was nowhere to be found. He was probably trying to recover from several days of taking care of a five-year-old.

I dusted off my hands after getting everything in the dumpster. "How about we pause for lunch?"

I wasn't hungry. My appetite probably wouldn't return until this mess with Cayden was done with. But I did need a break to call a lawyer. It would be expensive, but I wasn't going to mess around with my baby. Cayden would have to take her from my cold, dead hands before I gave her up willingly.

Pip and I sat on the front porch and opened our lunches. The peanut butter and jelly sandwich I'd made for both me and Georgia didn't look appealing at all. Especially when Pip unwrapped a tuna fish sandwich and the smell wafted over. She took a big bite and set it down, cracking open a soda. She handed me the can first. I took it, feeling parched and probably needing water, but soda sounded better.

"Beer will do a woman good."

I halted with the can already at my lips, sputtering. I swallowed the small amount that made it past my lips and followed it up with a cough. A shiver wracked my body.

"Holy German beer, Pip," I croaked. That shit was a lava river burning down my esophagus.

Pip's massive body shook with laughter. " Ja ! It'll put hair on your chest!"

I shook my head and handed her the can back. I most certainly didn't want hair on my chest. Or to be drunk on the job.

"Should you be drinking that at work?"

Pip took a long swig and then looked at me like I'd grown a second head. "I have beer every day. Why do you think I am so strong?"

I didn't have an answer for that. Pip was the best subcontractor I'd ever hired. The bawdy songs were actually growing on me and the amount of work we'd gotten done was enough for me to overlook the beer drinking at lunch. The downstairs bathroom was done. The kitchen cabinets were in but we were waiting on the countertops and the new appliances to be delivered. As soon as we had the primary bathroom completely demo'd, we'd be on to staining the floors.

"I'll be back. I need to make some phone calls." I stood, brushing off the seat of my jeans.

Pip squinted up at me. "Offer still stands. If you cannot find a lawyer, I will make the call."

And holy shit, I believed her. I gave her a nod, my eyes burning with the solemn offer of support even if I had no intention of taking her up on it. I strode over to Bessie's pen, leaning my arms against the top railing, waiting for the wave of emotion to pass before I dialed the two numbers for lawyers I'd searched the internet for at one in the morning when I couldn't sleep.

Bessie nudged my hand with her snout and I scratched the top of her bony head. We didn't have pets growing up, but something about this stubborn cow spoke to me. She didn't want men milking her and I could understand the hesitation. Men were often cruel and unfeeling. I didn't want them around me either.

A small voice in my head called me a liar when it came to a certain man in snakeskin boots, but I batted her away.

I dialed both numbers, leaving messages about what I was looking for. I couldn't even imagine how much this was going to cost me. I had a little money saved up from selling Mom's house after she passed, but I'd planned to use that toward buying my own house for me and Georgia. Looked like I'd be using it for a lawyer instead. It killed me to take the support Warrick offered in terms of a place to live temporarily, but I needed to think about saving every penny right now for this legal fight. A man who would fire his girlfriend when she got pregnant and then break up with her and kick her out of his apartment, wasn't a man who deserved to be a father. More importantly, Georgia deserved so much better. She belonged with me.

Pip and I returned to work, getting the second bathroom ready for the new toilet and vanity tomorrow. The appliances for the kitchen came midafternoon, so I left Pip to clean everything up while I installed the dishwasher and the refrigerator. I'd finish the sink and the stove tomorrow morning, then get the floors stained. Pip could install the new bathroom vanity by herself.

"What's the M stand for?" a deep voice said from behind me.

I nearly dropped the Styrofoam and cardboard the kitchen appliances had come packed in. Once I'd tossed the armload over the side of the dumpster, I turned to find Warrick at the bottom of the porch, leaning against the railing.

"The M?" I ran a hand over my forehead, wiping away sweat that was making hair stick to my face.

His eyes sparkled with humor. Warrick frequently looked like he was on the verge of laughing. Except when he was mad, like last night after I'd been served. Then his eyes had looked like a wild storm about to break open and cause lethal damage.

"M Builds."

Ah. I let most people think it was a simple initial that stood for my first name. But I'd had a score to settle when I opened my own business two years after Georgia had been born. I walked closer, wanting to get into the shade.

"It stands for Matriarchy Builds."

Warrick didn't answer, but his lips tipped up higher as he studied me. "You need a tagline."

I shrugged. "I thought about ‘women do it better' but felt like that was too antagonistic considering at least half of my clients would be male. Men don't take kindly to that kind of threat."

Warrick ran a hand over the scruff that had grown on his face over the day. Sadly, he looked handsome both clean-shaven and scruffy. I wasn't sure there was a look on this green earth that would make him unattractive. Then again, I'd had my fill of attractive men. They could be snakes just like the ugly ones, sometimes more so.

"I don't doubt it, though I know there are men out there who aren't threatened by a strong woman."

I snorted and went to go up the porch stairs to see if Pip was done for the day. "If they exist, I haven't found one."

He didn't answer, but when I went to find Pip, I saw the door to a bedroom open in the hallway. Glancing in, curious as to where I'd soon be living, I saw a bed and a rollaway with bright comforters. A bouquet of fresh wildflowers was sitting on the dresser in a clear glass vase. And there, right on the rollaway bed, was a stuffed animal with little goat horns and a bright pink sparkly collar.

My hand flew to my mouth and a tiny pebble-sized portion of the chip on my shoulder broke off to tumble at my feet. The man had gotten my daughter a stuffed animal to welcome her to his house. I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath. My heart wanted to trust Warrick, but my logical brain warned against relying on anyone. I'd relied on Cayden with everything and look where that had left me. One teddy bear did not make a good man. I'd do well to remember that the only person Georgia and I could count on was me.

I shoved off the doorframe and marched to the primary bathroom, nearly colliding with Pip as she came out with the shop vacuum.

"All done, Ms. Em."

I managed a smile despite my wildly beating heart. "Do you know any other women builders, Pip?"

She dipped her head, bun still perfectly in place. "I know some people, yes. I will ask around." She brushed past me and walked down the hallway.

"For contractors, Pip! Not the other thing!" I shouted after her, suddenly worried there'd been a language barrier problem. She didn't answer me.

After inspecting the bathroom and assuring myself we were ready for the new cabinet and toilet tomorrow morning, I headed back outside. Warrick had a baseball hat on backwards in the pen with Bessie. The poor thing had wide, terror-filled eyes. I was no farmer, but glancing underneath her belly, she looked ready to burst. If she didn't let Warrick milk her soon, she was going to need a veterinarian. Warrick talked in low tones, trying to sooth her enough to get close, but she wasn't having it. She kicked out her back leg and Warrick quickly jumped to the side, narrowly missing a direct hit.

The stuffed animal flashed through my brain and my heart clanged against my ribs. I couldn't trust the man, but maybe I could help with this one small thing. Without giving it any rational thought, I slipped into the pen and approached Bessie. Warrick's startled gaze whipped to me, his mouth opening. Probably to warn me to stay back.

But if there was anyone who could understand a skittish female, it was me. I lifted my hands and looked Bessie in the eyes. She didn't flinch or act distressed, so I placed them on her head and scratched.

"Hey, Bessie girl. It's alright. I know he's big and ugly, but he doesn't want to hurt you." Warrick made a noise but otherwise kept his trap shut. "I know you miss a woman's soft hands but you need to be milked, sweetheart. If I stay here with you and keep watch, will you let Warrick do it?"

I swore Bessie understood me because she let out a soft moo and nudged her head further into my palm. I looked up and nodded to Warrick. He moved slowly, coming closer and pausing before putting the bucket under her belly and crouching down.

"Sometimes we get desperate, don't we, girl?" I scratched across her head and over her thick neck. She stiffened and I knew Warrick had his hands on her. I kept up a soft crooning voice, seeing her visibly relax as I spoke. "Sometimes we have no choice but to need other people. We have to choose who we trust carefully. Warrick won't hurt you, Bessie."

I could hear the milk squirting into the bucket and I kept talking nonsense to her until Warrick interrupted, his voice low and soft. "I won't hurt you either, Em."

My eyes slid shut and I pressed my face into Bessie's neck. The thing was, I desperately wanted to believe him. I wanted to sink down into that comforting place that was trust between two humans. Except I knew such a place didn't exist. You just sank into an abyss of codependency until the other person cut you off at the knees and left you for dead.

Between spurts of milk, Warrick tried again. "Tell me about him so I can help Georgia. A man who would hurt you so deeply doesn't deserve that girl."

Pain and fear twisted in my gut so hard it took my breath away. He was right. Without even knowing my history, Warrick knew the very essence of the issue. Cayden would not be getting Georgia, but in this fight I needed an ally. I needed someone other than myself to fight off everything hitting me from all angles. I couldn't lose my girl.

Pushing back the emotions, I pulled my head off Bessie and decided to do the very thing I'd promised myself never to do. Because I was a desperate mom, backed into a corner. I'd do anything to protect my daughter, including trusting a man again.

"Cayden and I started dating in high school. He was my first boyfriend. Like all young girls, I thought we'd be together forever. We started a company together after we graduated, and I grew it, working beside him and doing all the marketing he didn't want to do. I kept hinting at getting married and he kept pushing it off, saying we'd get to it after the business took off. Except the business took off and then there wasn't time. A particularly bad sinus infection led to a round of antibiotics and then a pregnancy test turning positive."

Tears burned in my eyes. They always did when I thought of how happy I'd been at the news. And how distant Cayden had become. Bessie nudged my hand. I realized I'd quit petting her, lost in my own thoughts.

"I was so sick those first few months. Couldn't work much. Cayden got more stressed with the workload, probably realizing for the first time how much of the work I'd been doing. Finally, he pulled me aside one day and said he didn't need me on the jobsite any longer. I thought he wanted me to stay home to protect the growing baby, but it became clear all too soon that he was firing me. That night, while I was crying and throwing up from morning sickness, he asked me to move out of our apartment. Not him. Me and our baby had to leave."

"I'll fucking kill him," came a growl from right beside me.

Startled, I looked up into the thunderous gaze of Warrick, milk pail long forgotten. His jaw clenched so tight the muscle on the side spasmed over and over, in time with my heaving breath. He reached up and swept a thumb across my cheek, wiping away tears I didn't know I'd shed.

I inhaled sharply and stepped back. I would not lean on another man. I'd accept some temporary help for my daughter's sake, but this was one princess who was not looking for a knight to sweep in and save her. I was done going down memory lane.

"New business, no family nearby, no home, not even financially stable yet. So basically, I'm screwed. The judge will find me lacking."

Warrick let his hand drop to his side, his fingers curling into fists. "Cayden abandoned that little girl for five years. No judge on the planet will overlook that."

I licked my lips and tried not to latch on to his offer of hope. Broke single moms facing a legal battle didn't have room for hope. I needed to stay realistic and fight like hell.

"I guess we'll see."

Warrick studied me for long moments before he finally reached down for the milk pail and spoke. "We'll definitely fucking see about that."

And then he stalked off, spilling milk the whole way back to the house.