Chapter Three

Austin

I never saw things going this way.

As a participant in the gig economy, I worked three jobs at any given time just to stay afloat. Task helper, delivery driver, and dog walker among others. My husband’s passing left Alice, our daughter, and I adrift. We had ten more days in our home before our time here was up. And I had no idea where we would go after that.

Looking around at the packed boxes, I wondered what to do with even the small number of belongings we had. Most of the furniture and larger items would stay behind since not only did I have nowhere to take them, but they were not mine.

When I met Egbert, he promised me the world, but unfortunately he didn’t have that world to give. If I had known that I’d have been a whole lot more careful about protection. But I was in love and fully convinced we were together forever. Although we weren’t technically living together—not every night at least. He had “business” in another city as well as the one where he met me, and he spent three or four nights a week there with me. The rest, presumably alone in “a small apartment” by himself. But when he was gone, every call I made to him went to voice mail. He would call back after a while.

A very successful man like him, busy with important matters, he did not have a lot of spare time, and I learned to appreciate every moment we had together. He was funny and affectionate and very good looking.

As an alpha, I guess I got cocky. Or at least far too trusting. Our roles were reversed in some ways from the traditional alpha/omega, in that he was the earner and I stayed home and kept things nice. We didn’t go out much. There were so many red flags that I’d closed my eyes to.

I pulled up at the preschool and checked my phone for other work I had to do before the end of the day. So far, I had nothing, but that could change at the drop of a hat, meaning childcare for Susanna.

If not for our neighbor, Mrs. Connolly, a wealth elderly widow in the other penthouse, I don’t know what I’d do. She refused any offer of payment because she didn’t need it and loved Jeannie’s company. I tried to help her out with handyman stuff, but the building handled most of that as part of the HOA fees.

But the two of them together were beyond adorable, having mocktails, playing dress-up, and sometimes just sitting and playing chess. Mrs. Connolly had been a competitive player in her youth and said Jeannie showed promise. At this rate, my daughter would be a grand master at five. It didn’t hurt that they shared cookies and tea while they played.

But we wouldn’t be here by the time she turned five…and likely not living anywhere close enough to this building to take advantage of our neighbor’s kindness. If I found anything at all to rent, it would be on the far side of town in the low rent district. So far, I’d looked at several run-down units and a semi-converted garage that me nobody’s safety or building standards.

It was still better than living in the car…maybe. At least the car was not infested with some of the things I saw scuttling down the hallway in one building.

“Daddy!” The little voice from inside the play yard snapped me out of my blues as it did every time I heard her. No matter how awful the past year had been, I wouldn’t trade what I had gained for everything I lost. And how could I lose what I never had anyway?

My omega died in an accident on the highway. On his way back to me. From his other family, the one he was legally tied to by not only wedding vows but also a family trust that included everything he had. The penthouse, most of the furnishings therein, bank accounts I’d never signed on anyway, stocks, bonds…I had no idea what all he owned—or had actually bound in that trust.

My phone beeped, and I pulled over to read the message. “Looks like I have a job, Alice. Let me see if Mrs. Connolly is free for you to visit for a little while.”

“Okay, Daddy.” She dug in her backpack and pulled out a crumpled paper. “I drew her today. Do you think she will like it?”

I smoothed the page on the steering wheel and studied the artwork. “She’ll love it.”

Mrs. Connolly was available, as she usually was, since the elderly lady rarely left her home, and I escorted my daughter to her before heading out again for the handyman/task helper job I’d received. While grateful for the work, I hated having to be away from her so much of the time.

My phone chimed again with yet another task, and I picked it up only to see a pop-up ad for a dating app that had been turning up several times a day lately. I clicked past it and went off to do the various jobs that came up, not arriving at the building again until after eleven. As I was about to turn off my phone, another ad came in. For the same app.

My last relationship had resulted in my current situation, and taking on another omega had not been on my bingo card, but at this point in the day, exhausted and disheartened, I wondered if a new start wasn’t an improvement.

Really, it couldn’t be worse. And if I didn’t match with someone or didn’t like who they did suggest, I would just continue on as I was.