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What am I missing?
Mom appeared at my elbow. Her hopeful gaze added a weight I didn’t need. “And?”
“She didn’t recognize me.”
“Did you ask for her number?” she nagged.
“I gave her mine.”
Mom rounded on me. “That girl is hiding something from you.”
Mom and her crazy ideas. “She’s not.”
“She is! I saw it in her eyes. You might’ve noticed if you weren’t eating out of that girl’s hand.”
I shot her a look. “You’re forgetting yourself, Ma. You need to go home and lie down.”
“You let your baby walk out of here!”
“I’m not stalking a woman just because her toddler looks like me.”
As Violet slipped outside, I scowled. That kid wasn’t mine. The idea I’d ever crossed paths with someone like Violet? Laughable. But his face…we had to be related.
I didn’t want him to be.
Me, a father? That was a terrible joke. My life was too dangerous for fatherhood. I was too wicked to be anyone’s role model, my hands stained with deeds no child should know. Too cold. Too ruthless. A kid looking up to me would be a tragedy. I lived in the shadows, where tenderness and warmth didn’t exist.
No, that boy couldn’t be mine.
He shouldn’t be.
TWO
VIOLET
“Watch it, buddy!”
Street grime splashed over my boots as a car sped around the curb. I cursed as I inspected them. Black flecks clung to the suede, which given my luck, would probably stain. Was there no end to this horrible week?
“Motherflipper.” I straightened, glancing at Jack. “You alright?”
Jack froze beside me, his small hand clutched in mine. Muck trickled down his face and onto his bright red coat. I knelt, grimacing.
“I’m sorry, baby. Some people just don’t care about anyone else.” I wiped his cheek with my sleeve, and he looked up with wide eyes.
“He was going really fast.”
I squeezed his hand tighter. “That’s why we always have to be careful, okay? Big cars, little us.”
He nodded.
I stood up and faced the crosswalk. Boston’s gritty streets were a far cry from winding roads lined with wildflowers. In Fairmeadow, the stars shined brighter, their light competing only with lightning bugs. Here, buildings loomed like mountains, but they lacked the warmth of the Blue Ridge peaks cradling my home.
The signal turned green.
We hurried across Morton Street. Once we reached our building, Jack slipped out of my grasp and bounded up the steps.
“Auntie Violet? Can we get a kitten?”
