Page 8 of A Simple Life

“I have to go. He says⁠—”

I had no interest in hearing what her husband or boyfriend had to say. Or why she had to leave. She shouldn’t have been here in the first place, and I should have walked away when she offered to buy me a beer.

I turned and did exactly that.

3

QUINN

John disappeared into the crowd, gone before I could speak again. I had seen the horror on his face and heard the shock in his voice when he repeated “daughter.”

He didn’t give me a chance to explain. Instead, he had walked away.

And I didn’t have time to run after him to try to make him understand.

I hurried to the parking lot, sticking to the lighted area and following a couple heading that way. I breathed a sigh of relief and locked the door, heading to Cathy’s place. I shouldn’t have listened to them when they told me to go wander the fair. To get out and clear my head. I should have stayed home. Been there when Abby woke up with a fever. Memories of my ex and his constant criticism about being a bad mother, a terrible wife, an overall failure of a human being played in my head, and I fought to shut them down. He was wrong.

Yet, as often as I told myself that, his ugly words occupied a place in my mind I couldn’t seem to shut off.

I drove back to Cathy’s, parking the car and hurrying inside. Cathy greeted me, laying a hand on my arm. “She’s fine. I gave her some children’s Tylenol and put a cold cloth on her head, and she’s already cooler. She had some water and wasn’t upset you weren’t here. I told her you were running an errand.” She smiled. “Go see her before she falls asleep.” It was only then she noticed the teddy under my arm. “You got that at the fair?”

I nodded. “Long story. Jerk I thought was a nice guy. Ran for the hills when he found out I had a daughter. But the teddy will come in handy for Abby.”

She rubbed my arm in sympathy. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine. Not like I was looking anyway.”

I went past her into the guest room where we were staying. Abby was dozing, opening her eyes and gazing at me sleepily as I sat on the bed beside her.

“Hi, baby.”

“Hi, Momma. Did you get your errand done?”

“Yeah. How are you feeling?”

“Better. I was hot and scared, but I’m okay now. Cathy was nice. And Bart gave me a popsicle. It tasted good.”

“I’m glad. This might help too.” I handed her the bear, the pink fuzzy animal making her smile.

“Oh, Momma, I love her!”

“I thought you might.” As soon as I had seen the tutu and the sparkly necklace on the teddy, I knew it was the one I had to pick. I knew there was no doubt Abby was going to end up getting the bear, so I chose one I was sure she would love.

I checked her temperature, pleased to see it was almost normal again. When I had first left my husband, Abby had often woken up scared, her fever spiking. The doctor put it down to anxiety, and it had stopped not long after we were on our own. I should have expected it tonight. I shook my head, knowing I shouldn’t have left her.

Lesson learned.

“Tomorrow, I’m going to take you and show you the town we’re going to live in,” I said quietly.

“Is it pretty?”

“It is,” I assured her, brushing her hair back from her head. She loved a head rub. “Lots of trees and little houses. I saw a park and a playground. There’s even a local swimming pool.”

“Are we gonna live in an apartment?”

“No, a house. I put in an application.”

“What’s that?” she asked, her voice low as she began to drift.