Page 29 of Minnie: Double, Double, Toil and Trouble

I grin. “Were you now?” I drawl, picturing her delicious body in tight yoga pants. Fuck, I wish I wasn’t stuck behind prison walls so I could make her mine.

She nods. “I showed Natty how to do squats, but he fell on his—”

“On my butt!” Natty bursts out laughing.

“He didn’t get hurt,” Minnie says. “And—”

“Time’s up!” a guard booms.

My heart sinks as we all get to our feet. I pull Natty in my arms for a tight hug and try to memorize everything about my little boy, down to the smell of his shampoo. That way, I can replay this moment, over and over again, when I’m missing him so much it hurts.

And then, I’m pulling Minnie in my arms and trying my best not to spring a boner in the middle of the visitation room.

“Thanks so much for coming,” I tell her softly. “And for bringing Natty. Just knowing that my little boy is with you, and that he’s happy, and safe, and taken care of… that’s all I could ever ask for.”

“Of course,” she says quickly, like it’s no big deal that she’s raising my son, when that should be my job. Like she thinks anyone would have taken in a stranger’s baby and brought him to visit his dad in prison twice a week for two fucking years.

“I mean it, Minnie. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” I don’t know what I’ll do if you ever meet someone else. But I can’t ask you to wait for me. I can’t ask you to put your life on hold until I’m out. But I can spend every visit holding my breath, waiting to see if you or Natty will mention another man in your life. Praying that you’re still single when I finally get out of prison, and that you’ll let me be yours.

But I bottle up those feelings and shove them deep down as I watch Minnie carry Natty out of the room.

“You okay, Ri?” Alyssa asks.

I nod, even though I’m not, and she knows it. She’s been locked up in this place almost as long as I have, and of everyone in here, she’s my closest friend. And she’s listened to me pine for Minnie enough times that she knows I’ve got it bad—and that I miss my son so much it hurts.

“Friday will be here before you know it,” Alyssa tells me. “They’ll be back with more tales of swimming and jumping.”

I nod again. I’m not sure if I could speak past the lump in my throat.

She pats my shoulder. “Come on, it’s almost time for lunch. We’re having pasta, and you know that’s the only thing Paul in the cafeteria doesn’t hate cooking.”

“Pasta,” I perk up a little.

“You heard your girlfriend.” Alyssa knows Minnie and I aren’t together, but she can’t seem to help teasing. “She was checking you out. Prison’s been good to you. All that food and exercise is turning you from dad to daddy.”

I scowl. “Don’t ever call me that again!”

Alyssa laughs at her own joke.

I groan. “I hate being trapped in here while they’re out there. Two more fucking years. I don’t know how I’m going to do it.”

She squeezes my shoulder. “I get it. But you’re turning your life around; you’re getting therapy, you’re getting healthier, and you’re working toward a degree and a better job. When you get out, you’ll be there for them in a way you couldn’t have been before.”

And I vow to do just that. I will be there for Minnie and my boy no matter what. Even if that means watching her be with another man.

I just have to hope and pray that no one else enters her life in the years I’ve still got behind these walls.

Chapter 16

Minnie

As I pull Natty’s wagon back into town, I feel a renewed sense of resolve. Zachariah is relying on me to take care of his son, and the little boy needs me. He doesn’t have anyone else.

Amber and her guys are expecting triplets. They can’t take Natty in if this curse kills me. And it’ll be another two years before his dad gets out of prison and is able to care for him.

Which means that it’s up to me to figure this out.

“I need to find a job,” I announce, as if putting those words out into the universe will somehow make one materialize right in front of me.