Page 12 of Married to the Don (Kornilov Bratva Duet 1)

Molly

When I get back to Krista’s, Theo is the only kid left. He’s sitting on the floor in front of the television while Krista makes dinner for her own family, who are gathered around the table.

“I’m so sorry,” I say as soon as she opens the door.

She has an apron on and waves me inside with the spatula while she goes back to tend to the chicken cooking on the stove. “It’s fine. It happens.”

I pull out a wad of bills from my pocket, my tips for the day, and hand them over. Krista takes them, looking slightly guilty about it.

“I’ll pay you the full amount soon,” I say. “I get paid at the end of the week, and I’ll cover last week and the overtime. I got asked to stay for another few hours because someone skipped their shift and—”

“And it’s fine,” Krista says firmly. “He’s just been playing by himself. Aside from one mess involving a shampoo bottle in the bathroom, he’s been great.”

I wince, wondering if I should have come down on him harder for the shampoo volcano this morning, but it’s too late for that now.

“But like I said this morning, I can’t do this much longer.”

“I know. I hear you, and I’ll take care of it.” I mean it. Truly. I just hope I can follow through.

Work was so crazy I almost didn’t have time to call Krista about being late. I didn’t get to call her until five minutes after I was supposed to have picked Theo up. I know things can’t go on like this. I can’t continue working crazy hours at the diner and leaving Theo with another family for twelve hours a day. But what other option do I have? I don’t have a degree or any useful skills. I don’t even have a bed.

Knowing I’m letting Theo down is a weight I always carry, but it feels especially heavy today.

Theo finally notices I’m there and runs across the room, hugging my legs. I pat his back and kiss the top of his head. When he sees the chicken Krista is making, he touches his belly. “I’m hungry. What are we having?”

Some days I can snag a wrong order from the kitchen on my way out and split it with Theo, but when Bob is the manager on duty, everyone is extra careful not to make any slipups, so I didn’t get lucky today.

“We’ll talk about it later,” I say, smiling at Krista, hoping she can’t see the desperation in my face. The shelter has been bursting at the seams since the weather turned cold, and I’m running later than normal. I slip Theo into his coat and hurry out the door.

Halfway there, I pick Theo up and run the rest of the way, but the shelter is full by the time we arrive.

The volunteers are always sympathetic, but there is only so much they can do. I look at the line of people being let inside, hoping someone will see Theo and take pity on us, but so many of them have families, too. I recognize some of them who’ve given up their own spots for Theo and me previous times. I can’t ask them to do such a thing again.

“Are we going inside?” Theo asks, looking up at the stone church building. He squints up at the dark sky and then buries his face in my shoulder when a cold wind picks up.

“Not today,” I say, my voice breaking. I clear my throat. I don’t want him to see me cry.

It’s cold and growing colder by the second. I have enough money in my pocket for dinner but not a place to stay. Not even the cheapest hotel rooms are in our price range since I handed my tips over to Krista.

Krista. I could go back there, see if she could take Theo for the night.

As if reading my mind, Theo wraps his legs around my middle and his arms around my neck. “Where are we going, Mama?”

I squeeze him back, knowing I can’t impose upon Krista any further. I’m his mom. I’m the one who’s supposed to take care of him and keep him warm and fed. I’m the one who’s supposed to comfort him when he has a bad dream.

“I’m not sure,” I say, walking away from the church. “But Mama will figure it out.”

Despite the incident this morning, the gym is the first place I think of. It’s open twenty-four hours, and if we find a quiet corner, we might be able to go unnoticed all night. That doesn’t solve the problem of what we’ll eat, but we won’t freeze, and that seems like a good start.

As soon as I pull open the front doors, however, I see the same man from early this morning coming around from the desk and walking towards us, his eyes pinned on me.

I didn’t think he’d still be at the gym, but maybe he had to work a double as well. Regardless, his expression this morning was predatory, but now it’s disgusted.

“Back so soon?” Ted asks, blocking the door with his body. “Have you thought about my offer?”

Theo dozed off on the bus ride over and is still asleep. I can feel his drool pooling on my shoulder.

My stomach clenches as I nod. “I have.”

---