Page 9 of Double Take

My phone rings again, but I don’t answer. It’s not like I know anyone, and I’m not about to risk it being Mario and let him ping my location.

“Katrina, the girl who’s been watching you isn’t feeling well and can’t keep you at her house today or tomorrow.” Once she got home from visiting her mother, who is thankfully back home, Katrina got sick. At first, she thought it was stress, but when it continued, she realized she caught some type of stomach bug while at the hospital.

“Oh….” Her little face scrunches, and her eyes widen. “Can we play?”

“Oh, baby.” My heart aches with regret. She’s been driven across the country, yanked away from everything she knew, because I put myself first, and all she wants to do is spend some time having fun. I kiss her forehead. “I’m sorry. I need to find a place for you to stay so I can get to work.”

“Mommy.” She cups my face with her little hands. “You work too much.”

“I’m sorry, baby.” Tears fill my eyes.

Should I have stayed with Mario? Would she have been better off? No. That’s not true. Mario and his family are narcissistic pigs. They treated me horribly and hated that Sunny was a female child rather than the male heir they’d hoped for.

Not that they wanted me to keep the pregnancy, but when I refused to abort my baby and one of their friends found out I was pregnant, they made the best out of a bad situation. At least in public. In private. We’ve lived in hell.

I poke in the phone number for a different daycare. I don’t think I’ve tried them yet.

“Tiny Tots Daycare.”

Shit. I groan. This was the first place I called. They don’t have any openings until the summer when they hire college students to help with the kids on school break. “I’m sorry. I have the wrong number.”

Knock. Knock. I jump as Sunny scrambles down from my arms and blasts across the floor before I grab her and remind her that we don’t open the door for strangers. “Sunny.”

She stops and stands motionless on this side of the door. Her light brown twin pigtails swing from the abrupt change in movement. “Who is it?” Her little voice carries through the room as she yells into the door crack.

“It’s Axel and Oliver. Is Rylee there?”

She frowns and glances at me. “Only Mommy is here.”

I rush across the room, holding her hand tightly, and peek through the peephole. It’s really Axel and Oliver. And a woman. The woman is blonde with a porcelain complexion. I pat my hair. I already felt frumpy before Miss America showed up. As usual, they look good enough to eat and take up most of my porch with their oversized frames. All except the tiny section for the woman at their side.

“I’m here.” But I don’t want to be. I’m going to get fired for not coming to work and not calling to let them know I wasn’t able to make it. And this perfect specimen of a woman is going to witness my humiliation.

The house. I freeze in place. I can’t let them in. I have a broken sofa, one chair, and a table. Even though Charles gave me money for furniture and clothes, I’ve only purchased the bare minimum to keep all that I could for an attorney and to pay him back. I don’t want to be indebted to anyone. The second I pay for an attorney, I’m sending the rest back to him.

I snatch open the door and step onto the porch. Sunny shakes against me at the cold breeze. Damn it, she’s only wearing leggings and a T-shirt. I hold the door open, step back inside, and wave them in. “I don’t have much.”

“It’s fine.” Oliver puts his arm around me and rubs my upper arm. “We’re glad to see you here.”

“What?”

“We were worried your ex caught up with you and forced you to go back.” Axel snaps the door shut and stomps his feet on the frayed and faded rug.

The woman smiles and waves. The diamond ring on her finger glistens under the single glass bulb hanging down from the ceiling. “I’m Sage.”

Of course, she is. And she’s married to one of them. How could I be so stupid? It takes everything I have not to groan with disappointment. Which one of them is she married to? Just because neither wears a ring doesn’t mean one of them isn’t married to her.

What if she’s with both? It’s like an anvil hits me in the stomach, which is ridiculous because I barely know these guys.

“That pretty,” Sunny says and waves back at her, hopping up and down as she grabs the woman’s hand, shaking it while simultaneously studying her wedding ring. “I Sunny.” She glances over her shoulder. “And this is my mommy.”

Sage’s eyes twinkle as she accepts my daughter’s greeting and laughs. “It’s nice to meet you, Sunny and Mommy. You remind me of my little girl, Adalyn, but she’s a little younger than you.”

“Rylee.” Oliver squeezes my shoulder and drops his arm to his side. “Sage is our half-sister. She stopped by when we realized you were late.”

“We tried to call when we realized you wouldn’t make it on time.” Axel fills the space on the other side of me, and my head spins. Their cologne and aftershave fills my nostrils, making my knees weak. Or maybe it’s the realization that neither of them is married to Sage that has me trembling from relief. “We were worried.” Axel gives me a half smile. “So, we locked up the office and came to find out what was wrong.”

They dropped everything to see if I was okay? “Thank you.” Heat covers my cheeks, and I swipe my hands on my jeans. Even my parents wouldn’t check on me after I dared to get pregnant and humiliate them.

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