Page 11 of Rejected Broken Mate

"No," I said, shaking my head. "What's your question?"

She turned her eyes towards the clipboard. "My first project is getting the annual firehouse fundraiser set up. It looks like you guys went over the budget last year, and I was wondering what the normal was.I was trying to find it writtendown somewhere, but no offense....you guys don't have a great system in place."

I blew some air out and thought. In past years, I helped out with scheduling and setting things up. I wasn't great at it, so we went over budget. "Probably four."

"Hundred?"

"Grand."

Her eyes widened. "You spend four grand on a fundraiser?"

I nodded, "Yeah, we made over twenty-eight back."

She shook her head. "No, I mean you shouldn't be spending four grand a year. What are you even spending it on? How much did you spend last year?"

I blew some air out, trying to remember. "I don't remember."

She shook her head. "Okay, well, we will be coming back to that. What is the amount you guys want to get?"

I shrugged again. "What was it last year?"

She glared. "Do you not remember?"

"No, I wasn't in charge of it."

She grumbled, rubbing at her eyes, and I noticed she had circles. She clearly tried to hide it under makeup, but it was wearing after the day.

"You look tired. Didn’t sleep well?"

She shook her head. "I'm working off about four hours of sleep, so no, not really."

"Did you have a man over?" I joked, pulling at the hose. The switch to turn the spray on didn't flip, and I scowled.

"No, I had to take my son to the ER last night."

The hose turned on and started to spray, and we both jumped as it sprayed over the air. She scowled. "Hey! Watch where you're pointing that thing."

I just stared at her in shock. She had a kid? Did I hear her right?

She looked at the clipboard, flipping through the papers, wiping at the water, and my eyes tracked her hand, looking for a ring. I didn't see one or a line from a ring recently being taken off.

My heart felt like it was being yanked out. So, she'd had some kind of relationship. She had a child, so clearly, she had been with someone she had cared about in the past. How old was he? When did she have him? Who was the dad? And was he in the picture?

"I didn't realize you had a son."

She looked at me and then shrugged. "We haven't exactly been in touch, Miles."

I felt like I was freefalling. I opened my mouth and shut it, unsure of what to say. She pulled the clipboard close and tilted her head. "What?"

Was it even right of me to ask who the father was? Was it my business?

"Nothing."

She raised an eyebrow. "I know we haven't seen each other in a long time, but I know your faces still, and that is the expression you have when you have questions, so ask."

I shouldn’t, it’s not my business, but I wanted to know. "Are you… with someone?"

She shook her head. "No, it's just me and Michael.”

---