Page 18 of Born Daddy

At last, he got his feet beneath him and Tate raced through the restaurant, banging into chairs, his gait unsteady from the adrenaline coursing through his body. He barely registered Lolly’s startled expression as he bolted out of the door, his vision assaulted by the abrupt change from the dim coffee shop into the bright sunshine.

Then he ran. He ran without thought, without a clear destination. Away. Anywhere but there, his once safe haven and friendly morning stop forever tainted by the mysterious stranger who’d invaded his world. His world that couldn’t seem to stop shrinking, that wouldn’t be satisfied until Tate’s life was a meaningless, lonely existence with no purpose or hope.

His lungs burned and dots of light danced in his eyes. He had to stop, but terror drove him forward until at last he fell against the side of a brick building, his shoulders hitting hard before he slid to the sidewalk in a loose-limbed pile of defeat. Tate’s chest heaved with the effort to catch his breath, sweat pouring down his face as he fought the allure of unconsciousness.

“Hey, man. You okay?”

Tate’s eyes fluttered and he glanced up. What Tate assumed to be a homeless man stared down at him with concern, both hands clutching the banged-up grocery cart that carried his worldly belongings as if at any moment someone might swoop in and carry them away. Tate supposed that was a reasonable fear in this man’s situation.

The man’s brow furrowed, the permanently etched lines of his forehead deepening as he regarded Tate. He scratched his bearded chin decorated with generous streaks of gray, and that, along with the abundance of wrinkles in his dark skin, proclaimed he’d gone way past the mid-point of life.

“Someone try to roll you?” He waved his hand around. “I ain’t seen you around this neighborhood before. You new to the streets?”

Tate took a moment to soak in the surroundings. He recognized the neighborhood from his bus travels through town. He’d somehow ended up on Dale Street, next to the park. A lot of the inhabitants in this part of the city were down on their luck and trying to survive the best they could. In addition, there was the element of danger from the drug dealers and desperate people who wouldn’t hesitate to kill over a twenty-dollar dispute.

He’d been warned by Lolly not to wander too far north.

Tate peered up at the concerned man again. “Uh, no. Not exactly. Just a creepy guy who was trying to mess with me.”

The guy nodded. “Lots of those around here, too.” He extended his hand to Tate. “But you’d best not sit on this sidewalk here. You got no place to stay, I can give you some decent options, shelters that might take you in for a time. Otherwise, I’d find somewhere else to rest your bones for today.”

Tate accepted the man’s offer and allowed himself to be yanked up from the concrete. “Thanks.” His legs were still a bit wobbly, but there was a bus stop he knew of a couple blocks over and he figured he could make it that far. “I’ll be fine. I’ve gotta go see some people about that guy.”

He’d had enough.

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