Page 10 of Dancin' with Demons

“I promise, Renegade. I’ll be there.”

“Good,” he says, smiling just a little. “Now, get your beautiful ass inside so I know you’re safe for the night.”

I take a steadying breath as I open the door and close is at quietly as possible behind me. Heading into my building, I stop just inside, where I know Renegade can’t see me, and glance back at his truck. He’s got his head back, and his eyes closed, an almost goofy kind of smile on his face. I watch as he opens his eyes and laughs to himself before starting the truck and pulling back out onto the road.

Heading upstairs, I can’t help but wonder if tonight was real. Three years and Renegade just happens to show up at the diner out of nowhere. That’s got to be like lottery-winning odds. By the time I get to our floor, the natural high Renegade put me in is wearing off, and my feet ache. Ugh, it’s been too long of a day with way too much emotional and physical work. Softly, I knock on Miss Irene’s door and wait. When she opens it, she’s in her nightgown and house coat, her long white hair down and draped over her shoulder. I swear, sometimes she reminds me of old lady Rose from the beginning of Titanic. And I could totally see Irene throwing a billion-something-dollar diamond into the ocean, too.

Turning to the side, she beckons me in. “You’re later than usually, honey. Did something happen? Are you okay? You look stressed.”

Sighing, I kinda shrug. “Some old acquaintances from Tennessee showed up at the diner tonight, and then one of them came back to talk after my shift ended. I’m sorry for being late.”

Miss Irene’s eyes widen. “Was it that fellow you told me about? What’s his name? Ren-something.”

I giggle, heat spreading across my cheeks. “Yeah. And two friends from his club and one of their girlfriends.”

Miss Irene shocks me as she waggles her eyebrows. “Anything happen?”

“Miss Irene!” I playfully swat at her arm, making her quietly laugh. “He wants to meet tomorrow to talk. The diner at noon.”

“And you don’t want to?” she tilts her head again to meet my eyes.

“It’s not that,” I say, finally glancing at the sofa where my baby girl is sound asleep.

“Oh,” Miss Irene says knowingly, “he doesn’t know about Savior.”

Biting my lip, I shake my head. “I didn’t find out I was pregnant until after I came here, and I left so quick back then, I didn’t even get his phone number. We literally haven’t spoken since I disappeared from the hospital the day I told you about.”

“Well, child,” Miss Irene says with another soft smile, “if this man is anything like what you described to me, then I think you at least owe him the meeting and an explanation. Don’t you? Savior can hang out with me while you’re talking. But don’t keep her a secret, honey. If he cares about you, and I mean truly cares, he’ll understand that it’s a package deal.”

“Thanks, Miss Irene. What would I do without your words of wisdom?”

“Crash and burn, darling. Crash and burn.” We both laugh, and then I head over to the couch and scoop Savior into my arms.

As I’m walking toward the front door again, Miss Irene grabs her keys off the little peg inside the door and goes to open my front door. She’s the only other person that has a key in case of emergencies. After she pushes the door open, she kisses Savior’s head and reaches up to pat my cheek before going back to her apartment. Using my foot to gently push the door closed, I shiver. It’s cold in here tonight. After getting Savior tucked in on the couch, I get the kerosene heating going and make sure the window closest to it is still cracked. Sometimes, the fumes can be an issue, and I made sure to look these things up when I found it and fixed it.

Right now, this heat is better than no heat. Lighting one of the candles, I grab a pair of sweats and a sweater and head to the bathroom. A shower is necessary after that long of a shift because I smell like burgers, fries, and grease. It’s gross. Thank god the water is warmer than the air, or I’d be frozen by the time I step out. After towel-drying my hair and running the brush through it quickly, I pull on socks and head back to the living room. Savior is still sound asleep, so I carefully get on the couch with her, laying my head at the opposite end so that we both fit, and adjust my pillow and blanket, covering her with part of mine, too, so that I know she won’t get cold. Resting my head on my pillow, the heaviness of my eyelids hits me, and I let them droop closed.

Sleep comes quicker than it ever has as thoughts about Renegade dance through my head.

# # #

Jolting awake, I sit upright on the couch, disoriented as shit. The sun is blazing through the windows, and I glance up at the wall clock. Seven in the morning. I jump as several bangs come from the front door, hard enough to shake the wall and loud enough to wake the dead. I hurry to get out from under my blankets and answer it before they wake Savior. My days off are usually our days to sleep in. Right now, she’s snuggled under her blanket so much that she just looks like a pile of bedding.

The knocks come again, and I run over, unlock the door, and yank it open. “What the fu— oh, shit.”

Renegade is standing outside my apartment, features tight, eyes narrowed, arms crossed over his chest— all types of pissed off. “You forget to mention a few things last night, little love? Like the no electricity in your apartment part.” I open my mouth, but Renegade literally steps right past me and into my living room. My eyes dart to Savior as Renegade’s voice gets louder. “Or how about forgettin’ to mention the late rent and lack of funds for shit like food? Raylynn, what the fuck?”

Rolling my eyes, I try to not snap. “We didn’t really get to the hows-your-life-been part of the conversation, remember?”

“You shouldn’t be in this situation in the first place, woman!” Renegade’s voice vibrates through my apartment.

As he opens his mouth again, I finally snap. “Shut the fuck up and lower your goddamn voice!”

His mouth slams shut as he stands tall, and the look on his face is equally hot and terrifying. The moment he takes a step forward, I step back, and that’s our movement until my back hits the wall behind me. Shit. Renegade smirks as he puts one hand on the wall next to my head and brings the other one to rest on my hip.

“Brave talkin’ to me like that, little love.” Leaning down, his lips barely touch my earlobe, sending shivers right down to my feet. “Very, very brave.”

“Mommy?” My whole body tenses at Savior’s voice, and so does Renegade’s, and my heart picks up to a million miles a minute. “Who’s that?”

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