True Love Cowboy by Jennifer Ryan

Trinity knocked on the door of apartment one-twelve and held her breath, hoping Emmy opened up and was okay.

“Trinity,” she called through the door.

“It’s me. I have yummy stuff for you.” She hoped that eased Emmy’s mind about opening the door.

It flew open and Emmy launched herself into Trinity’s legs and held on tight. Trinity rubbed her hand up and down Emmy’s back. “There now. I’m here. You’re okay.”

Emmy looked up at her. “I’m hungry.”

“You, my little friend, are always hungry.” She tapped Emmy on the nose, hoping to tease her back into a good mood.

Emmy unhooked her arms from Trinity’s legs and held the phone to her ear. “She’s here.” Then she handed it to her. “He wants to talk to you.”

Trinity took the phone and nudged Emmy to go back inside. “I’ve got her.”

“Thank you.” The gratitude and relief in Jon’s voice broke her heart. “I’m about ten minutes out myself.”

“No problem. I’ll feed her, put a bandage on her finger, and brush out her hair.”

Emmy looked nearly as bad as she had last week when they met.

“Is she okay?”

As good as can be expected when she stayed with her mom, Trinity thought uncharitably, but it seemed correct. “She appears to be, but you’ll see for yourself when you get here.”

“Is the place a wreck?”

Trinity glanced at the stack of dishes in the sink, the dirty pans on the stove, the empty food containers overflowing the garbage can. The floor needed to be mopped and the carpet vacuumed. The whole place smelled like cat piss.

“Your silence speaks volumes.”

Trinity simply said, “It could be worse.” If it was, she’d seriously reconsider stepping foot in the place.

She set the bag of food she’d brought on the only space available on the dining table. She put the phone on speaker, set it down, and stacked the mail that had been strewn across the table’s surface. Her nose wrinkled at the dirty dishes, but she piled those up, stacking them atop the ones cluttering the counter by the already-full sink.

“Emmy, where are the forks?”

She pulled open a drawer that had two spoons and one clean fork left.

“Take a seat at the table.” Trinity pulled out the hot container of pasta.

“That’s not spaghetti.”

“Sorry. This is the only pasta we had. It’s called Alfredo. It has chicken in it.”

“What’s the green?”

“Spinach.”

“Just try it,” Jon coaxed over the phone.

Emmy pulled a noodle out, held it up, and slowly lowered it into her mouth. Once the creamy sauce hit her tongue, she smiled. “Yum.”

“You eat that. I’m going to find you a bandage and your hairbrush.”

“Bathroom,” Emmy said around a big bite of chicken and spinach. “This is good.”

“I’m glad you like it. If you eat half, you can have your brownie.” She’d brought a large portion just in case once again Emmy hadn’t eaten in a while.

Trinity found the bandages, hairbrush, and a band. She checked out Emmy’s room across from the bathroom. Toys and stuffed animals littered the floor. Her bed wasn’t made. Two cats slept side by side, nested in a wadded-up blanket on the end of her bed.

“Go away, Puff!” Emmy banged on the table.

Trinity rushed down the hall and pushed the cat who was trying to eat Emmy’s dinner off the table. “Shoo.”

“Do the cats have food?” Jon asked.

She looked around, spotted the empty bowls on the floor, and picked up the largest to fill with water. “No.”

“Check the pantry cupboard,” he called out, his voice growing more irritated with every sentence.

She found the food, filled the bowls as all three cats twined around her legs while she tried to do it, and they jockeyed for position at each bowl she filled.

Steph either didn’t care or simply couldn’t handle taking care of her home, pets, or daughter. Sad. But also, what the fuck? How hard was it to use the dishwasher, toss the trash, and run the vacuum once in a while?

She left the messes alone, wet a paper towel, and went to Emmy and gently wiped the cut on her finger clean, covered it with the bandage, then started working the tangles out of her hair. “So, what do you think of spinach?”

Emmy shrugged. “It tastes like the sauce.”

“Who the hell are you?”

Trinity calmly ran the brush through Emmy’s hair and barely spared a glance for the lanky dirty blonde, who looked anything but friendly. The deep frown and narrowed bloodshot gaze only made her look haggard, but she had the curves men loved and legs for days. “You must be Steph. Emmy’s mom.”

“You must be the one Jon’s sleeping with,” she shot back, her words slow and slurred.

“Tone it down, Steph.” Jon’s voice had gone cold and flat.

Steph stared at the phone on the table. “What is she doing in my house?”

“Where the hell have you been?”

“Out,” she snapped. “What the hell are you feeding my kid? She hates vegetables.”

Trinity lifted a shoulder and let it fall. “She likes spinach.”

Emmy slurped up another long noodle, then popped a spinach-draped piece of chicken into her mouth to go with it.

Trinity started braiding Emmy’s hair down the back of her head.

“Who let you in?”

Trinity raised a brow at that stupid question.

Jon took over. “Emmy called me because you left her alone. You’re lucky she didn’t set the house on fire when she put a can in the microwave and blew it up.”

Steph rushed to Emmy, grabbed her arm, and shook it. “What did you do? I told you to eat the cereal I left out.”

Trinity took a step closer to Steph. “Let her go. Now.”

Jon walked in with his phone in hand, tapped it to end the call they’d been on all this time, and stared at them facing off. “Steph,” he said in warning.

She released Emmy but not without some force.

Emmy frowned, her eyes glassed over, and she rubbed her sore arm.

Trinity stepped back, took the end of the braid she’d finished, pulled it tight because it had come loose when she let go, and wrapped the band around it.

Emmy sat staring at her half-empty container of food.

Trinity went to her side and touched her chin to get her to look up. “Finished?”

She nodded.

“Let’s go see if the stars have come out yet while you work on that big, fat brownie.”

Trinity picked up Emmy, who held her plastic-wrapped brownie against her chest.

Steph stood her ground in front of them. “You’re not going anywhere with my daughter.”

Jon had enough. “Let them pass. You and I need to talk.”

Steph spun around to confront him. “This is my night. You shouldn’t even be here.”

“Someone needs to be here! She’s four. You can’t just leave her alone in the apartment with a box of cereal.” He couldn’t believe she’d set the box and jug of milk on the coffee table and walked out the door. No bowl. No spoon. Did she expect Emmy to pour the milk in the box and then dump the cereal into her mouth?

And how dare she grab Emmy like she did?

How often did she lose her temper when she was drunk and do something like that, or worse?

He didn’t need to hear her slurred speech to know she’d been drinking. He could smell the booze, cigarettes, and pot on her.

He didn’t think he’d ever been this angry.

“She was fine. I wasn’t gone that long.”

“You left her alone! Whether it was two minutes or two hours doesn’t matter. You should not have left her at all.”

“She was watching TV. I was only a couple apartments away. She could have come to get me if she needed something.”

“She’s four. She didn’t know where you were. How is she supposed to remember which apartment you went to? They all look alike. In a matter of minutes, she cut herself and could have burned this place down.”

Steph rolled her eyes. “Don’t be dramatic. She broke the microwave. Big deal.”

“It’s a huge deal!” His voice boomed through the apartment. “What if she’d turned on the stove and burned herself? What if that can had done more damage and she got caught in the blast? What if you’d taken your phone with you and she couldn’t call me for help?”

“Yeah, well, I won’t make that mistake again.”

Shock stopped his heart for a second. “Seriously. That’s what you have to say? You won’t leave her a means to get help when you abandon her.”

Steph’s arms went rigid at her sides and she leaned in. “I did not abandon her. I went to see a friend.”

“And got drunk off your ass. Mother of the Year, Steph.”

The snide remark made her eyes blaze with anger. “You think your little blond friend is so great.”

“She’s a thousand times better than you!” He didn’t often yell, but she pushed all his buttons tonight.

The hurt in Steph’s eyes turned to fury. “Then get the fuck out and go be with her. Leave me and Emmy the hell alone.”

“Oh, I’m leaving. And I’m taking Emmy with me.”

“You can’t do that. It’s my night.”

“What are you going to do about it? Call the cops? Go for it. I can’t wait to hear you explain the pot smell coming off you and why you left Emmy alone in this mess.”

“Fuck you. I’m doing the best I can.”

“Even when you’re sober you can barely take care of her properly.”

“Yes, I can.” Steph raked her trembling fingers through her own disheveled hair.

“Really? So Emmy didn’t go to school today without her homework packet and lunch?”

She held her arms out wide. “We were running late. I overslept.” Her hands fell and slapped her thighs.

“Because you were hung over?”

The suggestion made her eyes narrow with rage. “You don’t know anything.”

“I know I’m not leaving Emmy with you tonight.”

Steph grabbed a cigarette from the pack on the table and lit up. “And what about your date with little miss perfect?” She blew a stream of smoke right in his face.

He stepped back before he gave in to the urge to do or say something he’d really regret. “She knows Emmy comes first. She’ll understand.”

“What a saint.” Steph sneered at him. She had no right to be jealous, but that never stopped her from acting out whenever he had someone in his life.

He tried, again, to push her to do the right thing. “You swore things would be different here.”

“You can make new friends, but I can’t?”

“You can’t choose them over our daughter.”

“I didn’t. I wasn’t gone that long.” She really didn’t get it. She didn’t think she’d done anything wrong. “If she hadn’t called you, none of this would be happening.”

“So this is her fault and you’re upset that you got caught?”

“I’m pissed that you and that bitch showed up at my house. You think you can make all the rules and I just have to go along.”

“We have an agreement. If you can’t hold up your end, then I will do whatever I have to do to protect my daughter and keep her safe.”

Steph pointed her finger at her chest. “From me? I’m her mother.”

“Then act like it!” He glanced past her at the wreck of a kitchen and living room. “What happened to this place?” She’d worked hard to clean and organize the apartment. It hadn’t lasted long.

She rolled her eyes. “It’s been a busy week. I’ll clean it up this weekend.”

“You better. Because Emmy’s not coming back here if you don’t.”

Her whole body went rigid. “You can’t do that.”

“I will.” He didn’t care what the agreement they signed said. If she wanted to take him to court, she’d have to explain to a judge why he refused to comply. “Clean up your act, Steph. I’m losing patience. I’ve given you enough chances to get this right.” He went to the entry and found Emmy’s backpack and checked to make sure everything she needed for school was inside.

Steph held the chairback in a death grip. “You can’t take her from me.” The alcohol-fueled bravado fell flat with him.

He went to the table and rummaged through the pile of mail and found Emmy’s packet. He stuffed it into the bag and turned to Steph. “Don’t make me take her away from you.”

With that, he walked out, closing the door behind him on a string of shouted “I hate yous” and “fuck yous.”

He didn’t care how she felt about him. He just wanted her to do right by Emmy.

It took him a minute to spot Trinity and Emmy across the courtyard lying on their backs on a bench with their heads at the center. Trinity’s legs draped off one end, her feet planted on the ground in a pair of sexy black strappy heels. Emmy’s feet hung off the other end in the new pair of purple tennis shoes he bought her.

The anger washed out of him at the sight of the two of them stargazing.

“I wish I had a baby sister,” Emmy announced, startling him. “Then I’d have someone to play with.”

“I have three brothers,” Trinity told her.

“That’s a lot of brothers.” Emmy didn’t sound like she wanted that many siblings.

“With all of them, I wished I could be alone sometimes.”

“Your turn,” Emmy prompted.

For what, Jon didn’t know.

Trinity pointed up at a star. “I wish I could sing like Adele.”

Emmy tipped her head back to try to look at Trinity. “I can sing. Twinkle, twinkle . . .”

Jon listened to her sing the whole song at the top of her lungs. She wasn’t anywhere near as good as Adele, but Trinity clapped for her at the end like she was.

“That was amazing.”

Jon leaned over the bench, his face inches from Trinity’s. Surprise shone in her eyes at his abrupt appearance. “I think you are absolutely the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.” He kissed her softly.

“What about me, Daddy?”

He stared down at his daughter. “You’re fantastic, baby.” He kissed her on the forehead. “Did you have enough to eat?”

“I ate the whole brownie.” She held her arms out wide to show him how big a brownie she devoured.

“Trinity spoiled you.”

“It was sooo good.” And Emmy looked happy now that she was away from Steph.

“And you didn’t save even one bite for me.”

Emmy shook her head and pointed at her chest. “Trinity gave it to me.”

“We need to work on your sharing.” He grinned down at her despite her lack of generosity where brownies were concerned.

“Maybe she’ll bring you one next time.”

He really hoped he got a next time. Which meant he needed to break the bad news to Trinity, who now sat on the bench turned toward Emmy.

“It’s getting late,” she said. “We should get you home and ready for bed.”

Wait. “What?”

“I’m sure you’ve got something in your fridge I can turn into dinner while you give her a bath and read her stories.”

“Trinity, you don’t need to do that.”

“Thursday night is date night with Emmy, right?” She held out the edge of the skirt of her dress. “I wore my pretty dress to show her.”

He was sure that sexy black number with the deep V neckline was just for him.

She stood and held her hand out to Emmy. “We should go.”

The apartment door behind him opened. “Jon,” Steph called out.

He didn’t even bother to turn around before he followed the swing of Trinity’s hips as she walked away. He caught up and took her hand, ready for another date night in with her.

What he wouldn’t give to have her stay the night with him, too.