Saving the Single Mom's Heart
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Allie Kincheloe
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CHAPTER ONE
“YOU KNOW WHAT would be great? If I had a dad to pick me up from school.”
Jess Daniels glanced up at her son in the rearview mirror and tried not to sigh at the familiar topic of conversation. Mason was relentless with his idea that she needed a man in her life, if only to be his dad. “Miss Freya says no one should be alone as much as you are. Miss Freya says that she works all the time and she still goes to see her friends more than you do. Do you have any friends besides Miss Freya?”
“I have friends, Mason.” She just didn’t see them as much as any of her friends would have liked. But that came with the whole single mom situation, didn’t it? Getting a sitter was hard and expensive.
“Do you know how to get a boyfriend? Miss Freya says if I want a dad, then we gotta find you a boyfriend first. But I’ve never seen you have a boyfriend, so you might have to take lessons or something. Like when I go to karate lessons.”
“Boyfriend lessons?” Jess snorted.
That boy was determined he needed a dad, and soon. And as long as the man knew how to play video games and throw a ball, then her son wasn’t too choosy. From the time he was old enough to realize that most kids had a dad somewhere in their lives, Mason had been asking questions about his own father. Questions that were proving harder to answer now that he was no longer content with the explanation that his father had passed away before he was born. But she sure wasn’t ready for him to learn the truth about his paternity.
She’d have to have another talk with Freya about encouraging Mason like this. Why couldn’t anyone understand that Jess wanted to be alone? She might have let Freya believe that her lingering love for Mason’s dad kept her from dating since it gave her a reprieve from being set up. Some things were harder to get over than grief though, like broken trust. It had been almost eight years since she’d lost Clint, and it might be another eight before she could bring herself to trust another man. She got so tired of hearing about how she really needed to just be brave and put herself out there. One heartbreak didn’t mean all men were all bad. Take a chance on love. Have faith.
Meh.
The potential positives didn’t outweigh the probable negatives. She was fine being single. Mostly.
“There’s a Doughnuts with Dad thing at school next week,” Mason informed her. “And I can’t go because I don’t have a dad.”
“Tone down the dramatics. You know I’m allowed to go with you instead.” She’d gone to the Muffins with Mom and the Fruit Cups and Family events with him already—why not a doughnut day? She hated the designated days for each parent. It was unfair to the kids who didn’t have an intact traditional family.
“It’s not the same,” Mason huffed. “I need a dad.”
“If we ever see a dad store, I’ll be sure to pick one up.”
“Ha-ha.” The kid didn’t appreciate Jess’s sarcasm. “I’m not going to fall for that. I’m not five anymore. Hey, what do all those lights mean?”
Jess swallowed hard as she took in all the icons illuminated on the gauge cluster of her aging sedan. A lot of money for repairs she just didn’t have at the moment, that’s what they meant. Her chest tightened as she glanced into the rearview mirror and changed lanes before pulling the car off onto the shoulder.
“The car seems to be having some trouble.”
“What about my ice cream?”
“Mason, honey, we will get your ice cream as soon as we can.” The upbeat tone she spoke with only partially masked her worries—hopefully enough that Mason wouldn’t catch on. She thanked her lucky stars she was able to get the car out of traffic and that her son’s biggest worry was that he might not get ice cream.
After easing the car to a stop, she put it in Park. The faintest whisp of smoke curled up from under the corner of the hood. That could not be a good sign. Would this finally be the repair that crossed over the value of her little car? Jess rubbed a hand over the steering wheel and sent up a little prayer that the car would be fixable. A new one was so not in the budget right now.
“Stay here while I see how bad this is.” She looked over her shoulder to her seven-year-old. “Do not get out of this car until I tell you it’s okay.”
He nodded, but she’d have to keep a close eye on him. Mason could get into trouble faster than she could blink. She dug her cell phone out of her purse and handed it to him. That should keep him occupied and safe for a few moments, at least.
“Call Freya and ask her to come get us. Tell her we’re on the interstate coming home from baseball. Okay?”
At his nod, she popped the hood and, after checking for traffic, stepped out of the car. She lifted the hood and stared at the smoking engine. She knew nothing about cars, but still, she had to look. What was she going to do?
Whatever it was, it wouldn’t be fixing this car by herself; that was for sure.
Rather than step back into traffic, she moved to the passenger side of the car. She opened the front door and tried to reassure Mason that everything was fine. “It’s going to be okay. Is Freya coming?”
“She said she’s got a meeting with the hospital mister tater, and she can’t come till after.” Mason handed the phone back to Jess with very little concern for what Freya’s words meant.
“The hospital administrator?”
“Yeah, that.” Mason shrugged. “Whatever.”
Jess wanted to laugh at how completely unbothered Mason was about his vocabulary mix-up. She envied the confidence her son showed sometimes, how he could make a mistake and just brush it off and move on. He didn’t dwell on it like she would. Her mind liked to remember embarrassments from her childhood like they were current events. And the mistakes she’d made as an adult? Those were practically on a reel in her mind, circling through anytime she found herself in similar scenarios.
“Well, let’s see if we can get the tow truck out here soon.” She looked up the number for the repair garage, although she should have it memorized or saved in her phone given how frequently she used it. She gave them the location and the mechanic confirmed they’d send the truck out but it might be a while. She thanked the man and hung up the phone.
“Gonna be here a while?” Mason groaned.
“That obvious?” She reached back and brushed a lock of hair away from his eyes.
“It’s always a while when we gotta wait for the tow truck.” He shrugged. “Wanna play a game?”
