Misty Reigenborn Romance Boxed Set (62 page)

“I hope your damned baby is worth losing the only decent man you’ll ever find over.  Men like me don’t come around twice in a lifetime Robyn.  I believe that a woman should be taken care of by her man.  Where do you think that you’re going to find another man that will take care of you the way I have?  You ain’t gonna find one.  If you’re lucky maybe you’ll find yourself a fat slob that has money and will let you take care of your whiny little retard, but do you think you’re going to enjoy poking around the fat rolls to find his dick so that you can suck it?  With the men I’ve seen you come on to, that kid is going to be a bona fide ‘special’ kid.  Good luck you dumb slut.”

Fuller turned to walk out of the room.  Robyn put a hand on his arm.  He turned back to her and gave her a look that could kill.  “Unless you’ve come to your senses and are going to tell me who baby daddy is so that I can beat the fuck out of him, and then call your parents to further rectify your little oops, you can take your hand the hell off of my arm.”

Robyn removed her hand and moved further back onto the bed.  The look in his eyes made her wonder if he would hit her.  “I’m so sorry Fuller.  I love you, but I can’t abort this baby.  That’s like murder.”

Fuller snorted.  “Dumb bitch.  Abortion is a cleanup process for sluts like you who don’t know how to keep their legs closed and can’t get enough dick.  You wanna know why I didn’t touch you intimately once that whole three months?”

“Um.”

“I’m gonna tell you anyway.  It was because you’re so damned nasty that you didn’t even bother to clean yourself after you were with another man.  I shoulda kicked your ass to the curb then, but I am so stupid that I thought you’d change your ways if I taught you a little lesson.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Do I have to spell this out for you Robyn?  I’d tasted another man on my tongue.  Why do you think I quit kissing you between your legs?  I always make you come when I go down on you.  Why do a job half assed?  I know that when I want a blow job, I want a full on blow job.  I want to shoot down your throat.  Oral sex with you has always been good.  You swallow and you know how to keep yourself clean down there-not like some nasty bitches.  But that day, you didn’t clean up after another man left a deposit.”

“Fuller that is absolutely ridiculous.  I have never been with another man since I was with you.  I don’t even remember the day that you’re talking about.”

“I sure as hell do.  I’m outta here.  I’m tired of your lying and your slutty ways.”

“But the rent is due soon.  You can’t leave when I’m pregnant with your child.  I can’t get the rent money in time even if I do get a job.  And the landlord won’t let me pay it late because we’ve been late so many times already.”

“You should have thought about that before you spread your legs for every Tom, Dick and Harry around.  Get your boyfriends to help you out.  You should have enough of them to collect the rent money.”

“Fuller, how can you say those things to me?  I love you and I’ve never cheated on you.  I thought you’d be happy that we were having a baby.”

“You were wrong.  I told you over and over that I wasn’t ready to be stuck with a damned kid.  You’re supposed to be on birth control.”

“I am on birth control.  Nothing is 100% effective.”

“More lies.  You probably haven’t been taking it.  Have a nice life bitch.  I hope you’re happy with the mess you’ve gotten yourself into.”

“It’s not a mess.  I’ll raise our baby without you.”

Fuller had slapped her across the face before she’d had time to blink.  She put her hand to her face and gave him a look that she hoped showed him how hurt and betrayed she was.  Not that he looked like he cared she thought.

Without another word, he turned and walked out of the room

When she had heard the front door of the apartment open and shut, Robyn let her tears flow.  She had no idea what in the hell she was going to do.  She had no idea how she could have been so dumb as to end up with a man like her father.  Her father had been accusing her mother of messing around for as long as Robyn could remember, though she was pretty sure that her mother never had.  Not that she knew for sure of course, but she sincerely doubted that either her mother or her father had ever cheated.

They were both overweight and unkempt.  She’d always thought that her mother might have been beautiful if she’d ever bothered to completely brush out her hair or maybe even smile every once in a while, or wear something besides the loose house dresses that she always wore when she wasn’t at work.  Her father had been bald since she was a child and had bad teeth and wore stained and dirty clothes even though her mother always kept up with the wash.

Fuller was certainly more attractive than her father, but everything else seemed to fit.  An angry alcoholic who was always convinced that his woman was messing around-even if the idea was ridiculous.

Robyn pulled the covers back over her and racked her brain for what she was going to do.  She knew that she was going to go to the free clinic tomorrow that served the low income and the few homeless people that resided in Brunton.  There was a shelter and she understood that it was well funded and a lot nicer than some shelters were, but she dreaded to think that she’d end up there.

She fell asleep shortly after she closed her eyes.  She awoke early the next morning and sat up in bed.  She thought she heard a noise in the living room and moved to the edge of the bedroom doorway, thinking that Fuller had come home and chosen to sleep on the couch.  But the apartment was empty of anyone save her.

She sighed as she went back to the bathroom.  There was still no nausea, but she didn’t think she’d miss morning sickness it if didn’t plague her.  She used the toilet, washed her hands and her face and took a quick shower.

She dressed and headed towards the clinic, wishing that her car were running, but then she realized she wouldn’t have had gas money even if she had had her car.  The walk was short and she signed in, and sat in the waiting room with the other walk in patients. 

She was at the clinic most of the day, but they confirmed her pregnancy and gave her the names of several local doctors and the information to file for Medicaid.  They advised her that she should be fast tracked and approved right away since she had no income, but Robyn was still worried about both herself and the child that she carried as she walked home with a heavy heart.

Fuller didn’t return home that night.  She thought about calling him, but decided to let him cool off.  She was sure that he would or at least she hoped so.

The next morning, her cell phone rang.  Her heart beat fast, because it meant that Fuller had paid the bill.

She picked it up and said a breathless “Hello.”

“You got your rent money yet bitch?”

Robyn swallowed hard.  “No.”

“Less than a week.  You better start sucking dick soon.  I felt sorry for you and turned your phone back on this month, but it’s on you next month.”

“Fuller can we please talk about this?  Even if you don’t want to be with me, don’t you want to see the baby, be a father?”

“Hell no.  Even if that thing that you carry does happen to be mine, I don’t want a damned thing to do with it.  I know guys that have sidestepped child support and gotten away with it, so don’t expect another dime from me.  I hope one of your other boyfriends will support you while you get all fat and nasty.  It’s a sad thing to see a pregnant woman busting her fat ass for minimum wage.  Pathetic really.”

“Our child is not a thing.  If you don’t want to pay child support, I’ll do it all myself.  But you can always see the child.  I’m not the kind of woman that would keep you away from your child even if you’re not paying child support.  I’m sure you’ll change your mind once the baby’s born.”

Fuller snorted.  “Yeah right.  And don’t you think that welfare and all that other crap you’re gonna have to get to raise that brat by yourself is gonna come looking for me?”

“I’ll only take the help if there’s no other way.”

“Uh huh.  Have a nice life being tied down to a kid that’s probably gonna grow up to hate you like you hate your parents.”

“I don’t hate my parents.”

“You do.  And I can see why.  They’re disgusting fat slobs that don’t understand the importance of personal hygiene or housekeeping.  I shoulda known better all around.  Damn.  But I looked into your pretty eyes and drank in the sight of your fantastic body and I was gone.  Men should stop thinking with their cocks.  It gets them into way too much trouble.  It’s gonna suck trying to find a bitch that knows when to shut her mouth, gives head like you do, and keeps herself fresh and clean where it matters the most.  Goodbye Robyn.”

Fuller hung up on her.  Robyn shut her phone and sighed.  She knew she had to start looking for a job.  She got out of bed, and her first bout of morning sickness hit her.  It hit hard.  She lay on the cool tiles of the bathroom for fifteen minutes after she’d finished throwing up. 

She washed her face and then took a long, hot shower.  She returned to the bedroom and dressed carefully, wondering how easy it would be to get a job in such a small town.  She’d heard that there were usually jobs as maids or at restaurants both fast food and sit down, but she’d had both jobs and didn’t much like either. 

She walked downtown and applied at every place she could think of, but nothing looked too promising.  Most either weren’t hiring at all or wanted someone only part time.  She couldn’t pay the bills on a part time minimum wage job, let alone try to start buying things for the baby or to make payments to get her car out of the shop.

The waitress at one diner laughed when Robyn asked if they were hiring and said it was a family owned business.  She’d ran it with her husband, her sister and her husband until earlier that year when her sister had gotten divorced and moved to Indiana with a much younger man.  They were running it themselves now, but the waitress said that they very rarely hired any outside help. 

She did feed Robyn for free and send her towards a local bar though.  Robyn thanked the waitress, but didn’t plan on applying at the bar.  She’d heard less than favorable things about both the owner and his wife, though she wasn’t sure she could point out either of them if she saw them.

But after another two days of looking for work with no real luck, Robyn was desperate and decided to give the bar a chance.  She figured she could always keep looking for work and take another job down the line if it was necessary.

Chapter 2

Robyn stood looking at the neon lights of the sign above the entrance to the bar and wondered if she could really bring herself to go inside.  She wouldn’t be here if Fuller hadn’t walked out on her she thought.  She was there now not only because the waitress had mentioned it, but her neighbor had told her that not only was Gabe’s Place always hiring, they hired female bartenders more often than males and paid them more on top of it.  Normally, the very thought would turn her off so much that she wouldn’t even think about getting a job there, but today she was desperate.  She had to come up with the rent money quick or she’d be out on the streets.

She took a deep breath and opened the door to the bar, breathing in the scents of stale beer and popcorn.  There was a good looking guy behind the bar, who turned and flashed her a smile.  Her thought was that his smile had probably caused many a woman to fall right into bed with him.  Hell, Robyn thought, she probably would have fallen into bed with him herself a couple years ago.  Right now, she didn’t want anything to do with any man, thanks to Fuller, and certainly not one who hardly bothered to raise his eyes from her chest.

She made her way over to the bar.  The bartender said “What can I get you beautiful?”

“An application please.”

“Let me go find the boss to see if we’re still hiring.  I’ll be right back.”

He flashed another killer smile and came out from behind the bar, making his way down a short hallway.

She hid a sigh and wondered if she should leave.  Maybe I’ll just call my parents she thought, brushing her dark hair back over her shoulder, and beg them for money yet again.  She had a feeling they’d had enough of her asking for loans though, especially since she hadn’t been able to pay them back everything that she’d borrowed the last time, when Fuller had lost his job yet again. 

The bartender returned.  With him was the most gorgeous man she thought she’d ever seen.  He was tall with shoulder length blonde hair.  His t-shirt was tight and with the way it molded to his chest, she could see that his muscles were perfectly defined.  He had a black band tattooed
around both of his biceps and the most beautiful pair of baby blue eyes she thought she’d ever seen. 

He smiled at her.  “I’m Gabe.  You’re looking for a job?”

She almost decided to give up on her vow to stay away from men until she noticed the gold wedding band on his ring finger.  Damn, Robyn thought, why do all the good ones have to be married?

She cleared her throat, suddenly wishing for a cigarette.  She’d quit smoking as soon as she found out about the baby, but boy did a cigarette sound good right about now she thought.  The way Gabe was looking at her told her that he didn’t care about the wedding ring on his finger.  “Yes.  I bartended for about six months where I used to live if that helps.”

“Wonderful.  Why don’t you come back to the office with me and we’ll get the application process out of the way?”

He gestured for her to follow him down the hallway.  She got up and followed him.  There were bathrooms on either side of the hall and a door at the end of the hallway that had a sign on it that read ‘Boss Man.’

He saw her looking at the sign.  “An ex-employee bought it for me.  Everyone seems to think it’s funny, so I kept it up.”

She nodded and followed him into the office.  She was nervous when he shut the door behind them, wondering if maybe Gabe had more in mind for her than hiring her.  She glanced at the pictures on his desk.  One was of a gorgeous woman with flaming red hair, bright green eyes and multiple tattoos.  The other was of a little boy and girl.  They both had dark hair, the boy appearing to be around nine or ten and the girl a few years younger, maybe five or six Robyn thought. 

Gabe reached into his desk and pulled out a single paged application, sliding it and a pen across the desk to her.  She filled it out quickly and handed it back to him.  When he took it, she was sure that he let his fingers linger on hers extra-long on purpose.

He barely glanced at the application before sliding it back into his desk drawer.  “It would be part-time at first.  You would be working Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.  We close at midnight on Monday through Thursday and one a.m. on Friday and Saturday.  Are you willing to start tomorrow?”

“Yes.  I really need the money.”

“I’ll start you out at $10 an hour with a raise possible every six months after.  The raise will be substantial if I’m pleased with your work.”

Why did she suddenly wonder if he was talking about her bartending skills, Robyn thought?

“You’ll also have your tips of course.  They should be quite good for a woman as beautiful as you Robyn.  Wednesday you’ll be working with Eric, the guy who’s bartending right now.  Friday you’ll work with Neal, and Saturday you’ll work with Kasia.  All of the other bartenders are very friendly and I’m sure you’ll fit in quite well. Welcome to the team Robyn.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome to have a drink on the house if you’d like.”

“I can’t.”  Then she blurted out “I’m pregnant.”

She wondered if he’d change his mind about hiring her.  She hadn’t been planning on telling him about the baby right away. 

“I see.  Congratulations.  Did you say something about needing money?”

She looked at him, wondering if that was his way of telling her that he’d pay her to sleep with him.  She’d heard rumors about other girls that had worked there before.  How Gabe bought them things as long as they were willing to do whatever he wanted in bed.  She had never really believed it.  Until now, because of the way he was looking at her. 

“Well, um, my rent is due.  I have to pay it in the next three days or I’m going to get kicked out.  If you could give me an advance on my paycheck that would really help.  I’ll get it back to you, I promise.  I’ll work extra hours.”

Gabe shook his head.  “I take very good care of my employees.  Think of it as a hiring bonus.  Is there anything else you need?  Have you seen a doctor?”

“Once at the free clinic.  I’m waiting to see if they approved me for Medicaid.”

“That covers so little.  I’ll make sure that you have health insurance.”

“I can’t really afford to pay for it.  My boyfriend just left me and I don’t have anything for the baby yet.  I’m not due for another six months, but time goes so fast.  I‘m sure my baby will be here before I know it.”

“Don’t worry about anything Robyn.  I’ll take care of everything.”  He reached across the desk and squeezed her hand.  “Anything you need Robyn, and I mean anything, don’t hesitate to come to me for it.”

“Thanks.”

“How much is your rent?”

“Five fifty.  It’s normally only five hundred, but they charged us, well, now just me I guess, a late fee last month that we couldn’t pay.”

“Your boyfriend left you while you’re pregnant with his child?”

“Yeah.  He was outta there as soon as I told him.”

“Some men.  If I was the father of your child, I’d never leave you.”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Am I making you uncomfortable Robyn?”

“No.  I mean yes, kind of.  I’ve heard some things around town.”

Gabe laughed.  “Small towns and their rumors.  I don’t expect anything in return from my employees when I choose to help them out, other than reliability.  I was lucky enough to marry into a very wealthy family.  I’ve been able to take some of my wife’s wealth and put it into some
very profitable ventures of my own.  I have the means to help people out and I do.  I happen to have a soft spot for vulnerable women.  You seem very vulnerable right now Robyn.”

Gabe was starting to make her extremely uncomfortable.  She had a feeling that he was picturing her without her clothes on.  She’d been trying to forget his comment about being the father of her child, but he was making it very hard. 

“I don’t like to think of myself as vulnerable Gabe.  Yeah, my boyfriend left me, but I’m going to be a good mother to my baby, even if I have to do it all myself.”

“Of course you will.”

He turned to the safe that was in the corner of his office and spun the lock to open it.  He pulled out a thick wad of cash and put it into an envelope that he took out of his desk drawer.  “That should cover your rent and get you through until payday.  Are you sure there’s not anything else you need Robyn?”

“I’m fine, really.”

“I didn’t see you get out of a car when you got here.  Do you need one?”

Robyn wondered how he had seen her when he’d been in the windowless office, but then she figured that she had stood outside of the bar for so long that he could have been out front when she’d first arrived.  “My car’s broken down.  It’s at the shop, waiting for work to be done on it.  I borrowed some money from my parents to cover the labor, but I didn’t have enough to pay for the parts.”

‘I’ll take you to pay for it right now.  Then I’ll take you out to dinner.  How does that sound?”

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea Gabe.  You’re married, what will people think if they see us out together at a restaurant?”

Gabe laughed.  “I stopped caring what people in this town thought about me about two days after we moved here.  The only reason we live here is because my wife insisted that our son and now our daughter, go to specific schools that are in this area.  I also very much like the fact that it’s hundreds of miles away from my in laws, but that’s not the point.  You need transportation Robyn.  The weather is going to get colder soon.  I also don’t like the idea of you working at night and walking home.  Intoxicated men sometimes try to take advantage of women, especially those as beautiful as you.”

Robyn suddenly wished that men didn’t find her so attractive.  She was 5’7 and slim, with long dark hair that trailed to her waist and hazel eyes that were usually closer to green. 

“I think I can handle myself around most men.  I took a self-defense class.  I don’t know about letting you do all of this for me Gabe.  I feel bad enough that I borrowed so much money from my parents as it is.  I don’t really want to take anything else, especially since I know I probably won’t be able to pay it back for a long time.  I’m really excited about the baby, but there’s just so much to do.  I want to be ready.  And that includes getting a lot of expensive stuff.  I don’t mind used stuff for myself.   Most of my clothes and stuff come from the thrift store, but there are always so many recalls on older stuff for kids.  I want my baby to be safe.”

“You sound like you’re going to be a wonderful mother Robyn.  I’ll help you with anything that you need.  I won’t ask for anything in return other than you coming to work when you’re scheduled to, I promise.  I like to help people.  It makes me feel good.”

“Okay, I guess.  Thank you.”

“You’re more than welcome Robyn.  Come on.  I’ll take you to meet Eric and then we’ll go and get your car taken care of.”

“Okay.”

She was still a little leery as she followed him out of the office and down the hallway.  With all the rumors that went around about him, she couldn’t imagine him honestly not expecting anything from her.  Then again she thought, in small towns’ rumors always ran rampant.  Gabe was gorgeous and she was sure that there were probably plenty of women that wanted to sleep with him.  It didn’t mean that they really had, she thought, wanting to give him the benefit of the doubt.

When they reached the bar, Gabe motioned for Eric to come over.  “Eric, this is your new coworker Robyn.  She’ll be working with you tomorrow night.  Behave yourself.”

Eric grinned.  “You know I always behave myself boss.  Neal’s the one you’re going to have to worry about.  I don’t think that guy’s been laid in years.”

“I would assume that that’s his choice Eric.  I do believe that he’s got more female admirers than even you do.”

“Nah.  I’ll be good boss, I promise.”  But he winked at Robyn and she had a feeling that he didn’t mean it.

Gabe sighed as he opened the door of the bar for her.  “If he gives you any trouble, tell me right away.  Normally, he saves his advances for the customers because it means he gets better tips, but he has been known to hit on a coworker now and then.  Kasia refuses to work with him.”

Great Robyn thought, if she didn’t have to worry about her boss trying to get down her pants, she was going to have to worry about a fellow bartender trying to get down them.  “I will.  About this Neal guy. . .” She didn’t know how to ask what she wanted to ask.

“Oh, about what Eric said about thinking Neal hasn’t had sex in a very long time.  Neal is one of my most valued employees.  He’s just not your typical bartender.  When he engages customers in conversations, they are normally very serious.  That doesn’t happen often, though.  Usually, he just listens.  If the bar is dead, lonely or troubled customers will talk to Neal for hours.  Women love him, my own wife has even commented on how attractive he is in fact, but no one has ever seen him with a woman.  Some think it’s because he’s gay, others think it’s because he’s waiting for the right woman and doesn’t believe he’ll meet her working at a bar.  Don’t worry about it.  Neal is very easy to work with and you won’t have to worry about him sticking you to clean up by yourself if he’s got a hot date.  Eric has been known to do that, too.  Please let me know if he does that to you, Robyn.  I am tempted to fire him every other day for his antics it seems, but since I hired him business has only gotten better.”