Desperate

"No, that's fine," Skylar told her. "I can pay you for the first month right now."

"Okay, then it's all yours if you want it."

"Yes, please. I definitely want it," Skylar told her, relieved she wouldn't be driving any further from her mom.

"All right. I'll bring the lease agreement over in a few minutes while you and that handsome little boy of yours get settled in. I'll just need to see your driver's license, hon."

Skylar was very uncomfortable handing it over but knew the landlord had to have some proof of who she was in order to fill in the lease agreement. She pulled her wallet out of her purse and handed her drivers license to Hattie.

"Buckley, Washington. Never heard of it," Hattie said. "You're a long way from home."

Skylar smiled but didn't reply. She only needed five minutes to put 'everything' away before taking one more minute to see the 'entire' place.

"Is this our new house, Mommy?" Benjamin asked as he followed her around.

Hattie informed her exact square footage was 480 so there wasn't much following to do. There was a main room, a tiny kitchen with a tiny table and two chairs, a very small bathroom with a tub and no shower, and one modest-sized bedroom with a very small closet and one three-drawer dresser. There was also a couch which doubled as a bed. There was a nightstand with two drawers next to it with a lamp on top, a recliner, and a small, wall-mounted TV. The floor was covered with a cheap brand of carpeting and that was about it.

"Yes, it is," she told him. "Do you like it?"

"Where's my room?" he wanted to know.

"Um...well, you'll be sleeping out here on this couch which..." she reached for the lever and pulled it, "folds out into a bed."

"Wow!" he said amazed at the magic. "Where will Daddy sleep?" he asked innocently.

"Um, well, Daddy will be staying at our old house for a while," she told him.

"Then he will come and stay with us, right, Mommy?" he said as a statement more than a question. He was only three, but he could speak quite well for a child his age. She only hoped he couldn't yet reason beyond his years.

"We'll see about that," she said before changing the subject. "Do you want to watch TV?"

Hattie had also informed her the cottage had a satellite dish with basic channels and a handful of others. She said she thought they got cartoons but wasn't sure. Skylar hoped it would work as she grabbed the remote. Mercifully, Benjamin was watching the Cartoon Network just a few seconds later and just in time for their new landlord to return with the lease.

"Okay, you're all set, Mrs..." She looked at the lease then said, "Andrews-Lawrence."

"Oh, it's Ms. not Mrs., and I go by Andrews," she said with a smile.

The woman looked at her wedding ring but didn't comment other than to say, "Oh, okay."

Skylar hadn't even thought about removing it, and even now it just seemed wrong to do so even though there was no real marriage left to which she was a part.

The landlord gave her a list of phone numbers for emergency contact and let her know to call her first for any kind of maintenance problem.

"Unless of course it's a broken pipe or something and water's spraying all over. In that case, let me show you where the shutoff valve is along the side of the house."

There was another nearly-identical cottage next to this one separated by a wide asphalt driveway, and as they walked out, an olive-colored Jeep Cherokee was pulling in.

"Oh, look who's home!" Hattie called out. "Skylar, let me introduce you to my nephew."

She saw a younger man get out and wave at the landlord. "Hey, Aunt Hattie!" he called out.

"Hey, Aaron. You've got yourself some new neighbors."

The younger man put on a ball cap and walked around the car.

"Aaron? This here is Skylar Andrews and that bundle of joy right there is her son, Benjamin Andrews."

Skylar wasn't about to tell her his last name was Lawrence or that she'd decided on the spot to go back to her maiden name when she signed the lease agreement.

"Skylar? This is my nephew, Aaron Harmon."

Aaron smiled and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Andrews." He knelt down and said, "Can I get a high five, buddy?" to Benjamin.

The little boy slapped his hand as hard as he could. Aaron pulled it back like he'd hurt it and said as though he were in pain.

"Man! I had no idea you were that strong. Do you lift weights or something, big guy?"

"No, I'm three years old!" he said authoritatively.

"Oh, okay. I knew you were big. I just didn't know you were that big!"

"You're not gonna hurt Aaron. He was an Army Ranger," Hattie announced.

"Really?" Skylar asked with genuine surprise.

"He don't like to talk about it none," Hattie said. "We're just glad he come home in one piece two years ago."

She leaned over and said, "A couple of his buddies wasn't so lucky."

"Okay, Aunt Hattie," Aaron said as he put her arm around her. "I'm sure Ms. Andrews doesn't want stand out here in the cold listening to that business."

"Well, I was just telling her..."

"I know," he said cutting her off in a tactful way.

He looked at Skylar then said to his aunt, "Sorry, but I gotta get dinner goin' so I should get inside."

"Well, okay," Hattie said. "I was just showing Skylar where the cut-off valve is—just in case."

"Ah, now that's important!" he said still hugging his aunt with one arm.

It was getting dark and it was already cold outside. "Ms. Andrews? Benjamin? It was a pleasure meeting you."

"You too, Aaron," Skylar told him. "Say good night to the nice man, Benjamin," she told her son.

"Good night..." He stopped then asked, "What's his name?"

"Aaron," Aaron said.

"Good night, Mr. Aaron!" Benjamin said loudly.

He tipped his hat to Skyler then kissed his aunt Hattie on the cheek before heading inside.

"Oh. Ms. Andrews? If you ever need anything and Aunt Hattie's not around, don't hesitate to ask, okay?" he said to Skylar. "I'm pretty handy with home repair stuff."

"I will if you'll call me Skylar," she said with a smile.

It was hard not to notice he was a very attractive young man. Way too young for her but he was most definitely good looking and from what she could tell under his heavy flannel shirt, he looked to be very well put together. She had a sense he was someone who worked out or worked very hard—or possibly both. For the briefest of moments, she realized she hadn't made love...or even kissed a man in...God, how long had it been?

"I'm happy to call you Skylar, Skylar," he said flashing another smile at her. "Good night, all," he said before disappearing inside.

"He's such a good boy," Hattie said after finally showing Skylar where the valve was. "He joined the Army right out of high school and thought he'd be working on them helicopters, but at the last minuted he wanted to in the infantry and ended up goin' to Ranger school I know he's seen a lot bad things happen over there, and he don't never talk about it."

They walked back inside as she finished the story. "Like I said, he don't never talk about it, but we know two of his friends was killed in Afghanistan the last time he was over there. We was just so glad he made it back, you know?"

Skylar didn't know a single person who'd ever served in the military other than her late grandfather who'd been in Vietnam. She'd heard the term 'Army Ranger' but had no idea whatsoever about what they did, and at that point, she didn't much care. All she wanted to do was take a bath, read the James Patterson novel she'd bought in Idaho the day before, and go to sleep. There'd be plenty of time for new people and new things as she began her new life.

Tomorrow, she'd get Benjamin registered at the daycare center then go to the restaurant and find out when she could start work as well as how much she could expect to make. With any luck, she'd be able to send her mom a check for the full amount with interest in at some point in the not-too-distant future. Then again, that all depended on tips and those varied day by day. In terms of rent, it didn't get any better than what she was paying, so while it was too early to tell what might be left over, she had a good feeling about being able to at least make ends meet on her own.

The following morning, her son was signed up for day care at the Honey Tree, and she stopped by the restaurant with Benjamin in tow where Vern gave her a thorough tour of the restaurant explaining what he expected as they went.

Sherry gave her favorite little boy a sandwich and Vern told Skylar she could eat one meal a day there on the house plus all the coffee she could drink.

When he finished he asked, "So when can you start?"

"Is tomorrow okay?" she asked. "I just drove in yesterday and I really need to buy groceries and take care of a few things."

"That's perfect," he told her. "I know you got daycare for your kid, so you can start at 7am. Sharp."

She'd have to get Benjamin up around 6am and to daycare by 6:30am when it opened to get to the restaurant by 7am, but she didn't care. She had a job and a place to stay and finally—she had good reason to hope.

Back home, she used her cell phone to find the name of a divorce lawyer so she could at least start collecting information.

Her late father used to say, "Information is power, Skylar," and she needed information.

The secretary who answered the phone let her know the lawyer couldn't meet with her on such short notice, but she did give Skylar a handout which covered the basics when she stopped by later on. For now, that was more than enough.

They went back to the dinner and had lunch then went to 31 Flavors for 'choklut 'ous cream', Benjamin's favorite, which he promptly got all over himself to include most of his face causing his mother to laugh for the first time in a very long while.

Skylar couldn't remember the last time she felt so carefree and...happy. Maybe she was mistaking feeling relieved with being happy, but whatever it was, it felt very good.

She cleaned Benjamin up in the restroom then took him to the grocery store where she let him sit in a big fire-engine cart as she learned where everything was located in the new-to-her Albertson's store closest to her new home.

Home. That had a very nice ring to it.

She noticed Aaron's car was in the driveway they shared as she pulled in. By the time she got Benjamin out of his car seat, he'd come out onto the front porch to say hello.

"Need a hand with anything?" he asked.

"I just need to take in some groceries. I'll be fine, but thank you for asking," she said as she opened the trunk.

"I don't mind," he said as he began walking toward her.

He looked into the trunk and said, "That's a load."

"We kind of needed everything, you know? Food, cleaning supplies, the whole nine yards. So, yeah. Pretty much everything."

Aaron didn't ask any questions but then he didn't need to. He didn't need to know exactly what was going on to know something was wrong in her life. The license plates from the state of Washington were the first clue. Then there was this very attractive, older, married woman without her husband, and a small child who'd showed up with nothing but her car. It was pretty obvious she hadn't planned on ending up in this tiny cottage in Billings, Montana. He knew she'd tell him if she ever felt there was some reason he needed to know. Until then, he'd keep his mouth shut and help out in any way he could.

He grabbed several bags and followed Skylar into the house. She thanked him then went to carry some in herself.

"Skylar? This kitchen is so small, you might want to put stuff away while I bring the rest in. Otherwise I'm gonna have to learn to dance with the way we're stepping around each other."

"We don't want that, huh?" she said with a smile.

At the same time, she realized the kitchen counter, such as it was, was already full so unless she got to work emptying them, the floor would soon be covered in bags, too. She looked inside them, grabbed anything that need to go in the refrigerator first, and started stocking it with food, milk, and juice.

Before she had two bags emptied, Aaron was back in the kitchen with four more. "Can I give you a hand putting stuff away?"

"I'd say yes but there's barely room for me in here so unless you really do want to dance with me..."

Aaron smiled then said, "That might not be all that terrible, you know. But for now, I'll just set these down and go grab the rest of the bags."

He smiled at her again, and Skylar found herself experiencing a kind of 'flutter thing' in her tummy—or somewhere close to it.

She put as many cleaning supplies as she could under the sink, but set the bleach on top of the fridge to keep it out of Benjamin's reach. She'd just cleared the countertop and reloaded it when Aaron came in with the rest of the paper bags.

"Okay, you're all set," he told her as he set them on the floor.

He saw a bottle of white wine in the last bag and picked it up. "Not bad," he said.

"Oh, that," she said. "I'm not much of a drinker, but I thought a glass of wine might be nice. You know, a kind of housewarming or something."

She glanced over at him as he put it back then said, "I don't want you to think I sit around drinking alone all the time."

She smiled again and said, "I don't judge people, Skylar. So even if you did, I'd never say...or think anything about it."

"Thank you, it's just that I...I recently got out of an abusive relationship with someone who drank—a lot. I have nothing against alcohol in moderation, though."

"Same here. A lot of my friends turned to booze after seeing some of the things we saw in Afghanistan. I'm not much of a drinker, either, but I'll have a cold beer every once in a while."

She turned toward him then said, "Um...listen. I obviously don't have any beer, but if you'd like, you're be more than welcome to have a glass of wine with me tonight.I really don't like drinking alone, and I don't know a soul yet in town except for your aunt and a couple of people at the restaurant. And it would be my way of thanking you for your help"

"Well, I suppose that'd be okay," he told her. "How about I bring something over to eat? Unless you're all excited about cooking your first real, full day here."

"Oh, I couldn't ask you to do that," she said. "I just thought it might be..."

"You're not asking," he told with a smile. "I'm offering. Besides, I like to cook."

"Seriously?" She laughed then said, "That makes one of us."

Aaron laughed too, then said, "It's kind of a hobby of mine. Believe or not, I find cooking and baking very relaxing."

"Again, that makes one of us," she told him as she went back to putting things away. "I cook out of necessity only. If I didn't have a son, I could live on anything I can microwave."

Skylar just realized the cottage didn't have one.

"I was planning on searing some scallops tonight. It'd be easy to throw a few more in for you and the Big Guy—if he'll eat 'em."

"Seared scallops? I'm impressed!" Skylar told him.

"As good as that sounds, I kind of doubt that Benjamin would eat them," she said. "Now if you threw a hotdog in with them..."

"Consider it done," he said. "What time shall I bring over your catered meal?"

"Aaron, you really don't have to do that," she told him again.

"You're right. I don't have to."

He smiled then told her, "Does the fact that I want to make it any better?"

There was that same flutter again.

She smiled back then said, "It does. So, okay. How about around 6 o'clock? We're still on West Coast..."

She stopped talking immediately then regrouped. "Benjamin gets hungry around then so that's perfect. Or...well, not to invite myself, but we could just come over to your place so you don't have to do the whole catering thing."

"Next time you can make the very long trek over to my place, okay? Tonight I'll bring everything to you."

"Next time?" she said with one raised eyebrow.

Aaron laughed then said, "I guess that'll depend on how well I do tonight. If my seared scallops are a bomb, this might be it."

"I'm sure they'll be wonderful," she said with a smile of her own.

"Okay, so I'll see you in a bit," he said just as Benjamin came in holding his favorite toy car.

"Mommy? I can't get the door back on. Can you fix it?" he asked holding it up as though she had nothing else to do.

"Maybe in a few minutes, okay, honey? Mommy has to put our groceries away right now."

"Let me take a look, good buddy," Aaron said.

Benjamin handed it to him and he immediately saw the problem. "Look right here," he said. "See this little spring? You just have to put it right back...in there."

He snapped it place then opened and closed the door. "Good as new!"

"Thank you!" he said happily before tearing back into his mom's bedroom where he'd been playing.

"Cute kid," he said.

"Yeah, I'm kind of fond of him," she told him. She had nearly everything put away so she thanked Aaron again for his help.

"My pleasure," he told her. He smiled again, tipped his ball cap, and went back to his place.

Skylar picked up the last bag and thought to herself, "You're a very mysterious, Aaron Harmon. Cute but very mysterious."

With everything finally put away and Benjamin playing happily in her room, Skylar took a moment to think about what still needed to be done. She'd gotten some information on the divorce, they now had food, water, household necessities, a roof over their heads, childcare, and she even had a job.

"Not bad," she said out loud. "So...what else?"

The one obvious thing was clothing. All they had was what they'd carried with them which was fine for the time being, but Skylar would need to get both of them some warm clothes and very soon. As cold as it got in the Seattle area, Montana made western Washington seem downright balmy in the winter.

She had two pairs of jeans, four sets of underwear, five pairs of socks, three sweaters, and two tee-shirts. She also had a sweatshirt with a hood and she was wearing the only coat and the one pair of shoes she owned, so she would soon need to start building up a wardrobe for both of them. Benjamin had roughly the same amount of stuff, so for the time being, at least, they could get by with what they had.

As Skylar looked back on all she'd accomplished since her 'prison break' she couldn't think of a single thing missing from her life other than being able to talk to her mom. But as badly as she wanted to do just that she wasn't confident she could risk calling yet. She was imagining Doug driving over there and threatening her, demanding her phone to look for numbers that seemed out of the ordinary. Her mom could handle Doug, but neither she nor Skylar could handle him knowing where she was.

For the first time, Skylar thought that a divorce might be out of the question as seeking one meant giving away her location, and that wasn't something she was ready to do and was starting wonder if she ever would be ready.

For now, she'd bought herself some time and could worry such things later. All she wanted to do right now was close her eyes and relax with the only sounds those her son was making as he played with his toy cars.

"Mommy? Can you play with me?" Skylar heard. She had no idea how long she'd been asleep after she finally closed her eyes.

Skylar thought she was dreaming then realized she'd fallen asleep. She forced open one eye and saw Benjamin standing next to her where she'd fallen asleep in the recliner.

"What, honey?" she asked. "What time is it?"

"I don't know," Benjamin answered.

Suddenly he smiled brightly and told his mom, "Time to play with me!"

She sat up, yawned, stretched, then realized Aaron would be coming over later. She looked at her watch and nearly panicked. It was ten 'til six!