My daughter must have been thinking the same thing because her tiny nose scrunched up and she gave as fierce a scowl as a three-year-old could muster. “Are we going to see the mean man again?”
I sighed and smoothed some of her dark hair back from her cherubic face. “No, honey. I’ll make sure we don’t see the mean man ever again.” It wasn’t a promise I was sure I could keep, but I felt the likelihood of running into the thug in broad daylight was slim. And I was hoping the threat from my huge, tattooed savior was enough to keep the creep at bay. I couldn’t stay locked up in this apartment forever. I could hardly stand to be imprisoned within these desolate walls as it was. It was like a jail cell. Just the idea of shorter hours at work with nowhere else to be made me antsy.
“Go get your shoes and we’ll go. We can stop somewhere along the way and get ice cream.” I hadn’t managed to scare up a cake for her last night, so even though it was a frivolous expense I couldn’t afford, I owed my kid a solid, and I was going to pay up.
She came back with a mismatched pair of tiny Chucks. Instead of making her find two that matched, I let her wear a black one on one foot and a pink one on the other. It was cute and irreverent, just like her. After tossing my hair up into a messy ponytail and shoving my feet into my own battered Chucks, I clutched Noble’s hand and headed out the door.
We had only put one foot in the hallway when a door down the hall swung open and an angry woman popped her head out. She had curlers in her hair and a cigarette dangling out of her mouth. She squinted in our direction and gave a nasty sneer.
“You’re too loud. Keep it down.” Before I could open my mouth and apologize, she slammed the door closed, forcing it to rattle on the hinges and the bang to echo down the hall.
Noble jumped and I shook my head in irritation. Her slamming the door was twice as loud as our dance party had been. I soothed Noble when she started to bounce around nervously and guided her down the steps. I helped her skip over every other one, and by the time we hit the entranceway, my arm was screaming and I’d worked up a sweat. I was going to be gross by the time we trekked to the car and hauled everything back with us. I was tempted to call a cab, but if I did, there definitely would not be enough money for ice cream. I wasn’t about to disappoint my kid if I could help it.
We both hopped over Lester who appeared to be sleeping soundly on the front steps, as usual. At first, the homeless man freaked me out and I hated stepping over him like he was nothing more than a discarded piece of garbage on the street. It took a few weeks and several awkward conversations with him to realize that if he was passed out, it was because he got his hands on something nasty, and it was better to leave him be. When he was awake and sober, he was a perfectly lovely man. Unfortunately, those times seemed few and far between.
Noble was making sure not to step on any cracks in the sidewalk. There were so many, it proved to be a daunting task which had her skipping around like a deranged bunny. I was so focused on her antics that I didn’t notice the huge figure coming around the corner at a rapid pace. Noble was directly in his path. His long legs ate up the distance at a steady jog, and he had to jump to the side to avoid plowing Noble over. She fell backward onto her butt as the tatted-up man leapt to avoid her.
He had on the same hat he had been wearing the night before, and a pair of mirrored, aviator sunglasses covered his eyes. I could see my shocked reflection staring back at me as he paused, putting his hands on his knees so he could catch his breath. I wasn’t sure if he was winded from his run, or from the near-miss with the wide-eyed three-year-old at his feet. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, so I could see he was inked from his collarbone all the way down to the waistband of the black, nylon shorts he was wearing. Even his legs had random images and swirls of color decorating the strong lines. A light sheen of sweat covered every inch of his taut, artistic skin, highlighting his well-defined muscles and the lines of strength that made up his impressive build. He wasn’t my type. Not at all. In another life, I wouldn’t have thought to look twice at a guy who looked like him. Tattoos weren’t common in the circles where I used to travel. Now, caught unwillingly in this new life, I was having a hard time looking away.
I helped Noble to her feet, and noticed my daughter was also stunned into a rare silence in the presence of this imposing, impressive man.
He popped out one of his earbuds and pushed to his full height. I wished he weren’t wearing the mirrored glasses so I could see the color of his eyes. It was an odd reaction, so I cleared my throat and wiped my free hand nervously down the front of my jeans.
“Uh… Sorry. She’s been inside all day and has excess energy to burn.” He lifted his chin in acknowledgment and I tried not to swallow my tongue as a single drop of moisture slid down the strong line of his throat. I cleared my throat and squeezed Noble’s hand so tightly she squealed and gave me a questioning look. “Umm… thank you for the rescue last night. I should have said something before taking off, but yesterday was quite possibly the second worst day of my life and I wasn’t thinking clearly. That guy was very scary; I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t intervened.”
He took out the other earbud and wiped his forehead with his forearm. “Don’t worry about it. Skinner won’t be around anymore, and if he is, just let Lester know and he can pass the info on to me.”
I glanced at the homeless man in surprise. I wondered how the stranger knew his name. “I’ll do that.”
The nearly naked man in front of me stretched his arms over his head and I couldn’t look away from the ripple and flex of his clearly defined abs. His body was ridiculous in all the right ways. I’d never seen a man in person who looked like he did. He was like one of those irrationally, unrealistically hot Instagram guys, but one who was standing in front of me in all his muscly, sweaty glory. I knew somewhere in the back of my head he was dangerous, and I shouldn’t be so nonchalant about chatting him up, but I figured I owed him the common courtesy I bypassed the night before. One thing I had left was flawless manners.
He cocked his head to the side and asked, “If yesterday was the second worst day, how did you survive the first one?”
That wasn’t a day I ever talked about. It was the day that changed everything. The only reason I survived the day was because I had to for the little girl clutching my hand and watching the stranger with wide, curious eyes. I blew out a breath and changed the subject as quickly as possible.
“You ever have one of those days where it’s one thing after another and it feels like the universe is trying to tell you something? Trying to tell you to give up?” I shrugged before he could answer me. “My car broke down. My babysitter quit. My job cut my hours. The icing on the cake was getting attacked on the way home. Like I said, it was a bad day, but that doesn’t excuse me running off without thanking you properly. I owe you more than I can ever repay.” I couldn’t think about what might have happened if he hadn’t shown up. My mind wouldn’t allow it.
He dipped his chin again. “No worries. I happened to be in the right place at the right time.” He moved to put the earbuds back in and I considered myself dismissed, but before he could block out the sound, the homeless man on the stoop roused himself into a sitting position and pointed a finger at the man looming in front of me.
“Go help the girl with her car, Solo.” His finger wavered but his voice was surprisingly clear as he issued the order.
Noble bounded up on her toes and tilted her head to the side. “Solo?” My kid was obsessed with Star Wars so there was no way she was going to miss the unusual name.
The man looked down at my daughter, and finally, a grin cracked the stern expression chiseled on his ruggedly handsome face. “Solomon. Solo is my nickname.”
Before I could stop her, she stuck out her hand for the big man to shake. I gulped when her tiny hand disappeared in his much larger one. “I’m Noble.”
He nodded at her. “That’s a pretty name.”
His head moved in my direction and I bit back a sigh. “Orley.” I tossed out my own name reluctantly. “And don’t worry about the car. We’ll figure it out. Seriously.” I wasn’t sure I wanted to spend any more time in his company. He made me feel weird and unsteady. There was a low vibration I could feel humming throughout my body standing this close to him, and I had no time for any kind of distraction.
He didn’t bother to hide his sigh or his aggravation. He whipped off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair. “No, just let me run up and change and I’ll look at your car. I don’t have to work until this afternoon. I’m a mechanic. If I can’t get it running, I can get it towed to the garage where I can work for half of what you’d pay someone else.” He snorted. “If I don’t help you out, Lester will never let me hear the end of it. It’s the neighborly thing to do, after all.”
Before I could argue, he dashed up the stairs, stopping to say something to the homeless man that I couldn’t hear. I wanted to tell him I couldn’t afford a mechanic, half-price or not, but he never gave me the chance.
So not only was he a hero, but he also lived in my building. I hated the way that knowledge sent an excited shiver up my spine.
Lester shifted and leaned on the step he was using as a bed. His words didn’t sound slurred, and his eyes seemed incredibly focused as he watched me decide if I was going to wait around for the stranger’s help or not. “Solo’s a good kid. Let him help you out. He’s a wiz when it comes to anything with a motor. He’ll fix you right up.”
Only an idiot would take the word of a homeless junkie at face value when it came to someone else’s character, but damn if I didn’t want to.
Solo
I had a mile-long list of things I was planning on getting done before I had to go to the garage. I’d already been to the gym, put in a few hours sparring, went for a run, and threw in a load of laundry. I still needed to go to the grocery store so there was more than water and old pizza in my fridge, and I wanted to stop by and check on my mom. It had been a few days since I’d had anything resembling free time, and I didn’t like to go too long between visits. I was going to take her flowers and see if she wanted to go out for a walk. She didn’t get out nearly enough when I wasn’t around. But now I was committed to helping the pretty redhead and her adorable kid. I wasn’t exaggerating. If I walked away, ignored the fact she was having car trouble, Lester would never let it drop. When he was sober, the man was part pit bull and part guardian angel. I stepped over him at least twice a day and really didn’t have the time or patience to deal with the hassle he would give me every opportunity he could.