Disclaimer: The characters in my stories are completely made up characters and have temporally been given borrowed names for the sole purpose of satisfying the qualifications for posting on this fanfiction site. These stories are fiction and should be perceived as such. They in no way reflect the lives, beliefs or views of any persons living or dead and any similarities are coincidental. I am not affiliated with any company or professional wrestler in any way. No disrespect or copyright infringement intended. And if any of my favs happen upon my stories, I hope your not offended because this is not about you, it is about feedback on my story ideas. :) I love and respect what you do and I thank you for all the joy and entertainment over the years.


Last chapter tonight guys. Thanks so much for the reviews BlondieC82. :)


Chapter 9

He didn't expect to see Randie the next day. He didn't expect to ever see her again. She wasn't there when he left for work, but when he got home she was there. She was just getting ready to start dinner and must have assumed that he would work his normal double. Probably planning to leave before he arrived. He wasn't sure what to think that about her being there. It didn't make sense why she would want to be there.

His home was a shack. The carpet was faded and bare in some spots. The linoleum on the kitchen floor was torn and stained and the paneled walls were warped. The furniture was old and nicked, the windows were … clean. And the entire house had been dusted. It didn't smell old and musty. It smelled fresh. Like the clean linen which was folded in a basket right beside him.

He gazed at the kitchen. There were flowers on the table. The kitchen faucet, although dented sparkled as did the sink. The piles of clothing and discarded items that usually sat around everywhere were gone. He really hadn't noticed just how much she had done in his home.

"I'm going to change." He told his father and went into his bedroom. His bed was made. His brush and hygiene products were lined up neatly on his old dresser and she had put away the clothes that were piled up on top of it. She'd even ironed the things that sat in the corner basket unfolded that had been there for weeks. He took off his shoes and didn't feel the grit that had been on the plywood since he'd built the small room.

"I'm going to go since you're home." Randie stood in his door way. "I put a casserole in the oven. It should be ready in about twenty minutes." Her tone always sounded so meek to him and her eyes never rose from her feet when she spoke to him, like she was scared of him or something, then she turned and left.

"That's a sweet girl." His father commented when he returned and flopped down on the sofa.

"What are we watching?"

"Movie night with the boys. Randie's idea." He conversed. "I was complaining about wishing I could take the kids to do more things and she gave us this DVD player and a box of movies. Said her aunt was giving it away and she would be happy to see us use it instead of strangers."

Matt didn't like charity from anyone and he just groaned as the twins sifted through the box for what they wanted to watch the minute their father gave them permission. They must have been pestering him all day.

"We're gonna eat that casserole in here tonight and watch a good movie without commercials." His father laughed. "Won't that be something?"

He couldn't take the joy away from his father who seemed to love Randie and anything she suggested. The man had never taken anything from anyone in his life.

"Oh stop being so grumpy, Matt. I know what you're thinking and you need to get it out of your head. We've given things we didn't use anymore to people in the past. This is no different."

"It's charity. Just one more good deed for her and that family of hers to go around town bragging about. You know that's the only reason those people go around volunteering like they do. I wouldn't let her in here if we had any other choice. I can't stand people talking about us like we're some third world country."

"Stop right there." His father cut him off. "You really think that is why that girl is doing all of this?"

"Why else?"

His father chuckled.

"What's so funny?"

"I think you might need glasses son."

"You alright, Dad? Did you take too much of your pain medicine or something." He stared at his father like he had lost his mind. "Shit. I forgot that damn casserole." Randie had said twenty minutes and it had been nearly thirty-five. "I hope it isn't burned." And that made his father laugh even harder.

XXX

"So?" Randie's Aunt looked up from her knitting the moment she walked through the door.

"I can't find a way to tell him." She laid her daughter down in her bassinet and sat down on the sofa. She leaned her head against her Aunt Peg's shoulder. "He's so angry all the time."

"He's got a lot on him." Her Aunt sighed. "Sweetie, maybe all what happened between you two was all he wanted."

"I still have to tell him."

"You did tell him. You left that sonogram on his truck before you left."

"Yeah but my pen quit working and I didn't have time to search for another. I saw Daddy's truck enter the parking lot."

Matt's place of employment was next door to the bus station. She'd been sitting on the bench waiting on her bus. She remembered staring at the plant doors. Wishing Matt would come out so she could tell him and after the intercom announced that her bus was running late, she walked over to the parking lot and stood against his truck. It was nearly midnight. Nearly time for the third shift to take over. She'd seen people walking in and knew it was only a matter of time before Matt would walk out.

However her father had come looking for her. She'd thought she'd seen his truck drive by on the main road a few times, but she was never sure until he pulled into the parking lot of the plant. Her heart felt like it had dropped into her stomach. The man must have driven by every place he thought she would go, including any place Matt might be.

She squatted beside the vehicle, hoping the darkness would conceal her and she hurriedly wrote on the ultrasound of her baby, placed it under his wiper as soon as her father's truck went out the exit. She ran before he had a chance to make another pass through the one way parking lot and hid inside the station until the bus for Ohio pulled up a few minutes later.

She had hoped that Matt would take one look at the picture and the date and know. He hoped that he would understand why she had to leave and know that she would come back.

She'd stayed with a good friend of Aunt Peg's. Her best friend from high school whom she kept in touch with on a daily basis. And her Aunt and Uncle were there when she gave birth

. She remained there until she was seventeen. When no one could make her go anywhere she didn't want to be thanks to the laws. When she was free to live anywhere she wanted. She had hesitated since she was still technically a minor and thought seriously about staying away until she was eighteen. But her heart knew where it wanted to be.

For two weeks Randie went to Matt's home. She grew fond of his family. His father was very kind and he was always eager to get his hands on the baby every morning. He cuddled and spoiled her. Just like a grandfather would and he always remarked about how he couldn't wait to have grandkids. Oh, how she wished she could tell him, but she needed to tell Matt first.

Sloan, Marty and the twins tickled her. They were typical boys. Always into something and they had amazing imaginations, just like Matt had once had.

But they all had their own personalities and their own tricks to get out of trouble. But by the second week she knew them all too well and she knew when they were up to something before they had time to pull it off. She really did feel like a mom. A mom of five.

Some days it was so exhausting and she fully understood what Matt went through every day. She had always known he had a lot to deal with, but now that she had become part of it, she knew that he couldn't do it on his own. He had tried so hard, but there was still so much that was neglect because he was only one person and there were only so many hours in a day.

Matt was in a bad mood when he came home most days. He acted like the sight of her irritated him. Annoyed him. There was no softness in his voice when spoke to her. That sparkle that had once been there when his eyes caught hers was absent. It was as if he wanted her to believe he really hated her. It should have been enough for her to give up on him, but when she watched how hard he worked to provide for his family, how much he cared for his father and brothers, how he went without to make sure they had, she excused all of his behavior and found herself falling deeper and deeper in love with him.

She raised her eyebrows one Friday night when Matt came stumbling in the front door. It was really late and she thought he had been at work. The kids were in bed. His father had just gone to bed and she was about to leave, but the baby had shown signs of being hungry. She didn't want to wait until she got home. By then the child would be screaming and extremely upset. So, she decided to feed her before she left, like she had done many times before.

Matt didn't' seem to notice her as he staggered into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door.

"Ah ha!" he said a little too loudly and Randie looked toward the bedroom doors for signs that the kids had been woken up. Matt stumbled to the microwave with the plate she had left him. "MMM. Baby, this smells real good." He slurred and turned his drunken smile her way. He zigzagged his way the sofa and flopped his arms onto the back of the couch, leaning on it behind her. She could smell the alcohol on him and he just stared.

"Is this bothering you?" She asked, knowing that some people were a bit uncomfortable when she breastfed, even though she stayed covered up with a thin blanket.

"I've seen your breasts before, Randie. And they are beautiful." He leaned closer to her ear. "I'm actually a little jealous of the little tike right now." He chuckled at her dropped jaw and the crimson that crept into her cheeks.

The microwave bell dinged and his attention was back on his stomach.

"Food!"

Randie was sure he was going to wake his brothers and she hoped eating would sober him a bit. But he was a funny when he was drunk. He ate the food with his fingers, his eyes on her as she burped the baby, then placed her safely in the playpen while she gathered her things.

"Do that again." He had moved back to the living room, watching her as she bent over for the backpack that she used for a diaper bag.

He took a step and stumbled and nearly fell over the back of the sofa. She rushed to his side to stabilize him and a pair of hands grasped her waist. She found herself pressed against him. His touch was so gentle that she knew that he still cared beneath that hard exterior he presented every day. But the man couldn't stand straight to save his life. His eyes were droopy and he looked like he was going to pass out any minute. She moved so she was under his arm and he used her like a crutch as she helped him to his room. He was so heavy leaning his weight against her that she thought he would take them both to the floor.

He fell onto the bed, bouncing a bit before resting his head on the pillow with his hands behind his head. She covered him with the small blanket folded across the bottom of the bed.

"You're good to us." She felt his breath in her ear as he as his arms encircled her. "You're good to me."

"You're a good man." She replied, then turned to leave.

"Don't go." He grabbed her arm and pulled her down with him. She hesitated, then hugged his waist and put laid her head on his chest. "Mmm. This is nice." He moaned and toyed with her hair until he fell asleep.