Marked (Primal Obsessions #2) - Cara Wylde Page 0,34

He didn’t know that I wasn’t going to be here forever, that I was living on borrowed time, that Brooks could change his mind or something else could happen and then… then, what about me?

I ran my free hand all over his chubby little legs and arms, and tried to imagine him in some five, seven years, when he would no longer need a mom, or me rather, when Brooks would have found someone else. I didn’t like to think about such things, but that was my future. Our future. Milo would stay with his family, and I would get to go back to… wherever I was going before Krista rammed her car into mine and I kidnapped her cub. A tear landed on his cheek, and he stopped nursing. He looked like he was growing upset, so I faked a smile and sang to him half a lullaby I still remembered from my own childhood.

Perhaps some fresh air would do us both some good. There was no need to dwell on things neither of us could change. Perhaps he would even be happier with a bear mom instead of a silly human. I changed into another dress Brooks had left for me, trying not to think where he got all these women’s items. I would have hated for them to have been Krista’s. I then changed Milo’s clothes into pure cotton ones, so his skin could breathe. I settled him on my hip, pocketed the money I was given for dinner, determined to make the fifty dollars count, and with my free hand, I grabbed the trash bag and opened the door to freedom.

The sun was high up in the sky, the heat suffocating in the shade, and I was thankful for the dress.

I dropped the bag in the large containers right outside the trailer, ignoring the many curious looks thrown my way. I could feel them staring, murmuring to each other, wondering, but no one approached me, and I saw no reason to approach them. In fact, if everyone stood where they were and mingled with whom they already knew, I was going to be a very happy camper.

Milo was enjoying the outdoors, and I was enjoying his happiness. He’d point out things, like passing cars or dogs, and I’d tell him about them. I also told him about many things, like how my childhood had been, how my momma had brought me up, how she’d sung to me the way I had sung to him, how I’d been a bit of a tomboy, but had grown into a typical teenage girl – all sorts of things that he didn’t understand. But he kept watching me attentively, and it was nice to reminisce about better times. The sun’s warmth was doing wonders for my mental health. I no longer felt oppressed, depressed, beaten down and worried.

I spotted a park with some swings, and jumped and skipped my way to it, which I discovered Milo found very amusing. I was like his personal carousel. By the time we reached the swings, one of the two was occupied by another woman with her baby. The two looked like they belonged, with the woman swaying gently on the swing, her baby playing with her flaxen hair, and the sun making a halo on the crown of her head.

I hesitated.

She noticed.

“I’m not going to bite you,” she laughed. “Unless you ask nicely.”

“It’s not that,” I said defensively and hugged Milo tighter. He was squirming like never before. “I just didn’t want to disturb.”

“I think he wants to say ‘hi’ to my cub,” the woman said, and I shot her a surprised look.

The park was near the trailers, so it made sense that it belonged to the community, and Milo and I were safe. I let the boy slide down, and he rushed to the little girl. They sat on the grass and started playing.

“I’m Nancy, by the way,” she said and extended a hand.

“Rosalie,” I answered, and we both sat on the ground, next to the children.

“You live with Brooks, right?”

“In a way. I am Milo’s nanny.”

“Oh, yeah. I heard about Krista. Poor Brooks… never a moment of peace.”

As much as I wanted to find out what she thought about the situation, I didn’t want to look like I was into gossip. She seemed to know Brooks, and the last thing I needed was for him to think I was digging for dirt on him. I needed to change the subject.

“So she’s