rel="nofollow" href="#ulink_9a19fdc8-de17-576a-a77c-6a70c1806323">Chapter Three
MIA couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
She stepped inside her apartment and closed the door. She didn’t want Jarrett McKane in her life, or in her space. And he was suddenly in both.
A long time ago, she’d learned about men who thrived on control. Her father was one of those. It had taken her years to get out from under his reign and finally to be free of him.
She walked across her cozy living area. A secondhand sofa and chair faced the small television. A triangular rug hid a lot of the worn carpet underneath. A small table off the galley kitchen was used for eating and for working on her computer.
Her laptop was the only thing of value that she had and the only means she had these days of make a living. Despite her privileged upbringing, she’d never been materialistic. Maybe that was the reason it had been so easy to walk away, or in her case, run away.
To Preston and Abigail Saunders their daughter had always been a problem, a disappointment from the start. An overweight child, Mia had morphed into a rebellious teenager. She had never fitted into her Boston society family. So, once she was of age, she’d just disappeared from their lives.
Even Brad had eventually bucked their father’s plans for him. Instead, her older brother had became an ordained minister and had ended up disowned, too.
Now she’d lost her only family. She caressed her stomach, feeling the gentle movement of the baby. At least she’d have a part of Brad and Karen and she vowed to love and protect this child. So she wasn’t about to let her parents know where she was. Or let them find this baby.
Mia sat down in the chair, still in awe of the life she carried inside her. Onetime wild child, Margaret Iris Ashley Saunders was going to have a baby. She blew out a breath. She was going to be a mother and D-day was approaching soon. There were so many things she had to get done before Christmas.
She closed her eyes. For months, she’d had to push aside all the feelings she was having for this baby. A mother’s feelings. The only thing that had saved her was knowing this child would always be in her life. Brad and Karen would have been the perfect parents and she could be the favorite aunt who spoiled the child.
Now, Mia had to step up and be a parent to this baby. She wasn’t sure she was cut out to do it.
That afternoon, with the help of his office staff, Jarrett had made several phone calls. He’d finally found someone to start on the repairs. A local furnace repairman was to come out. He’d also contacted the handyman who serviced some of his other properties to help out with some of the minor fixes.
Flipping his phone shut, he decided to wait downstairs and get out of his depressing apartment for a while. In the hall, the door across from his opened and Mia walked out carrying a large trash bag. She stiffened the second she saw him.
He smiled. “Hello, Mia.”
She nodded stiffly. “Mr. McKane.”
She was dressed in her standard black pants and oversize blouse, but with an added long sweater for warmth.
“I don’t see why we can’t be on a first-name basis since we’re going to be neighbors.”
“You’re the man who’s evicting us. Why would I get friendly with the enemy?”
He took the bag from her. “It doesn’t seem to bother the others.” He gave her a sideways glance. “Someone must have really have done a number on you.”
She glanced away. “Now you’re a psychiatrist?”
“No, just observant.”
“Well, observe somewhere else. Thanks to you, I have a lot on my mind.”
He wasn’t crazy about having to move her in her condition. “I’m not your enemy, Mia. I’m trying to find all of you places to live.”
“We can’t afford most of the other places.”
Was that his fault? “The rent here is well below average for this area. Even if I kept the place and did all the repairs, I’d have to raise the rent.”
“Well, you can’t yet. Some of us are barely getting any heat or hot water.”
“I’m taking care of that.”
“I can’t tell you how many times we heard that from the last owner.”
“The last owner hadn’t been court-ordered,” Jarrett said. He slowed his pace so she could keep up. He knew little or nothing about pregnant women. Only that Kira had had a rough time with her pregnancy and had had to stay in bed the last few months.
“That’s where I’m going now,” he continued, “to meet with a furnace guy.”
She stopped. “You mean we could have some heat today?”
He shrugged. “I’m paying him extra to start right away.”
They continued their way down the stairs to the main lobby. “I would like to ask a favor,” he said.
She paused with a glare.
He hid a smile as he raised a hand. “Good Lord, woman, do you mistrust everyone? I only want you to help get everyone together so we see who has the worst problems and fix them first.”
“Then come to the community room. It’s where a lot of the tenants hang out because it has a working heater.”
They stepped outside into the frigid weather. He first tossed the sack into the Dumpster, and then they continued on to the center.
“I hear your baby is due on Christmas day.”
She gave him a sideways glance. “Who told you that?”
“My sister-in-law, Kira McKane. You both go to the same church.”
She seemed relieved. “How does she feel about you tossing us out of here?”
“I haven’t tossed out anyone, and according to the judge, I won’t be able to until the spring.” Not with Barbara Gillard watching him anyway. If only he could come up with a way to convince everyone to leave a few months earlier.
His only other chance was to get Fulton to hold off on the takeover date. They couldn’t begin construction until the ground thawed. But he wouldn’t get his money either.
He’d put a lot into this project, buying up the surrounding land, including this place. He had too much to lose. And it would cost him even more every day Mountain View Apartments stayed open. And now he was being held prisoner here.
While Jarrett went to the community room, Mia knocked on Joe’s door and asked him and Sylvia to gather the other tenants and bring them to the community room.
Sending the others on ahead, Mia then went to Nola’s place and they walked over together. “We need to make sure you have enough heat, Mia,” Nola said. “For you and the baby.”
They
