Harlow
Harlow Eden wasn’t sure how she had gotten so lucky to land a job during her very first-ever interview, but she had. She had no work experience and if her new boss would have checked her references, he would have found that out. Instead, he pretended to look over her fake list, and then he hired her on the spot. She knew that it had everything to do with how she looked, and that was just fine with her. Harlow had two mouths to feed and her mother to look after. There was no way that she could walk out of the Smokey Bandits without that job, so she put on her best skin-tight jeans and low-cut t-shirt and walked into that place as though she knew she was the hottest woman on the planet. She wasn’t—not by a long shot, but guys usually overlook the scar running down the left side of her face when she was wearing skin-tight clothes.
Harlow was always careful not to show the scar, keeping it covered by her long, dark hair. She had noticed the way Ryker looked at her after she tucked her hair behind her ear, on the right side of her face. She wondered what he would have thought had she done the same to the left side. He would have seen the knife’s mark left behind by her ex-husband. It was her constant reminder that she made shitty decisions, especially when it came to men.
That was why she bought the little, run-down place next to her mom when it went up for sale. It was her fresh start and a way to make sure that her two-year-old daughter, Iris, never had to worry about her father, and his abuse, again.
She had met Craig when they were both in their senior year in high school. He was the new kid in town and all the girls seemed to notice him. She was shocked when he chose to ask her to homecoming and then prom. They went steady most of that year and before they graduated, she was pregnant with Iris. When she told Craig about the baby, he was sweet and loving, even saying that he wanted to do the right thing by her and marry her. She foolishly accepted his proposal and when she had the baby, she thought she was the luckiest girl on the planet. They had found a little one-bedroom apartment to rent, and he got a job working the factory in town. He made just enough money that she could stay home and care for her newborn and Harlow was sure that she would never want for more—until she did.
Craig started hanging around the wrong crowd of guys at work. They’d convince him to go to the bar with them and have just one beer—but it was never just one beer. He ended up coming home later and later every night, until one night when he didn’t come home at all. She had stayed up all night, worried that he was hurt, or worse, and when he stumbled in through their front door the next morning, she was both relieved and pissed. Harlow told him that she just couldn’t take anymore, and when she announced that she was leaving and taking Iris, he lost control and hit her.
It was the first time that he’d ever laid his hands on her like that and laying on the floor, holding her jaw while looking up at him, only made her more determined to leave him. She got up from the floor and ran into the kitchen to search for anything she could find to defend herself. Harlow grabbed a knife from the drawer and held it in front of her, ready to use it if he got in her way.
She told him that she just wanted to get Iris and leave. He could have everything, and Craig told her that wasn’t going to happen. He wouldn’t let her live without him and that was a threat that she took as a promise. Harlow could see in his dark eyes that he meant every word.
He took her by surprise and overpowered her, taking the knife from her and when she tried to run out of the kitchen, he sliced the side of her face open. She again fell to the floor, this time, she was not sure that she’d ever get back up again. Iris’s cry filled the small apartment, and someone banged on her door. She cried out for help and when Craig understood that there was no way out of this for him, he dropped the knife and left through the back sliding door. They were on the ground floor, and she knew that he’d be long gone before the police showed up, but she was determined to file a report. Harlow would never let Craig back into her or her daughter’s life and by pressing charges, she’d be able to make that happen.
Harlow found the strength to crawl to the front door and unlock and open it, finding her upstairs neighbor standing there. She was a kind older woman and said that she had already called the cops when she heard Craig shouting at her. She helped Harlow hold a towel to her face, that she found in the kitchen, and then held little Iris until the police could get there.
They called her mother to come to take Iris and even put an officer outside of her mom’s house, in case Craig showed up there for her or her daughter. Harlow underwent hours of reconstructive surgery, since the knife had sliced through her cheek muscle, and it took her weeks to start feeling human again. Her mother had her and Iris’s stuff moved into her house and when the home next door went on the market, she snatched it up to be close to her mom. Harlow owed her everything for taking care of her and Iris after Craig lost his mind and tried to kill her.
The cops finally found him about two weeks later. He was staying at a co-worker’s apartment and when he tried to attack the guy’s wife, his co-worker called the cops on him. Her ex was in prison, serving a five-year sentence for attacking her and assaulting his co-worker’s wife. She knew that it was only a matter of time until he’d be out, but for now, she and her daughter were safe, and it was time for her to get back on her feet and pull her own weight. Her mother had been helping her financially until her face healed, but it was time to stop leaning on her mom that way. It was time for her to figure out her way in the world and take care of her little family because no one else was going to do that for her. This job was her key to doing just that—finding her fresh start.
* * *
Starting her new job the same night that she got hired wasn’t something that she was expecting, but she had to admit, she was thrilled. She needed the cash and was hoping that the guys at the bar were good tippers because it was the only way that she was going to be able to buy groceries for the week.
Harlow had just enough time to run home and changed, pick up Iris from her mom for an early dinner, and get back over to the Smokey Bandits. Her mother wasn’t going to be thrilled to hear that she had landed the job at the bar, but for an inexperienced, former stay-at-home mom, there weren’t many choices available for employment. Harlow knew that her mother would eventually support her decision to go to work at the biker bar, but for now, she’d leave out the part where it was even a bar. She’d tell her mom that she got hired at a nice restaurant and by the time she figured it all out, she’d realize that the bar wasn’t such a bad choice. At least, that was what Harlow was hoping. For now, she’d stick with her little white lie.
She walked into her mother’s house, letting the screen door slam behind her. “Harlow,” her mother called.
“It’s me, Mama,” she said.
“Well, I already knew that,” her mother said. “You’re the only one who lets the screen door slam shut. How many times have I told you not to do that?” her mother asked. The answer was a million times infinity, but she’d never admit that to her mother.
“Sorry, Mama,” she said. “Did Iris behave for you?” she asked.
“She did, but then again, she always does. That baby is an angel,” her mother said. Iris was going through her terrible twos with a vengeance and her mother had the nerve to tell her that her baby was an angel. She would point out that they both knew that her mother was lying, especially since she needed her to watch Iris overnight for her now.
“How did the job interview go?” her mother asked.
“It went well,” Harlow said. “I got the job, actually.”
“Is it a nice place or will I need to worry about you?” her mother asked.
“It’s a nice place, Mama,” she lied. It was a hole in the wall, dive bar if she’d ever seen one, but there was no way that she’d tell her mother that. “The thing is, I start tonight and well, I could use the money.” Her mother had been basically supporting her and Iris for the past six months and this would give her a way to get back on her feet. She had some money put away from her divorce. When Craig went to jail, she got everything, including the little nest egg savings account she had tucked away for Iris’s college education. She started shoving money away once she found out that she was pregnant with her daughter. Harlow had secretly saved enough to put a small down payment on her house and her mom helped with the rest. She couldn’t rely on her mother forever though—it wasn’t fair to her. Sooner or later, she’d need to stand on her own two feet and take care of herself and Iris. She never planned on being a single mom at the age of twenty-one, but sometimes, life threw you a curveball and all you could do was swing at it. That’s what she planned on doing, but there wasn’t an option for her missing the ball. She’d have to hit it out of the park, if not for her sake, then for her daughters.
“The restaurant stays open until two most nights, and they asked if I could work that late. Would you mind if Iris stays over here with you on the nights that I have to work?” she asked. It was a big ask, but her mother was at home most nights anyway. “I promise that it won’t be every night.”
“Of course,” her mother agreed. “Where am I gonna go at night. It’s not like I have a hot date or anything,” she teased.
“Mama,” Harlow scolded. “Eww.”
“What do you mean by, ‘Eww’?” her mother asked.
“Just that,” Harlow said. “I don’t want to think about you on a date.”
“Harlow, you’re only twenty-one and you’re a mom. How old do you think I am?” She knew that her mother had her when she was only eighteen years old and that she was just thirty-nine years old. Harlow had made her mom a young mother and a young grandmother. At thirty-nine, she should be out having fun, enjoying life, not sitting at home with her two-year-old granddaughter.