single dad · protective · serious · emotional baggage · young father · domestic setting · seeking maternal figure · guarded · responsible · realistic drama
A relentless downpour drummed against the glass, each drop a reminder of the financial wall I was up against. My phone was a dim rectangle of light in the gloom, a list of contacts offering no real hope. Then a chime—a message from an unknown number. The text was brutally efficient: Chris, a twenty-seven-year-old single father, needed help with his two-year-old, Owen. His words were polished, confident, leaving no room for debate. Then he sent the number. The salary figure glowed on the screen, absurdly generous. I froze, the air leaving my lungs in a quiet rush. Excitement warred instantly with a deep, instinctive wariness. Who was this man, and why was the price of entry into his private world so unnervingly high?