Chapter 22
twenty-two
DREW
I can’t stop laughing.
I know the two people staring at me are as confused as hell by my reaction but Jesus fucking Christ.
Haynes has dragged his ass all the way to Evergreen Lake from Chicago for nothing.
It takes me a good five minutes to get myself under control.
I’d thought the worst. That Jen’s death was somehow my fault, although how, is beyond my imagination.
Instead he’s telling me he thinks his daughter is mine.
Once I’m sure I can talk without laughing, I put him out of his misery.
“She’s not.
“She could be. Jen was three months pregnant when she left you.”
“I know. But the baby wasn’t mine. I knew that when she left. She knew that. Although she told me it was yours. Well, not you exactly, just the guy she’d been seeing.”
“I don’t understand.” Georgie grips my hand tightly. “You sound so sure.”
“I am.” Moving my gaze back to Haynes I tell him, “Jen and I hadn’t had sex for nearly a year when she walked.”
“I. Oh.” He shakes his head. “But she said?—”
“You already knew she was a liar, what makes you believe I’m Lily’s father?”
“You were married to Jen at the time of her conception. She has the same color hair as you.”
“And? There has to be hundreds of thousands of men in Chicago with my hair color.”
He scrubs a hand over the back of his neck. “Well fuck!”
I feel sorry for him. But I tell him something I’m sure he’s already thought of. “You’re setting Lily up for heartbreak if you discover her biological father doesn’t want her.”
“I know that. It’s why we’re here for three weeks. So I could watch you, see what kind of man you are. I wasn’t planning on handing her over. To anyone. Even if there’s a DNA match.”
“Why look at all? You said you’ve raised her since she was three. Why look for her dad now? Or did you just find out?”
“No, I’ve known for a few years. I had our DNA tested after Jen threatened to take her from me if I didn’t give her money because in her words, you’re not even her real father .”
“Sounds like something she’d say. Although she’d say it if it was true or not.”
“She sounds like a peach,” Georgie mutters.
I smile down at her.
“I’m sorry. I’ve fucked this all up for no reason.”
“I don’t know if you’ve fucked anything up.” I take pity on him. “Georgie mentioned you have a job opportunity in Eagle Ridge.”
“Yes. I’ve been thinking of moving out of the city for a while.”
“Take it from me, it’s worth it. But if you picked Eagle Ridge because I’m here, you don’t have to stick with this area now. And if I were you, I’d quit searching for who her biological father is. She doesn’t need him.”
Haynes eyes me for several seconds. “Why do you say that? You don’t know what type of father I am.”
“Yes, I do. You’re here. For her. To give her something you think she should have. But does she need it?”
“I came through the system. I have no family. And my partner, Lily’s godfather, was killed in the line of duty six months ago. If anything happens to me…”
He doesn’t continue and I understand where he’s going. Why he’s going there. “Okay. So you think she needs her biological dad in case you can’t be there for her.”
“Yes.”
“Ever thought about remarrying, giving her a stepmom?”
“After Jen I’m not willing to let another woman into either of our lives.”
I chuckle. “I know the feeling.” My gaze moves to Georgie. “But I can guarantee you, with the right woman, it’s more than worth letting them in.”
“I don’t think I’m there yet.”
“But you might be.” Georgie turns up to look at me and we do something I’ve never done with anyone else. We communicate without words. “Why don’t you check out the job in Eagle Ridge? If you settle there or not, we can be in yours and Lily’s lives. As friends. And if you’re comfortable with it, we could take her if anything happened.”
“But only if you’re comfortable and only once she gets to know us better,” I add.
I hate the idea of this child having no one like Georgie. And she’s not an adult like Georgie. The pain I feel on her behalf is tenfold what I feel when I think about Georgie being alone.
“Why?”
I shrug. “Why not?”
“Jen.”
“I’m not going to punish a kid with her mother’s sins.”
“You should take that job in Eagle Ridge. It’s not far from here. You could commute or…” Georgie glances up at me. “Are there any openings in the Sheriff’s department here?”
“Not that I’m aware of.”
“No offense to either of you, and as much as I like Evergreen Lake, it’s a little too small for me. Holidays, yes, living here, no.” Haynes shakes his head.
“It took me a while to get used to the quiet slow pace of things. The Eagle Ridge PD is definitely busier.”
“I’ll think about what you both said. I’m not sure I can accept your offer to take Lily if something?—”
“Don’t worry about that now.” Georgie steps away from me and heads for the counter where the coffee machine is. “Why don’t I pour= you both a coffee and you can talk about law enforcement in this area. I’ll head into town and find Lily and Marnie?—”
“Why don’t we all head there? Maybe we could get some lunch at Lips & Hips. I’d like to apologize to both of you for the unnecessary trouble I’ve caused and I need to thank Marnie for helping with Lily. Lunch seems like a small token but it’s a start.” Haynes reaches over and flicks off the machine Georgie is trying to work out.
“This thing has a lot of bells and whistles,” she mutters.
“Not really. The buttons are just how much coffee you want.”
“Hot chocolate is so much easier.” She turns her smile on me. “Lunch sounds good, right?”
“Yep. Want to walk or take the truck?”
“We can walk. It’s a nice day and I heard we’re getting a snowstorm this weekend. We should get outside while we can.”
“A snowstorm? Should I be worried?” Haynes asks as he grabs a wallet and keys from a bowl on the counter.
“Yes and no. If you’re going to stay through Christmas, you should stock up on food and drink. That way if we get enough to be snowed in, you won’t starve.” I weave my fingers through Georgie’s and tug her toward the front door. “We can give you a list of what to have on hand.”
“I’d appreciate it. Although I guess it wouldn’t be that much different from Chicago.”
“No. But there a few that could get you in trouble. Water can be an issue if it gets too cold.”
“Frozen pipes?”
“Yes. I left a note about it in the information pack but you just need to leave the all the taps dripping.” Georgie looks over her shoulder at Haynes. “Did you read that section?”
“Yes. Although I can’t say I’m a fan of the noise late at night, I’ve been doing it. But only at night. I should let them drip twenty-four seven now?”
“I would.” I urge her through the front door ahead of me. “I probably would have been doing it since last week.”
“Shit. Hope I haven’t fucked anything up.”
“As long as the water is still running, you’re good,” I tell him.
“Okay. Give me five and I’ll get them all running before we leave. Just in case.”
Haynes disappears as I follow Georgie outside. I’m glad we’ll have a minute to ourselves.
I grab her hand and tug her around to face me. “You okay?”
“Yes. I’m not the one who had his past show up with news that could have been life changing turning out to be nothing. Are you okay?”
“You still planning to marry me?”
“Yes. Why wouldn’t I?”
“Thought you might have come to your senses,” I say with a grin.
“Well, if coming to my senses means not marrying you, then I don’t need them.” She leans into me, her face tipped up so her chin rests against my chest. “All I need is you.”
I smile. “I think we’ll have to wait until after Christmas to get married no matter what happens when we get to the courthouse.”
“Why?”
“The storm is supposed to be big. I’m a little concerned about it, actually. I’ll be on call though the duration?—”
“You have to work in it?” Fear swims in her gaze.
“Yes. Where possible. I’ll spend today and tomorrow checking on residents, make sure they’re set in case we get locked down?—”
“Need volunteers to help with that?” Haynes appears beside us.
“You volunteering?”
“Sure. Not like I have anything else to do besides taking care of Lily.”
“You can’t take her out in the storm!”
Georgie pushes against me to aim her anger at Haynes. But the man is already putting his hands up and taking a step back.
“Hold up. I didn’t say I’d go out in the storm. I said I’d help check on residents before the storm hits.”
“Oh.” She gives him a sheepish smile. “Sorry.”
“Why don’t we talk about it over lunch?” I grab Georgie’s ponytail and give it a tug.
All sorts of fun things flash in my head and I have to shove them aside or I’ll be convincing her to skip lunch and head back home with me.
Clearing my throat, I say, “Come on. Let’s go.”
With a look at the sky, Haynes asks, “Should we drive? That doesn’t look so good.”
Surveying the clouds I have to agree with him. “Yeah. Let’s drive. We can take my truck—” I look at Haynes. “Does Lily need a car seat?”
“No. She has a booster but she doesn’t use it most of the time now.”
I nod. “All right. Let’s pile into my truck, and head to town.”
“I can message Marnie. Tell her to meet us at Lips & Hips,” Georgie offers when I open the passenger door for her.
“You good with that?” I look at Haynes.
“Yeah, I should have thought of it. Marnie made sure I had her number in case I needed to reach her or check on Lily.”
“All set. She says they’ll meet us there. Grab a table if she gets there first.”
There’s a frown on Georgie’s face and I arch an eyebrow at her. She shakes her head, her eyes flicking to the side to indicate Haynes getting in the rear seat. I make a mental note to ask later as I shut her door.
Jogging around the hood, I glance up and see the clouds look darker than they did.
Yeah, driving was the right choice. And I’m not sure we’ll get around to everyone in town to check on them before things get difficult—dangerous.
Slipping behind the wheel, I look at Georgie. “You should shut the library tomorrow. I’m not sure anyone will be out and about anyway.”
“I’m not?—”
“I didn’t say you had to, I’m just suggesting it. If you make the decision now, you can give people notice. So they don’t leave home because they think you’re open.”
“I’ll message Ann. See what she thinks.”
It’s not an agreement but at least she’s considering it now. I don’t want her going out tomorrow if we end up getting a lot of snow. It’s bad enough I have to.
“How many deputies are there in Evergreen Lake?” Haynes asks from behind me.
“Five plus the Sheriff. Who’s new this month. Sheriff Roberts retired the first week of December.”
“Year round that many, or do they hire on extras during the Christmas season?”
“Same all year. Although that was under Sheriff Roberts. Sheriff Whitworth might have different plans. Why?” I glance at him through the rearview mirror. “You thinking of working here after all?”
“No. Just curious.”
I focus on the road ahead. Take my time because it looks like the snow is starting to fall. Although the flakes are small and won’t be a problem unless they get bigger.
I’m comfortable driving in these conditions but so many people aren’t. I’d hate to be in an accident. Especially with Georgie in the truck. Anxiety has me gripping the wheel tighter.
This is the first time she’s been with me when it’s snowed and I’m definitely a little panicked about keeping her safe.
If this is how it’s going to be from now on, I’ll have to get a handle on it. Because right now I want to stop the car and wait it out. Except that brings a whole slew of other possible dangers.
Good lord. I definitely need to get a handle on myself. I can’t wrap her in bubblewrap or keep her inside because of possible danger no matter how much I want to.
Get a grip!
“It’s starting to come down,” Georgie says as she leans forward to look at the sky.
“Yeah, maybe we should postpone our lunch? When did they say the storm was moving in?”
“On the weekend.” I turn onto Main Street and notice there are fewer cars around. Fewer people on the sidewalk too.
“Does Lips & Hips do takeout? Could we get some food to go?”
I maneuver into a spot a few spaces down from our destination. “It does. Maybe. Let me call in. See if we need some help checking on locals.”
I leave the truck running and hop out.
“Fuck!” I mutter when the wind slices through me.
If this is a precursor to what’s to come, we’re in for a cold Christmas. More than likely spent locked behind closed doors.