Chapter 4
Knox
I spent the next five minutes—which seemed like an hour—flipping my gaze between the door Ava would come out, as if she could singlehandedly save me and fix my problem, and the baby in the mirror.
Finally the restaurant door opened, and Ava emerged. She smiled as she spotted me. I couldn’t seem to smile back.
I rolled my window down as she approached.
“Hey, partner. What’s going on?” Her brows went from raised in greeting to puzzled.
“Something happened,” I said, “and I don’t know what the fuck to do.” I pointed over my shoulder to the backseat.
Ava’s gaze shot behind me. Then she looked back at me and tilted her head. “What happened?”
“There’s a baby. In my backseat.”
She stepped to the door, leaned in closer, and peered into the backseat. “Whose baby?”
I let out a laughing scoff. “Mine supposedly.”
Ava’s head popped back in front of my window, her eyes wide. “Come again?”
“Right?” I leaned my head against the headrest. “I was running late. Went out to my SUV, realized I’d forgotten my writing stuff. Went in to get it. It took me no more than two or three minutes. When I came back out, the baby carrier was in my driver’s seat.”
Her mouth gaped for a couple seconds before she spoke. “How did it get there?”
“I noticed a car pulling away when I came out. Didn’t think much of it at the time, but that’s all I can figure out. Whoever was in that car stuck the baby in my front seat.”
She stared at me for another few seconds. “And you have no clue who?”
“There was a note tucked in. It’s from my ex, Gina.” I swallowed hard and said, “She claims this is my child.”
“Wow.” Ava peered at the baby again. “Is it— Do you think it’s true?”
A crazed laugh escaped me. “I’d like to say no, but…” I shook my head, wondered what twilight zone I’d stepped into. “On the surface, the math could work.”
“Hold on.” Ava hurried around the front of my SUV and climbed into the passenger seat. “Less conspicuous this way. So your ex never mentioned she was pregnant?”
I shook my head. “We broke up in October. Juniper—that’s the baby’s name—”
“Adorable,” Ava said, turning back to check out the infant again with one of those baby-crazy grins women sometimes got.
“Juniper was supposedly born in May,” I continued. “So she would’ve been conceived before we broke up. If the dates are true.”
“I’m not an expert on babies by any stretch of the imagination, but she could be five months old.”
“I have no idea how to find out the truth, but in the meantime, what the fuck do I do with this tiny baby in my car?”
With a sympathetic grin and a supportive hand on my arm, Ava said, “I’m not sure, other than try to stop swearing.”
With my elbow propped on the console between us, I rubbed my fingers over my forehead.
“Do I take her to the cops?” I asked.
“I’m pretty sure they’d take the baby to social services. What if it is yours? You don’t want that, right?”
I let out a desperate laugh. “I don’t have the slightest idea what I want. I’ve not given any thought to having an insta-baby.”
“Understandable,” she said. She turned to watch the baby.
“We’re not going to solve anything sitting here.
Why don’t we take her inside, get a drink and some food if you’re hungry, and figure out the next step.
Seth’s in his office, and Cash is in the kitchen.
Maybe one of them will know what to do.”
“Have they had someone leave a baby in their car?”
“Not to my knowledge, but they’re pretty resourceful.”
“What are people going to think if I walk in with a baby?”
She paused from opening the door. “People will talk. No matter what. They haven’t had a story this rich since Everly Ash hid away in Seth’s apartment. But their talk is harmless, and maybe someone will have an idea what to do. This town is pretty helpful when someone’s facing tough times.”
I thought over the options. I suspected she was right about law enforcement getting children’s services involved, and while I wasn’t convinced that would be the worst thing, I wasn’t convinced it wouldn’t be either.
“I don’t like it, but let’s go,” I said.
We both got out of the car and met at the door by the baby. “Should I take her out of the seat?” I asked.
Ava shook her head. “I think leave her in. She’s sleeping peacefully right now. Why disturb her? She’ll probably wake up hungry at some point—”
“Fuck. Then what’ll we do?”
With a gentle laugh, Ava said, “Language. We’ll feed her. Somehow. Someone in there has to know more than we do.”
“Most likely everyone in there knows more than I do.”
“Was there any kind of bag with her?”
I shook my head. “Just the carrier shoved into my driver’s seat and the note tucked into the blanket.”
Ava reached in and grabbed the carrier. “We need to figure out how to hook her in.”
“And how to feed her. And diaper her. And clothe her…” I swayed with a wave of dizziness and grabbed on to the car door. Thankfully it passed within two seconds.
As Ava hefted the carrier out, she grunted. “You’re heavier than you look, little lady.”
Feeling shell-shocked, I reached for the handle, noting gratefully that the baby slept on. “I’ll carry her. You get the doors.”
I followed Ava to the main entrance.
To think, when I’d woken up this morning, I’d believed my life was rife with complications. God or whoever was in charge had apparently been peering in on my existence and had thrown out a big, fat hold my beer.