Chapter 2
HANNAH
Handing Isa over was the hardest thing I’d ever done.
I’d grown to love that sweet little girl over the past few months, and it wasn’t fair that my boss had insisted I bring her to the father who’d never bothered to claim her.
Her caseworker should’ve been the one doing the handoff—which would have allowed me to have a private goodbye with Isa—but Shirley had an emergency appendectomy yesterday and wouldn’t be back in the office for at least a week.
Mentally kicking myself as I pushed through the door, I regretted my choice to come to the orchard looking for Griffin Reid.
I should’ve just taken the perfect excuse I’d been handed when he wasn’t at home or work.
It would have bought me at least another day with Isa.
I could’ve rented a hotel room, called my boss to let him know about the delay, and soaked up the extra time.
Instead, I’d made what felt like the biggest mistake of my life and followed the directions the guy at Inferno Cycles and Customs had given me.
“Dammit.” I kicked the gravel in a failed attempt to ease some of my fury. Unfortunately, it only left me with a scuffed shoe.
I stormed toward my car, my hands fisted so tightly that my nails bit into my palms. Exhaustion dragged at every muscle. Three months of knowing I was the only thing standing between Isa and a system that could swallow her whole had gotten to me.
When Shirley had finally managed to track the man listed on the birth certificate down, all my boss had seen was the quickest way to cross Isa off Shirley’s caseload.
Griffin Reid didn’t have a criminal record, owned his home, and had a steady job—although that was about all we could find on him.
On paper, he was the perfect solution for a baby whose mother had recently died.
The inspection was a foregone conclusion in my boss’s mind, just a formality that I needed to sign off on.
But Isa wasn’t just another case to me. She was the baby I’d been fostering when Shirley hadn’t been able to find an emergency placement for her.
During the drive to Riverstone, I’d told myself ripping off the Band-Aid was the merciful thing. That handing Isa off to her biological father wasn’t only right for her, but it would also allow me to walk away before I got any more attached.
But I couldn’t do it.
My steps faltered halfway to my sedan. The thought of leaving Isa with that man made my chest tighten until I could barely breathe. I couldn’t drive off without making damn sure he wasn’t going to treat her like an inconvenience the way he’d done with her mother.
And it wasn’t just because I had to file a report with my recommendation as to whether Isa was being left in a stable environment.
As much as I wanted to put this all behind me so I didn’t end up with a broken heart, I needed to make sure she was safe.
But I was so twisted up inside with grief at knowing I wouldn’t wake up to Isa’s little face anymore that I’d stormed out of there as though I was just going to drop her off without doing my job.
Spinning on my heel, I marched back toward the cute farm store and squared my shoulders. I was going to give Griffin Reid a piece of my mind, tell him I wasn’t disappearing until I knew Isa would be safe, and—
I slammed straight into a solid wall of muscle.
“Careful.”
Strong hands closed around my upper arms, steadying me before I could stumble backward. The impact knocked the air from my lungs. I tilted my head back and froze.
I’d been too worked up to pay attention to what Griffin looked like before, but it had been impossible to miss that he was huge.
Staring up at him, I realized he was at least six-four with lean muscles and calloused hands.
His dark brown hair was thick and just long enough to brush the collar of his leather vest. He had tanned skin that told me he liked spending time outside, and one of his arms had a full sleeve of black ink, while the other had only a couple of tattoos.
His face was all hard angles, and I found myself wondering how his mouth would look when it wasn’t set in a grim line. But his eyes held my attention the longest. They were dark blue and watchful, almost as though he could read every secret I’d ever tried to hide.
My body’s reaction to him was wildly inappropriate and completely out of character for me. I could count the number of dates I’d had on one hand, none of which had even progressed to a second. And it had been a few years since I’d gone out with anyone.
But here I was with my nipples tightening against the thin fabric of my bra, and an unwelcome pulse throbbing between my thighs. I was hyperaware of how close we stood, making my breath hitch.
I hated the way my pulse raced, and my knees felt a little weak. This man was supposed to be the enemy. He was the deadbeat who’d left Rea pregnant and alone. Not someone who’d brought my libido roaring to life.
I jerked out of his grip, stepping back even as every instinct screamed at me to lean closer. “You shouldn’t ignore your own kid the way you ignored her mother.”
Anger sparked in his eyes, but his voice stayed low as he insisted, “I’m telling you—” he paused and raised an eyebrow at me.
“Hannah,” I practically growled. If I didn't know better, I could have sworn his lips twitched.
Then he continued what he’d been about to say. “I’m telling you, Hannah—I didn’t fuck her mother. I don’t do one-night stands, and I have no clue why some woman I’ve never heard of before would put my name on the birth certificate. Something’s wrong here.”
A tiny, treacherous part of me actually believed him. That unsettled me more than the lies I’d been expecting. If he was telling the truth, then Rea had lied about so much.
He dropped his hands from my arms, but those watchful eyes never left mine. “Why do you think it’s me? Tell me everything.”
I lifted my chin, refusing to let him intimidate me even though my heart hammered against my ribs.
And not just because of our confrontation.
“Rea was in a car accident just outside Atlanta three months ago. She needed emergency surgery, and there were complications. Her only other family was a brother, but she’d already called our office because she didn’t want him anywhere near Isa.
One of my coworkers got to the hospital before she died.
Rea told her that Isa was the result of a one-night stand.
Based on when she was born, it would’ve been back in February of last year. ”
He shook his head. “Which means she can’t be mine because it’s been a lot longer than that since I fucked someone.”
I liked that way more than I should and had to force myself to keep my professional mask in place as I continued, “She said you stayed the whole night, told her it was more, and that you wanted to build something real with her. Then you snuck out the following morning, and she couldn’t find you.
All she could do was put your name on the birth certificate. ”
My throat burned as the rest slipped out before I could stop it.
“It took our best investigator three months to track you down, so I understand why she couldn’t find any trace of you after you bailed.
Especially since I also get how tired she must’ve been since Isa has been in my care.
I’m the one who’s been walking the floors of my apartment when she wouldn’t settle, changing diapers, singing lullabies, and hoping she’d stop crying for a mother she’ll never remember.
I held her while she grieved in the only way a newborn can, and now you’re standing here denying any of it ever happened. Like she doesn’t matter.”
Griffin didn’t retreat from my fury. Instead, he leaned closer as his hard mouth softened just enough at the edges that my traitorous heart stuttered. “She matters.”
Tears burned behind my eyes, but I blinked them back. Even though I found myself wanting to believe Griffin, I refused to cry in front of him. Not when Isa’s future hung in the balance.
I swallowed hard, fighting the pull between us. “As her foster parent, my office trusted me to make sure Isa was safe. Whether you’re telling the truth or not, that little girl in there deserves better than being dumped on a stranger who might disappear on her, too.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Not gonna disappear on her. I didn’t make that baby girl, but I’m not the kind of man who’s gonna let her get lost in the system.
She’s damn lucky to have had you watching over her these past few months.
And to have you fighting in her corner now.
But you won’t be doin’ it alone anymore.
No matter how it got there, as you said…
my name’s on her birth certificate. That makes her my responsibility. ”
My breath caught at the fierce determination in his deep voice.
The unwanted heat flared hotter, mixing with the anger and fear until I didn’t know where one ended and the other began.
I should step back, but my feet stayed rooted to the gravel while my body hummed with an awareness I had no business feeling.
Griffin “Cross” Reid was trouble wrapped in muscle and ink, but I was in too deep with Isa to just walk away. Which meant sticking close to the only man who'd ever made my pulse race.
But for that sweet little girl waiting inside, I was willing to put my heart at risk.