Chapter One #2
He might have had more time on the job, but that didn’t mean he had as much compassion. Did those extra three years harden him?
Harrison would agree—this job was difficult.
You were exposed to child abuse and neglect that made you lose faith in humanity.
Carys decided on day one of the job that when the bad days outnumbered the good, it would be time to move on.
While she was occupying this desk, however, she would do everything in her power to help kids and families.
Did that mean bending a few rules when necessary?
Carys gently placed the baby in her carrier seat, then strapped her in.
Phone. Wallet. Keys.
Once Carys had all three, she grabbed the carrier’s handle and then headed out of the office.
Taking the baby to her nearby rented two-bedroom bungalow wasn’t a big deal.
Her home was warmer than this sterile office environment.
Two years on the job already, and Carys had yet to make the space hers.
There were no pictures sitting on her desk. Nothing personal on the walls.
No wonder the little girl couldn’t get comfortable.
After securing the carrier in the back seat, Carys made the short drive. Halfway there, the little one quieted.
“Do you like car rides?” Carys whispered.
She should have thought of the move earlier.
It would have saved her ears and the baby’s lungs.
She glanced at the rearview mirror. The girl’s face was still red.
Her forehead had been warm earlier. Carys couldn’t decide if the baby was sick or just overheated.
She pulled the sedan onto the parking pad next to her house and then cut the engine. She took a deep breath and waited a few seconds for the screaming to kick up again.
It was quiet.
A small win. Carys was more convinced than ever that she’d made the right call in taking the baby out of the office.
The office kept a loose work-from-home policy following the pandemic, so her absence shouldn’t raise any alarm bells.
Her boss might even think Carys was on her way to the orphanage.
Good. That could buy more time. She could reach out to the director, Rosie Baumgarten, after lunch.
As a bonus, now that there was peace, Carys could log into the work computer via her laptop and take a deeper look at the baby’s file.
Locating next of kin before the workday ended was her primary focus before she had to drop off the little girl at the orphanage.
The little one had stayed overnight at her babysitter’s house and the change in routine had probably added to her fussiness.
After taking the carrier inside and setting up at the kitchen table, she made a cup of coffee and checked the time. Eleven thirty. Good. She had plenty of daylight hours left to locate next of kin once she looked up the birth certificate.
Storm clouds had rolled in on the way home. Rain splatted against the windows.
Thankfully, Ruby Lark was still out. She must be exhausted.
Carys wondered if the baby girl was called Ruby, Rue, or Lark.
Then again, it wouldn’t surprise her if she was called by her full name, Ruby Lark.
This was Texas. Two names weren’t out of the question.
Since Carys had always liked the name Rue for a nickname, she decided to go with that one for the time being.
Fingers tapping on the keyboard, she glanced at the intake form. There wasn’t much there she didn’t already know.
The vehicle owner’s name was Stephanie Cross. The deputy on scene’s name was Levi Liu. Carys made a mental note of the names as she skimmed down the page. There wasn’t much else.
Huh.
Thankfully she’d requested a court order to give her access to the child’s birth certificate before taking custody of Rue. The permission should be granted before end of day if all went well.
What was she supposed to do until then?
She tapped her fingers against the table, waited.
An hour passed by while getting caught up on paperwork from other cases. Then another.
Her stomach growled.
As she reached toward the laptop to close it down, an update dinged. The permission to access Rue’s birth certificate came through. Curiosity got the best of her, so she immediately accessed the TxEVER system, a secure database, and got a name.
Blaize Wilde. She rolled her eyes. Now that sounds like a stable person.
Taking note that the last names didn’t match, Carys located his cell number and made the call, hearing the first ring and waiting for voicemail to click in. No one ever picked up calls from strangers.
“Hello?” Blaize’s deep masculine voice caused a visceral reaction in her body.
“Mr. Wilde?”
“Speaking.”
Carys mentally shook off the shock of hearing his voice. “My name is Carys. I’m afraid I have bad news. Are you sitting down?”
“Don’t need to,” he said on a loaded sigh. “Go ahead and get it over with. Tell me the reason you called.”
“I work with Child Protective Services, and your daughter, Ruby Lark Wilde, is in my custody.”
“Excuse me?” The degree of shock in his voice said this was likely the first time he was being told about his daughter. And now he was going to have to learn someone he cared about might be dead.
“My apologies if this is the first—”
“You have the wrong person,” he said. “I never fathered a child.”
“Your name is listed on the birth certificate, Mr. Wilde. And I’m quite certain that—”
“Sounds like someone has been drinking from the outside hose too long,” he said and then hung up.
What kind of irresponsible jerk fathered a child and then walked away, leaving the mother to raise a child on her own?
That bastard.
He was also Rue’s only hope of not being turned over to an orphanage tonight since there was no other next of kin to be found.
Biting back a slew of curses, Carys tapped the phone icon on her screen. She hit Recents, tapped the number at the top of her screen, and clamped her mouth closed.
When he answered this time, he would get an earful. The call rolled to voicemail. Of course it did.
“Listen here, you total piece of…” She took in a deep breath, reminding herself that she was leaving a recorded message that could be used against her later.
“I have a sick baby in my custody who needs her father to step up to the plate or she’ll be left at an understaffed orphanage after losing the one parent who loved her enough to stick around.
” Realizing she’d gone too far, she ended the call and prayed those words wouldn’t be the reason she was fired.
As she set the phone down, it buzzed.
He was calling back.