Chapter 7
Two squad cars were parked at Delilah”s house. It had taken the officers approximately four and a half minutes to walk through the place and make sure it was clear. They hadn”t found anything except a giant mess.
Delilah had taken McKenzie out of the carrier so she could nurse her and then hold her close. She needed to be able to hold her baby, make sure she was safe. What if they had been home when those people came? Delilah felt entirely inadequate. She couldn”t fend off burglars. She was strong, but she was only one person. She couldn”t afford an alarm system, and she refused to have a gun in her house, especially with a baby.
And then Ben had called, to tell her to go to his house. Not a hotel like he had originally said. Could he not afford a hotel, either? She hated the idea of taking charity, especially from somebody with as bad of an attitude as his. She had been in a place, one time, where she was homeless and living off of whatever people would give her. That had been shortly after high school, when she finally left the foster system for the freedom—and responsibility—of being on her own. Luckily, that dark year hadn”t lasted long, and she got an entry-level position at a fast food restaurant. She had worked her ass off, and gotten lucky, and made enough money to live on. She had dated a tattoo artist for a while, and after he’d broken her heart, she had enjoyed a long string of lovers up until Chase. He had been the last, because shortly after they parted, she had found out her new permanent plus-one would be McKenzie.
But accepting a place to sleep for the night wasn”t the same as charity, and besides, her position was different now. She couldn”t be ruled by her pride because she had something more important now to take care of. She looked down at the baby in her arms and swayed gently. McKenzie”s bright eyes seemed to take in the whole world.
One of the officers approached them. ”Well,” she said, ”we could take some fingerprints, but we don”t think it”ll do much good.”
A second officer, her partner, came over too. ”It was probably a couple of tweakers,” he said. ”Likely they were looking for drug money or guns.”
Delilah shook her head. ”They were disappointed, then. I don”t have either of those things.”
”Do you have renter’s insurance for fixing the door?” the first officer asked.
Delilah gave a little chuckle, then it turned into a laugh. Soon, she was laughing so hard that tears streamed down her cheeks. The first officer nudged the second with her elbow. He edged away.
”Miss?” the first officer asked kindly. ”Is there someone I can call for you? Are you hiding from anybody, anybody who”s trying to hurt you?”
”No, I”m entirely on my own,” Delilah said. ”Nobody”s trying to hurt me.”
Except life. Life was trying to kick her ass. Looked right now that it was succeeding.
”Here”s a card for a women”s shelter,” the officer said. ”I believe you when you say you”re not being battered or anything, but they might help you stand on your own two feet.”
”Thanks,” Delilah said gratefully. ”I”m going to stay with a friend tonight.”
”I”ll stay with you while you pack,” the officer said.
Nothing made Delilah tear up more than a stranger being kind to her, but she held herself together while the two of them went into the ransacked house. They found a couple of trash bags and tossed in Delilah”s few clothes, and all of McKenzie”s clothes and diapers. One of Delilah’s coworkers at the rental agency had given Delilah a used travel crib. Since Delilah didn”t travel, she almost hadn”t accepted it. Now, she was glad she had. Delilah and the officer packed the travel crib, along with McKenzie”s diapers and all the clothes, into the back of Delilah”s car. They had to shove aside the box of old junk that Delilah had taken to the pawn shop, but they fit it all inside in the end.
After thanking the officer and trying not to cry, Delilah put a screaming McKenzie back into the car and drove to Ben”s house.
“This, baby girl, has been a day,” she said over McKenzie”s crying.
The drive to Belnedge was uneventful, if noisy.
Chase”s brother was waiting on the front step when Delilah drove up. He came over to the car without a word and helped Delilah unload the trunk. He was even stronger than he looked, and that was saying something, because like Chase had been, Ben was ripped. He somehow managed to get everything in one trip. When he reached for the file box, Delilah told him to leave it.
”Thanks for having us,” she said tentatively.
”No problem.”
A man of few words. Delilah shook her head, confused over why he would help her like this. Everything about him seemed to say he didn’t care. And yet, here she was, invited to his house.
She followed him through the house and down the hallway, barely paying attention to their surroundings. The living room was sparse with only a couch, a low coffee table, and a large TV. The room Ben led her to was even sparser. There was a queen-sized bed, a nightstand, a dresser, and an en-suite bathroom. Delilah set McKenzie”s carrier down on the floor and got to work figuring out the travel crib.
”I remember Marty telling me there was some kind of trick to this,” she said to Ben, who stood frozen by the doorway. ”I can”t remember what the trick was, though.”
”I”ll just be in the living room,” Ben said. ”Give me a shout if you need something.”
Delilah wrestled with the travel crib for a few minutes before finally remembering that Marty”s instruction had been to lift up on the sides, instead of pushing them down.
“Totally counterintuitive,” Delilah muttered. ”I swear this thing was manufactured by sadists.”
She thought she heard a laugh from the living room. Maybe Ben was watching TV.
McKenzie was pretty calm, and Delilah looked longingly at the bathroom. She peeked inside and saw a shower. She couldn”t remember the last time she”d had a shower. Sure, she’d rubbed a wet washcloth over her body a few times in the past week. It was barely enough to feel clean.
She took McKenzie out of her carrier and nursed her. Get the baby fed and happy before asking for a big favor.
Delilah nearly fell asleep while she leaned back in the bed and nursed McKenzie. But the call of the shower was too strong. After McKenzie was done, Delilah padded into the front room. Ben was stretched out on the couch, the television off.
”I hate to ask you for something else,” Delilah said.
His mouth quirked up on one side. ”I get the feeling you’re gonna ask me anyway.”
Delilah smiled. She couldn”t tell if she was annoying him or not. But she had a vision—a vision of getting under warm, pounding water. Clean skin. Freshly-washed hair.
”I was wondering if you could hold McKenzie while I take a shower,” she said.
His entire posture stiffened. ”You want me to hold the baby?”
”If it wouldn”t be too much trouble. I just fed her, and she seems pretty happy.”
He was quiet for a second. As if bracing himself, he nodded. ”Okay.”
Delilah walked over to him. ”Have you ever held a baby before?”
”I think so. I don”t really remember. I think I once held my friend Laura”s baby brother.”
”Great. So you know you have to support the head. McKenzie”s really strong, but I”m still careful about it.”
He nodded, and she saw his Adam”s apple go up and down with a gulp. ”Got it,” he said.
Delilah handed over McKenzie. Her baby girl looked even tinier in the giant, muscular arms of the man lying on the couch.
He sat up awkwardly, as if he didn”t care how uncomfortable he was, he just wanted the baby to be comfortable. Delilah”s heart melted a little at that.
”Okay,” Delilah said. ”You good?”
Ben didn”t look up; his eyes stayed on the baby. ”Yeah.”
”Great, thanks.” Delilah skedaddled toward the shower. She would finally be clean, which was good because she was starting a new job tomorrow.