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“He’s a cop,” Sig finished for her.
“Yes, but...” Dr. Bryson pushed her glasses up to the top of her head. “He’s dealt with some bad PTSD due to his time in the Marines. He saw... things. And when we met, he never wanted kids... for reasons I’d prefer not to get into. While being a mother has been all I’ve ever wanted, fate made it so I couldn’t have my own. However, with years of therapy and medication and with the help of his nieces and nephews, Matt’s finally ready. But now that he’s ready, we have to wait. If you’re willing, we could take this baby. Love and protect him or her. And we’d be okay if you wanted an open adoption, Autumn. If you decided you’d want a relationship with him or her.” Since Autumn didn’t say anything, the doctor turned to Sig. “Since I’m still concerned with her and the baby’s health, my recommendation remains that she come stay with us until the baby is born. We’ll make sure she has everything she needs.”
“No.”
“Sig...”
“Will bring her here as often as you think she needs, but we’ll keep her safe. No one else will keep her safer than us.”
“Since Matt is a cop, he’s quite capable of keeping her safe. His family is full of cops.”
“No shit and he leaves for work. So do you. I got people who can watch her. Make sure she eats. Round the clock. Make sure she’s safe. Round the clock. People who ain’t afraid of doin’ whatever’s necessary to protect her. Bet you can’t say that about your husband’s family.”
“If I tell him about what happened to her and how the baby was conceived, he’ll want her with us.”
“No,” Sig said more firmly, the muscles in his jaw working. Autumn wasn’t sure if he realized how tightly he was gripping her hand. She winced, squeezed his fingers and he dropped her hand.
“How am I going to explain where the baby comes from? He’ll want to meet her. Being a police officer, he’ll want to know the details. They’re so damn detail oriented.” She grimaced. “Believe me.”
“Don’t tell ‘im. Keep it a secret. After the baby’s born, just bring it home. Tell ‘im the mother gave it to you at the hospital ‘cause she couldn’t take care of it. That’s it.”
“Autumn will need to sign legal paperwork. And he’ll need to be on the birth certificate. Having both of our names on it will help protect the baby from... them.”
“Draw up whatever paperwork you need. She signs, she signs. She don’t?” Sig shrugged.
Autumn finally spoke, tired of this conversation. Tired of them negotiating over her and the seed like she was a used car. “I’ll sign whatever you want, Dr. Bryson, as long as you don’t tell anyone where it came from. If it gets back to them...”
Carly nodded. “No one will know but us. But, please, call me Carly.”
“Not even your husband, Carly,” Autumn said. Sig was right, the man was a cop. He’d be obligated to go up that mountain if he knew the truth and that could cause a huge problem. The Shirleys couldn’t give a crap about her, they only wanted the seed. They only needed her to finish growing it since she hadn’t submitted the way they had hoped when they first brought her there. They’d hoped for a submissive woman who was easily manipulated, and they didn’t find that with her.
They had been lied to when she was traded to them. They assumed she’d be docile and obedient.
She wasn’t. And Vernon had been angry when he discovered he got the wrong side of the deal.
Very angry.
“I’m not sure that’s a secret I can keep,” Carly admitted. “There was a crime...”
“Just tell him I’m a single mom who wants a loving family for the seed she can’t raise. No one needs to know who planted it. No one.”
Carly drew her hands over her face, then shook her head, her green eyes troubled. “I don’t know.”
“For its safety,” Autumn pleaded. “Please. I’ll meet your husband. You don’t have to lie. I can do it for you.”
Carly said nothing for the longest time. “Okay. I’ll agree with this for now. But as much as I want a baby of my own, I also don’t want to destroy my marriage. It’s been a hell of a journey for us to get this far. I don’t want to ruin everything we’ve worked for.”
A muscle in Sig’s jaw jumped. “You tell ‘im how this baby came about and he’ll have to do somethin’ about it. By goin’ up there and arrestin’ ‘em, they’ll find out your baby’s theirs and fight you for it. You know how those fucknuts like to sue, how they like to stick it to the legal system and the pigs, too. You could lose that fuckin’ kid and it might end up being raised up on that mountain. You wanna risk that?”
