Page 98 of Sudden Summer

I shook my head. “I don’t think I have.”

“Birdie, this is Isla. Isla, this is Birdie, Colt’s sister-in-law.”

“Oh, it’s so nice to meet you.” Isla smiled and held out her hand. I shook it before returning to pat Juniper’s back through the carrier. “Is this your daughter? She’s so precious.”

For half a second, I froze. Beau and I hadn’t really talked about how I should or shouldn’t introduce myself in relation to Juniper. In the end, I opted to skip past the title and just jump straight into chattering away about the baby.

“This is Juniper! We were just getting some morning exercise in before it got too hot, but it’s already starting to feel like the sun might melt us on the walk back.”

Nate laughed. “It really just jumped right from spring to summer, didn’t it? There was no gradually warming us all up to it.”

“No, certainly not.” My eyes dropped to the jugs in their hands. “I don’t want to hold you up, if you’re heading in to get water.”

“It’s the only water we’ll drink. A bit of a hike out from Bell Ridge, but Nate told me about the water here a few months ago, and I just can’t get enough of it. I swear, my headaches are almost non-existent anymore.”

“That’s wonderful. I’m a big believer in the magic of the water.”

Juniper’s fist went to her mouth, a little grunt of exasperation filling the air. My body started swaying on instinct, but I knew our time out and about was going to be cut short. She must have hit a growth spurt…up at weird hours last night and now wanting a bottle so shortly after her last one.

“I don’t want to hold you both up, but would you mind if I borrowed Nate for one minute?”

Isla smiled at her boyfriend. “Not at all. I’ll start filling these up.”

“Leave them on the ground so I can carry them out to the car, okay?” he instructed.

She laughed, rolling her eyes. “What? Just because you’re a big, strong deputy, you think I can’t do it on my own?”

“I didn’t say that at all,” Nate defended. “I just don’t want you to have to do it.”

“Very chivalrous of you, babe. Don’t worry, I’ll leave the jugs on the ground. Birdie, it was so nice to meet you!”

“You too, Isla.”

I watched as she turned and disappeared into the small building.

“What’s going on?” Nate snapped into deputy mode almost as quickly as Colt would have if I was talking to him instead.

“I just was wondering if the missing baby from Lark Lake was found.”

His face fell. “No, she hasn’t been. There haven’t been any updates in days. We’re trying everything we can, but even his family is saying they haven’t been around him in months, if not longer.”

“It’s just terrible. I can’t sleep. I’ve been thinking about you and your mom a lot. There should be a place here in Clarence County for women to go to.”

Nate nodded. “A safe haven. Someplace quiet, and protected. I hate that it’s needed, but God, it would be nice to have some place like that. Then when we get called to the same house for a fifth domestic that year, we could actually offer some sort of real solution and support, instead of just telling them to go to Dallas. Makes my stomach hurt every time.”

I bit the inside of my cheek. “If I started a non-profit, would you want to help?”

Nate’s eyes went wide. “A non-profit to…”

“To help women in Clarence County, who might need a safe place to land. I have no idea how or where to even start. But I’ll try. I have to try. For women like Alexis, and your mom.”

Nate didn’t hesitate. “Yes. Yeah! I’m in! Definitely. Just tell me what you need and we can figure it out. Someone to hammer nails? Okay. Someone to balance the books? Eh, on second thought, you might want to handle that yourself.”

I danced on my tiptoes as I laughed, a move that got a squeak of delight from Juniper.

“Thank you. And if it’s ever too much⁠—”

“I can’t think of a better thing to be doing. It’s going to be great to honor my mom this way,” Nate sighed, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. “Look, there is something I want to mention since I have you here.”