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“Let me guess. A sexy, young Santa Clause!” Jewel maintained her outrageous sense of humor as usual.
“Cole.” Hope finally spoke then waited for Jewel’s response.
“Who?” Jewel’s tone sharpened. “You’re not serious, girl. Does he know?”
“Y-yes. He knows now.”
“And?” Jewel asked uneasily.
“We need to get together soon. I think Cole might want to take Mia away from me after seeing her here living out of the garage with me. I just feel it.”
“Has he been in contact with anyone in Lendovia?”
“No. Not that I know of. Though he asked if my father knew. I told him not to say a word.”
A sigh sounded on the other end of the phone. “Make sure you keep it that way, Hope. You need to make sure, do you hear me? He’s not to speak with anyone in Lendovia. And he’s not to breathe a word.”
“Well, I can’t just expect him to keep Mia a secret from the world, Jewel. Word might eventually get back to Lendovia.”
Jewel paused on the other end of the phone. “I’m going to discuss a few things with my guy. Then…” She drew in a deep breath. “We’ll see if we need to go with plan C.”
“Plan C?”
“Well, we’ve already done plan B and it doesn’t seem to be working out well, does it?” Jewel’s tone grew more serious. “The trouble is, I know you still love him, Hope, but I don’t want you to slip up about what happened in college. God, why does love have to be so complicated?”
“That’s it. Love’s not supposed to make things complicated; it’s supposed to make things clear. I’ve really messed up, Jewel. Now, I fear what he might do if he found out about what happened in college…and…”
“Shh, don’t say anything over the phone. It’ll be all right. We’ll get together about it soon.”
“This was a bad plan from the beginning. The thing is, I really love him. I’ve never stopped and now that he knows about Mia…”
“One step at a time,” Jewel reassured her. “One step at a time.”
Chapter 6
After Hope replaced the phone on the receiver, she heard the key turn in the lock and her landlord, Reggie, opened her door.
“What are you doing in here?” she said, turning to face him.
“I own this place. Or have you forgotten?”
“I’m a tenant, Reggie. I’m renting this…place. I told you already, you have no right to just step inside my apartment.” If she could call it that.
“Yes, well, tenants pay their rent on time.”
“I’m up-to-date.”
“No, you’re not. You still owe me last month’s rent deposit.”
Hope narrowed her eyes, her heart pounding in her chest. God, she wished she didn’t have to put up with this crap. She had her little girl sleeping in the far corner of the room. This was the last thing she needed. If only she didn’t have to stay in that crap place with a rude and unprofessional landlord. She wanted to say “I’m out of here” and storm out. But then where would she go? On the streets with her daughter?
“You’ll get your last month’s deposit. Please leave.”
Reggie made his way over to her, trying to intimidate her by violating her personal space. She could smell the scent of tobacco on his breath mixed with alcohol. God help her.
“I want it now,” he scowled.
“Get out of my face.”
“No.”
Just then Cole showed up and grabbed Reggie’s arm and shoved him to the side. “You heard the lady. Get out of her face.” Hope saw fury flash in Cole’s dark and sexy blue eyes. His expression was dangerous.
Reggie was undoubtedly intimated by Cole’s towering stature and muscular build. Cole could probably pick up Reggie and throw him to the curb with minimal effort. From what she remembered, Cole used to work out regularly at the gym, sometimes bench pressing two hundred pounds of iron weights. She couldn’t have been more relieved and honored to have Cole right there and then in her corner defending her. Thank God he showed up when he did.
“I’m calling the cops…y-y-you assaulted me,” Reggie said to Cole.
“Go ahead and call the cops. And please give my regards to Chief Calinksky, my golfing buddy. Oh, and while you’re at it, let him know that you’re renting out your garage to a woman and child despite the new Belmont City bylaws that state it’s illegal.”
Reggie swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down his throat, the look of terror in his eyes. Without a word, Reggie adjusted his shirt and hurried out of the garage apartment slamming the door behind him.
“Hope, you don’t have to put up with that. Would you like to come with me? I’d love for you to stay at the palace. You and Mia.”
“I’d love to, Cole,” she said, looking appalled at the now-closed garage door where Reggie just exited, shaking her head. And to think she’d given him enough money to rent a space that she didn’t even realize was illegal. If she did, she wouldn’t have bothered. Not that she had many choices to begin with.
“Let’s get Mia,” Cole said.
Before long, a sound of wheezing came from the far corner.
“Oh, no. Mia!” Hope gasped.
Hope’s heart was pounding; Mia lay on the floor wheezing, more heavily this time. Hope frantically looked around for one of the backup inhalers—glad she kept a stock of a few of them in every area of the apartment. Minutes were precious when someone had an attack.
Hope quickly grabbed the blue-colored puffer used for emergencies and the chamber and placed it to her little girl’s face as she hugged her closely. There had been two attacks in one evening. Not a good sign. She would need to go to the hospital this time.
When her child was settled, Cole protectively scooped her up in his arms.
“Are you okay, sweetie?” Cole said soothingly to his little girl.
She gave a weak nod like a frightened kitten, clutching tightly to her worn brown teddy.
His daughter’s health and safety was top priority.
“We’re going for a ride to the hospital, okay?” he said to Hope’s surprise and relief.
Of course, Cole must have read her mind, because that was exactly her next move. They were in sync.
Cole could not believe what was happening. It was as if a change transformed within him all of a sudden. He was a father. This was his child. His responsibility. He could never turn his back on this precious little girl. Ever.
He also knew he could not turn his back on his family situation back home either.
“Are you okay with everything?” Cole turned to Hope as he carried Mia in his arms.
Hope hesitated then nodded. She could barely speak. Her little girl needed medical attention. Pronto. And her ride—her emotional support and baby daddy was there and ready.
Hope didn’t want to admit it, but she needed Cole. She needed him more than ever. She was so grateful he was there for her. For Mia. What a relief. She felt so secure when he took charge. She was always the one to jump to get things done. She took charge where matters were concerned with Mia, but now she had backup support. She had company. She was not alone.
The snow flurries blew softly amidst the dark December night. The thick tires of the car spun in the snow for seconds as Cole reversed out of the visitor parking lot.
Hope noticed Cole’s intense gaze through the rearview mirror as she secured her daughter in her car seat and she buckled up her own seatbelt. His eyes were warm and filled with compassion.
It took moments for them to arrive at the ER at the Belmont General Hospital. Cole dropped off Hope and Mia at the sliding doors then he went to seek parking.
How many times had Mia had an attack with only one parent to support her? The thought churned Cole’s stomach and caused an unsettling feeling to reside inside him. He wished Hope had tried harder to contact him, to let him know about Mia.
He hurried in through the doors to find Hope speaking with the triage nurse as Mia snuggled up in her arms. She was rocking her little girl while the nurse had a tiny blood pressure cuff wrapped around Mia’s left arm.
Hope told the nurse that Cole was Mia’s father. She was grateful she didn’t have to wait long since Mia had shortness of breath. The medical team was trained to triage by emergency. Luckily, the waiting area didn’t seem as packed. There was a man with crutches waiting. A young woman had a wrapped baby in her arms. Another elderly couple sat calmly. Her friend who was also a nurse taught her about the ABCs of emergency care. Airway, breathing and circulation. If a person’s airway was compromised they usually got tended to first.
“Name?”
“Mia…” Hope gave a pause before answering, “Morgan.” She had given her daughter her own last name, but it should have been Belmont.
Cole’s heart squeezed in his chest. Mia Morgan? She should have been born a Belmont, not a Morgan. The heat of disappointment surged through his body.
“What’s the reason you’re bringing in your daughter?” The nurse smiled at Mia. “Sorry you’re not feeling well, little one,” she continued, turning her attention to Mia. She then turned her head back to the keyboard as she typed everything into a computer-like machine.
