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~ Tiffany ~
Sitting in the space they’d made for Darkness and his little one, Rose held the baby out between the two of them. The contented little girl stared innocently up at them. Her dark eyes and a thick dusting of black hair were obvious gifts from her father’s native heritage, but her smooth, pale skin was Abby through and through. Rose pressed a baby rattler into her tiny palm, and they watched her shake it. An adorable smile lit up her little face.
Rose got all googly-eyed. “Isn’t she about the cutest baby you’ve ever seen?”
Reaching over, Tiffany smoothed two fingers over her soft, dark hair. “I’ve seen a lot of babies in my time at the hospital, but she’s about the most adorable one I’ve ever come across.”
“Her name’s Samantha Kelsey Andrews, soon to be Dawson. What do you think of that?”
“Can’t happen soon enough for me. The name change, I mean.”
Rose tickled the baby’s feet, making her smile. “I wonder whatever possessed the mother to give her up.”
Tiffany reached over and grabbed Rose by the arm. “It’s a long and terrible story, but you need to know something,” she imparted. “The mother is seriously messed up. If she ever approaches you, do not allow her to look at, touch, or hold the baby.”
Rose’s face contorted into a horrified expression. “What?”
Hating to be the bearer of bad news, Tiffany persisted anyway because this was just too important to be left unsaid. “Promise me, you’ll turn around and run if you ever meet her. She’s really dangerous and unpredictable.”
Looking stunned, Rose glanced away. “All right, I promise.”
Smoothing her hand down Rose’s shoulder in a comforting gesture, Tiffany allowed her hand to drop back to the bed. “You’re really good with babies. How’s she doing?”
Rose perked back up and couldn’t seem to keep the smile off her face. “She’s just like every other baby I’ve ever seen. Maybe a little easygoing, and she has her father’s eyes. You should see Darkness with her. He’s amazing when he uses his baby voice.”
Tiffany relaxed a little. Rose was right about Darkness. He was taking to be a father, like a fish to water. Still, the girl had been raised by club whores for a month and then shuffled off to a boarding school for the last three months. Peering down into her little face, it hit Tiffany like a ton of bricks. This beautiful baby never had real parents until Darkness came into her life. That was wrong on so many levels.
Tiffany felt herself tearing up and immediately fought it off. “Old Doc Reynolds gave her a physical a few days ago. He says she’s fine physically.”
“Why wouldn’t she be?” Rose asked, puzzled.
Unwilling to go into all the sad details, Tiffany murmured, “I never had a child of my own, so I guess I’m prone to worrying.”
“Stop it already,” Rose scolded. “She’s four months old, not a newborn.”
Picking up the baby, Rose held her up face-to-face in front of Tiffany. “Does this kid look sick or unhappy or anything else bad to you?”
Reaching out, Tiffany took the baby from her, ignoring the way her heart seemed to swell on contact. “No, she’s as perfect as the day is long.”
“Glad we got that over with.” Preening a bit, Rose rolled into a more comfortable sitting position. “I want to go shopping for her. Can’t you get Darkness to give you some cash?”
Tiffany didn’t feel comfortable asking the brothers for money. Even though it was for his child, Tiffany would have thought Darkness would have asked if he wanted them shopping for his daughter. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to—”
Throwing her hands up, Rose laughed. “Screw it, I’ll ask him myself.” Rolling off the bed, the teen went bounding out of the room.
Tiffany shook her head. That girl was all impulse and energy. She couldn’t remember a time when she was that enthusiastic about anything. Running from her ex had sucked the joy right out of her life.
Looking down into the little one’s sweet face, Tiffany couldn’t help but smile. The precious little girl had dropped her rattle and was now trying rather unsuccessfully to cram her entire fist into her mouth at once.
“One day you’re going to understand about size, and on that day, you will no longer be interested in shoving your fist into your tiny, cute mouth. Until that day comes, we’ll just do a good old-fashioned bait and switch.”
Pulling her little fist out of her mouth, Tiffany dried it off with the blanket and placed the rattle back into her hand. Looking it over as if she’d never seen it before, the baby began to shake it. Cooing, she got lost in playing with the forgotten toy, while Tiffany looked over her tiny, delicate feet, marveling at each little toenail. She was too precious for words.
Within moments, Rose came back into the room with Darkness in tow. “I’m just saying you should get rid of the really sleazy ones.”
“What the hell are you talking about, kid? All whores are sleazy. It’s their defining characteristic.”
Not backing down, Rose folded her arms over her chest. “Well, I don’t think you want that kind of stuff around your child. You live in the clubhouse. It should be a more wholesome environment,” she admonished, sounding older than her years.
