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Gabe got out of the car and walked up to the porch, taking in the state trooper uniform and me cowering behind the still-locked door. “Hey, what’s going on?”
“Everything’s fine,” Elijah said in a smooth voice, like he hadn’t just been threatening me. “We’re through here. Have a good night, sir.”
He brushed past Gabe and jogged down the stairs the white SUV parked at the curb. Weird that he was in uniform but driving an unmarked car. I watched until he pulled away, unable to move, unable to breathe.
“So, are you going to let me in and explain what just happened?” Gabe asked, concern written all over his handsome face.
With a nod, I slid the chain free, then hung heavily on the door as I opened it for him, still afraid my knees would give way.
“You need to tell me what’s wrong,” he said. He studied me then put his arm around my waist to help me over to the sofa. As soon as I was settled he went back to lock the door. Gabe came over and sat beside me, taking my cold hands in his to warm them. “Who was that? Why was he here?”
“He’s … he’s Alexis’s ex. His name is Elijah Harris.”
“Shit, he’s acop?” Gabe exclaimed. “That complicated things. Son of a bitch. I can’t believe he had the balls to show up here.”
“Believe it,” I said, staring down at our entwined fingers, drawing strength from the warmth of his hand, from him. “There’s something not right about him, Gabe. I can’t put my finger on it, but it’s like, when I looked into his eyes, they were dead.”
He nodded and looked like he wanted to say more, but then Savannah wailed for her bottle and reality snapped back to normal. I was thankful that she managed to sleep through the confrontation.
“I have a bottle for her in the microwave,” I said, still not moving.
“I’ll get it and feed her.” Gabe stood. “I want you to take it easy, and when you’re feeling stronger I want you to tell me everything you remember about that conversation. Every detail.”
As he walked away down the hall, I went back to the door, double- and triple-checking to make sure it was locked.
SEVEN
Over the course of a few days I managed to transition from a clumsy oaf that knew nothing about infants to a pretty competent baby whisperer. I could feed, change and dress Savannah on my own, without any input from Charlotte.
Our arrangement was strange, sure, but we were making it work. I never imagined myself in this position yet here I was with spit-up on the front of my shirt and a snuggly little one nestled on my shoulder. I was comfortable with it. Hell, I wasgoodat it.
It was morning and Charlotte was rushing around, getting dressed while trying to choke down breakfast, when her phone rang. I was sitting in the living room, doing my best not to eavesdrop, but it was kind of impossible in such a small area.
“Hey, Mom,” she said, cradling the phone between her cheek and shoulder while she rummaged around in the fridge. “Now isn’t really a great time. What? Oh.”
I could tell from Charlotte’s tone that whatever her mom had said wasn’t good. I shifted on the sofa to look back over my shoulder into the kitchen. Charlotte was leaning her hips against the counter now and rubbing her temple while she frowned. Yep. Definitely not good.
Concerned, I stood and walked into the kitchen with Savannah and gave Charlotte an inquiring look, mouthing “What’s wrong?”
She waved me off and turned to face the window over the sink. “Okay, well, it can’t be helped. No, Mom. It’s fine. I hope you feel better soon. I’ll just need to rearrange some stuff on my schedule. Move that franchising meeting again and find someone to cover for me. It’s fine. Seriously. You rest and take care of yourself. I’ll call you later. Bye.”
Once Charlotte ended the call, I asked, “What’s going on? You’ve moved that meeting like twice already, right?”
Charlotte turned back to me, looking defeated. “Yeah, but Mom’s got a cold and can’t take Savannah today, so I don’t really have a choice.”
“I can take her,” I offered.
“What?” Charlotte chuckled. “Uh, no. Thanks for the offer, but no.”
“Why?” Now it was my turn to frown. “Look, I know it’s hard to believe, and that I still sometimes act like I could break her if I hold her the wrong way, but I’ve learned a lot the past six days. I can handle it. You know it’s true.”
She blinked at me a moment, like she was considering it, then shook her head. “No. I can’t ask you to do that. I’ll get someone to cover my shifts today. One of my managers is usually willing to pick up some extra hours.”
“What about the franchising meeting?”
Charlotte shrugged, reaching out to take Savannah’s tiny hand. “I don’t know. I wasn’t really sure about that whole deal anyway. It’s probably better if I put it off for now.”
Yeah. I wasn’t buying that. “Come on. Seriously. I can watch her for a few hours. We’ll be fine. Go do what you need to do.” At Charlotte’s incredulous look, I added, “We’ve come to an understanding, Savannah and me.”
