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In the kitchen, I made breakfast to distract myself, my cheeks hot with embarrassment. I brewed coffee, fried eggs, and buttered toast, all while praying that by the time Gabe appeared, I wouldn’t feel like such an ass. But no such luck.
“Hey,” he said, walking into the kitchen, looking casually gorgeous in a black T-shirt and faded jeans with his feet bare and hair damp from his shower. “Uh, about the bedroom. I’m sorry if I scared you or whatever.” He did the hair-raking thing again, which I found adorable… and irritating because it was adorable. “I have trouble sleeping on a soft bed. I’m not used to it anymore. When I’m on missions we usually sleep on a cot or the ground, so…”
Well, that made sense, then. And now I felt sorry for him on top of everything else. Imagining him sleeping on the cold, hard ground with the bugs and the critters and… ugh. I grabbed some plates from the cupboard and began serving up the food. I started asking questions, afraid if I didn’t we’d lapse into awkward silence. “What about when you come home on leave? Where do you sleep then?”
“Thank you for this,” he said, taking the full plates and setting them on the table. “I don’t come home often, to be honest Since I don’t really have a home to come to anymore. I mainly stay in hotels when I do, and, yeah, sometimes I end up on the floor. I’ve got some friends in DC I sometimes crash with, and they’re used to my quirks.”
I handed him a mug and pointed to the coffee maker. “Grab some, and let’s eat before Savannah wakes up. She’ll sleep off her four a.m. bottle any time now. She’s nothing if not a good little eater.”
“Takes after her daddy then,” he said, chuckling. He fixed his coffee, then took a seat across from me at the table to eat. He was right: Savannah did take after him, appetite-wise. He managed to down pretty much all the food I’d made, with the exception of what I had on my plate. I wasn’t sure exactly where he put it, since there didn’t appear to be any spare fat on him. I concentrated on my food, and we made small talk as he checked his phone. For a little while everything felt … normal.
My phone rang as Gabe got up to clear the table. I stared down at the number for the social worker handling Savannah’s case on my caller ID, and my heart raced. “Hello?”
“Ms. Rhodes,” the social worker said. “This is Mrs. Thompson, from the Bureau for Children and Families. I’m calling to let you know that a new petition for custody has been made in the Savannah Barnes case, on the grounds that he’s her biological father. It’s by a man named Elijah Harris. Do you know him?”
My fingers went numb, and I nearly dropped my phone. I sank down on the living room couch, light-headed.
“Uh, yes. I know him,” I managed to say. “I mean, I know of him. Alexis talked about him.”
The social worker then rattled on about what would happen now that there’d been a paternity claim made, but I only half listened, my thoughts snarled into a knot. Finally, she said goodbye, and I ended the call with shaking fingers. Jesus. Alexis’s ex had filed a custody claim for Savannah. But why? He’d have to show reasonable evidence that he was connected to Alexis and could have fathered her baby, and Alexis had told me that she knew in her heart that Gabe was the father, so…
Oh God.
“Hey, where do you—” Gabe asked, walking up beside me. My inner turmoil must’ve shown on my face, because next thing I knew, he’d crouched down and covered my shaking, icy hands with his warm, steady ones. “What’s wrong?”
I swallowed hard, my mouth and throat so dry I could hardly spit out the words. But he needed to know. “It’s Alexis’s ex,” I croaked out. “He’s coming for Savannah. The social worker said he petitioned the court for custody.”
Gabe went silent, his expression hardening until he finally growled, feral and possessive. Under different circumstances, I would’ve found it hot. I liked guys who were a bit alpha. Right then, though, I was just thankful for the support. “I won’t let him touch a hair on Savannah’s head,” he said. “I swear. We’ll sort this out.”
* * *
A few hours later, after we’d gotten the baby up and fed and bathed, we loaded Savannah into the car and took off for the Jefferson County Courthouse. I did my best to act normal, but inside I was scared to death. There was no way I was letting Alexis’s ex take custody of her. I blinked at the road as I drove, my eyes stinging.
No. We wouldn’t let that happen. That was why we were going to the courthouse: so Gabe could put in his own petition for custody. He could prove once and for all that Savannah was his, and no one could ever take her away again. Especially not someone who was capable of … well, I wasn’t ready to go there yet.
Gabe sat in the passenger seat, a muscle ticking near his tense jaw. He couldn’t seem to sit still, fiddling with the radio, then the window, then his phone. I knew the feeling. I wanted to ask him more about his family, since he never really talked about them, but I didn’t feel comfortable enough to do that yet. It had to be hard for him, I supposed, not having anyone else in the world. My mom and I didn’t always get along well, but I knew she was there for me all the same.
My thoughts went back to high school, when Gabe had been Mr. Popular. Quarterback, Homecoming king, dating one of the cheerleaders. We hadn’t really hung out in the same circles, but I still felt like I knew him in a way. Then the accident had happened, and it was like he’d changed into a different person overnight. Became more serious and withdrawn. Of course, losing his family and his home would do that.
I remembered being in a math class with him, and where he’d always been the first to answer questions—because he was smart too— but after the accident he never raised his hand anymore. Just sat there, frowning down at his desk, probably dreaming of the day he could get the hell out of Harpers Ferry and away from all the pain the place held for him now. Apparently I’d been right, since he’d gone away a few days after graduation and never returned. Until now.
“Hey,” I said, turning down the radio he’d just cranked up. “It’s going to be all right. Isn’t that what you told me?”
He shrugged, staring out the window beside him, muttering, “Dammit, I should’ve come here yesterday and started the process.”
I shook my head and sighed. “The offices were closed long before you even got to town. Besides, I don’t think it would’ve mattered, Gabe. The court doesn’t care who got there first. That’s not how it works. And I doubt it would’ve stopped Alexis’s ex from filing. The social worker assured me that she wouldn’t remove Savannah from my care until the DNA tests came back, anyway.”
There was no way in hell I was letting that abusive asshole take Savannah from me. None.
Fear burned inside me like acid. I couldn’t even imagine a scenario where Gabe wasn’t the baby’s father, because that would be just… wrong.
I mean, there was no proof her ex had been involved in Alexis’s death. But even if he hadn’t killed her and it was just some random act of violence, he’d frightened and harassed her, and that was unacceptable. I refused to turn over sweet Savannah to him without a fight.
I must’ve sped up as my anger built, because next thing I knew, Gabe was leaning over to peer at the speedometer.
“Uh, you might want to slow down there,” he said, giving me some side-eye. “It won’t help anyone if we’re arrested for reckless driving and endangering a minor. We’ve got time.”
Do we?I wanted to yell but didn’t. He was right. I looked in the rearview mirror at Savannah sleeping peacefully in her car seat and knew I’d do anything for her. Anything.
