AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I can feed him if you want to study those.” Cole’s offer caught her off guard since he had just dodged contact with his son upstairs. She was tempted to take him up on it since it would be easier for her, but she and Eddy had been doing fine without him. There was no need for Cole to play daddy just out of a sense of obligation when she knew that interacting with Eddy wasn’t what he wanted. He must have read her doubts because he added, “I’m serious. I can do it.” He got up and walked over to where the container of formula and sterilized bottles were stored on the counter. “Just walk me through this part.”
“Okay,” she said, with a degree of reluctance. She gave directions as he put formula and water in a bottle and put it in the electric warmer. “It’ll only take a few minutes to heat up.” She was bouncing Eddy and blowing raspberries on his belly to keep him entertained.
“You decided not to breastfeed,” Cole commented.
Did he have any clue how loaded the breastfeeding question was, or was he asking out of oblivious curiosity? He didn’t sound judgmental, but her hackles went up anyway. She was tempted to tell him that her decisions regarding Eddy were none of his business. The decision was one that they could have worked through together if he’d been around, but Cole hadn’t been with her by his own choice. On the other hand, he was trying to be helpful now, and the child was his son, so she relented.
“I wanted to, but it didn’t work out.” She kept her answer short, refusing to elaborate. Her failed attempt at breastfeeding had been a disappointment to her. She’d wanted that close bonding with her child. “It’s done,” she said when the light on the warmer came on. “You’ll want a burp cloth. They’re in the top drawer.”
Before he sat across from her at the table, he got a cloth and put it over his shoulder almost like he’d done it before. She transferred Eddy to Cole’s arms, cognizant of the fact that this was the first time he’d held his own child. If Cole was thinking the same thing, he didn’t say it. She tried not to obsess over what his expression might mean, focusing instead on how Eddy was reacting to the giant stranger holding him.
“Let his head rest in the crook of your arm. He likes to be a little more upright than some babies.” She adjusted Eddy until he seemed comfortable and secure, working quickly before he could start screaming for his bottle. “Go ahead and put the nipple against his lips.” When Eddy was a newborn, she’d had to coax him to take the bottle, but he was all business now and began sucking it down without prompting. “Let him have about half of it before you burp him.”
“Got it,” Cole said, his eyes on the baby.
“You’ve fed an infant before?” she questioned since Cole seemed relaxed.
“A few times.” Cole didn’t look up. Was it because he was fascinated with his own child? Or was he just being diligent? Either way, he seemed intent on his task, and so she returned to hers. She couldn’t allow herself to fantasize about whatever bonding may or may not be happening between father and son. It didn’t matter how idyllic they looked together when it was only temporary.
In the quiet, she re-read the remaining reports that were deemed evidence against her father by the Navy. Still nothing popped out at her. “I wish I had access to his computer.”
“Why? What would that tell you?” Cole asked.
“Maybe nothing,” she admitted, “but something doesn’t seem right to me. Have you considered that my dad might have been set up by someone?” She was floating the idea to see what his reaction would be.
“What are you thinking, Kelsey?” He pulled the bottle out of Eddy’s mouth and checked how much he’d consumed before giving it back to the baby.
That you’d make a great dad to a little boy.She kept that unexpected thought to herself and focused on her objective. Convince Cole that her father was being framed.
“Let’s reason this out,” she said. “If you were going to commit treason, would you use your government-issued computer to do so—and then leave it behind when you fled instead of taking it with you? Dad’s way too smart for that.”
“But those reports were accessed on his computer. Do you see anything that disputes that?”
“No, but what I can’t tell is who accessed them. It all might have happened after he was already gone. If I had the computer, I might be able to glean something. Without that, I’m just using logic. Anyone with his username and password could have generated those reports. My guess is that the Navy issued the username and password to him.”
“So someone else who might be higher up could find them out.” Cole caught on to her idea.
“That or IT staff.” Nothing was ever secret in the Navy or anywhere else in the world of tech. She didn’t hack computers, but there were plenty of people who did.
“All right. You make a good point.” Cole shifted the baby to burp him. “Kels, I don’t really think your father is guilty of treason.”
“Thanks.” She met his eyes. On the beach, she’d been upset about his doubts. Now that she could be more pragmatic, she understood that the evidence was damning, and Cole hadn’t come to terms with it yet. It seemed he had now, and they were back to being on the same side. “So let’s look at this from every angle. Assuming Dad is guilty, what would be his motive?”
“This kind of treason generally has one motive. Money,” he said. “Or maybe power, but power and money tend to go together.”
“Right. Just to be sure, I checked Dad’s bank accounts. I found no transactions of any kind since his disappearance, and no large sums of money coming or going for the past year. He could have opened an account I don’t know about or have access to, but you know Dad’s never been driven by money.”
Eddy burped loudly, making Cole laugh, and she once again had the elusive sensation that this was how it could have been. The three of them together, sitting around the table. She shook the thought off. It was a nice fantasy, but it wouldn’t last.
“Think he’s ready for more bottle?” Cole asked.
“See if he wants it,” she suggested and waited while Cole readjusted Eddy. Soon the infant was eating again, so she returned to the issue of treason. “The other most likely motive for selling out your country is wanting revenge after thinking that you’ve somehow been wronged by the government. You know that’s not the case with Dad. He loves the U.S. and the Navy. He wouldn’t betray what he holds dear.”
“That all makes sense, but it leaves us with questions.” Cole pulled his eyes from the baby to look at her. “Why did he disappear? And why is someone threatening to harm you and Eddy? We’re still at square one when it comes to figuring out who is behind this.”
He was right about that. They’d been spinning their wheels for the past day, and time was running out. “If we knew who, that might help us figure out what really happened and why Dad felt he had to run. I just wish we had more clues.” The letter she’d received gave no indication of the sender, so that was a dead end, plus it was now in the hands of the police. The Navy wasn’t going to be forthcoming, which left them with…the email. Her father’s message to Cole could contain something. She’d only read it once and hadn’t yet investigated it more closely. “What about—?”
“The email,” Cole said at the same time.
