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By the time I walked up the stairs to my apartment, I was damp clear through from the chilly October mist and wishing I’d taken my car that morning.
The lights were still on in Oopsie Daisies, even though it’d been closed for an hour. Piper was likely in the back, prepping for her busy weekend. Normally I’d go in and check on her, but I needed to hurry.
I entered the apartment and saw Jewel’s bedroom light on, heard talking, either her or her TV, behind her closed door. Relieved that she was occupied, I hurried to my room to pack a bag. I wasn’t sure why, but I was hesitant to talk to my roomies face-to-face about my day. It’d be easier to text them both my plans for the night once I was back at Knox’s.
In my room, I grabbed a couple of changes of clothes and some leggings and a sweatshirt to sleep in, knowing I’d be up at least once or twice and that the middle of the night would be cold. I hurried to the hall bathroom Jewel and I shared and started stuffing necessities into my bag.
“What’s with the sneaking around?” Jewel asked from right behind me, startling me.
“I could ask you the same,” I said. “You scared me to death.”
“Where are you going?”
I met her gaze in the mirror. Her face was makeup free, her dark hair pulled sloppily into a ponytail at her nape, and she had deep shadows under her eyes.
“You look like crap,” I said.
“Fucking shots.” She rolled her eyes and smiled sheepishly. “Whose idea was all that?”
I laughed. “Hundred percent yours, Ms. Bar Manager.”
She shook her head. “Yay, me. It’s lucky today was my day off. You must be exhausted after working all day.” She narrowed her eyes as I threw in my toothbrush and toothpaste. “Did I miss something last night? Did you meet a guy?”
“You missed a lot of somethings last night, but no, I didn’t meet a guy.”
“Last time I’m going to ask nicely. Where are you heading? Watching Molly for your stepmoron?”
“No.” I grinned like I always did when she called my stepmom an immature but accurate name. “I’m spending the night with Knox Breckenridge. In his guest room. Taking care of his baby.”
“Wait… What?” The look she gave me said I was crazy. I laughed, because I’d done that on purpose.
Knowing the news of the dropped-off baby was already filtering through town—Ava had said that Chloe had already heard, and not from Seth, Cash, or Holden—I told my roommate about it.
Jewel frowned. “You’re spending the night at some old dude’s house you don’t know?”
Throwing my cleanser and some makeup basics in my bag, I said, “I know him. I’ve waited on his table half a dozen times before.”
My roommate’s brows shot up. “Oh, well, then I’m sure everything’ll be just fine,” she said sarcastically.
“The Henrys know him. Technically heisa Henry.”
“I heard about that.” She leaned her back against the doorframe and crossed her arms. “That doesn’t make him okay. The very fact that he hid it from them for months just means he can hide things.”
“We all hide things,” I said. “I don’t get the serial-killer vibe from him. I’ll be fine, Mom. Besides, the baby is cute as a freaking button. And he needs help with her, believe me. He’d never held a baby before today.”
“Which begs the question, why would someone leave a baby with him?”
“Because he’s a good-hearted man who wouldn’t hurt a baby.”
“And you know this how?”
“I just do.”
Call it gut instinct or whatever you wanted to call it, but I knew in my bones that Knox would never hurt a baby. Not on purpose, and I doubted he’d even manage to accidentally hurt Juniper. He was too concerned to let anything happen to her.
When I had everything I needed, I turned to find Jewel still leaning there, arms crossed, looking disapproving.
“Come on,” I said. “He’s been in town for months. Lots of people know him.”
