AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He grinned. “We weren’t right for each other, not really. I’m not sure I’m cut out for marriage. I’ll be honest. I wasn’t faithful when we were dating. I always had my eye out for a pretty girl. I even asked out your best friend, though she said no. Others didn’t, though. You deserve better than that, and I’m sorry Eric was such a heel.”
She tried not to show her shock, but he must have heardthe gasp she tried to hold in because his smile vanished. “I-I don’t know what to say.”
“I’m good at hiding what a heel I can be.” He glanced out the window at the slam of a car door. “My crew is here, so I’d better get to work. Glad it all meets with your approval. Have Mary and your sisters come by and take a look too.”
“I will.” She watched him yank out a hammer from the loop on his tool belt and head down the hall.
The shock of his confession was beginning to fade, but she still felt a little stunned and disoriented. She never would have guessed Ryan would admit he’d cheated on her. And not just asking out her friend. Hearing that right after learning about Eric’s infidelity made her question some men’s integrity.
She hugged the baby to her and buried her nose in his sweet-smelling hair. She needed to make sure her son became a man of morals and integrity. Taking him to church wouldn’t be enough—she’d have to teach him to love God and care about other people. It was a big job to accomplish all by herself, but she had to do it. Other single mothers had raised good men. So could she.
Carrying Noah across the yard, she saw Lucas in the backyard approaching his truck. He spotted her and stopped to wait for her. She picked up the pace and was out of breath when she reached him.
He plucked Noah from her arms and smiled down into his face. The baby kicked his feet and squealed as he reached out his chubby hands to grab at Lucas’s nose. “Hey, buddy.” Lucas’s gaze went to Carly. “You’re out early.”
“Ryan wanted me to approve the floor plan before they started putting up drywall. Have you seen it? It’s amazing.”
“Looks good. Did your sisters see it too?”
She shook her head. “They weren’t up yet. I’m supposed to send them over after a while.”
Did he know Ryan hadn’t been faithful? The words hovered on her tongue, but she couldn’t do it. The secret wasn’t hers to tell. If Ryan wanted his brother to know, he’d tell him. Lucas already realized she hadn’t been the person he’d thought she was. That was enough.
“Off to work?” she asked.
She held out her arms for the baby, and Lucas handed Noah back to her. “Yeah, Vince tracked down Kelly’s new address. She moved to Savannah.”
“You’re going to Savannah?”
“Not yet. I have to file reports in the office. Boring day but I have to do it. I’ll give Kelly a day or two, then go see what I can find out.”
“I could talk to her. Maybe she’d tell me.”
“I don’t think so, Carly. She didn’t tell you when we saw her last time, and it’s a moot point anyway. I’ll take care of it.” He tickled Noah under the chin. “See you tonight.”
She watched him drive off before she headed to the house. Savannah was only an hour away. She could be there by midmorning. Vince would give her the address.
***
Kelly’s new house was a white two-story with dormers and a large porch set back from the road. The moss hanging from the live oaks sheltered the house from prying eyes and madefor a pretty backdrop. Carly parked and got out. She lifted her sleeping baby from the car seat and headed for the steps.
A screen door let in the breeze, and as Carly mounted the steps, she heard a baby’s wail. The wail increased in tenor to a sound of pure distress, and she quickened her pace. She reached the entry and pressed the doorbell. “Kelly,” she called.
No footsteps approached the door, and the baby continued to cry, a heart-tugging sound Carly couldn’t ignore. After a second callout to Kelly, Carly tried the screen door, which wasn’t locked. She stepped into the foyer and moved toward the sound of the crying baby to her left. Following the wails, she went up the stairs and down the hall to a bedroom where she found baby Caroline. The baby’s diaper had drenched her onesie as well as the sheet over the mattress.
She laid Noah in a bouncy seat on the floor, then popped a pacifier in Caroline’s mouth for a minute while she cleaned up the baby and the mattress. “There, there, sweetheart,” she soothed. The baby’s lips worked the pacifier, but the frown lines between her blue eyes didn’t ease, and Carly knew she was hungry.
Where was Kelly? Carly left Caroline in her crib for a minute while she picked up Noah and went to find the baby’s mother. The master bedroom was empty and so was the other bedroom. Carly went toward the bathroom, which was half open. Her heart bounced against her ribs, and she was half afraid she would find Kelly drowned in the tub, but the bathroom was empty.
She exhaled with relief and went back to Caroline’s room, where she managed to get a baby in each arm. Noah still sleptbut Caroline was restless, and Carly went in search of a bottle. She reached the bottom of the steps and laid both babies on the thick rug in the living room. The burgundy patterned rug was clearly new and fit nicely with the new furniture she’d seen in Kelly’s condominium.
“Kelly?” she called again.
She went through to the kitchen and found a can of formula. She prepared a bottle and went back to prop it in Caroline’s mouth. Not the best way to feed her, but Carly needed to find Kelly. Maybe she’d fallen and broken an ankle.
With the baby settled, Carly pushed open the screen door and went out onto the deck. Banks of red and white flowers were carefully groomed under the palm trees, and the moss from the large live oaks waved in the wind. She called for Kelly again, and a sound caught her attention. She turned to her left toward a carriage house. A tire swing bumped against a large tree. Was that the sound she’d heard?
She took a step that direction and heard a moan. “Kelly?” She ran down the back steps and across the yard toward where she thought the groan had originated.
