by Leanne Davis
The tiny face started to scrunch up as he pulled up his legs. Hunter quickly refastened the diaper and glanced at her. “Pick him up?”
She shrugged and nodded. “I suppose so.”
Thankfully, they heard the car pulling up outside. “Oh, thank God!” Hunter exhaled a sigh of relief, jumping to his feet and sprinting out to meet his mom. Kyomi stared at the squawking infant as he prepared to let loose with his well-developed lungs and a bucket full of tears.
Kailynn and Hunter entered the house, carrying grocery bags. They were dumped unceremoniously beside the sofa. Kailynn strode over, giving Kyomi a quick, small smile. “Oh. Oh, wow. You weren’t kidding. I thought it might be a joke. A mean, a terrible joke for me, but…”
“Yeah, but… there he is. And we only wish we were joking,” Hunter muttered, rubbing his hands through his hair again.
“Tell me how he ended up here.”
Kyomi filled her in on their eventful morning. “Francine came in without the baby. I had no idea there was an infant sleeping in her car. She was freaking out. Then she ran out, and came back, shoving the car seat at me and literally bolting down the driveway. I couldn’t call after her. She must have been going forty, and then even faster down the road. I honestly hope she didn’t get hurt.”
Hunter added. “We’ve tried repeatedly calling her. Left a dozen messages. I was civil, but aggressive when I asked her who the baby is and what she needs from me. I asked her to come back and promised to meet with her this time. I just thought she was trying to cause trouble. Nothing more serious than that. That’s why I didn’t come down and asked Kyomi to handle it. I never had an inkling this is what she came about or the story it was turning into.”
Kailynn reached down and scooped the child up as she started rocking him against her chest. His little movements and squawks slowed down. She kept the blanket pulled up around him. “Grab the formula in there and let’s start by getting a bottle ready. Who knows when he ate last, or what formula he’s on or if he was breastfed? That’s on her. We’re starting out so blind.”
“Is it dangerous? To switch formulas?” Hunter voiced her exact fears.
“No. I mean it might upset his small tummy, or give him the runs or even throw up, but nothing catastrophic.” Kailynn bit her lip. “I’m not the earth mother or the baby whisperer, but I think I can get a bottle ready.”
They all trooped together into the kitchen. One hand holding the baby, Kailynn easily started to prepare the bottle. “Don’t you need some help?” Kyomi asked Kailynn.
She gave Kyomi a small smile. “It all kind of comes back. You have to get good at multitasking when you have an infant in the house. At least, I did.”
Finally, the baby let out a howl. Kailynn smiled and leaned him back while talking to him in soft, lilting tones. “Oh, our poor, little man. Let’s get you something yummy, huh?” As she spoke, the baby stopped his wails to glance up. He seemed surprised at the voice above him. Then Kailynn touched his lips with the nipple, and the baby shook his little head. When he opened his mouth, she slid the nipple inside it. He took the bottle with a small sigh and started suckling. “I think he’s had a bottle before. He didn’t seem overly surprised by it.”
Kailynn pulled out a kitchen chair and sat down. She held the baby across her front and positioned the bottle in place. “So this is a shocking, new development.”
“Mom. It might be all wrong. Maybe he’s not mine. He could be…”
“He’s yours.” His mom looked directly into his eyes. “You must see it. But I’ll clarify it for you. He looks exactly like Ian did as a baby, and you looked exactly like your father. So it only goes to reason, because this baby looks so much like his father, you are indeed his father. My…” Her voice cracked and she blinked several times. “My grandchild.”
Hunter jumped up. “We don’t know that yet. This can’t… just… happen. Can it? She can’t just leave a baby without instructions or even a name… No paraphernalia to care for it and how can she expect me to believe I’m now a father? I mean, how am I supposed to process this? Deal with it? How could she do that?”
“I don’t like Francine. And I don’t understand why she didn’t tell you long ago. It doesn’t seem like her to keep anything secret, but maybe she thought it was her lover’s child. Whatever her reasons, she’s obviously not okay right now. All the same, she is the mother of your child and you’re going to have to get onboard real fast.”
“Where is onboard? Where do you think I have to get to?”
“To the acceptance that you are a father. To this baby. You share a baby with Francine, no matter what you might think of her.”
His fingers slipped through his hair again. “This isn’t fair.”
“No. Nothing Francine did to you has ever been in the spirit of fairness or goodness. I agree. But it’s just simply a fact now. It is. This is your child. Another Rydell. And he’s here now. So you have to quickly get on the same page and figure this out.” Kailynn removed the bottle and lifted the baby. “Kyomi, grab me that towel.”
She took the towel Kyomi handed her and draped it over her shoulder, holding the baby above it. After some gentle tapping on his back, a small burp escaped and a dribble of fluid. Then she gently replaced the baby on her lap and continued to feed him.
“You do that midway through the bottle?” Hunter observed.
“Yes. Otherwise too much gas builds up. It’s very important. Good notation and it is just the start. Next feeding will come from you. I’ll give you a while to collect yourself. But again, you have to get onboard super-fast.”
“And when is that? His next feeding? How do I know when? What—”
“Calm. Breathe. I agree this is shit what she did to you. Offering you zero help. But I am here. I will help you. Feedings are typically every three to four hours, and that is assuming Francine had the baby on a schedule.”
“If Francine were the one caring for it. It might have been a damn nanny or hired help.” Hunter warned.
“No more swearing at or about her. Start there. You have to find a way to talk to her. You have to be a parent with her.” His mom chided him.
He scoffed in response. “She left it here. I’m sorry. I mean him here. There is no way Francine is a decent mother or deserves to even look at this kid again.”
Patting his forearm his mom said, “Yes. Maybe she doesn’t. Maybe she’s scared and something happened. I don’t know. But you will have to find out why she left him with you.”
“How do you find answers to a woman who abandons her baby in another woman’s arms? A woman who is dating her ex? I mean…”
Kailynn looked at Kyomi with a sharp gaze. “I thought you were dating Asher?”
“Um… yes. I was. But we broke up a while ago. Hunter and I started… dating…” She winced and glared up at him. He put her in a position of feeling kind of smutty, infringing on his baby-mama timeline. The rebound fling.
“We’re dating and it’s serious. It has had nothing to do with Francine.” Hunter walked towards her and set a hand to her shoulder. “My ex foisted this baby on Kyomi and she took it, then she came to me and she’s the reason I’m not fully losing my mind.”
“Okay. Wow. Lots going on here.”
“Yeah, you could underline that. I can’t even imagine how we are going to deal with this.”
Chapter 16
“THAT’S HER. THAT’S HER car. Francine is driving up. I can’t believe it. She’s… coming back?” Kyomi’s voice interrupted Kailynn’s hushed tones. She was talking to the baby and trying to put him back to sleep after feeding, changing and cuddling him. She provided such expert care while Hunter and Kyomi looked on, tacitly exchanging glances and shaking their heads, but the message was quite clear: they could not begin to do what Kailynn did by instinct.
“I thought she’d never come back. Never mind only two hours after she left the baby?! There is something seriously wrong with Francine or I’m not Hunter Rydell.” He walked towards the
window where Kyomi spotted her car. They watched the plume of dust coming closer now.
“I can’t believe she’s back,” Kyomi said as she glanced up at him. Stress lines etched her face and it was obvious the incredible morning had taken its toll on her.
Fisting his hands, Hunter tried to think of all the black words his curse-filled rant could hold. He couldn’t wait to spew his mind at the piece of shit who abandoned a baby. Francine had no idea what kind of person Kyomi was. She didn’t know two things about Kyomi. What mother would trust a newborn baby with a stranger she knew nothing about? It was insane, very dangerous behavior, totally erratic, unpredictable, not to mention, hurtful. “How could she leave the baby here and then return so cavalierly after that? I should—”
“Do nothing,” his mother snapped. “You listen to me, Hunter Rydell, all your anger, rage and wishes for a black death to Francine might be valid and justified, but now isn’t the time. Not right now. We need answers far more than you need to get revenge or even the chance to yell at her. You might be owed several nasty, screaming rants, but you’re not going to get them today. All your well-deserved venting has to be temporarily postponed; you can’t indulge in it yet. There is way too much at stake.” His mother’s words rang in his head like a lighthouse bell, clanging loudly. “You have to stay calm. No matter how hard it might be. You must talk to her with calm, quiet, and respect. I mean it. This will be the challenge of your life. What you say to her could determine a lot of things. But more than anything else, you owe this baby, whether he’s yours or not, some answers and the only way to figure that out is with this woman.”
Stay calm? With a woman who dumped her child on his doorstep without so much as a name to call him or a single item to care for him? He couldn’t reach anyone for advice from Francine to her entire family. He called every number he could remotely connect to her, seeking any answer that might help him. No luck in that regard.
“And if I can’t?” he replied as Francine’s car stopped. No one got out right away.
“Then you have to leave. Let me handle this.”
Where would they be without his mother’s help? But her words were as grating as fingernails on a chalkboard. His entire body reacted by convulsing with anger. Be calm. Be quiet. Be respectful. The thought of doing that made his mouth taste worse than bile, which was climbing up his throat. But he knew she was right.
All three gazed at Francine’s car while it was driving up the road, turning into Asher’s driveway and parking close to the house. It was more than a shock to see it. Kyomi set a hand on Hunter’s arm. “You have to do this. Your mom is right and you must listen to her. But it also has to come from you. Stow away your anger and emotions. They can’t help you and they’re not necessary right now. Getting answers about this baby is all that matters. You can do that. I know you can.”
She kept her gaze on him. Taking courage from her faith in him, Hunter nodded at her instructions. “Okay. But I’ll detest every second I have to be near her. Always. After this last stunt, yes, I do hate her.”
Kyomi nodded and said, “Good. Just don’t lose your focus. The baby is all that matters.” Francine lifted her lithe, long body from the car and seemed to trudge up the walkway. “And I’ll detest her and banish her to the flaming fires of hell after this as well.”
Kyomi uttered the last sentence as she released him and stepped back, most likely to give him more space to face his ex and arch nemesis. But also, to make him smile. No one else had the ability to draw that out of him. Kyomi’s impassioned voice was a response to Francine standing at the front door.
“I’m going in the other room with the baby. Stay calm. Use a quiet voice. Show respect. Don’t forget or lose focus on the greater good here, Hunter. I mean it.” With her last warning, his mother stepped away. Did she really think he didn’t realize that? Of course, he did, but the need to practice his restraint at this encounter required all of his will power and sense of decency.
He flung the door open, unsmiling and his gaze scanned over her. She looked up, her eyes awash in tears, making them appear bigger and sadder. She rubbed her nose.
“Forget something?” he asked dryly, keeping his tone neutral.
“I panicked.”
“Obviously. Or do you often abandon your babies? Assuming it’s your baby and you didn’t kidnap one.”
“Of course, he is. Yes. He’s mine… and—” Her voice skittered off as her eyes dropped down.
“Mine. I figured that out pretty quickly when my girlfriend showed me the child that looked just like me. I was pretty shell-shocked since I had no clue that it ever happened. So, Francine, why don’t you come in and tell me all about that?” The coolness of his voice impressed even him as he swept the front door open and stepped back. He swung his hand out to indicate she pass through.
Gulping in what seemed like fear, she eyed him skeptically as she came inside. Her gaze scanned the room frantically. “Where is he?”
“With my mother, in there.” He motioned towards the other room that was closed off by a door. “And who is he? What is his name?”
“Russell.”
“Rydell. Please tell me you gave him my name?”
“Not yet. But that should be changed.” He shut his eyes when a stabbing pain throbbed behind his temple. She put her lover’s name on the birth certificate, didn’t she? He had zero doubt now that she didn’t.
“Um… it’s actually Russell Wilson Stanton, but we’ll change it to Rydell.”
He shut his eyes again before blinking them open. “You named him Russell Wilson?”
“Yes. You know how much I love and admire him. Who else could I name him after but the greatest quarterback of all times? Not just the greatest Seahawk, which is my favorite team, but because he’s the greatest person of all time. I mean, Russell Wilson? Of course, I named him that. Who better to name our son after?”
“Right.” He looked up to find her animated gaze on him. She did love the Seahawks and was a true Seattle-ite, considering herself the ultimate “12.” That moniker was given to Seahawks fans who were considered the “twelfth man” on the field when they played. The fans would cheer so loud, it often drowned out any competitors’ cheering squad. Russell Wilson was legitimately her favorite player ever. Hunter found it endearing that his handsome physique was not what most attracted her but his character. Francine loved to spout fact after fact about him. It was fine to admire a public figure so greatly, but to name her baby after him? Lord help him.
Keeping himself calm, Hunter breathed several times deeply. “Sit. Explain. Give me something here.”
“How come you’re not yelling at me?”
“Because my mother told me not to.” His crisp voice tersely expressed the simplest, most honest answer.
Looking up at him with watery, sad eyes, Francine was good at baiting others to care about her problems and she knew how to manipulate her tears and facial expressions. Hunter often witnessed her shifting from a state of devastation to a completely serene transformation before his eyes.
“That’s it? That was all it took?”
“That and the infant she’s holding.” He shook his head as he flopped down and leaned forward. Francine sat across from him, rubbing her hands together. “What the fuck? I mean really, what the fuck, Francine? How could you not tell me? How could you do that? How could you show up here and tell me this way?”
“You wouldn’t see me. I didn’t know what else to do. I panicked. I just needed to see you. I had to talk to you. To explain. But the longer you would not come down, the more my anxiety peaked and I wondered what you’d do when you… when you realized what I did to you.”
“Again. What you did to me this time.”
She nodded, sucking in more sobs. Her tears were streaming as she wiped them. “I’m sorry. I just lost my mind for a moment. I’m really sorry.”
“Do you do that often?”
“No. No, it’s been a bad few days…”
“Let’
s start with how old the baby is? How old is he?”
“Just under a month.”
He blew out a breath slowly. She had a good eight or nine months to tell him the truth. She could have mentioned it. Hey, by the way, I might have cheated but I think I’m having your baby. Something he remembered struck him between the eyes. “How did I not know you were pregnant when I saw you in the bedroom?”
“I wore a long, loose sweater and a coat. But I never got very big anyway.”
No doubt Kyomi was probably rolling her eyes at Francine’s chance to brag, even now.
“So you hid it?”
“I never thought it was yours.” Her gaze dropped to her lap. She flinched as if she expected Hunter to hit her after her admission. Or bang his hand on the table. But he quietly took in the news without reacting.
“Why did you think that? Come on, Francine, you might as well come clean with it all. We are there. The final nail is already hammered into the coffin of our marriage. There is nothing left and no reasons to hide. I won’t hit you or hurt you. I never have so I resent the implication by your flinches and the distress in your voice, as if you have something to fear. If I intended to do anything to you it would have been the time I caught you fu—”
“Hunter!” Kyomi snapped sharply. “Stay focused.”
Right. Focus. No anger, no venting. “Just tell me the truth. All of it.”
“I thought it was his.”
“Stanley’s. Let’s be very clear in our explanation.”
“Fine. Yes, I thought it was his. We weren’t as careful about birth control as you and I were.”
He sniffed and added in a wry tone, “Because I told you I didn’t want kids? Yes, imagine that, I tried not to have one.”
“Right. So we planned to have his baby. He was excited. I was too. And that was going to be the start of our lives as a family. We bought a condo in downtown Edmonds and set it all up. Including the nursery. My mom and his dad disowned us after you sent them that picture, something I’m sure you reveled over.”