After calling his family and spreading the news that Jenny was his baby, he’d spent the rest of the night pacing the floors and checking on the baby since it was his first time alone with her in the house. But she’d slept through, and he’d had no problem with her diaper or bottle in the morning.
Dressing her had been a little bit of a challenge, but he’d finally gotten her moving arms and legs into the right holes, and he’d handed her to Amy when she’d arrived on time. And though the morning had run like clockwork, he hadn’t enjoyed it nearly as much without Quinn under the same roof.
He’d also received a call from the PI he’d hired to look into the woman he believed was Jenny’s mother. Apparently she’d recently checked into a motel in downtown Miami using a credit card, which confirmed his suspicion that Nelle Jamieson was his baby’s mother.
The PI was headed over to see if he could get answers from her, because Austin still believed she’d show up wanting money.
“Knock knock.”
Austin glanced up to see his uncle in his office doorway. “Hey. Come on in.”
“You looked a million miles away. Want to share what’s going on?” Paul stepped inside. “I notice Quinn’s not at her desk.
Austin smiled grimly. “Yes. She checked in. Said she’d be late.”
Paul nodded. He chose a chair by the desk and sat down, crossing one foot over his leg. “How’s your brother? I called this morning, but he’s in a mood and not communicating much.”
“Yeah. Damon didn’t say much to me this morning, either.”
Austin glanced at the professional photo of his brother with a football in his hand, uniform on, beside the one of Austin in the same pose, and prayed his brother returned to one hundred percent. Concussions were iffy suckers.
He flexed his fingers and groaned. “We’ll deal with his business negotiations when it’s time. Right now, Mom is going to accompany him home. We’ll get him settled. It’ll be okay.”
This was Damon, his brother. And even if he were only a client, Austin would do the same. He just wouldn’t have as much of an emotional investment.
“And Quinn? Is she okay?” Paul drummed his fingers on the table beside him. “It’s not like her to be late. You two have been coming to work together for the last week,” he said pointedly.
Austin groaned, knowing his uncle was pushing for answers. “She moved out last night.”
Paul raised his eyebrows. “Because you’re suddenly ready to handle a baby, I presume.”
“On the surface, yes. That’s why.”
“And if we dig deeper?” Paul asked.
Thinking about their conversation last night, Austin rubbed his palms against his eyes, which felt grainy from lack of sleep. “I asked her not to leave. I told her I care about her, that Jenny loves her, and I thought we had a shot at a future. But she had to want it, too.”
Unfortunately she hadn’t run into his arms. She’d run away.
“Let me get this straight. You told her you cared but you didn’t tell her you love her?” Paul, the closest thing he had to a father … hell, the man actually was his father, leaned close to the desk. “Why not?”
He could answer that easily. “Because all her life no one has given her a choice in what she wants. Her parents forced her to take care of her siblings and cousins. If they had their way, she’d be a nanny and not a fantastic executive assistant at a top sports agency. They don’t know her and they don’t respect what she wants. I do.”
Paul shook his head as if he didn’t understand or agree with Austin’s decision. “Why would telling her you love her hurt anything?”
“Because if she feels the same way, she’d feel more obligated to give up her plans for her life. Which do not involve having kids. She needs to come to the choice to be with me and Jenny, to change her mind, free of undue influence.” Even though it killed him not to tell her his feelings.
That he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her as his wife and Jenny’s mother. He wanted to have more kids, kids who looked like Quinn.
He blew out a breath. “She has to want the same things I do. I can’t force her to love me enough to change her mind about having children.”
“You’ll figure it out. You’re two smart people. I have faith,” Paul said, pushing himself up and rising from his seat.
“I’m so sorry I’m late!” Quinn rushed into the room, out of breath and not looking like his put-together Quinn. Her hair was pulled into a messy bun she usually reserved for home, her blouse was half tucked in, and she barely had makeup on her pretty face.
“It’s fine. No meetings this morning,” Austin said.
Paul greeted her and wished her a good morning before leaving them alone.
“Are you okay?” He didn’t want to point out her shortcomings and sound like an ass. She always looked good to him, but this frazzled woman wasn’t the female he’d grown used to seeing. Not even after dealing with a fussy baby first.
She blushed and met his gaze. “Evie came over last night. She opened a bottle of wine and one thing led to another… Well, I drank too much and overslept.” She grinned sheepishly and adorably.
He wanted nothing more than to take her into his arms, hold her tight, and never let go. Instead, he managed a smile. “I’m sure you needed the girl time.” He knew from Bri how important a woman’s friends were during times of uncertainty and heartbreak.
Was her heart breaking like his was?
She walked over and took his hand. “Austin, listen…”
Her words were interrupted by the sound of his cell phone and he frowned. “Get it,” she said.
He shook his head. “I want to hear what you have to say.”
But before she could speak, her own cell began to buzz. She grabbed it from her bag. “It’s Amy.” She accepted the call. “Hi, Ames. What’s up?”
As she listened, Quinn’s eyes opened wide. “Okay, calm down and call your dad. Tell him to come over immediately. And set the alarm.”
At her instructions, panic rushed through Austin since Amy was with Jenny. “What’s wrong?”
Quinn met his gaze. “Someone is lurking outside the house. Amy was in the family room and saw a person in a hoodie walk by, then she ran to the front and saw them there, too.”
“Jesus Christ. I’m going home.” He started for the door but Quinn stopped him with a hand on his arm.
“Austin, Amy’s dad is cop. He lives five minutes away. We’ll go, but stay calm because my uncle Cal will be there first.”
They ran to the car, not stopping to explain to anyone at the office where they were headed or why. Austin just needed to get home to his daughter. He floored it, not wanting to get pulled over but the desire to get home riding him hard.
They were about ten minutes from home when Quinn’s cell rang. “It’s Amy’s cell.”
“Put it on speaker,” Austin said.
She tapped the screen twice. “Hello?”
“Quinn, it’s Uncle Cal.” In the background, it sounded like Amy was crying hysterically, and Austin’s gut cramped in utter fear.
“What happened?” he asked.
“The doorbell rang. Amy was in a panic. She thought it was me, didn’t check, and flung the door open. She had the baby in her arms.”
“Son of a bitch,” Austin muttered. “And?”
“A woman claiming to be Jenny’s mother grabbed for the baby. Amy didn’t want to fight her and hurt Jenny in the process, so when she yanked her, Amy let her go.” Cal paused. “Shh. It’ll be okay,” he said to his crying daughter. “I’m back. The woman left you a note.”
“What’s it say?” Austin put his foot against the pedal harder, gripping the steering wheel tightly in his hands.
“There’s a phone number. The note says call to exchange the baby for one hundred grand.”
Austin slammed his hand against the wheel.
“I’m already tracing the number,” Cal assured him. “We’ll get her. As long as this woman thinks
she’s getting money, she’s going to keep the baby safe.”
Austin swallowed hard, doing his best to believe the other man, but it wasn’t easy. “We’ll be there soon.”
As he drove, Quinn kept a calming hand on his leg, and he couldn’t remember ever needing the support more.
* * *
Uncle Cal greeted Quinn and Austin at the door. He wasn’t dressed for work, but he looked just as imposing as if he were in uniform.
Amy stood behind her dad, obviously afraid to face them, but she gathered her courage and peeked her head around her father’s large body. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Prescott. I thought it was my dad at the door. I should have looked out, but I was scared and so relieved Dad was here.” Her eyes were red from crying, her panic and fear obvious.
Quinn looked to Austin, afraid he’d turn his own panic and worry into anger at her niece, whose actions had been irresponsible but understandable.
He drew in a deep breath, obviously pulling himself together before he answered. “It’s okay, Amy. I understand why you opened the door. Let’s just focus on getting Jenny back. I don’t blame you for what happened.”
Relief washed over Amy’s face, and Quinn had never been so grateful to anyone as she was to Austin for how gently he’d handled her niece.
Austin glanced at Cal. “What now?”
Cal’s cell pinged and he glanced at the screen. “Now we go to the motel and get your baby back. The address is right here.” He flashed the screen to Austin.
“That’s the motel my PI checked out this morning. She wasn’t there.”
“I need proof the baby is yours before I can put this in motion,” Cal said. “Otherwise I can’t give the baby back to you. I’ll have to turn her over to social services. Because we’re definitely taking the mother in for extortion, kidnapping, child abandonment, and anything else we can nail her with.” He spoke with the determination of a man used to getting things done.
“The paternity test is on the kitchen counter,” Austin said.
“Grab it and I’ll call for backup.”
Quinn breathed yet another sigh of relief that the test had come back and Austin was Jenny’s dad. She couldn’t imagine him having to hand her over to the police or a civil servant. It would have broken him.
She grasped on to Austin’s hand. “I’m coming with you.”
“You’re damn right you are.” He pulled her along with him to get the paper and then to meet up with Cal in the front hall.
“Amy, you’re staying here. Call your mom to come get you or sit with you, but I don’t want you driving when you’re this upset,” Cal instructed his daughter.
“Okay, Dad. Good luck.” She closed the door and they heard the sound of the lock click.
“You two are staying in the car,” Cal said as they walked to his vehicle. “I’m meeting up with uniformed officers in the lot. We’ll go in and get the baby.” He pressed his key fob and unlocked the door.
Instead of getting into the front passenger side, Austin nudged Quinn into the back seat along with him, and Cal nodded, seeming to understand.
“I want to be there when you confront her, and I want to be the one she hands my daughter to,” Austin said, clenching his fists.
Cal started up the car. “And I can’t risk having a civilian get hurt. So you’re going to stay in the back or you’re not coming. I promise to bring your daughter back to you immediately, and you can talk to the mother back at the police station.”
Austin grumbled his agreement, and Quinn snuggled close to his side, wanting to give him comfort as much as she needed it herself.
Ten minutes later, they’d pulled up to the motel and parked in the far corner. Cal was in an unmarked car and he left them in the back while he headed inside to find out the woman’s room number. If she hadn’t checked in under her real name, he had Austin’s description and a photograph on file from the DMV that had been sent to him on his phone.
With Quinn’s heart pounding in her chest, she and Austin sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts and fear.
Backup arrived, sirens off, and they conferred with Cal, who’d returned with the room number, then Cal stomped over to the car and leaned inside. “I’m warning you two, stay put.” He shook his finger at them. “We’ve got this.”
“Fine.” Austin was pissed, his body vibrating in anger, but even he wasn’t going to argue with armed cops.
Quinn was petrified for Jenny but she believed in her uncle and she turned to Austin. “Hey.”
She waited until he looked at her and really focused. “If Cal says Jenny is safe as long as Jenny’s mother thinks you’re delivering money, I believe him. He’s been a cop since he was nineteen. You can trust him to bring her back to you,” she said softly.
“I want to be the one knocking on that door. Grabbing my baby. Facing the bitch who thought leaving her alone on my doorstep was a good idea. Trying to extort money from me.” His voice rose in anger as he spoke.
She held on to his hand, his touch warm and rough in hers. “I know. But sometimes you have to let the professionals do their jobs.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw, and she ached to lean forward and kiss him, calm him, but she’d given up that right last night.
“You do realize when this is over we’re going to talk?” he asked as if reading her mind.
Her heart squeezed at the knowledge but she held on to hope. “I know.” As she looked into the eyes of the man she loved, she wondered how she’d ever walked out of his house last night. How she’d let a decision to not have kids, one she’d made at eighteen years old, rule her life when her feelings for Austin were so strong.
When she looked back on her past relationships or almost-relationships, she could see how things played out. Last night, alone in her bed, she’d realized she’d let Daniel go because she hadn’t wanted to have his baby. She hadn’t wanted to marry him.
And in high school, she’d missed so many activities with friends and lost a boy she’d wanted to date because she’d had to be caregiver to her siblings and cousins. As a result, she let herself walk out on the man she loved because she was afraid to admit she wanted the very thing she’d discounted.
What a mess. She needed to own her feelings, admit them out loud, and hope Austin still wanted to try with her. That leaving him hadn’t shattered his trust in her.
But first came getting Jenny back. Nothing mattered more than that.
* * *
Time ticked by slowly, and Austin felt as if he were coming out of his skin waiting for the police to return. He couldn’t see the motel room from his position in the car, which was probably for the best. Nothing would stop him from getting his kid if he had a visual on her, that much he knew.
Beside him, Quinn was solid. A rock. Holding on to him and keeping him calm. Talking to him about her uncle and telling him stories about successful situations he’d found himself in and repeated at family dinners. Austin needed to hear those things, and she knew just what to say.
Finally, he saw Cal walking his way with a baby in his arms. He vaguely registered the uniformed officers behind him with a familiar-looking woman being led to a police cruiser.
He didn’t remember opening the door or getting out or running across the lot. He didn’t even recall grabbing Jenny and taking her from Cal. He just knew that suddenly he was on his knees on the asphalt, his baby in his arms, the sweet smell of her shampoo filling his senses and tears falling from his eyes. And he didn’t even give a shit that he was crying in public.
“What happened?” Quinn asked her uncle.
“Too damned easy.” He spread his hands wide. “She opened the door expecting it to be Austin.” He shook his head. “She started crying about needing the money and being unable to support a baby and keep her job as a flight attendant.”
“So why didn’t she just come to me and tell me she was having my baby?” Austin asked, now standing up, holding Jenny close.
Cal sighed. “Because she has ment
al health issues she tried to hide from the airline, but they found out and fired her. She apparently thought it would be better to extort a lump sum from you and walk away … planning to return whenever she needed cash by threatening to file for custody.” Cal pointed to his temple and swirled his finger in the age-old gesture of crazy.
“I’m making her sign away parental rights.” Austin was getting his lawyer on that immediately.
“I don’t think you’ll have much of a problem even if you did have to end up in court to get it done. She can’t take care of herself let alone an infant.” Cal glanced at Quinn, who was watching Austin with the most loving smile on her face.
He pressed a kiss to the baby’s soft head. “Nobody’s taking you from me.” But he held the baby out for Quinn.
Her eyes welled as she accepted the infant and cuddled her close. “Hey, little girl. You gave us quite a scare. We’re going to teach you not to go anywhere with strangers,” she said, wrapping her arms tighter around Jenny, dipping her head, and taking a moment to just breathe.
Austin caught the word we. We’re going to teach you. Maybe a night away from them had taught her what she really wanted out of life. He could only hope.
Cal cleared his throat. “We’ll need a statement from Amy, me, and of course you,” he said to Austin. “But it can wait until morning. Take the baby home and get some sleep. If you have the original note she left with the baby, bring that with you to the station.”
Austin nodded. “I want a word with her.” He tipped his head toward the squad car holding Nelle Jamieson.
“Make it quick,” Cal said.
Austin glanced at Quinn.
“I’ve got her. Go ahead.”
Drawing a deep breath, Austin walked with Cal to the open back door of the squad car and stared at the woman he remembered from the bar in Chicago. Back then she’d been in a tight dress, her hair had been in waves around her shoulders, and her makeup perfect. Now? She looked like she’d been through a rough patch. Her hair was a tousled mess, her makeup smudged beneath her eyes, and her expression was defeated.
“Why?” Austin braced a hand on the top of the car and glared down, wanting to hear the excuse from her. “Why not come to me and just tell me you were pregnant?”
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