Sonder Tech had come to town last fall to open up shop in Henryetta, which seemed strange since most legitimate businesses were hanging shutters and leaving town. But we’d figured out they were tied to Hardshaw, even if the manager hadn’t realized it.
“Which leaves James vulnerable,” I said. “Hence the murder of one of his men.”
He shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not.”
“But if you had to lean one way or the other…?” I gave him an expectant look.
“I’d say Malcolm best be watching his back.”
My blood turned icy with fear. I’d made my choice, and I didn’t regret it, but I still didn’t want anything to happen to James.
“Have you heard from him since he reached out before Hope’s birth?” Dermot asked.
“No.” James had told me he didn’t want anything to do with the baby, yet he’d refused to sign papers abdicating his claim to paternity…until recently. On the day of Hope’s birth, James had told me he’d sign the papers on two conditions. One, that I stop inquiring about the evidence stolen from Violet’s attorney’s office, and two, that I spend forty-eight hours with him before I gave birth, with no contact with anyone until our time was up.
That hadn’t come to pass, for obvious reasons, and I hadn’t heard from him since then. I had no idea what he’d intended, although Dermot had voiced his suspicions. None of them good.
“Did you find out if he’d tried to hire a midwife?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No. But he could have been planning to take you to Louisiana.”
“Kidnapping me across state lines?” I asked, dubious.
“It wouldn’t have been kidnapping. You would have been gone ‘willingly,’ but it’s all a moot point. It didn’t happen. Still, it’s worrying that we don’t know why he wanted that time with you.”
I just nodded, because he was right, and I’d devoted plenty of worrying to it.
The waffle iron alarm went off again, and I pulled it out and put it on a plate. I added eggs and bacon to each, then brought them back to the table with some utensils.
Glancing around, he said, “Where’s Muffy? I’m surprised she’s not after the bacon.”
I released a laugh. “She’s abandoned me for the baby. She’s her guard dog now.”
He grinned at that, an approving grin, then asked, “How’s it goin’ with the horses? Any trouble with Margi?”
I’d dated Margi’s brother, Levi, briefly, what felt like a million years ago. So I’d understood why she’d been standoffish with me in the beginning, only she’d changed her tune on a dime after learning I had an unused horse barn and pasture. Then she’d treated me like her new best friend, not backing off until I agreed to board her rescue horses.
“No,” I said. “I rarely see her. She has a teenage girl come out to tend to them in the morning, and a woman in her thirties in the afternoons. Margi only comes out when one of them can’t make it.”
He gave a nod, then asked me if I’d been working, frowning when I admitted I had been putting in a few hours a day for the past couple of weeks. He told me that Hope’s birth had been traumatic and I needed to give myself time to heal, but I waved away his concerns, assuring him I was just fine.
I’d eaten half my breakfast when I heard Hope’s cries.
Dermot’s eyes lit up, and I released a laugh. “I’ll go get her.”
Muffy was standing at the edge of my bed, sending me an anxious look when I walked into the room. I scooped Hope up and took her into her room to change her diaper. She stopped crying as she stared up at me.
“Good morning, sweet baby,” I cooed. “Are you ready to see Uncle Dermot?”
She released a gurgling sound that I took for a yes.
When I finished, I picked her up and carried her downstairs with Muffy in tow.
“Look who’s up,” I said as we walked into the kitchen.
Dermot broke into a huge smile, and it struck me that I’d never seen him look so happy.
“Want to hold her?”
“Of course.”
He reached for her, then cradled her in his arms.
He’d come to see her twice since her birth. The first time Joe had insisted on being there so he could thank Dermot for saving both of our lives. They’d traded handshakes, Dermot had assured him it had been his pleasure, and Joe had taken off. I knew it was hard for him to have Dermot around. Dermot was a criminal, the very thing he was trying to clean out of the county, and now he felt beholden to him.
I took advantage of Hope being distracted and finished my breakfast, then picked up our empty plates and took them to the sink. Muffy watched Hope vigilantly, but I convinced her to eat her food even though someone other than Mommy or Daddy was holding her charge.
Dermot talked to Hope about the weather, the horses, and her personal guard dog.
He’d held her for nearly ten minutes before she remembered she hadn’t had a full meal in many hours and started to wail.
Dermot laughed and stood. “I think this is the part where you take over. Thanks for breakfast and time with Hope.”
“Of course, Dermot,” I said, getting up too. “You have a standing invitation as far as I’m concerned.”
“Thanks,” he said again with a soft smile, but there was no denying the pain in his eyes. Once again, I wondered what had happened to his family. But he didn’t give me time to ask, even if I’d been inclined. He placed Hope in my arms and walked out the back door.
Chapter 3
It took me an hour and a half to get us packed and ready to leave the house. Although I could work at home, I wanted a change of scenery, for both of us, and the office was more conducive to getting work done. Hope would likely go down for another nap soon, and hopefully, I could draw up a couple of plans.
Downtown Henryetta was busy, with nearly every parking space full, but I managed to get a space close to the coffee shop and its taunting aromas, wrestle the car seat carrier out of the truck, and get me, Muffy, and Hope inside the office with less stress than the last several times I’d tried this.
The office was locked up, which meant Neely Kate was probably out on a consult, so I let us in, then locked us in. I’d already brought Hope here half a dozen times, but I took her out of her car seat and showed her around.
“Here’s Aunt Neely Kate’s desk. She’s out on a job right now, but she’s about to get a baby of her own. That means you’ll get a new cousin, and your aunt will be off work for a couple of months.” Or at least I hoped she planned on coming back. Neely Kate wanted a baby more than anything—with the exception of Jed—and I suspected she wasn’t going to waste a minute of it. Which meant she might decide to stay home for the foreseeable future, not that I could blame her. Part of me wanted to hole up with Hope out at the farm, but for one thing, I was half-owner of the business, which meant I couldn’t just quit. And two, if I were honest, I was bored and lonely out there with only a newborn who spent most of her time pooping and crying and sleeping. I loved being Hope’s mother more than anything in the world, but the business was part of me too, and I wanted to hold on to it.