Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 98211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Hope bubbles up inside me as I look over at Colton. He takes Milo and places him in his swing, the baby’s eyes starting to drop the moment he starts to rock back and forth. “Seriously?”
“You’d have to take a few training courses, but with your background, it won’t be anything you don’t already know,” Chase adds.
His older brother glances back and forth between his brother and his son. “Can I think about it?”
“Absolutely. But, Colt, the job is yours if you want it.”
Colton nods and takes a seat just as the doorbell sounds. “We expecting anyone?” he asks, while heading toward the front door.
Chase sighs. “It’s probably Mom again.” He looks at me. “We’ve already got enough food in the fridge to feed half the town, yet she insists on bringing more so you don’t have to worry about cooking.” He waggles his eyebrows. “She wants you to focus all of your attention on me. I can show you exactly where I need a little attention.”
Before I can reply, Colton enters the living room, his face ashen like he saw a ghost. A woman steps out from behind him and my heart drops into my stomach.
Chase seems just as shocked to see the woman standing in our living room as his older brother. “You are—” he starts, but stutters to a stop.
“Hey, Chase,” she says tentatively. “I’m Laura.”
He exhales. “You look vaguely familiar,” he replies softly, almost to himself.
It’s my first opportunity to meet the woman who abandoned Milo on our doorstep just a few short weeks ago. She’s young—younger than I had expected—with bleach blonde hair and bright green eyes. She’s on the shorter side and her clothes a bit provocative with a low-cut V-neck T-shirt and short skirt.
Laura glances over at Milo, but makes no move to see him up close. My heart is in my chest as I watch Colton walk over and stand in front of the swing, as if protecting the baby from whatever is about to go down.
“I know you probably have a lot of questions,” she starts, standing in the middle of the living room. She seems cool and calm, but the way she wrings her hands together lets me know she’s nervous to be here.
“You think?” Chase thunders, then quickly peeks over at Milo, who’s still sawing logs in his swing.
“I’m sorry for just dropping him off, unannounced the way I did. I was scared.”
“You were scared? How do you think I felt finding a three-week-old baby on my porch, late at night?”
She looks down, shame marring her pretty features. “I know it wasn’t right, and I truly am sorry. It’s just that, well, I’m not capable of being his mom. I knew it right away, but wanted to try. It was horrible, Chase. I knew I couldn’t do it and wanted him to have a better life. That’s why I left him with his father.”
Chase exhales. “Funny about that, Laura. You didn’t leave him with his father.”
Laura looks genuinely surprised by his statement. “What do you mean? Of course I did.”
“No, Laura. You left him with his uncle.” Chase glances over at his older brother. “Colton is his father.”
I find myself holding my breath as she looks from one brother to the other. Pink tinges her cheeks and her mouth drops open in shock. “What?”
“You slept with Colton that night. Not me.”
Laura drops in the chair as the tears start to fall. “Oh my God, I can’t believe this.” With hesitant eyes, she looks back at Chase’s brother. It’s as if realization sets in. “It was you.”
“Yeah, it was me,” he mumbles.
“Holy shit, I thought it was you,” she says, confirming what we already suspected. “I left the room before it was light out. There was so much alcohol. We were celebrating my birthday.”
“How old are you?” I ask, speaking for the first time since Laura’s arrival.
“Almost twenty-three. My friend and I were celebrating my birthday.”
Colton groans. “Jesus, you’re a kid.”
Laura seems shocked. “I’m not a kid. I was of legal age to be at that club.” Then her cheeks turn an even darker shade of red. “And I might have told you I was twenty-six.”
“Fuck,” Colton groans again, running his hands through his hair until it’s standing on end.
“How did you find me, Laura?” Chase asks, finally voicing the question we’ve all wondered for the last few weeks.
She blushes again. “Oh, uh, I might have swiped your ID when you pulled out your wallet to pay for one of the rounds of drinks.”
Chase blinks. “That’s why I couldn’t find it the next morning. And my cash?”
She looks down.
“So you swipe my ID and cash and then, what? Join us back at the hotel?”
“My friend took a taxi home, but I stayed behind. There were shots.”
“So many fucking shots,” Colton mumbles.