by Barb Han
“Okay. Here’s what we’ll do. You can get a DNA test down at the store. I think they’re pretty easy to take. If she’s yours, we’ll take the next legal steps for you to claim her.” Her statement didn’t get the reaction she was hoping for.
“How accurate can a drugstore test be?” Rylan looked even more lost. “I need to track down her mother, and I can’t do that if I don’t know who she is.”
“How many women have you been with?” Before he could answer, she held up a hand. “Don’t answer that. It’s not my business.”
“This situation is complicated, Amber. But I’m not some jerk who runs around getting women pregnant and then ditching them. I just got out of the military and, yes, there’ve been a few women, but none who were important, and I’m always careful.” The indignation in his voice shouldn’t make her want to smile. Rylan would be considered hot by pretty much any woman with eyes. He was also smart and funny.
“I’m not trying to judge you unfairly, Rylan. I’m really not.” It was a mistake to look into his dark brown eyes while sitting this close.
He looked away and took a sip of coffee. “It doesn’t matter. She’s here and I have no idea who she is, where she came from, or if she’s mine. But I can’t help wondering who would track me down and play a twisted prank like this, either.”
“Did you say the stranger dropped off a diaper bag?” She was already looking around for one.
The living room had a sofa, chair and boxes. On the opposite wall was a perfectly set up and organized flat screen. There were two-by-two-inch swatches of paint colors taped to the wall that got the most natural light.
“It’s over there.” He pointed next to the sofa.
“Did you check it for a name?” she asked.
He shook his head.
Amber retrieved it and opened the zipper compartments one by one. She blew out a breath. “I don’t see anything.”
She held up the bag. A name was embroidered on the front pocket in small letters. Brooklyn. She showed it to Rylan. “The bag might’ve been borrowed, but we can call her Brooklyn for now.”
“It’s a start,” he agreed.
“What about social media? Surely, if you spent time with someone intimately you’d be following them or the other way around.” Discussing Rylan’s sex life wasn’t high on her list of post-holiday musts. Jealousy took another jab at her, so she straightened her shoulders. A man as hot and charming as Rylan had sex with women, probably any women he wanted. It wasn’t her place to judge. She’d had sex, too. She figured the only difference was that they were presently talking about his sex life.
“I’m not much on that computer stuff,” he said, that lost look in his eyes returning. “But, Amber, wouldn’t I know if I had a child?”
Chapter Two
Rylan didn’t expect seeing Amber again to hit him like a physical blow. It did. All he’d known when he’d made the SOS call was that he was in way over his head and he needed a female perspective. His mind had immediately snapped to Amber. He’d tried to tell himself the reason was that he’d dated most of the women in Jacobstown, which wasn’t much once high school was over, and that he figured Amber was safe. He nearly laughed out loud. Amber Kent safe.
The knockout youngest member of the Kent family could not be more fireworks and temptation. She was beautiful as ever. No, check that, she was even more beautiful than before. And that wasn’t exactly good for Rylan’s heart.
Her nutmeg-colored hair was in one of those thick French braids. A few strands broke free and fell beside her heart-shaped face, framing eyes that could best be described as a warm, light brown. She was the total package, full pink lips and creamy skin. She stood at roughly five foot seven and had legs that went on for days. Her hips were curvier than he remembered, which only made her sexier. He knew better than to let those unproductive thoughts occupy his mind.
As much as he liked looking at a pretty face and a hot body, Amber was so much more. Her intelligence and sense of humor had been the first things he’d noticed about her. Well, after they’d both gotten over those awkward teen years. She’d come through it all so easily. Not him. He’d become angry and headed down a bad path with the wrong people, which had led to him shutting out his best friend. This wasn’t the time to dive down that slippery slope of shame and regret.
“I’m drawing a blank on who the mother could be.” Embarrassing as it was to admit, he had no clue. He had no excuses, either.
“This baby looks to be few months old. My best guess is around three,” she stated.
“How do you know?” He had no clue.
“We’ve had a baby boom at the ranch.” She shot him a look like she just realized he wasn’t caught up on her family’s life. “Don’t ask.”
He glanced at her ring finger. Relief he had no right to own washed over him when he saw no gold band. “Didn’t plan to.”
“Good. The mother would’ve been pregnant for nine months. So where were you…” She paused looking like she was making a mental calculation and counted on her fingers. “Twelve months ago, give or take?”
Rylan rubbed the scruff on his chin. He looked away from those distracting eyes. “There was a weekend that I don’t remember much about. I must’ve had too much to drink.”
“No one drinks so much that they can’t remember where they were or who they were with, Rylan,” she argued.
He thought back to where he might’ve been a year ago and drew a blank. “The thing is… I used to drink and that got me into a lot of trouble. I quit. Even when I drank, I never partied so much that I was careless enough to…” He motioned toward the baby.
“Well, that’s good to know.” She blew out a breath. “She’s probably not even yours. This is most likely a mix-up.”
Amber pulled out a piece of paper from the diaper bag. “I didn’t see this before.”
“What is it?”
“A note from someone. The mother?”
Guilt stabbed at Rylan. There was that one time he’d gone to a party and woke up the next day in a motel room, alone. A hazy memory said there was a woman with him that night. Everything was foggy, and it felt more like a dream than reality. He’d felt off for a few days afterward, most likely the effects of alcohol after not drinking anything stronger than a cup of coffee for years.
She skimmed the note. “It’s not signed. But it’s addressed to you, and the baby’s name is Brooklyn.”
Rylan thought back to that weekend. Was that twelve months ago? It seemed longer than that, which meant he couldn’t be the father of the child. What would the odds be of those dates matching up? They had to be slim. “What else?”
Amber held up the piece of paper and shrugged. “That’s it. At least we know her name for certain now.”
Rylan studied Amber. She had that same lost look from when she first saw the baby.
“I need to call Zach.” Rylan referred to the sheriff, who also happened to be Amber’s cousin.
“What can he do?” she asked.
“I don’t know. Call in Child Protective Services?” There was no conviction in his words. “Find this kid’s mother?”
“And what if she is yours? Do you plan to ignore that fact, Rylan, because if you do I won’t recognize you anymore.” She was all anger and ire. Damn that she was even more beautiful when she was scolding him. He shouldn’t find it amusing or cute as hell.
“I would never deny my own child.” It was true. Rylan knew firsthand what it was like to have a father who couldn’t be bothered with his child. When Rylan was young, his mother had told him that his father had gone camping. He later realized that she was covering for the fact that Rylan’s father had walked out on them both. The man didn’t look back. He just disappeared one day, leaving Rylan’s mother to care for him long before Rylan had any memories of his father.
His mother had worked two, sometimes thre
e jobs to pay the bills. He’d loved her and respected her, but he never knew her. Loralee Anderson was always gone, working, trying to make a living. When she became sick and passed away when Rylan was in high school, he had rebelled. He’d gotten out of control. And then the night he’ll never forget happened. Even now, he couldn’t go there mentally.
The US Navy had become his family once he decided to get his act together and join. Then, his brothers on his SEAL team were his only family. And yet he’d never quite been able to erase Jacobstown from his mind.
Now that his time was up in the military, and he’d had no designs on a forever career, Rylan came back to the only place he’d ever known as home. Except nothing was the same anymore. Strange how moving away from the place he grew up made him think it would somehow be frozen in time when he returned. It didn’t work that way. Life moved on. People grew up and grew older.
“Are you listening?” Amber interrupted his heavy thoughts. She blinked at him.
“Yes. Sorry. What were you saying again?” He took another sip of coffee to wake up his mind. He’d stayed up too late last night unpacking the kitchen, but at least the place was close to livable now. He planned to move a wall in order to open up the living area to the kitchen. There were other renovations on deck. Once the place was updated, Rylan had planned to decide if it was worth sticking around Jacobstown.
“Where’s your laptop?” Amber set her coffee on the table next to the couch.
“Ah, over here.” He retrieved it and sat next to her.
She opened it and asked him to log into his social media page. She looked at his story and skimmed all the people—mostly women—who followed him.
He could’ve sworn she’d blown out a frustrated breath.
“There are a lot of names here, Rylan.” She studied the screen.
“Yeah, I know a lot of people thanks to traveling all over the world,” he said.
“Thank you for your service,” she said, and there was a hint of admiration in her voice. It made him proud to hear it.
“You’re welcome,” he said reflexively. He’d heard it dozens of times over the years, but it sounded somehow sweeter coming from Amber. He told himself that he couldn’t afford to care about what she really thought of him, even though a little voice in the back of his head called him out on the lie.
“Okay.” She refocused on the screen. “Let’s get to work on these names.”
She pulled up picture after picture, but he didn’t remember being with any of the faces. Especially not in the time frame that would be necessary for one of them to be the mother of the child.
“It’s no good.” He was getting frustrated.
“We’ll figure it out,” Amber reassured him.
It was easy for her to say. Everything in life came easy to Amber Kent. Beauty? Check. Brains? Check. Great family who loved her? Check. Money? Check.
“Everything can’t be fixed by the Kent charm.” He nudged her shoulder with his. A surprising amount of electricity pulsed from where they made contact. Well, that was a bad idea. One Rylan had no intention of repeating.
His attraction to Amber came roaring back, but he remembered the promise he’d made to his best friend. Will Kent knew Rylan better than anyone else, and if Will thought Rylan dating Amber was a bad idea, then it was. Period.
Besides, Rylan would never break a promise to his former best friend.
“Ha-ha. Very funny. You know, luck visits those wearing overalls more often than someone who can’t be bothered to get his hands in the dirt,” she shot back.
“True.” He picked up her hand and showed off her manicured nails.
“Just because I know how to clean up doesn’t mean I don’t put in the work, Rylan Anderson.” Hearing his name roll off her tongue shouldn’t sound so good. He should also ignore the electricity bouncing between them. Those were things that had gotten him into trouble before, and he’d touched the hot stove once.
Rylan liked to think that he learned from his mistakes.
The baby stirred. Rylan had never been around kids and he hoped, no prayed, the little thing wouldn’t wake before someone from CPS could get here. He had no idea what to do with a baby, and was grateful that Amber had shown up before the little girl woke and started crying again. Her wails had damn near broken his heart before she tuckered herself out and fell asleep.
Rylan had never felt so useless or helpless in his life. He’d practically worn a path in the carpet making circles in the living room as he held her against his chest. It was the only position she seemed remotely soothed in.
“I know you work hard,” he conceded. “I also know that you’re smarter than me. So, what do I do with this?” He motioned toward the black-haired angel. “Because I’m out of my league here. I surrender.”
“Like you said, we can start by calling Zach. You know my cousin will come right over. News will get out, too. News that you’re possibly a daddy. News that I was here.” She flashed eyes at him, and he realized she was asking if he was prepared for her brother to know she was at his place. “Are you prepared for her to be tied up in the system until the courts figure out paternity?”
He hadn’t thought of it that way. He’d been too focused on trying to ensure he wasn’t left alone with her for long. He didn’t have the first clue how to care for a baby. But Amber made a good point, and it was something he needed to seriously consider.
“No. If she’s mine, then I want her with me. I’d also like to figure out who her mother is either way. I mean, having this dropped on my doorstep has rocked my world, and I want to know if this is a babysitting detail or if some person is going to show up in six months with a court order demanding her baby back.”
He didn’t do the unknown real well, especially with stakes this high.
Chapter Three
Amber’s cousin, Zach McWilliams, happened to be nearby when she called to explain Rylan’s situation. The sheriff was on his way over. Questions were mounting, and Rylan needed answers. He could hardly imagine that a person could abandon such a sweet child. Even when Brooklyn had cried in his arms earlier she’d done it softly.
There was something delicate and tiny about the little girl that brought out Rylan’s protective instincts. She had the roundest cheeks, the thickest head of curly hair and the most angelic features he’d ever seen.
Granted, Rylan hadn’t been much on babies before, and had no intention of having one of his own until he had something to offer. That was one of many reasons he hoped this one had a different father. But as far as babies went, he’d be lucky to have one like her.
A soft knock sounded at the door, and Rylan immediately walked over and let Zach in.
“Thanks for coming on such short notice,” Rylan said.
“Good to see you again.” Zach’s wary expression made sense given the circumstances. All Amber had told her cousin was that she needed to speak to him at Rylan’s house, and that she’d explain everything when Zach arrived.
His gaze bounced from Amber to the sleeping baby to Rylan. Amber gave her cousin a hug. He eyed the stacks of unpacked boxes.
“I’m still getting settled,” Rylan said by way of explanation.
“I heard you were back,” Zach said. “Welcome home.”
Rylan thanked him. He hadn’t been sure of the reception he’d get from anyone connected to the Kent family. But then it wasn’t like Will Kent to go spreading rumors.
Amber motioned toward the couch. “Sit down.”
“I’m good.” Zach stood in an athletic stance like he was preparing himself for just about anything. He looked to Rylan. “What’s going on?”
“A guy shows up at my door. He’s holding a baby in a carrier and has a diaper bag on his shoulder. I just moved in so I figure he has the wrong address or is looking to visit Mrs. Parker, who used to own this place.”
“She moved to
San Antonio to be close to her daughter,” Zach confirmed. He’d pulled out a notebook and pencil. He looked up from the notes he was scribbling.
“Yeah. The place had been empty and she needed the money. I figured we’d both win if I bought it,” Rylan said.
“So, you’re planning on sticking around?” Zach asked.
Rylan glanced at Amber before returning his gaze to Zach. “That’s the idea for now. I figure I can always rent the place out if I decide to move to the city.”
“People need affordable housing.” Zach was nodding. “The guy who showed up. Had you ever seen him before that you can recall?”
“First time,” Rylan said. “He shows up and asks if I’m Rylan Anderson. I tell him yes and then his cell goes off. It wakes the baby and she starts crying. He looks flustered, asks me if I can hold the baby carrier while he answers his phone. The minute I take the carrier he drops the diaper bag at my feet, tells me the kid is mine and then bolts.”
“Did you chase him?” Zach asked.
“By the time I set the baby down and kicked the bag out of the way, he had too much of a head start. She was crying, sounding pitiful, so I didn’t have it in my heart to leave her. I looked up, but by then the guy disappeared in between the neighbors’ houses.” Rylan was still annoyed that he’d been outplayed.
“What did he look like?” Zach jotted down notes.
“He was around five feet nine inches. He had blond hair and blue eyes. He was young. I’d say in his early twenties. He was slim, looked like a runner. He had thin features,” Rylan stated.
“Think you could work with a sketch artist?” Zach asked.
Rylan nodded as the little girl stirred. She immediately started winding up to cry. Again, Rylan felt useless. He looked toward Amber.
“She’s probably hungry,” Amber said, picking the baby up like it was as natural as a Sunday walk. Bouncing the little girl kept her from wailing. “You two keep talking. I’ll figure out how to make her a bottle. Do you have a microwave?”
