Call Her Mine

by Melissa Foster

  Bodhi laughed.

  “Dude, she’s my sister. There are certain things I do not want to hear,” Ben reminded him. “One more thing, Bodhi. I wouldn’t trade Bea for the world, but definitely line up babysitting so you and Bridgette get some time together. Having a few unencumbered hours makes a world of difference.”

  “Bridge has all that worked out,” Bodhi said proudly. “This is my first rodeo, but it’s not hers. She’s already made arrangements for my mother to help out at the flower shop for the first few months, and Roxie’s going to take the baby whenever Bridgette needs a break.” Bodhi’s mother, Alisha, had recently sold her flower shop and moved next door to Bodhi and Bridgette. “Our kids are cousins. How cool is that? And our babies are going to be close enough in age to go to school together.”

  “Our babies will grow up raising hell together,” Ben said. “See, Zane? Another reason to have a baby sooner rather than later, so yours is close in age to ours.”

  Bodhi smirked and said, “I think Roxie’s been working on that.”

  The color drained from Zane’s face. “Shit. What’s she laced her potions with this time?”

  “I’ll never tell.” Bodhi sped up to a full-on sprint.

  “Damn it!” Zane ground out as he and Ben took off after him.

  Ben’s phone rang, and as he pulled it from his running belt he said, “Go on. I’ll catch up.” His chest constricted at the sight of Mason’s name on the screen. He slowed to a walk as he answered the call. “Mason, how’s it going?”

  “Pretty well. Have you got a minute?”

  He wiped the sweat from his brow with his forearm and said, “Sure. Of course.”

  “I’m sorry this has taken some time, but we tracked down the mother, Bernadette Caroline Thatcher. She goes by Caroline, as you know. She was a waitress at the hotel where you met her, but she no longer works there. She took maternity leave a few weeks before the baby was born, and two weeks after she was born, she resigned. No one there has seen her since. We linked her to a flight to New York City, where she rented a car a few days before she left the baby at your place, but she never used her return ticket. Although the rental car was returned. We’ve tracked a few expenditures in New York City, but it’s been more than two weeks, and her trail has gone cold.”

  “What do you think that means?”

  “It could mean anything. She could have gone to stay with friends or family. My guess is that she wanted a fresh start, doesn’t want to be found. But we’ve checked local hospitals and clinics, just in case something happened to her. She hasn’t shown up anywhere. Her parents are deceased, and I haven’t been able to locate any other relatives. The good news is, we tracked down the hospital where your daughter was born.”

  Mason relayed Bea’s birth and hospital information, and then he said, “I sent you an email with all of the data so your attorney can fast-track the paperwork. I know you were worried about the baby’s immunizations, and at least you can breathe a little easier knowing she’s had them.”

  “Thanks, man. Did she have a name on the birth certificate?”

  “She did. Jane Thatcher. She was six pounds, two ounces.”

  “Jane.” Tears burned in Ben’s eyes. Jane was such a plain name. Could she have put less thought into naming her little girl? “Thanks, Mason. What happens now?”

  “Your attorney should have enough to get you legal guardianship. The rest is up to you, Ben. Do you want me to continue searching for her?”

  He wanted to find her, to see her face-to-face and ask why she’d never contacted him before the day she’d dropped off Bea. But at the same time, he wished she’d stay away for good. He remembered what Aurelia had said about knowing what had happened so Bea wouldn’t go through life wondering why her mother had left her.

  “No,” Ben said. “I don’t want you to, but I think you should. I need closure, for Bea’s sake.”

  After the call, Ben didn’t catch up to Zane and Bodhi. He called Aurelia.

  “Hi, handsome. How was your run?”

  “Cut short. I just heard from Mason.” He relayed the information he’d learned, and with tears in his eyes he said, “Soon she’ll be legally mine, Rels. We’re one step closer to never losing Bea.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  MOTHER’S DAY ARRIVED with sunshine and the promise of a gloriously warm day. Aurelia heard Ben talking to Bea in the kitchen as she carried a load of clean towels upstairs. They’d picked up Flossie yesterday afternoon and taken her on a tour of Aurelia’s bookstore, which she was beyond thrilled with. When they showed her Bea’s bedroom, she’d told them stories about Aurelia’s mother first sleeping in the crib rather than a bassinet by Flossie’s bed and how Flossie had snuck out of her bedroom to sleep on the floor in Abigail’s room. I just couldn’t be that far away from my baby girl. When her grandmother learned that although Bea had not one but two bedrooms, she had yet to spend a single night in either one, she said Bea was the luckiest little girl in the world to have Aurelia and Ben.

  Aurelia knocked on Flossie’s door to give her fresh towels.

  Flossie peeked out of the guest room, wearing a silk bathrobe and matching slippers. Her silver hair flowed like water, soft and wavy, over her shoulders and down her back. “Come in, bubbelah.”

  “Happy Mother’s Day.” She kissed Flossie’s cheek and said, “I forgot to put extra towels in your bathroom last night.” She set the towels on the nightstand.

  “I heard Bea up bright and early. She has lungs of steel, that one. That’s good. It means she’s strong.” Flossie wrapped her hand around Aurelia’s arm and said, “How are you this morning, honey?”

  Aurelia usually felt a pang of sadness on Mother’s Day, but today was different. “I’m good, Grandma. I’ve got a great guy who has an amazing daughter. You’re healthy and here with me, and we’re going to spend the day with all the people we love. Life is good right now. Are you doing okay? Is today harder without Grandpa?”

  “Grandpa’s still with me, honey. I feel him.” She put her hand over her heart and tipped her face up toward the ceiling. “He and Abigail are smiling down on us, hoping we’ll make the most of today.”

  “Good. I’m going to head downstairs to help with Bea and breakfast. I’ll see you after you’re dressed.”

  “Okay, love,” she said as Aurelia left the room.

  Aurelia heard Ben singing as she descended the stairs. When she neared the kitchen, she realized he was singing “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran. She tiptoed to the kitchen and peeked in. Ben was dancing with Bea in his arms. His eyes were closed, and Aurelia was surprised he knew every word of the song. She pulled out her phone and began videoing him. She’d thought Bea was the sweetest thing on earth, but this? This was beautiful and tender and so magnificent, words were not enough. She imagined Bea watching the video years from now, knowing how real her daddy’s love for her was. Tears threatened as she imagined the video playing on a big screen at Bea’s wedding, and she hoped one day she’d be watching Ben dancing and singing with his grandbabies.

  Our grandbabies.

  Yes, she allowed herself to go there, because that was what she wanted. Ben in her life forever.

  When he stopped singing, he kissed Bea’s cheek and said, “You’re both perfect, peanut.” He turned, spotting Aurelia, and as he closed the distance between them, he said, “You and your mama.” He kissed Aurelia and said, “Right, Mama?”

  Her heart leapt as tears tumbled down her cheek. Mama. Mama! It was all she could do to nod.

  “Hey there, beautiful.” He slid a hand to the nape of her neck, pulling her close as he kissed her. Then he dipped lower and kissed her collarbone. “I had something made for you.”

  He reached into his pocket and opened his hand, revealing a necklace with three small silver charms. A happy, astonished sound escaped as Aurelia took in the tiny silver charm shaped like an open book with ONCE UPON A TIME engraved on it. Silver heart charms hung on either side of the book. One had A+B inscribed on
it, the other had only the letter B.

  “Ben,” she said softly. “They’re beautiful.”

  “You’re beautiful, Rels.” He handed Bea to her and stepped behind her to put the gift around her neck. As he clasped it, he said, “I wanted to give you something to commemorate all the changes in your life.”

  “Blessings. You guys are blessings in my life,” she said, touching the charms.

  Ben gazed deeply into her eyes and said, “Once upon a time there were two best friends, a sassy, sexy girl who loved Converse sneakers and was careful with every penny, and an insanely handsome, rich man who adored her. They did everything together except share the truth of their hearts. They joked and cried, ate too much pizza, and sometimes they drank too much. On more than one occasion, the handsome, rich man held the sassy, sexy girl’s hair back while she puked.” He smiled and said, “And the sassy, sexy girl . . . Well, we won’t divulge the details of her cleaning up after his messes. This guy, he wasn’t the smartest dude on the block, and he waited too long to let the sassy, sexy girl know how he really felt about her. And one day she moved away—and he was lost without her. And the insanely handsome, rich man realized that without his friend by his side, he wasn’t rich at all.”

  Aurelia smiled through tears, melting inside.

  “Then this beautiful baby girl appeared on the guy’s doorstep, and his friend, the smarter of the two of them, didn’t run the other way. The handsome, rich guy knew that staying by his side was the hardest thing that friend had ever had to do. She was just starting a new chapter in her life, and she didn’t need the chaos of midnight feedings or tracking down women he’d been with. But she stuck to him like glue, and she welcomed the baby girl into her life as if she were her own flesh and blood. And the rich guy fell deeper in love with her and felt richer than he’d ever been.”

  Her throat thickened as she said, “And she fell deeper in love with him, too.”

  “I was getting to that,” he said, sounding choked up. “Together these two friends worked really hard and got really exhausted, learning how to take care of the little girl. And the handsome, rich guy knew he was the luckiest man on earth because of the way the sassy, sexy girl is looking at him right now.”

  Tears slipped down her cheeks. “Oh, Ben . . .” she whispered, going up on her toes to kiss him.

  “I love you, Aurelia, and I’m so thankful you’re mine. I can’t wait to see what our next chapter holds.”

  “I love this, and I love you.”

  As he lowered his lips to hers, the doorbell rang.

  He groaned against her lips and said, “Our timing suuuucks.”

  “I don’t know. Our timing might always be a little off, but it is ours, and that makes it perfect.”

  “God, I love you.” He kissed her again.

  “Want me to get the door while you start breakfast? I’m starved.”

  “Yeah, thanks.” As she walked out of the kitchen, he said, “I’ll make your favorite. Ten-inch pancakes!”

  “Your daddy is a silly, wonderful, romantic man,” she said to Bea as she walked through the living room, touching her beautiful new necklace. “And we are two very lucky girls.”

  She pulled open the door, and in the space of a second the hair on the back of Aurelia’s neck stood on end, and she knew the tall blonde before her, whose teary eyes locked on Bea, was Bea’s mother. Aurelia held Bea tighter, tasting bile in her throat.

  Please don’t be her. Please don’t be her. “Yes?”

  Eyes on the baby, the woman said, “Is . . . ?” Her lower lip trembled. “Ben Dalton here?”

  Her speech was slurred. Aurelia’s protective instincts kicked in. She turned away with Bea as she hollered, “Ben! Ben! I need you!”

  Ben’s phone rang, but the terrified pitch of Aurelia’s voice sent him racing from the kitchen. “What’s wrong—”

  He stopped cold at the sight of the blonde standing on his porch. Caroline. His chest constricted, and just as quickly, anger simmered inside him, and his legs propelled him forward. He put an arm around Aurelia’s shoulder, guiding her, with Bea in her arms, behind him and said, “Take Bea upstairs, please.” He gritted his teeth against the blinding rage clawing up his chest and said, “Caroline,” rough and accusatorily.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, slurring a little.

  “Are you drunk?”

  Tears slid down her cheeks. “I thought I could do it, but I couldn’t. I can’t,” she croaked, her words running together.

  “How dare you come here drunk. You’re not getting anywhere near that baby. You abandoned her. Anything could have happened to her, for fuck’s sake.” His words flew fast like bullets. Unable to stifle his rage, he said, “She’s a baby, Caroline, and you left her like a sack of unwanted trash. You can fight me in court for her.”

  “Ben, let me explain.”

  “I don’t care why you did it anymore. She’s mine, and I’ll protect her from you if it takes every penny I have.”

  Sobs broke from her lungs, and she nodded defeatedly. “I’m . . . I’m staying at the inn on Bedford, room 212, if you change your mind.”

  “I’ll have my attorney send you papers there in the morning.” He slammed the door, shaking all over. He turned and saw Aurelia, clutching Bea, standing in the circle of Flossie’s arms, crying.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  BEN PUT HIS arms around Aurelia, Flossie, and Bea and said, “We are not losing her, Rels. I’ve got this.”

  “She wants her! I heard her say it,” Aurelia cried.

  Ben put one hand on the baby’s back, one on Aurelia’s shoulder, and said, “No. It’s not happening. She endangered her, and she’s not getting her back. I’m going to call my attorney.”

  “This is not any of my business,” Flossie said carefully. “But I think everyone needs to take a deep breath. That woman, Caroline, is hurting, too. Giving up a child can’t be easy.”

  “Grandma, are you saying we should give her back?” Aurelia shook her head. “No.”

  “No, bubbelah. I’m not saying that at all.” She took Ben’s and Aurelia’s hands and said, “Bea belongs here, but it took a lot of courage for that woman to come back and face Ben, and I think he should hear her out, for Bea’s sake.”

  He shook his head, grinding his teeth. “No way. I can’t. It took all of my restraint to keep from saying what I really think of her for leaving my daughter on the porch.”

  “I’m suggesting this for your daughter, Benjamin.” Flossie placed her hand on Bea’s back and said, “What will you tell her? That her mother wanted to see her and you stood in her way? Or perhaps you’ll keep that part of her past to yourself?” Her gaze softened, and she said, “That’s not who you are.” She looked thoughtfully at Aurelia and said, “It’s not who either of you are. Bea deserves to know the truth.”

  “I can’t even think straight right now. I have to call my attorney.” He pressed a kiss to each of their heads and went into his office.

  He sank down to the couch with his head in his hands. Anger, frustration, and his love for Bea coalesced in a long, tortured groan. He slammed his eyes shut, Flossie’s words playing in his mind like a broken record. What the fuck should he do? Seeing Caroline brought all the hurt and anger to the surface. He couldn’t have talked rationally with her if he’d wanted to, but hearing her slurred speech? That was the straw that broke the camel’s back, unleashing his rage.

  Fuck.

  He hated that Aurelia had seen him like that.

  He sat up, breathing deeply, and forced himself to focus as he pulled out his phone. He’d missed a call from Mason and quickly listened to the voicemail. Ben, it’s Mason. We got a hit on her credit card this morning in your area. Give me a call when you can. He called Mason and gave him the lowdown. Then he texted his attorney, apologizing for his rotten timing and asking if he could take an emergency call. Ben’s phone rang a few minutes later with a call from him, and he relayed the turn of events. Understanding the urgency of the situa
tion, his attorney agreed to draw up documents for the voluntary termination of parental rights for Caroline to sign and email them over shortly.

  Feeling mildly relieved, Ben went to find Aurelia.

  Flossie was sitting in the living room playing with Bea. He hadn’t noticed her festively long, bright turquoise skirt and black top before. Damn. He’d forgotten about brunch.

  “Is Aurelia upstairs?” He offered his finger to Bea, who took it, happily waving her arms.

  “She is. She needed a moment.”

  “I’m sorry for losing my cool.” Regret ate away at him for ruining her Mother’s Day, and what he’d seen as Aurelia’s first Mother’s Day, too.

  “It’s okay, sweetheart. Babies have a way of bringing out the best in us, but they also heighten our protective instincts to new, unimaginable levels.” Flossie lifted an empathetic though serious gaze to him, and for a moment she just looked at him, as though her words should have deeper meaning.

  And they did.

  She wasn’t just talking about him, or even him and Aurelia. He realized her empathy was also meant for Caroline.

  “Things are not always what they seem,” Flossie said as she placed her hand over his. “I know my bubbelah, and right now she wants to lock Bea up in a glass case so Caroline can’t hurt her again. My heart tells me that you’re coming from the same place, and that’s a decision only you can make. You’re a strong man, Benjamin, and you’re a good, kindhearted man. But I respect that you are also a businessman, which I assume makes it easier to separate emotions from some of your decisions. You don’t know this, but my husband and I were faced with a similar dilemma when Aurelia’s mother died. We knew that Aurelia would have many occasions in her life when she’d need to explain why she was raised by her grandparents, and with each one of them she’d have to revisit the pain of losing the mother she’d never had a chance to know. We could have spared her that by telling her we were her parents.” She shrugged, a small smile stretching her lips. “She may never have found out. Or she might have, and then we, the people who loved her most, who wanted nothing but to protect her, would have become liars in her eyes. I’m not saying your situation is the same, or your decisions should mimic ours. I just thought you should know, because whatever decision you make will be Bea’s burden to carry for the rest of her life.”