“Do you want my advice?” Patrick asked.

“God, please.” She had no idea which way to turn.

“Wait. Irrational decisions are rarely the right ones. Take a few days to digest this information before you do anything.”

She turned to him. “I live with Dean. It’s not like I can avoid seeing him.”

Patrick rolled his eyes. “You’re a woman. Plea some womanly issue and keep your distance while you figure out what to do.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

After only a week of living with each other, Dean felt closer to Katie than he ever had before. Their physical relationship was off the charts amazing. They talked about nearly everything…up until the day she left work early.

She returned from her day and claimed to be feeling unwell.

Claimed. He didn’t think she was sick. Some of the spark had left her face and he couldn’t help but think it was him.

While they were both sitting on the couch and watching some mindless television show, Dean lifted her feet in his lap and started rubbing lazy circles with his thumbs. Katie’s features lost some of the stress he’d seen behind her eyes.

“God that feels good,” she told him.

“Relaxing?”

She offered half a smile and hummed her appreciation.

He waited until her upper body melted into the couch before he asked her, “What’s going on, Katie?”

Her eyes popped open. “Going on?”

“Yeah. You’ve been preoccupied the last couple days. Stressed.”

Her throat moved and she blinked. “I am stressed,” she told him. “Worried about what Patrick is going to discover…worried he won’t find the mom at all.”

“She couldn’t have just disappeared.”

“You never know. The evening news is always talking about people dropping off the face of the earth.”

Dean didn’t think this mom left the country. A few feet away a mechanical swing clicked as it rocked Savannah back and forth. Her little eyes were losing the battle of staying open. “He’ll find her.” Dean stroked the arch of her foot as they talked.

“If he does and I know her? What then? Do I approach her?”

He hadn’t thought of that. “You can’t do anything until you know who she is. When we find out who she is, we’ll figure out what to do as a couple.”

Katie’s eyes instantly filled and Dean’s heart wept.

“Oh, baby. Don’t worry.” He pulled her into his lap and wrapped her in his arms. His action prompted tears to fall and a whimper to escape her throat. “I’m here.”

She buried her head against his chest and clutched his shirt. “He could tell me anything, Dean. The mom could be someone I know. What if Savannah is Jack’s daughter…or someone he knows?”

Dean stroked her hair. “Jack and Jessie have been exclusive since they met. And I don’t think he was seeing anyone for a while before they met.”

Katie pulled away and searched his eyes. “But it could be something like that. What then? Damn it. I wish I’d never hired Patrick.”

Dean removed a tear with his thumb. “You’re letting this eat you up, Katie. We’ll find out who the mom is and then move on.” He dropped a finger to her lips when she started to ask another question. “And if we don’t find out who the mom is…we move on.”

He kissed the tip of her nose.

“Thank you…for being here with me,” she said. “I don’t want to do this alone.”

“You’re not alone. Is this what’s been on your mind?”

She looked away. “Yeah. Sorry I’ve been so off.”

Dean lifted her chin to stare into her eyes. “I know this is going to sound awful of me, but I’m glad it’s baby drama and not me. You had me thinking you’d regretted your move here.”

Her eyes widened. “What? No! We’re the best thing to happen since Savannah ended up on my doorstep.”

He kissed away the salty tears and she offered a tired smile before settling back into his arms.

Savannah gave in to dreamland and, from the way Katie had relaxed, she wasn’t far behind.

Dean tried to watch the television and remove his thoughts from what Katie had said…but her worry transferred over to him.

What if Savannah was related to one of them…to him?

What if the father showed up demanding her?

What if someone was playing a sick game?

God help anyone who would try anything cruel with the woman he loved and the child brought into their life.

Dean considered himself about as even tempered as they came…but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t come out fighting.

Katie had dodged a bullet. With as much honesty as she could bear, she’d shared her concerns with Dean. Her dishonesty was eating her up. Over and over she told herself it was a simple omission of the truth.

Just because Maggie was the mother…or the woman in the pictures running from the scene of the crime, there were no guarantees Dean was the father. In fact, Maggie might have had an affair and that was why she’d broken off their engagement.

Katie doubted the latter.

With a copy of the letter Maggie had left with Savannah, Katie met with Monica for a “long lunch” and an even longer talk.

They chose a table on an outside patio and suffered the warm temperatures to avoid notice.

Katie’s hands trembled as they sat and kept the talk light until they’d ordered food.