Page 72 of Finding You

“She is a cool baby,” Dallas agreed. “I’ve heard the cool babies turn into nightmare toddlers though.”

“Sage wisdom,” Adele said since he’d been the one to give it.

Gage glowered at his dad. “You’re never going to let me live that one down. I had, like, six bad months.”

“Try two years,” Adele said. “From four to six, you were an actual monster.”

“I got over it,” Gage said.

“Most days,” Adele offered. “Anyway, you have to be at the school, so maybe you should pass the baby along.”

“Oh my God, I’m late?” Dallas felt a wave of panic, and he scanned the room for a clock. The oven said it was just going on eight. Dear God, he was going to lose his job, and?—

“It’s the weekend, babe,” Adele reminded him. “Gage has rehearsals.”

Right. It was the weekend. His time with Audra. He was okay. Well, he wasn’t okay. He was a mess, but his entire life wasn’t ruined yet. Reaching down, he plucked his daughter from Gage’s arms and hitched her onto his shoulder. She immediately mashed what was left of her biscuit against the side of his neck.

“I guess I’m glad Kylen’s not here to see me like this,” Dallas muttered as he moved into the living room for her clip-on high chair.

“He’s got a kid. He gets it,” Adele called after him. “Besides,” he added when Dallas headed back to the table, “he’d probably rather be here than at work.”

Work. Right. Because people had lives outside of his own drama. Kylen hadn’t run. He just had normal adult responsibilities.

Dallas secured the chair, then set Audra down before leaning against the table and covering his face with his hands. She laughed and kicked at him, her little fingers twisting into his hair and pulling. Dallas didn’t look up until he heard the soft thud of a coffee mug at his elbow, far enough away baby hands couldn’t reach.

“Did Monty call yet?”

“I don’t actually know,” Dallas admitted. “I obviously slept through Audra’s morning screaming session.”

Adele smiled down at the baby and shook his head as he ruffled her peach fuzz. “You didn’t have a screaming session, did you?” She gummy-grinned at him with her four tiny teeth and babbled. Adele looked like he was melting. “She was a perfect little princess.”

She was a perfect little princess. Christ, how was he going to hand her off, knowing that he might not see her for months?

“Talk to me,” Adele said. He set the plate of french toast in the center of the table, then took a seat beside Dallas. “You look like you’re fighting off the urge to fling yourself into the Atlantic.”

Dallas grimaced. “I kind of am. I mean, not literally. But whatever Monty says, I think I have to give Audra back. I can’t afford childcare on top of what I’m paying in child support, and I can’t lose my job. And it’s not like I have a family to watch her. Besides…” He hesitated, then licked his lips. “I don’t think I could do that to Katie.”

“Keep the baby away?”

Dallas nodded. “Even knowing she’ll probably do the same thing to me, I can’t do that to her. I can’t hurt someone like that.”

“She might have seen reason after talking to her lawyer,” Adele said.

Dallas wanted to believe that, but he’d never seen Katie like that before. He hadn’t ever seen her that afraid either though. This was totally uncharted territory. “I should probably go check my phone.”

Adele nodded and shooed him out of the seat before taking it so he could be within arm’s reach of Audra. “Go. Princess Peach and I are good here for a while.”

Dallas let out a soft laugh and ran his finger over her round, peachy cheeks. It fit. “Thanks for this.”

“Don’t start. Just go.”

Dallas saluted him, then marched out of the room and eventually found his phone tangled up in Kylen’s discarded shirt. Dallas felt that like a punch to his sternum. Kylen had left some of his stuff. He wondered if he’d tried to wake Dallas before he left. There was no note lying around, so maybe he actually had.

Maybe they had a whole conversation that his stress brain completely deleted.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, he turned on the screen and groaned when he saw four missed calls and a dozen messages. One call was from Monty, one was from Katie, the other two a number he didn’t recognize. Nine of the texts were Katie’s, and they ended before midnight, two were from Monty, and one was from the only person he wanted to talk to in that moment.

Kylen: I’m just about to take off and I’ll be out of range for a few hours, but text me when you’re up. Dani’s leaving tonight but if you want a sleepover where your ex can’t find you, my place is open and we can trade nighttime baby duties.

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