Page 48 of Stalked at Rescue Ridge

“I like it,” she said pensively.

“Something’s wrong with it, though,” he said, echoing her thoughts. “It’s a beautiful name but doesn’t quite fit her, does it?”

A name popped into her thoughts. “A name just came to me.”

“Let’s hear it.”

“What do you think about Aurora?” she asked.

“Like the northern lights,” he said as he seemed to contemplate the idea. Then, he nodded and smiled. “Perfect.”

A nurse who’d been hovering in the background stepped forward. “Is that official?”

Bree looked to Kade, who confirmed with the kind of warm smile that caused all her defenses to melt.

“Yes, it is,” she said.

“Aurora Bee, with two ‘e’s,” he said. “Does that work?”

“It’s different, but I actually love it,” she confirmed. “Baby Bee.”

The nurse wrote it down and then moved to the background, where she entered notes into a computer.

“Leaving you is one of the most difficult things I’ll ever do,” Kade whispered. “I hope you know how much you are loved, Aurora. You are the light, sweet girl.”

Didn’t those words bring tears to the backs of Bree’s eyes? She swallowed the emotion knotting in her throat.

“And the light of my life,” he said before turning to Bree. “I’ll wait in the hallway for you.”

She appreciated the space he was giving her. “Okay.”

Two days passed.Two trips a day to the hospital, early and late. And too many hours of missing Aurora went by while Bree tried to rest.

The body was a miracle. She’d been in the best shape of her life going into the pregnancy and had maintained a workout routine until the days leading up to Aurora’s birth. Her efforts were paying off now.

After walking into the kitchen and giving Rinty a good head scratch, she grabbed a piece of fruit, poured a cup of coffee, and joined Kade at the table where he sat brooding. More than forty-eight hours had passed since leaving the hospital. He’d slept on the couch instead of the bed. That was fine. He’d been inside his head. Giving him space seemed like the right thing to do.

But she couldn’t take much more of the brooding.

“Did I do something wrong?” she asked. Okay, wait. Maybe that wasn’t the right question to ask because his gaze flew to her.

He picked up his cell phone and showed the screen to her. An invitation for a celebration of life for Zeke was plastered on the screen.

“I’m sorry, Kade,” she said.

He set the phone down, the screen facing the table. “It’s not that. I keep wondering what the hell is wrong with Zeke’s parents. They haven’t visited Aurora once or checked in with you to see if you need anything. As far as they know, Aurora is their granddaughter and—”

“Zeke swore them to secrecy about Aurora’s real father.”

“Zeke knew?” The look of betrayal on Kade’s face had her wishing she’d found a better way to deliver the news.

And then anger slammed into her at the implication she would have deceived another human being about being the father of her child. “Of course, he knew.” She crossed her arms over her sore chest—sore from pumping breastmilk to drop off at the hospital. “Do you really think I would lie to Zeke? What kind of a person do you think I am?” Tears blurred her vision. How could he think that of her? “In fact, he was the one who convinced me not to tell you even though I never made that promise because Ialwaysintended to find a way to tell you. Zeke was my best friend, but I didn’t agree with everything he said.”

Kade’s gaze narrowed as he processed the news. “Why were the two of you planning to get married?”

It was her turn to be shocked. “I never agreed to marry Zeke. I didn’t love him that way.”

Kade pushed to standing. His expression gave the impression much of his world had just imploded inside his brain. “I need a minute.” He called for Rinty and headed out the back door without another word.

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