Page 12 of Edge of Danger

That was something they agreed on.

He left her in the conference room, softly singing to the baby in hopes of getting him to sleep. There was something so sweet and perfect about Tessa and Walker together that he couldn’t stop looking over his shoulder at them. He forced his feet toward his office knowing the rest of him wanted to stay.

Chapter Five

Tessa finally had her son back in her arms.

It was all she could do to not break down sobbing, but with all the Patterson men watching, she knew that wasn’t an option. They would ask too many questions.

Questions she didn’t have answers for.

Tessa nuzzled Walker’s downy, fuzzy cheek, breathing in his baby scent. Soaking it in. Drowning in it.

He’d grown so much bigger than she had imagined he’d be by now—and she had imagined it so many times. All day, every day. Every time she’d seen a baby in the street, in the diner or at the dry cleaner’s, or in any of the houses she’d cleaned. No matter where she’d been working at the time, the sight or the sound or the evidence of a baby’s existence had left her arms aching and her eyes stinging with tears.

He was so beautiful. He had her eyes, dark and deep. She had no doubt they held the secrets of the universe. All the wisdom in the world.

He’d shed the fine, wispy hair he’d been born with. What grew in now was her shade of brown, touched with a tiny bit of red that brought her mother to mind.

She kissed his forehead and closed her eyes and thanked God. She had her son in her arms again.

“I’ve missed you,” she whispered, her mouth close to his ear. “I love you so much. Did you know that? I do. I do. Mama loves you.”

This was an unimaginable gift. Worth the bus ride from Eagle Pass. Worth sleeping at the bus station. All so she could be with her baby for the first time in three months.

The longest three months of her life.

Two of the Pattersons were talking not far from the conference room. She looked up from Walker, frowning as she considered them. What was their story? What was this Brax person all about?

He’d called Robert his brother, but then he’d called the other Pattersons his brothers too. Did that mean Robert was related to all of them? Not only had Robert never talked about brothers, but the Pattersons were all of different races. Who was biologically related to whom?

Which one of them could potentially take her son away if they proved to a judge that Walker was related to them?

Who could she trust?

If Brax and Robert did share blood, there were more differences than similarities. Not only physically, though those differences had jumped out at Tessa the second she’d laid eyes on Walker’s uncle. Brax had a commanding presence, tall and broad-shouldered, built like he took his body seriously and worked hard to stay muscular. He had a penetrating gaze that she guessed could inspire fear or confidence, depending on what he intended.

It seemed as if he didn’t know she was Walker’s mother. He thought somebody had sent her there—she’d overheard him saying something to one of the other men about an agency. That was fine for now, since she had no idea whether Robert had mentioned her.

Or what he might’ve said if he had.

No, there was no question about what he’d say. He would’ve told Brax what he’d told the judge. That she was a drug addict, an unfit mother.

And once again, he’d leave out the part where he’d drugged her and paid other people to call her unfit.

She held Walker a little tighter. There had been so many times when she’d feared she’d never have this opportunity again.

Why would that vindictive pig go to all that trouble to get custody if he was just going to run off and leave the baby with Brax?

Walker fussed like he felt the direction her thoughts had taken. How her blood started boiling the second she thought about that awful time. The powerlessness. The helplessness. It made her sick.

What had been Robert’s plan when he’d destroyed her life and taken away the one good, pure thing that had ever been hers? His cruelty made no sense.

Walker whimpered. “It’s okay, sweetheart,” she whispered. Just looking down at him was enough to make her forget everything that had ever hurt her. Everything that had ever made her angry.

Now, she had to find a way to keep him. She wouldn’t let go of him again. She couldn’t.

Maci stopped in not long after Tessa had settled Walker down. The woman gave Tessa a good feeling, like she had an ally in this new world.

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