Page 7 of Edge of Danger

She let out a sigh. “I’ll take that as a no. Swaddling is when you wrap the baby in a blanket. Do you have a blanket around?”

“Yeah, there’s one in the bag.”

“Okay. Here’s how you do it. Think of it as a baby burrito.” She walked him through the steps, making sure Brax knew to leave room for Walker’s legs to move around. “He likes to be snug like that.”

It worked. The second Walker was wrapped up tight, he calmed down.

“You’re a miracle worker.” Brax sighed into the phone, not caring that he probably sounded half out of his mind. “I can’t thank you enough.”

“He’s always liked being swaddled. It calms him right away. It’s a shame his father didn’t know that.”

Even if he had, Robert hadn’t stuck around long enough to explain it. “How do you know what Walker likes? What’s your name?”

She was quiet again, which raised his suspicions. Why was she so hesitant? “I took care of him for a little while. My name’s Tessa.”

She was a babysitter or nanny or something. That made sense.

“Thank you. You’ve pretty much saved my sanity. Not to mention Walker’s lungs.”

“I’m glad I could help.”

As a last-second thought, he asked, “Have you heard from Robert?”

Another pause. “No, not any time recently. Is he in trouble or something?”

Brax decided to keep the specifics to himself. No telling who this Tessa was or who she knew. While his brother’s protection didn’t mean much to Brax, protecting Walker’s father meant a great deal.

“No. Just waiting to hear from him. Would you do me a favor and take down my number in case he does contact you?”

Tessa read off the number as it appeared on her phone, and he confirmed it. “Can I have your address, just in case?” she asked. He didn’t see any problem with that and, still feeling grateful for her help, recited the office address.

Finally, there was somebody from Walker’s life on his side.

“Thank you, Tessa. You don’t know how you’ve helped.”

“I’ve heard him holler. I know how I’ve helped. Please, just take care of him.” She sounded almost desperate.

“I will. I promise.” She disconnected the call before he could say anything else.

“You can leave him in the car seat for now,” he told Maci. “I’ll keep him next to my desk. Maybe I’ll be able to get some work done now that he’s quiet.”

Wishful thinking. While Walker didn’t interrupt him, fatigue did. It took no more than fifteen minutes before Brax started nodding off. Maci was kind enough to bring him a cup of coffee, which helped some. But not for long.

He woke with a start at the sound of the doorbell out front. His gaze immediately darted over to the baby, but he’d finally fallen asleep and didn’t seem ready to stir.

“Brax Patterson.”

Brax shot out of his chair like he’d been fired from a gun. Had Robert finally come back? For the first time in his life, had he stood by his word?

No. It was a courier holding a thick manila envelope. “I’ll need you to sign for these documents, Mr. Patterson.”

Brax exchanged a confused look with Maci before accepting the courier’s tablet and scribbling his name with the stylus. That earned him the envelope and its contents.

“Were you expecting something?” Maci asked.

“No.” He opened it and withdrew a sheaf of legal documents. He spread the documents on Maci’s desk, eager to find out what this was all about.

This had to be a mistake. He blinked hard, but that didn’t change anything. “Robert has given me custody of the baby. I’m Walker’s legal guardian.”

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