Page 25 of Christmas with the Baby Daddy

“Does she know?” I asked.

Cole shrugged. “If she does, she won’t say. They’re like sisters more than friends.”

“Yeah.” Rory huffed a laugh then sipped his drink. “And I could do without that.” He sneered at Cole. “It sounds like Sara was the one who talked Blake into telling me she wanted a break.”

“No, it sounds like Blake finally came to her senses and knew she’d be better off without you,” Cole replied.

“She’s raised him on her own?” I asked. “All this time?”

Kevin was gone. Her father died from alcoholism and before that, her mother passed away from cancer. If she worked for Grandma Jenny, she had a friend in her. Grandma Jenny had always been fond of both Kevin and Blake, letting them sleep over when Mr. Myer was drunk and Mrs. Myer was too sick or tired to make dinner.

“She’s had help,” Cole said.

“And once I pop the question, she’ll have a husband.” Rory shrugged. “He’s not my kid, but I can pretend that he is when I need to.”

I fumed, glaring at him for such a shitty perspective like that.

Not on my watch.

Learning that Blake was a single mother was a curveball I hadn’t expected. I wouldn’t be here long, but while I was, there was no damn way I’d let this guy, or anyone else, prey on her.

One way or another, it was past time for me to figure out who George’s dad was.

And it was even more overdue for me to find out just what Blake had been up to since she’d taken me into her arms and held me on one of the hardest nights of our lives.

11

BLAKE

Tonight’s party took longer than I thought it would. Amanda said it was fine, though. George was asleep, as I figured he would be, and she was hooked on finishing a movie, anyway. Still, I felt so bad for her. She should have a chance to go out and have fun like any other ordinary teenager, but she never wanted to let me or George down.

I yawned as I bundled up the last of the things in the van for Jenny to drive back to the kitchen. She yawned, too, pointing at the stack of containers. “Was that the last of them?”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

“Good. Then it’ll all fit in this van. You can head home.” She patted then rubbed my back. “Thanks for toughing it out all night.”

“I was just thinking that about Amanda, watching George.”

She grinned. “Nah, she loves that boy.”

Maybe because… he’s her nephew?I swallowed down the burn of that lie I kept hidden.

“Hopefully, we’ll have a fuller staff next time.”

I sure hoped so. Tiffany and Leo were out sick. Maggie, too. It was hard pulling off a party of this size, but with a short staff, it was even harder.

I watched Jenny pull out of the parking lot, then I went back into the venue hall to do one last, final double-check that we hadn’t forgotten anything. Something nagged me, like Iwasforgetting something, but I didn’t see anything anywhere. I headed out to the van, praying the power steering would cooperate. One turn of the key proved that it wouldn’t. Hell, the whole engine didn’t want to play along.

“Oh, come on…” I turned the key over and over again, cringing when the engine wouldn’t start.

After a few tries, I gave up and set my forehead to the steering wheel. I sighed, closing my eyes and wishing I didn’t have to walk. Jenny would already be on the other side of town. Sara was in the city, meeting up with some relatives. Amanda was at my house with George…

“Dammit.” I slammed the door shut and tightened my coat around myself. I’d been in such a hurry to get to the party on time that I hadn’t dressed overly warm for the weather. In fact, most of my things were drying on the radiator anyway. George and I spent the late afternoon building snowmen and my good boots, gloves, and hat were still icy wet. Now it was snowing again, harder than before to the point that the Christmas lights strung on all the houses and buildings were lit up from behind a blur.

Hugging myself and loathing my situation, I put one foot in front of the other and trudged on. Instead of dwelling on the sting of iciness in my toes and the numbness on my face, I mentally retraced my steps from the night and tried to figure out what I felt like I was forgetting. That turned into rehearsing my to-do list, which was always overwhelming. It distracted me, though, and it made me so zoned out that I was startled when a truck pulled up alongside me.

“Whoa!” I jumped back, jarred into the present moment from the splash of wetter snow and slush spraying up a bit near my feet.

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