Page 7 of Make Your Save

“This has to be a joke.” I look at the baby and then look out the window, looking for someone—anyone—to be watching us with a camera or something. I can’t find anyone. The street is empty. It’s just Hadley and me and the baby here. My eyes fly back to Hadley’s. “What the fuck am I supposed to do?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is she even actually mine?

She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth. “I don’t know.”

“Fuck,” I mutter, my eyes squeezing shut as I suck in a breath. My chest expands, and I hold it before releasing it in a rush as I look at her again. What the hell am I supposed to do with a baby? I don’t even know if she’s my child. “How did this even happen?”

Her forehead creases as her eyebrows lower. “I mean, if you slept with her mother?—”

“No, I know how babies are made,” I tell her, snorting at the irony of her response, given our currentsituation where we’re sitting in my car. “The baby. How did you end up with her?”

“Oh,” she starts, rolling her lips between her teeth as she looks out the window toward the hospital. “I found her in the safe haven. It’s a safe area for mothers to leave their babies if they cannot care for them. I don’t think the alarm went off, so I’m not sure how long she was there. I was the first to find her and after I read the note on the back of the photo, I panicked.”

I stare at her for a moment, my body rigid as I process everything she’s telling me. “You weren’t supposed to do that, were you?”

Her lips turn downward, tears brimming along the waterline of her eyes. “No, I wasn’t. I panicked and walked out with her before anyone saw either of us. If anyone else found her, she would have been put into the system and then foster care, and then if she is yours, you would have had to battle to gain custody of her.”

“Hadley,” I say her name softly and slowly as I reach over, my hand squeezing her shoulder. “It’s okay. You reacted and I’m not mad at you. This is just a lot to process.” I look down at the baby as my own panic begins to set in. I go over every option in my brain of what to do next and honestly, I’m about to pull a fucking Hadley move right now.

Grabbing my phone, I scroll through my contacts, knowing exactly who I need to call. Lifting the phone to my ear, I listen as it begins to ring and it’s finally answered just before it goes to voicemail.

“Why the fuck are you calling my fiancée in the middle of the night?”

“I need your help,” I tell Lincoln, not bothering to answer his question. I called Nova because she’s done this before. I can’t call Nash and Riley. They have their own infant they’re busy losing sleep over. “Can I come over?”

The sound of a hushed voice and rustling sounds in the background and I hear Lincoln mumbling something before he speaks to me again. “The door will be unlocked.”

“Thanks.”

I end the call, setting my phone down as I glance back at Hadley. My eyes search hers for a moment, getting lost in the emotional depths of her eyes before I lean forward. She inhales sharply and the faint scent of vanilla invades my senses as I grab her seat belt, pulling it across her body as I’m careful not to bump the baby.

“What are you doing?” she questions me, her eyes on me as I sit back in my seat and reach for the gear shifter to put the car in drive. “I have to get back to work.”

“Not tonight, you’re not. Call them and tell them you’re sick or something,” I tell her, half laughing because this is fucking ridiculous. “We’re going to see my friend and his fiancée who can hopefully help us.”

“It’s illegal to drive with a baby in a car without a proper car seat.”

I cock an eyebrow at her. “Okay, outlaw. You walked out of a hospital with a baby that isn’t yours.” She blinks as I point out the obvious to her. “Is that legal?”

“Well, no,” she admits, letting out a nervous breath. “I guess nothing we’re doing tonight is.”

“I’ll drive slow,” I promise, bobbing my head as I pull the car away from the curb, my knuckles turning white as I tighten my grip on the steering wheel. Hadley doesn’t speak another word as we ride in silence to Lincoln and Nova’s house. I’m struggling to get a grip on reality, struggling to process how I went from sleeping comfortably in bed to driving in the middle of the night with Hadley holding a sleeping baby in my passenger seat.

A baby that I may be the father of.

She’s so quiet, I can’t help but wonder if something is wrong with her or if this is normal for some babies. My mind is absolutely blown by how quickly my life has been turned upside down.

All I can do is hope Lincoln and Nova can come up with some kind of a solution...

Otherwise, I fear Hadley and I may be royally fucked.

CHAPTER THREE

HADLEY

Idon’t think there’s a specific word in the dictionary that would come close to describing how awkward I feel in this moment.

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