Page 11 of I Found You
Abbie hadn’t responded to my call or my text. I didn’t really have any other close friends that I could reach out to. My brother was the person least interested in babies that I could imagine, but at least he’d stopped by twice so far towatch her for an hour. It had to be well planned out so that she would be clean, fed, and napping, but that was fine with me. It gave me time to shower, fold some laundry, do the dishes, and meal prep. But the last time Jackson had stopped by was Wednesday. That was three days ago.
When I opened the door to see a gorgeous, six-foot-tall man in his early thirties, I thought I was hallucinating. I trailed behind Wyatt as he made his way toward the kitchen. His hair was slightly too long, sticking out from under his ball cap, and stubble coated the lower half of his face. Tattoos traveled up his right arm, and I could see an outline of another tattoo over his right pec through his white T-shirt. He paired it with a pair of dark orange cotton shorts and basketball sneakers. My new favorite look. The scent of him drifted with the breeze and tingled my nose; he smelled like sin and nature. And now, he was in my house! My very messy, totally disorganized house.
“I think she’s hungry. She needs a bottle.”
“I know what she needs,” I snapped. I wasn’t completely incompetent, despite how it might look right now. I adjusted my tone and explained, “She just woke up from a nap. I was getting her formula ready for a feeding when I heard you bang on the door.”
He was holding her against his heart and patting her butt. Wyatt without a baby was already stunning, but Wyatt Wilder with a baby draped across his chest… wow.
“Shh, Baby Girl. It’s alright. You’re alright.” He spoke quietly to her while he walked around my kitchen with a slight bounce to each of his steps. “Maeve is going to get a bottle made up for you real fast.”
The water was already prepped and poured into the bottle,so all I had to do was add the formula powder and mix it up.
“I can take her back,” I offered. “I have her bottle all made up.”
“I’ve got it. I can feed her.” Wyatt gave me a bit of side-eye, like me doubting his capabilities offended him.
While he fed Jane, I hurried to put the clean dishes away and straighten the burp cloths and packet of wipes from the counter. The dirty dishes would just have to wait. Hopefully, he wouldn’t even notice them. I took my hair out of the messy bun on the top of my head. It was going to have to go right back up; there was no way I could leave this greasy, snarly mess down right now. But at least I could try to make it look more intentional.
It wasn’t like it was going to matter anyway. He was, without a doubt, the sexiest man I’d ever seen. And certainly the sexiest man that had ever stepped foot in this house. It would make sense that he was here for someone else. Sure, that someone else wasn’t even three months old, according to the doctors who’d estimated her age at the hospital, but he definitely wasn’t here for me. In my pink-and-white striped pajama shorts and old gray-and-red Bridgewater State University tee, I wasn’t turning any heads. Oh dear Lord, I wasn’t even wearing a bra.Did he notice I’m not wearing a bra? Would he notice if I went to my room to put one on? Do I even care?
I decided I was too exhausted to care at this point. Wyatt cradled the baby in his arm while he fed her. He was talking quietly to her, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying. He wandered down the hallway, peeking his head in the open door of my bathroom and spare bedroom. That was fine. My bathroom wasn’t in its most pristine condition, but he’d already seen my kitchen, which was much worse. Mybedroom was upstairs, where he would most definitely not be going.
He turned his gaze to me, and I thought for a quick second that he let his eyes wander, but I must have been mistaken because his eyes were most certainly trained on my face right now.
“You don’t have any pictures on your walls. I thought women liked to frame family photos and stuff,” he mentioned.
I didn’t have anything to say, so I didn’t say anything. Besides, it wasn’t really a question.
Wyatt sat on the sofa, looking down at the baby in his arms. She was wide-awake and perfectly content in his safe embrace. I could understand that. I would feel quite content in his embrace as well.
I bustled around the living room, straightening up the mess. It was insane—I could spend all day cleaning up, and when I turned around, a new mess would be in its place. I couldn’t keep up with it.
“Sit down,” Wyatt said. “Your running around is makingmeanxious. Take a second to relax.”
“Sorry. The mess makes me a little uneasy. I’m usually a very clean person.” Why did I say that? I probably sounded neurotic. He was making me nervous. And he didn’t look like he gave two cares in all the world.
Taking the opportunity to take him all in, I sat on the sofa to take a breath. “You’re really good with her. I always struggle to get her to calm down after she’s worked herself up, but you managed it in two seconds flat. You said you’re the one who found Jane? What happened?”
“I was walking home on the Fourth of July when I heard her crying. I found her on the street, under some brush. I broughther home with me that first night. I feel a bit like she’s my responsibility now.”
“How did you find out she was here?”
Wyatt scratched at his cheek, glancing over at me sheepishly. “My best friend’s a private investigator. I don’t know how he does what he does, but I asked him to track her down for me, and next thing I knew, I had your name and address.” He shifted on the sofa, one leg drawn up, and turned toward me. His eyes held a plea as he continued. “I’m not a creep, I swear. I just couldn’t stop thinking about her. I needed to see her again.”
My heart melted a little. He seemed honest and sincere when he spoke about his connection to the little girl.
I sank into the cushions little by little. My heart rate slowed, and I could feel my breathing becoming deeper. Smiling to myself at the picture that they posed, I closed my eyes so that I could commit it to memory.
* * *
My eyes were heavy, but I could see sunlight through my closed lids. I rolled over and took a deep breath. My entire body felt so much better. All of the tension that I had been carrying seemed to float away while I slept.
It took my brain a few minutes to process what had happened earlier. My heart sank. My eyes flew open, and I took stock of all the noise around me or the lack thereof. Silence. Jumping to a seated position, I looked into Jane’s bassinet. Empty. My head swiveled to the alarm clockon my nightstand—4:30 in the afternoon. My legs tangled themselves as I made a mad race to get up, nearly catapulting myself across the room.
I stampeded down my stairs, each foot hitting the stair treads so fast it sounded like a herd of elephants. I ran to the living room, expecting to see a sleeping baby on the floor mat or even a passed-out Wyatt on the sofa. When that room came up empty, I turned to the spare bedroom. Maybe Wyatt had brought Jane in there for a nap or something? Oh God. That room was empty too. I really didn’t have a very large house. There wasn’t anywhere to hide. The bathroom door was open, so I knew no one was in there. The kitchen and living room area were all one open space. Unless Wyatt was currently crouched in my cabinets, it was safe to say he wasn’t in the house. And neither was Jane. I was going to vomit, that sick feeling starting in my belly, working its way up my throat. I could feel my heart beating wildly against my ribs, like a bird was flapping around in my chest cavity and was trying to make its way out of my body.
I flew up the stairs to check my bedroom again, needing to be sure I didn’t miss baby Jane just lying on the bed or something. Obviously, I came up empty. I walked back downstairs, this time at a funeral procession pace. That’s what this felt like. I couldn’t believe I let some random man into my home, handed over a helpless baby to him, and let my guard down enough to fall asleep. I gripped the edge of the kitchen island counter, steadying myself.
