Page 9 of Unexpected Love
I called an emergency meeting with Captain Collins and asked him and the guys to wait at the coffee shop. They were probably close to leaving, but I’m desperate. I have no fucking clue what to do with this baby. Honestly, I’m wishing we were at the bar because I could use a drink right now.
“Hey there, little tater tot,” Mac’s daughter, Rosie, coos from where she’s squatted to Charlie’s level. I had no idea she’d be here, but it’s a bonus for me that she is. Until her face morphs from delight to one of confused concern. “Uh. Is her diaper supposed to look like that?”
“What are you talking about?” I ask as I place a high chair at the table.
“It looks… full.” She draws back as Charlie toddles in close. “And it smells.”
I guess it’s not supposed to be drooping down between her knees.
The barista, Jules, from earlier arrives with a fresh round of drinks, and I stand back to get out of her way. “Maybe,” I say to Rosie, “but I’m not changing a dirty diaper. Why are you even here? Don’t you have school?”
The barista scowls at me.Whatever.
Even if I was tempted to flirt with her this morning, everything has changed in one short hour.
“Luckily for you, I was exempt from testing today and got out early. And dude, don’t be stupid,” Rosie admonishes.
Mac barks her name.
“What?” Her eye roll is epic. “It’s a diaper. She can get a rash or worse. Here, give me the bag.” She plucks the floral backpack from my shoulder and hoists Charlie up on a hip. “Come on, pretty girl. Let’s go take care of that poopy diaper.”
Rosie whisks her away, and I sink into a chair. The barista is hovering, her brows pinched together and lips pursed like she wants to say something but is biting her tongue. With a glare in my direction, she stalks back behind the counter.
“What’s going on, Cal?” Thoren asks. “Whose kid?”
“That’s my niece, Charlotte.” My gaze tracks to where Rosie disappeared with Charlie. “I got home, and my sister’d left her at my apartment.”
Nate’s face pales and his mouth drops open. “Left her? Like, alone?”
I snag a glass of water, wishing it was something stronger, and down it. “Yeah. It’s looking that way. She won’t answer my calls. I’m kind of freaking out. I don’tknow if I’m looking at a couple of hours or something more. My gut’s telling me this is something more. I mean. There’s no trace of Dani. Just a shit ton of baby stuff.”
We huddle over the table, everyone looking at me with wide eyes. Then Mac picks up his phone and makes a call.
“Babe. We have a situation. Can you come to the coffee shop?”
By the time Liv arrives, Rosie is finished changing Charlie and has her entertained on the carpeted area at the back of the shop.
Liv, decked out in her white chief’s uniform, looks like the professional badass that she is. She’s also staring at the rest of us like we’re idiots.
“Seriously, have you guys never taken care of a baby?” She surveys the table, then shakes her head. “It’s not that hard. You feed her. Keep her clean. Have a safe place for her to sleep.”
“She was in a playpen. Is that safe?” I ask.
“For now, it’ll be just fine. You’ve got diapers?”
I blanch. “I have whatever is in the bag.”
“Okay. I can make a list of things you’ll need to have on hand. But Cal, what are you going to do about work?”
The barista arrives, again, and I feel her judgment, again. She greets the chief while my brain spins. WhatamI going to do about work if Dani doesn’t come back tonight? I have some vacation time, but not enough that I can take off indefinitely.
The women are chatting next to me, and I’ve got one eye glued on the two girls. Swear to god, I’m going to kill my sister for doing this to me. To Charlie.
I am not equipped to take care of a baby.
What the fuck was Dani thinking?
“Jules, is your sister-in-law still babysitting?” Chief asksthe barista, and for a moment, I’m brought out of my spiraling thoughts.
