Page 87 of Knocked Up in Alaska

“She adores her, by the way. All I hear is Lilah’s so cool, and smart, and beautiful, and treats her like a trustworthy equal instead of a screwed-up kid. And the baby…God, don’t get me started.”

“Says the woman who just claimed not to want another of her own.”

“And I stand by what I said, but that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate one I don’t have to feed and change and lose sleep over. That cutie has her own photo roll on my phone. Hmm. Maybe my first trip to Captivity will be to attend a wedding?”

She was teasing. He knew she was teasing, but his pulse spiked anyway. “That’s not… She’s not…” Dammit. “Lilah’s only twenty-one. She’s not ready to settle down.”

“Oh, please. Who are you to say what she’s ready for? I was a married woman at twenty. With a kid.”

“Yeah. And divorced by thirty-two.” He winced at his tactless reply. “No offense.”

“Ouch. None taken. Listen, life doesn’t come with guarantees. Marriage sure as hell doesn’t. But that’s no reason to ignore your heart. Who knows?” Her voice turned pointed. “Maybe it’s all just going to work out?”

Hearing his own words thrown back at him brought another smile to his lips. “Are you getting fatalistic on me, Jen?”

She laughed. “I’m hopeful. Eternally hopeful. Oh, before I let you go, there’s one more thing to discuss.”

Was there? He hefted the fermenter to coax the rest of the brew to the hose while feeling a Jack-level desire to be done talking for a while. But this call had pretty much gone his way. The least he could do was hear her out. “What else?”

“You sent child support every month.”

Oh. That. “I’m good. I don’t need your money.”

“We didn’t need it, either, so your payments went directly into an account we set up for Mia. We intend to pay the support now that you’re the one incurring the expenses. But you’ve answered my question. We’ll put the money in Mia’s account. I’ll send you the log-in credentials and get you added officially next time I go into a branch. It’s a healthy fund, and I’ve put new security in place so she can’t access more than I allocate. I’ll provide the user ID and password to you. She’s good with it, but, you know, keep an eye on things. Most of that fund is intended for college. Make sure she doesn’t spend it on a diamond tiara for Mother’s Day or something equally foolish.”

“Will do.”

“Okay. Good. That covers everything, I think. I’ll text you after I’ve spoken to her, just so you have it from me.”

“Appreciate it. Have a good night.”

“You, too. Give Lilah my regards. I have stories if she’s interested. Like that time my parents came home early, and you jumped out of my bedroom window and sprained your—”

He disconnected but could practically hear Jen laughing at the dial tone.

…

Lilah pulled over in front of The Goose, parked, and came around to check on Shayla, currently screaming in her car seat. She’d done so well all day, through the flight out, the trip to the mall, dinner, and the flight back, but now her little girl was clearly done, over-tired from catching only the briefest of naps-on-the-go that afternoon and hungry for her nine o’clock bedtime snack. She leaned in and sniffed. Also, in need of a diaper change. She should have stayed at the terminal and fed her, but that would have held Bridget up and, well, she’d thought she could make it to the post office to check her mailbox—Shayla’s social security card had arrived according to the digital tracking notice she’d received—and then home to do the bedtime routine in the normal place. A twenty-minute drive hadn’t seemed like too long.

Wrong.

“It’s okay. You’re okay. Shhhh,” she whispered as she freed Shayla from the car seat. “Mommy’s going to find a place to change you and give you a snack, and then we’ll go straight home.”

Straightening, she cradled wailing Shayla against one shoulder and hefted the everything bag over her other. After shutting and locking her car, she considered her options. They consisted of one, since The Goose was closed. Unless she wanted to change and feed Shayla in the backseat of the Jeep—and she didn’t, as she preferred better privacy when breastfeeding—it would have to be the inn.

The baby’s cries seemed to say, “Go now!”

She went, shouldering her way through the tall wood-and-glass doors and into the inn. Groups of guests, some meandering the lobby, others lounging in the seating areas enjoying drinks and each other’s company, turned her way as Shayla’s cries cut through the muted murmur of relaxed conversations. Feeling like a trespasser in what had once been her home, she gathered Shayla tighter to her while whispering ineffective comforts to the baby, kept her eyes down, and made a beeline through the large, low-lit space to the restrooms, reminding herself that the night clerk and evening shift team members would be on the clock. Her mother didn’t haunt the reception desk on Sunday evenings. A run-in was unlikely, especially if she got her unhappy infant in and out quickly.

Completely focused on that goal, she didn’t notice a figure step into her path until hands came up to take hold of her arms and halt her progress. “Hey. Hey, Lilah, didn’t you hear me calling you?”

She looked up and into Trent’s slightly exasperated smile. Fine. Just fine. She had a fair amount of exasperation of her own. “I didn’t. Sorry. Turns out I have a baby screaming in my ear.”

“Yeah. I can see that. What’s her deal?”

Lilah shook her head and tried to start walking again, but Trent held his ground and didn’t lower his hands. “Her deal is she’s hungry and she needs to be changed. I’m on my way to the restroom to take care of both right now, so if you could excuse me—”

“I’ve got a better idea.” He lifted Shayla from her shoulder and started walking. The unexpected move shocked her into momentary, speechless paralysis, but Shayla immediately screamed louder. Even a tiny human knew when someone had just stepped between her and a meal.

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