Page 22 of Mine to Keep

“Because the rest of this is all completely normal.”

He seemed to ignore her sarcasm. “They are on your mattress in the bigger bedroom. I did, however, put away the few things I bought for Zadie. Though, I suspect you’re going to need a lot more.”

Zadie fussed. Her legs wiggled, and she stretched out her arms.

Bryn rocked the seat back and forth as she contained her frustration by taking one cleansing breath through her nose. Anger was not the appropriate response in this situation. “While I appreciate all of this, I really do, you can’t keep randomly doing things for me without my knowledge or without asking.”

“I know,” he said. “I never would have gone this far if you had family or friends here. But you don’t, and you needed the bare necessities.” He raised his hand when she opened her mouth to protest. “You have my word that this is the end of it.”

“Thank you.” She bent over and unbuckled Zadie, lifting her into her arms, cradling her against her chest and taking a deep breath of new-baby smell. It was a hundred percent better than new-car smell—one of the only things she’d learned to appreciate when married to Timothy.

Back then, becoming a mother had been all Bryn wanted, but she’d put it on pause after the first time Timothy had put hands on her. Lucky for her, he had wanted to wait a couple of years. She’d thought maybe the stress of joining the family business had gotten the best of her new husband, but she’d soon learned that Timothy had a temper, and the longer they stayed married, the worse it got.

Jamison smiled like a giant kid. “However, you do need to go and see Zadie’s room. And before you go and get mad at me, most of it was Chip’s idea, and he footed the bill for it. He also left you a note.”

“He mentioned something about the baby and a housewarming gift.” She pressed her cheek against Zadie’s forehead. She wasn’t used to this kind of generosity. Not unless it was attached to a condition that came in the form of a bruise. Her husband might have lavished her with expensive presents. However, everything he’d ever given her was either out of guilt for something he’d done or as a way to control her. And it’d worked. For years.

“Chip can be a little bit on the cheap side, but he wanted to do something nice when he heard about what’d happened.”

She followed Jamison down the short hallway, which had a fresh coat of paint. She gasped the second she stepped into Zadie’s room, which now had decals of all the Disney princesses plastered across the walls. Her crib had been set up by the window, and matching princess sheets covered the mattress. On the other wall was a brand-new changing station, and across from that, a dresser.

Everything she and her daughter could possibly need was in this room.

Tears filled her eyes. “I can’t accept all of this.”

“Yes, you can.” He looped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a firm squeeze. “Every fresh start in life deserves new, fun things.”

“You don’t understand what it’s like to be alone,” she managed between sniffles. Thus far, she’d told him as little as possible about her past, but she had mentioned her sister and how hard it was not to have her in her life. That was a true statement. When her best friend Hatti had suggested that Bryn not only disappear but also find a way to fake her death, Bryn had thought she was nuts. But Hatti had been right when she mentioned that it wouldn’t be a good idea to have the world turning over every rock searching for a missing person. Especially because the Perish family had unlimited funds, and if they knew about the baby or had any inclination that Bryn was still alive, they wouldn’t stop until they found her.

It was best if everyone believed that Brenda Thompson Perish had died the same way her husband had—in a tragic car crash.

“I have no one. And while when it comes to my mother-in-law and sister, that’s by choice. I’m starting my life over and—”

“You don’t have to explain anything to me.” He smiled as if he totally understood, which made her a little uneasy. How could he have any understanding of her situation. “My entire family lives close by, but I’m not on good speaking terms with most of them.” He gave her shoulder a friendly squeeze, the gesture there and gone so fast she almost missed it. “Are you hungry? Like I said, I only got you the basics, but I can order you a nice burger and fries or maybe a fish fry from the restaurant in town.”

“Are you talking that same burger you brought me yesterday.” Her stomach growled. “Would you like to stay for lunch?”

“A man’s got to eat,” he said with that huge grin of his that reminded her that she was, indeed, a woman.

She bounced up and down while Zadie’s faint cries turned louder and louder.

“Sounds like someone else is hungry,” he said. “How about I order our food. Is there a place you’re going to set up your jewelry-making shop? Will you at least let me help with that while we wait for lunch?”

“Thank you for asking instead of just doing.” She set Zadie on the changing table and fumbled like a clumsy first-time mom with the dirty diaper. Thankfully, Jamison seemed unfazed by the entire situation. “First, we order. But I insist on paying, so do it from my phone. And I think that a fish fry sounds perfect. It’s in my back pocket.” Her hands were currently occupied with a wiggly baby. She glanced over her shoulder.

He stared at her with wide eyes, and his hands went up as if she were holding a gun to his head.

“I’m starving. And so is this kid.”

Zadie let out a blood-curdling scream.

“Just do it,” Bryn said.

“Don’t slap me.”

She felt a slight tug on her backside.

Thud.

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