Page 58 of The Body Checker

“Is everything okay with Daisy?” The doctor leans forward to check on the baby.

“I haven’t had much contact with her mother, so we just want to make sure everything is up to date.”

She opens the file, and frowns. “Jonah, you’re not listed as the father. No one is.” She hesitates. Papers flip as she goes through her file again. She bites on her bottom lip. “It looks here like she’s just about ready for her four-month shot.”

Jonah’s gaze shoots to me.

“How old is she?” I ask.

“Uh…” the doctor says. “You don’t know?”

“Her mother dropped her at my door weeks ago, telling me that I was her father and she’s four months old. I figured she was closer to five months now,” Jonah says.

“Well, let’s see…she’s just about four months old,” she says. “But I really shouldn’t be saying more, since you’re not listed as the father.”

Jonah frowns, and he looks down, like he’s trying to figure something out. “Was she late being born?”

“Ah, I think you should talk to the mother,” the doctor suggests.

Jonah and I nod, wanting answers, but not pushing because she’s willing to give her a checkup and her four-month shot. He hands Daisy over, and I put my hand on his tense shoulder. I’m sure his thoughts are running along the same line as mine, and he’s just as enraged that Shari neglected to tell him she needed her needles. He closes his hand over mine and squeezes. Thank God Daisy is with her father and not her mother. Who knows if she’d get the care she needs.

The doctor takes her weight and measures her, giving her a thorough check over, and then Jonah holds her as she prepares the needle. Daisy is happy on his lap, but his chest is rising and falling erratically, like this is killing him.

“Hi, Daisy,” the doctor says, talking to her as she puts the needle in. Daisy bursts out crying, and Jonah swallows, hard.

“It’s okay, little one,” he whispers, and when the doctor is finished, I hug both Jonah and Daisy tight.

“Thanks,” I say, and gather up her supplies. The doctor hands us a brochure, and I put it in my pocket. By the time we reach the car, Daisy has calmed down.

“Poor girl,” I whisper, and I rub her back as Jonah unlocks the car.

Once Daisy is buckled in, Jonah slides into the driver’s seat and exhales. I put my hand on his leg. “I think that might have been harder for Daddy.”

He shakes his head and grunts. “I hope that’s the last of her shots.”

“Afraid not,” I say as he starts the car.

“Why do you think Shari didn’t tell me her real age?”

Worry goes through me, but I don’t want to say too much. It’s possible she could have been in the womb longer, late being born, but how long do they let babies go these days? But what if she hadn’t been late in coming? What if…? My pulse thrums.

“Quinn…do you think…” His words fall off, like he can’t bring himself to say them or believe them.

My mind races. Daisy has to be his child, right? Why would Shari just drop her off like that if she wasn’t his? “She was probably late coming into this world,” I say, knowing we’re going to have to talk to Shari and get some answers.

He nods, and instead of going back to his place, he takes a turn and heads in the opposite direction. I frown and glance around. “Where are you going?”

His mood changes, and he gives me a mischievous grin. “You’ll see.”

15

Jonah

Quinn’s face holds a measure of panic when she glances at me. “We should go straight home. Daisy needs rest after her shot.

”

“Where we’re going, she’s going to get plenty of rest.”

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