Page 42 of Confined Space

"We didn't let him in the building, but he's threatening to throw a rock through the window if we don't let him see his child."

"Oh my goodness! What does he look like?" Worried I know who it is, my stomach plummets.

"He’s medium height. Maybe five-eight or nine. He has brown hair that is slicked back from his face," she says, and now the waves of nausea come. Why is he there? How did he find Archer?

"I'll see if I can get there, but I'm on duty."

"I figured so. Do you want me to call one of your emergency contacts?" I recently added JoAnna and Rowdy to the list. I don't want Rowdy to go, but I might not have a choice. Then a thought comes to mind.

"Let me call JoAnna and see if she can come by early."

"Okay. But if he gets any more aggressive, I'm going to have to call the sheriff’s office.”

I hang up and contact my supervisor first. I let her know there’s an issue at the daycare and I might have to leave for a short time. My supervisor tells me I can take an hour to get things straightened out.

I run out and climb into the car, hoping I can resolve this myself. I don’t want to bring JoAnna and Rowdy into this mess. I head around to the other side of the hospital campus where the daycare is and pull in. Sure enough, Davis is standing out front, banging on the door and pushing the intercom system. A sheriff’s deputy truck pulls up as I rush to the entrance.

"Davis, what are you doing here?" I keep my distance from him but want to get between him and the entrance so I can get to Archer.

"I want to see my child."

"No, you don't. You told me you didn't want to know anything about the baby." I purposely don't identify Archer's sex or name to keep him safe longer.

"I changed my mind." He walks toward me, then suddenly stops.

I'm guessing the deputy is right behind me.

"Listen here, you little sawed-off fucker, leave my family alone." Rowdy's voice comes from behind me. I stiffen, afraid of how I'm going to explain this, but I don't take my eyes off Davis.

"Your family?" Davis sneers at him.

"My family. They are mine."

"I'm that baby’s biological father."

"You gave up your rights when you told her to have an abortion. Obviously, you don't even know if you have a daughter or a son." Rowdy doesn't miss a beat, but I can feel the anger pouring off his body as he pulls me back against him.

Davis looks right at me. "Is that how you want to play this, Coral?"

"Davis, you better hurry away before the officer gets your name." I can't help that I egg him on. I'm feeling brave now that I have Rowdy here to protect me.

"Yeah, move along, asshole."

"You'll regret this, Coral. I'll make you sorry."

"I'm already sorry," I snap back.

Davis storms off. When the deputy tries to stop him, he tells him to go to hell and to contact his attorney while throwing a card at him. I can't believe he did this. His family will find out, and that was always what he wanted to avoid. This isn’t California, where his father is an important man.

I'm spun around, and I look up into Rowdy's stormy, dark gaze. His hazel eyes are so dark right now.

"We are getting a restraining order. What was he doing here?"

"I don't know why he was here, and I can't get a restraining order against him." I bite my lip, praying I can get away from here without having to hash out too much. "What are you doing here?" I change the subject.

"Logan called me to let me know there was something going on here. I have the evening off and was going to pick up Archer.”

"Oh."

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