“Where’s her mother?” Amber scanned the place. Her blood boiled that a person could drop a baby off and run like that.
“That’s a great question.” His voice held a mixture of frustration and desperation.
Thankfully, the baby had gone back to sleep.
“How did this happen?” She walked over and stood near the little pink bundle. She was young, a few months old if Amber had to guess. She’d been around her brothers’ children enough to know a little bit about babies.
Looking down at that sleeping angel caused Amber’s heart to squeeze. The air thinned, and it became difficult to breathe. She would never be able to look at such a young baby without remembering her loss. She reminded herself that it was a long time ago. And she still couldn’t go there, couldn’t allow her thoughts to run rogue without the world trying to crash down around her. She refocused on her former friend.
Rylan stood there, looking at a loss for words and staring at her like she had three foreheads.
“Okay, fine. I’m not that naive. I know how this happened. I’m just wondering...never mind...you got coffee?” She figured she was going to need some serious caffeine if she was going to think straight. She shook off the cold and shrugged out of her coat, which he immediately took from her and tossed onto the chair near the door.
“I put on a pot.” He turned toward the kitchen. “Here, let me—”
“No, thanks. You stay in here in case she wakes up again.” Amber didn’t want to explain the sudden burst of emotion that made tears well in her eyes. She knew better than to let Rylan see them, or he’d have too many questions. She stalked past him and into the adjacent kitchen.
She opened a couple of cabinets before she found the right cupboard. The coffeemaker was near the sink and easy to spot. There were unpacked boxes stacked against the wall in one corner. “You want a cup?”
“Yes. Please.”
Amber wiped her eyes and straightened her back before filling the mugs she’d taken from the cupboard and returning to the living room with two steaming coffees.
“Here you go.” She handed one to him and then took a sip of hers, enjoying the burn. She needed to clear a few cobwebs in order to think clearly. She plopped down on the floor, near the baby.
“Come join me, Rylan,” she said.
He did.
“You’ve been in some messes before, Rylan Anderson, but I can’t even begin with this one.” She took another sip and lowered her voice. “You don’t know if you’re the father?”
“This is the first time I’ve set eyes on her,” he admitted. “I had no clue that she existed until someone knocked on my door looking panicked, asked me to hold her and then ran. She was crying, and I had no idea what to do. The person said her mother asked him to drop the child off. He also said I’m her father, apologized and was gone before I could stop him.”
Amber looked down at the sleeping baby. She had Rylan’s dark curls, which didn’t exactly mean she belonged to him. She just looked like she could be his daughter. The thought of Rylan being a daddy hit her hard in the chest.
“Okay. Here’s what we’ll do. You can get a DNA test down at the store. I think they’re pretty easy to take. If she’s yours, we’ll take the next legal steps for you to claim her.” Her statement didn’t get the reaction she was hoping for.
“How accurate can a drugstore test be?” Rylan looked even more lost. “I need to track down her mother, and I can’t do that if I don’t know who she is.”
“How many women have you been with?” Before he could answer, she held up a hand. “Don’t answer that. It’s not my business.”
“This situation is complicated, Amber. But I’m not some jerk who runs around getting women pregnant and then ditching them. I just got out of the military and, yes, there’ve been a few women, but none who were important, and I’m always careful.” The indignation in his voice shouldn’t make her want to smile. Rylan would be considered hot by pretty much any woman with eyes. He was also smart and funny.
“I’m not trying to judge you unfairly, Rylan. I’m really not.” It was a mistake to look into his dark brown eyes while sitting this close.
He looked away and took a sip of coffee. “It doesn’t matter. She’s here and I have no idea who she is, where she came from, or if she’s mine. But I can’t help wondering who would track me down and play a twisted prank like this, either.”
“Did you say the stranger dropped off a diaper bag?” She was already looking around for one.
The living room had a sofa, chair and boxes. On the opposite wall was a perfectly set up and organized flat screen. There were two-by-two-inch swatches of paint colors taped to the wall that got the most natural light.
“It’s over there.” He pointed next to the sofa.
“Did you check it for a name?” she asked.
He shook his head.
Amber retrieved it and opened the zipper compartments one by one. She blew out a breath. “I don’t see anything.”
She held up the bag. A name was embroidered on the front pocket in small letters. Brooklyn. She showed it to Rylan. “The bag might’ve been borrowed, but we can call her Brooklyn for now.”
“It’s a start,” he agreed.
“What about social media? Surely, if you spent time with someone intimately you’d be following them or the other way around.” Discussing Rylan’s sex life wasn’t high on her list of post-holiday musts. Jealousy took another jab at her, so she straightened her shoulders. A man as hot and charming as Rylan had sex with women, probably any women he wanted. It wasn’t her place to judge. She’d had sex, too. She figured the
