Emily shoved her phone into the pocket of her skirt. “What’s going to happen to Wyatt?”
“As a cop, you should know the drill. They’ll contact Jaycee’s next of kin, see if she had a will, which I doubt, and try to place him with her family.”
“Unless the father steps up.” Emily crossed and gripped her upper arms. With Jaycee out of the picture, Lanier would have a clear path to Wyatt. Had he been responsible for Jaycee’s death? Had those two men been working for him, as Nash had suggested at the beginning?
“Who is Jaycee’s next of kin? Does she have siblings?”
“She may have half brothers and sisters. I don’t know. When she lived in Paradiso, she and her single mom rented a house my family owned. Her mother lived with a couple of guys while they were here, and my parents finally had to give her an ultimatum because the men were using and selling drugs from the house.”
“Poor Jaycee. No wonder she fell into that lifestyle so easily.” Emily dug her fingers into her biceps. Wyatt shouldn’t have to repeat that upbringing. “D-do you think her mother will want custody?”
“I don’t know, Emily. I hope to God not.”
Wyatt stirred in his crib, making mewling noises in his sleep.
Emily said, “I’ll get his bottle ready.”
“No, let me do it.” Nash smashed his fist into his other hand. “I need to do something before I go off and tear this room apart.”
Blinking back tears, Emily nodded. Jaycee’s death had deeply affected Nash, probably partly out of guilt and partly from childhood memories, but he hadn’t been able to let go. She wanted to tell him it was okay if he wanted to cry and let loose. She’d seen her father cry over particular murder cases where he didn’t even know the victims, and he’d always seemed more the man for doing so.
But Nash had to deal how he had to deal, and she let him go through the busywork of mixing up Wyatt’s formula and warming it up while she hovered over the baby.
Wyatt uncurled his hands and blinked his eyes. His mouth opened for a big yawn.
Emily reached into the crib and rubbed his back. “Hello, sleepyhead. Are you ready for a bottle?”
His unfocused eyes found her face and a smile touched his lips. He recognized her. He was happy to see her standing there. Her heart swelled. Nobody had been happy to see her in a long time.
She slid her hand beneath his body and lifted him toward her. Still sleepy, he nuzzled his head against her shoulder, and she rested her cheek against his soft hair.
The tears came again, silently sliding down her face and running into Wyatt’s hair. She choked back a sob.
In a second, Nash was beside her, holding her and Wyatt both in the circle of his strong arms. He bent his head to hers, and his body shook as he cried.
As Nash held her and this motherless child safe in his comforting embrace, Emily’s heart filled with a warmth she hadn’t felt since the night her father was murdered.
THAT NIGHT, after tacos outside within feet of the cactus garden, Emily put Wyatt to bed in the crib and joined Nash on the patio for a beer.
She rolled the sweating bottle between her hands. “I saw you texting earlier when I was putting Wyatt down. Any more news about Jaycee’s murder?”
“No.” Wyatt scratched at the soggy label on his beer with his fingernail. “That was Rob Valdez, one of my coworkers. I told him that I would bring Wyatt into the office tomorrow and to notify DCS.”
“So, this is it, our last night with Wyatt.” Emily traced her finger around the lip of her bottle. “I hope Jaycee’s mother takes care of him. I hope he’s happy—no matter who he has for a father.”
“I don’t think it’s Lanier. If he told you a true story, he would’ve been in touch with you as soon as he found out these other guys were after Wyatt. His silence is telling.”
“If he isn’t Wyatt’s father, his intentions from the start were nefarious...and I played right into his hands.” Emily took a gulp of beer. “I’m not much of a PI, am I?”
“Even an investigation you’d run on a client wouldn’t have turned up Lanier’s shady financial deals. We had a forensic accountant working on Lanier, and he’s still not sure about the connection to the cartels.” Nash eased out of his chair and knelt before hers, sliding his hands up to her hips. “Don’t blame yourself. As soon as you explained yourself to me, I believed you. Call me an idiot. God knows, I have plenty of reasons not to trust women, but I knew.”
Leaning over, Emily set her beer bottle on the tile and placed her hands on Nash’s shoulders. “I’m sorry I tricked you. I really did think I was doing the right thing for Wyatt. I’d seen those men questioning Jaycee and knew they were trouble—trouble coming for Wyatt.”
“You did a good job protecting him. You did a good job taking care of him, especially since everything you know about babies comes from online videos.”
Her lips turned up on one side, the first time she’d cracked a smile since finding out about Jaycee. “I did okay, didn’t I?”
“You did more than okay. You saved me.”
She joined her hands together, entwining her fingers behind his neck. “There’s something special about us. I felt it from the beginning.”
“So did I.” Nash’s gaze dropped from her eyes to her mouth as his hands moved up to her waist.
She parted her lips, which had started tingling. That ended when Nash pressed his mouth against hers.
She returned the kiss, inching her hands up his throat. With her fingers laced behind his neck, she pulled him closer and he deepened the kiss, thrusting his tongue into her mouth.
She sighed against the kiss and melted into his embrace. Could they make love with
