She couldn’t delude herself about that when they had nearly gotten killed to collect him. They wanted him and she had to believe their intentions were good.
So where did that leave her?
A painful knot of emotion formed in her throat and tried to choke her.
She had imagined a future with the baby and now that pipe dream had dissipated like smoke.
It took a supreme effort to refrain from giving in to self-pity and bawling her eyes out. She’d kept telling herself that it was probable that someone would come to take him away from her—the government if not the people he belonged to—but it hadn’t changed anything. She’d clung to the unacknowledged hope that he would stay with her.
It was hard to believe she’d grown so attached to him in so short a time—only a matter of weeks—grown to love him so much it was devastating to think of life without him. But then she realized as soon as that occurred to her that he’d melted her heart the very moment she found him.
He’d needed her.
She hadn’t realized until she’d experienced that just how much she needed to be needed.
He’d rushed into her arms as if he knew he belonged there and that she would take care of him and keep him safe.
And that had instantly made it her life’s mission.
It was for the best for him, she thought reluctantly, knowing it was.
She’d been sick with worry about what would happen to him when the world discovered him, how he could possibly find acceptance among humans—who weren’t even great about accepting people of other races.
She wouldn’t have had him anyway.
They would’ve done awful things to him.
She should just be happy for him.
And she was.
She was still going to be miserable, going to grieve the loss, but she would at least know he was with his own people and that he was safe.
She frowned.
Actually, she wasn’t going to be there so there was no way she’d know he was safe. She knew, or thought she did, that the men who’d come for him had come to rescue him and their intentions were good, but what sort of life was he going to? Would he be loved as she loved him? Would he be taken care of? Would he be happy?
She couldn’t know without being there, and that wasn’t even remotely possible.
Was it?
Wild … crazy … terrifying thought.
She would be the only human among … whatever they called themselves and she thought they must be the same species but maybe just different races?
Like it would have been for her poor little baby if he hadn’t been rescued.
Maybe just like, she thought uneasily, as in, dealing with being hated and shunned or mistreated because she was different.
That settled it.
It just wasn’t meant to be even though she had a crazy notion that it was.
He would go home and she would stay home—where they belonged.
She’d just have to deal with her grief and move on and the baby was just a baby. He’d probably forget her before he got home.
She couldn’t let go of the notion once it had materialized in her mind, though. She kept seesawing back and forth with pros and cons until she finally got up from the bed.
The baby was still sleeping.
She debated briefly and decided he would be ok if she put the other railing up. Bending low, she kissed his soft baby cheek and left.
She surprised herself by finding her way to the men after only losing her way two or three times.
She had the distinct impression when she entered the room that she was the topic under discussion.
She felt her face heat with discomfort and a flutter of something unidentifiable in her belly when she came face to face with the one who’d kissed her—the one who’d told her his name was … Hauk?
He halted abruptly in his tracks. Something flickered in his eyes, but she had no idea what it might be. Not concern, she didn’t think, although the first words out of his mouth seemed to suggest it.
“You should be resting. You lost a good deal of blood.”
Emma blinked while her mind struggled to ‘translate’. “I couldn’t. I need to ….” Ask? Demand? Which tact would be best?
“Where is the babe?” Gaelen asked with a mixture of surprise and disapproval.
Emma turned to stare at the yellow man with her mouth agape. “Sleeping,” she responded after a long moment, feeling vaguely insulted that he seemed to be suggesting she wasn’t taking care of the baby like she should. “I put the rails up on both sides—well the other one. He should be ok for a few minutes.”
“You should get back to him. He will be afraid if you are not there when he wakens.”
Ok it was really hard to ignore the censure in that comment.
Especially since it roused anxiety in her that maybe she hadn’t used the best judgment when she’d decided to leave him.
“But I need ….”
Hauk grasped her arm. “You should not be here. I will walk you to the infirmary and then show you to a cabin more suitable for the babe.”
Rattled by the encounter, Emma had begun to imagine all sorts of horrible scenarios of things that had happened to the baby while she was gone along the way. She was so relieved when they arrived in the infirmary and she saw the baby was still sleeping and had barely stirred from where she’d left him that she felt almost tearful.
Well, her nose stung.
She rushed to the bed but Hauk was faster. Reaching it and lowering the railing, he scooped the baby up and snuggled it against his chest.
Emma didn’t know if she was more indignant or stunned.
“I’ll take him.”
“No,” he retorted. “You are weak from blood loss and your arm is injured. You would drop him.”
Emma sucked in an indignant breath. “I wouldn’t do any such thing!”
He’d already turned away with the baby, however, striding toward the door.
Emma rushed after him, intent, at first, on catching up and demanding
