“Hey, man. There’s no reason to say that.” Jaden’s footsteps fell heavy on the hard earth as he stalked toward Daniel and Clara.
Daniel didn’t care.
“Excuse me if I refuse to candy-coat the situation,” Daniel spat out.
“This was a mistake,” Jaden conceded, his tone a mix of frustration, anger and apology. “You’re head’s not in the right place for this.”
“Damn right.”
“I’m sorry I brought you in. This is my fault. You’re not ready,” Jaden continued and the damn compassion in his tone stoked the fire burning inside Daniel.
Daniel pushed off the truck and walked away without looking back.
Night blanketed the orchard by the time Daniel returned to the two-story farm house with a white-washed wrap-around porch.
A few stars twinkled through the canopy of an otherwise cloudy gray-black sky.
Clara’s car, a silver sedan, was still parked next to his rented truck.
The wooden porch creaked and groaned under his heavy footsteps. Cicadas chirped a loud chorus in the background.
Daniel opened the screen door and stepped inside. Lauren sat at the island with Clara rubbing her back.
All eyes diverted to him.
Jaden held up a hand as he paced in the kitchen. “Get the hell out of here.”
Daniel paused at the doorway and stopped short of doing what he needed to, apologizing.
Clara refocused on Lauren, ignoring his presence in the room.
“She’s having contractions,” Jaden said to Daniel, his tone a potent mix of helplessness and anger.
“Braxton-Hicks,” Lauren clarified, pushing out bursts of air like a powerlifter.
Daniel must’ve looked at them like they were crazy because Jaden quickly added, “False labor.”
Clara locked gazes with him for a split-second. Her eyes were swollen and puffy from crying.
His mouth formed an apology but it stayed stuck in his throat.
“What can I do to help?” Daniel conceded.
Jaden didn’t blink.
“Leave.”
Chapter 7
“Let’s pretend that’s not an option.” Daniel folded his arms and stood in an athletic stance.
Jaden stared right back at Daniel, unmoving.
A moment of connection happened between them, man-to-man or maybe it was father-to-father. Daniel didn’t want to get inside his head about what it meant. “I’d like to stay if Clara will allow it.”
Clara took in a sharp breath and he could sense more of that pain—pain that he wanted to heal on a primal level. “What you do has nothing to do with me.”
“I’ll take that as a yes. Thank you,” Daniel conceded.
“Then make yourself useful. Zip your mouth and put on another pot of coffee,” Jaden practically growled.
With a nod of understanding, Daniel went to work. He remembered the feeling of being a first-time father. He’d known Naomi was in labor while he was on a mission. Then came the long wait to find out if they were having a boy or girl. Naomi had wanted to be surprised, so she’d instructed the doctor to keep the news quiet. Daniel didn’t necessarily agree but figured he wasn’t the one who was pregnant and, from the looks of her on the few video chats they’d had during his deployment, miserable.
Seeing Lauren now, seeing her pain, made him feel like an even bigger jerk.
Daniel had insisted that he wasn’t ready for fatherhood when he’d learned his wife—then fiancée—was pregnant.
Another pang of guilt stabbed him for not being there for Naomi as he watched Lauren breathe through what looked like excruciating pain.
Three cups of black coffee, a helluva lot of pacing and two hours later, Lauren was curled up on the couch under a blanket sleeping, the contractions having finally died down.
“You want a refill?” Daniel asked Clara, motioning toward her coffee mug.
“I’ll get it.” She stood and stalked past him. Asking forgiveness was out of the question. He’d settle for a decent working relationship.
Besides, that kiss felt a little too right and that just pissed him off.
He waited for her to finish before pouring his own and topping off Jaden’s, who he’d made a tentative truce with.
The three gathered around the kitchen island after Jaden dimmed the light in the adjoining living room. Stress cracks lined his forehead.
“Tell me about the girl. Start from the beginning.” Daniel didn’t bother looking at Clara when he asked. She hated him right now. Good. Hating him? Party of two. Three if he counted Jaden.
“Ashlyn got invited to go on vacation to Jamaica with her best friend and her family,” Clara said. “Everyone came home but her.”
“I’m guessing your sister and Ashlyn’s father went to authorities immediately,” Daniel said.
Clara nodded. “As did the DeSanchos when they realized she wasn’t in her room the morning they were supposed to come home.”
“I’ve already heard Ashlyn was good in school and her family life was unraveling. What changes had there been in her behavior lately?” he asked.
“Now you sound like the authorities.” Clara issued a sharp sigh.
“I’m just trying to get a clear picture. Rule out the obvious possibilities,” he defended.
“You’re not the right person for the job,” Jaden interjected. “I’m sorry I brought you here. I thought it might—”
“Fix me? Too late for that.”
Clara’s brow arched.
Tension sat thick across the granite island. Another standoff.
Clara cleared her throat and took a sip of coffee, her rivers of blue fixed on him.
“I’m not committing to anything. Maybe I can offer another perspective before I leave,” Daniel said.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Clara’s jaw clench and release.
He shifted his gaze to Jaden. “So why don’t you fill me in.”
“Why don’t you just leave?”
“You don’t have time to talk to anyone else. I might know someone who can help. Keep pissing me off and I’ll do what you want and go.” It was an idle threat and Jaden seemed to know it. His friend was just acting on frustration—frustration that was Daniel’s fault.
“I spoke to her father.” Jaden drummed his fingers on the granite. “Yes, she was a good student. Straight As. You already know that. Dad says she’s been rebellious lately. Typical teenage antics.”
“How so?”
“Her being glued to her phone has been causing issues between her and her mother,” Jaden said and Clara shifted in her seat. “She always
