Not Quite Mine

“So there is something to tell.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Yeah, you did, darlin’. But don’t stress yourself out. I already knew Katie wasn’t telling everything. She’s a lot easier to read than she thinks she is.” Dean figured that, once these two started to talk, he wouldn’t get another chance at any information. He might even find himself barred from Katie’s door.

“Why do you care?”

Good question. “Jack wanted me to check on her. He’s worried about her.”

Monica shook her head back and forth in confusion. “Jack? How could he know anything? Savannah arrived after the wedd…” Her voice trailed off, her eyes shot to his.

After the wedding would have been in the middle of the night. And no matter how you spun that bottle, it landed on trouble. “Listen, Monica, if Katie’s in some kind of trouble, you’ve got to let me help. Jack would kill me if I let his kid sister—”

“Katelyn isn’t a kid, Dean. She’d a grown woman with a mind of her own. If she wanted your help, she’d ask.” It was then that Dean noted the flash of concern embedded deep in Monica’s eyes. The same look that passed over her face and Katie’s when they’d noticed Danny’s concern over the helicopter landing on them at the reception.

Dammit. Katie was in trouble. The question returned. What kind of mother left her infant with someone less two weeks after they were born?

“At least tell me how long the baby is going to be here.”

Monica started for the door.

Dean placed a hand on her arm to stop her.

“Talk to Katie.”

Which meant Monica didn’t know.

As she walked into the air-conditioned lobby, the knot inside Dean’s chest started to rise in his throat like the Texas heat.

Chapter Four

Katie’s mind ran in so many different directions she didn’t know which way was north. Savannah lay in the center of the big bed again, this time wide awake and sucking on her fist. Katie didn’t know where to start. She needed to leave, they all needed to leave as quickly as they could pack and make excuses. If Dean called her daddy and he blessed her with his presence, keeping Savannah wouldn’t be an option.

Katie needed time to think. Time to plan. That wasn’t going to happen in Houston where everyone knew her and expected a certain persona. That facade didn’t include a diaper-changing mama.

In the back of her massive walk-in closet, she found her largest suitcase and moved it to the bench at the end of her bed. She indiscriminately scooped underwear from her top drawer and tossed the lot inside the case.

She would go to California early, before Dean had a chance to inform her dad about the baby. The excuse of working for Jack would explain her rapid departure if anyone cared to ask.

From the front door of her suite, Monica called out. “Katelyn?”

“In here.” She hung a garment bag on a hook and unzipped it. Bypassing her skintight dresses meant for the club scene, she packed longer skirts and pantsuits.

“Guess who ambushed me at the door,” Monica said as she walked into bedroom.

Katie stopped midstride and turned to face Monica. “Oh, no.”

“Oh, yes! I take it you and Dean had a conversation.”

Her heart squeezed in her chest. “You didn’t tell him anything…did you?”

“He asked questions. I avoided answering. I’d be lying if I told you I steered him off, though. He didn’t believe the babysitting thing for a minute.” Monica’s gaze moved to the bed, then the suitcase.

Katie squeezed her fist. She needed to leave. Now!

“Help me pack.” Back in the closet, she opened another suitcase and started to fill it with shoes.

“What are you…where are you going?”

“California. With you.”

“But…”

“Please.” She dangled a pair of Jimmy Choos off her index finger. “I can’t take the chance of Dean returning here with my father. In order for the babysitting excuse to work, and for him to forget about Savannah, I need to get her out of here.”

“I don’t know, Katelyn. Taking a baby that isn’t yours out of the state has to be against the law.”

“I have a birth certificate.”

“That you know damn well is a lie. You didn’t adopt Savannah. And you sure as hell didn’t ask for her.”

She chucked Jimmy into the suitcase and stood closer to Monica. “Someone went through great lengths to create this lie. I owe it to Savannah to find out the truth.”

“You don’t owe anything to Savannah.”

Katie glanced over to the bed. Savannah was staring at her fist.

“Are you telling me, if you were in my position, you’d just give her up? Take her to the nearest police station and tell them to deal with it?”

Monica released a frustrated sigh.

“Exactly. Help me pack.”

They worked in tandem and finished the job quickly.

“You can’t take your dad’s plane. The pilot would confirm that Savannah was with you.”

She hadn’t thought of that.

“And if you take her to the hotel, word will get out.”

She hadn’t thought about that either.

“I’ve always stayed at the hotels. If I don’t, someone is going to get curious.”

Monica sat on the edge of the bed and tickled Savannah’s feet. “I have a second bedroom. You can hide out with me for a couple of days.” Monica and Jessie had shared an apartment while Monica was in nursing school. Now that she was out and Jessie had married Jack, she had the place to herself.