It was nearly seven.
He needed to see her. He wouldn’t stay long. Just long enough to know that she wasn’t sitting in a pile of regret after last night.
He shoved into his cowboy boots and found a hat. On the weekends, he tried to capture his Texan side, a side Katie liked and he would exploit at every turn.
The ride to The Morrison was short despite the wind blowing sand across the roads like blizzards blow snow.
Determined strides took him through the doors and to the elevators. He didn’t have a key to the penthouse level so he turned toward the stairs. Then he stopped.
No. He’d used the back way up in the past. Thinking of that left a bad taste in his mouth.
Behind the reception desk stood a girl no older than twenty-two. She smiled easily and asked to help him.
Dean looked at her name tag and used it. “Hi, Tammy. Would you be kind enough to let Miss Morrison know that I’m on my way up?”
Tammy’s eyes grew wide. “Miss Morrison…right…” She flipped through some papers on the desk. “Ah, are you Patrick Nelson?”
Dean felt his happy disposition slip. Who the hell is he? “No.”
Tammy’s smile started to fade.
“Ben Sanderson?”
The old guy? What the hell? “No!”
“Oh, um, Dean Prescott?”
Finally, his name made the short list. “Bingo.”
Tammy grinned, entirely pleased she’d gotten the name right. “Oh, good.”
Dean turned toward the elevators with his fists gripped at his sides. What in the depths of hell was Katie doing?
“Mr. Prescott,” Tammy called behind him.
He turned and barked at the girl. “What?”
“Um, Miss Morrison isn’t here. She asked if you or any of the others called, to have you call her cell phone.”
He glared at the elevators. Not home? That explains the lack of phone call about the flowers. Hard to say thank you if you haven’t seen them yet.
“Did she say when she’d be back?”
“Tomorrow…I think. Yeah, tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” So where the hell was she sleeping tonight? And with whom?
“Savannah’s sleeping and you’ve had a glass of wine. I’ll go.” Katie moved about the apartment and found her purse. “I’ll swing by the grocery store and pick up more formula before getting our dinner. Do we need anything else?”
Monica reclined on the couch as Katie shuffled around the room. It was nice having someone there to run simple errands. It didn’t suck that Katie was used to eating out so she ordered takeout half the week. It’s a little thing I can do for you letting Savannah and I stay here. Katie had insisted and Monica wasn’t about to refuse. “Might as well get diapers. And get a bigger size. Savannah’s growing out of those tiny ones.”
Katie paused for a moment and a smile slid over her lips. “She’s getting big.”
Monica made a swishing motion with her hands. “Go. Before she wakes up.”
“Right.” Katie shuffled out of the apartment while Monica continued to drink her wine. Even though Jessie and Katelyn were actually sisters-in-law, Monica found the joy in a sister by marriage. There was a huge bonus that they both held very little regard for their mothers—one for having left and the other for staying, yet not really being there for Monica and Jessie. Monica could see how hard Katie was trying to make things right for Savannah, and much of that stemmed from a lack of a mother in Katie’s life.
Monica turned the channel to the opening credits for the popular reality show that spun new musical talent. Twenty minutes into the show, a loud knock jarred her from the TV.
She surged off the couch. “Keep it down,” she called out. The thought of putting a note on the door about a baby sleeping crossed her mind.
The knock came again, this time louder.
“I’m coming.” She grabbed the door and swung it open. “What’s the big…Dean?”
Dean’s gaze soared over her, his brows pitched together with barely contained fury. His eyes sparked and not in a good way.
“Where’s Katelyn?”
“Excuse me?”
He pushed his way into the apartment, did a quick once-over and turned to her again. “Katelyn? Where is she?”
“W-what?” Monica felt a nest of lies start to form on her tongue and wondered just how much she should say. Did he know Katie was staying with her? Had he seen her leave?
“C’mon, Monica, you two have been thick ever since Jack and Jessie hooked up. You know what’s going on with her and we need to talk.” His voice rose, crackling the air with tension.
Monica glanced beyond him toward Katie and Savannah’s room. Dean was going to wake the baby with all his yelling. “She’s not here.”
“But you know where she is, damn it, and you’re going to tell me.”
Monica thrust her hands on her hips and straightened her shoulders. “The big macho Tell me now or else routine isn’t going to work with me, Dean. You can take your alpha self and march the hell out of here.”
The wind left Dean’s sails with her words. His shoulders slumped and he lowered his gaze. “Sorry, Monica. I didn’t mean to come off like that. It’s just…” He glanced up and turned away from her. “It’s Katie. I’ve been trying to get a hold of her…” His words trailed off as he looked around the room.
An infant swing sat in the corner. A forgotten pacifier and baby rattle cluttered the kitchen counter.