Call Her Mine (Harmony Pointe #1)- Melissa Foster Page 0,87
which restrooms had changing tables since Bea had come into his life, but he also looked at Aurelia differently. The way she loved and nurtured Bea, her willingness to set aside her own needs for his daughter, and a million other things she did drove his love to a deeper, truer love than he’d ever known.
“My world view changed when I met Bridgette and Louie,” Bodhi reminded him. “I can’t imagine it changing even more, but Bridge says everything is different with a baby. She’s worried about Louie being jealous and getting enough attention, so I’m already making plans to babysit so she gets one-on-one time with him after the baby comes.”
“Dude, nix that word—babysit—from your vocabulary. I was talking to Bridgette the other day on the phone and I said I was going to babysit while Aurelia ran an errand. Bridge bit my head off. Apparently it’s not called babysitting when it’s your own kid.”
Bodhi’s brows knitted. “Damn. I’d better not forget that.”
“At least you have time to prepare. Bridgette’s not due until October,” Zane said. “Ben’s been thrown into it.”
“You can say that again,” Ben said as they sped up. “But from the way Willow fawns over Bea, I’d say you’re not far off from fatherhood yourself, Zane.”
Zane glared at him. “Bite your tongue, dude. The only thing I want to be woken up for in the middle of the night is hot sex.”
Bodhi laughed.
“Dude, she’s my sister. There are certain things I do not want to hear,” Ben reminded him. “One more thing, Bodhi. I wouldn’t trade Bea for the world, but definitely line up babysitting so you and Bridgette get some time together. Having a few unencumbered hours makes a world of difference.”
“Bridge has all that worked out,” Bodhi said proudly. “This is my first rodeo, but it’s not hers. She’s already made arrangements for my mother to help out at the flower shop for the first few months, and Roxie’s going to take the baby whenever Bridgette needs a break.” Bodhi’s mother, Alisha, had recently sold her flower shop and moved next door to Bodhi and Bridgette. “Our kids are cousins. How cool is that? And our babies are going to be close enough in age to go to school together.”
“Our babies will grow up raising hell together,” Ben said. “See, Zane? Another reason to have a baby sooner rather than later, so yours is close in age to ours.”
Bodhi smirked and said, “I think Roxie’s been working on that.”
The color drained from Zane’s face. “Shit. What’s she laced her potions with this time?”
“I’ll never tell.” Bodhi sped up to a full-on sprint.
“Damn it!” Zane ground out as he and Ben took off after him.
Ben’s phone rang, and as he pulled it from his running belt he said, “Go on. I’ll catch up.” His chest constricted at the sight of Mason’s name on the screen. He slowed to a walk as he answered the call. “Mason, how’s it going?”
“Pretty well. Have you got a minute?”
He wiped the sweat from his brow with his forearm and said, “Sure. Of course.”
“I’m sorry this has taken some time, but we tracked down the mother, Bernadette Caroline Thatcher. She goes by Caroline, as you know. She was a waitress at the hotel where you met her, but she no longer works there. She took maternity leave a few weeks before the baby was born, and two weeks after she was born, she resigned. No one there has seen her since. We linked her to a flight to New York City, where she rented a car a few days before she left the baby at your place, but she never used her return ticket. Although the rental car was returned. We’ve tracked a few expenditures in New York City, but it’s been more than two weeks, and her trail has gone cold.”
“What do you think that means?”
“It could mean anything. She could have gone to stay with friends or family. My guess is that she wanted a fresh start, doesn’t want to be found. But we’ve checked local hospitals and clinics, just in case something happened to her. She hasn’t shown up anywhere. Her parents are deceased, and I haven’t been able to locate any other relatives. The good news is, we tracked down the hospital where your daughter was born.”
Mason relayed Bea’s birth and hospital information, and then he said, “I sent you an email with all of the data so your attorney can fast-track the paperwork. I know