Love and Secrets - Kit Morgan Page 0,11
gasped. She looked at him, the bed, him. “Zane?”
He heaved a sigh. “Now you know why I wanted to meet here.”
Holly took a few steps toward the bed. “Is that a … baby?”
He nodded. “My daughter.”
Holly’s jaw dropped before she mouthed, “Your daughter!”
He nodded again, put a finger to his lips and motioned toward the door.
She followed him outside and did her best to act casual as he softly closed it behind them.
That done he stepped to the window so he could see into the room. “Her name is Sophie.”
Holly’s shocked face was back. “You have a daughter?”
He nodded. “Surprise.”
“Well, yes!” She put a hand to her temple. “Wow. Congratulations.” This time she did look at his left hand. There was no ring. “I guess?”
He shrugged. “It’s a long story.” He stuck his hands in his pockets. “Holly, I need your help.”
Her face fell. “Zane, what’s wrong?”
He ran a hand through his hair. “Everything. But I keep telling myself it’s not as bad as it seems.”
“Okay, you’re kinda scaring me,” she said. “What happened?”
“There was this girl…”
Holly waved at the window. “There usually is in these cases.”
He smiled. “Same sense of humor, I see.”
She shrugged. “I’m sorry, I can’t help myself. Go on.”
“Anyway, we dated for a while and then she dumped me.”
“Did you know she was pregnant?”
He shook his head. “I didn’t have a clue and didn’t find out until a few weeks ago.”
Holly’s jaw dropped. “Where’s the mother?”
He blew out a long breath. “She’s dead.”
Holly gasped as her hands flew to her mouth. “Oh, Zane!”
“It was a car accident. She died instantly.”
“She never told you about the baby?”
He looked at the ground and shook his head. “The only reason I found out was because of Jillian’s best friend, Tricia. She brought Sophie to me along with a copy of the birth certificate.”
“What? You mean she left the baby with you and vamoosed?”
“It wasn’t like that.” He blew out another breath. “Look, I brought Sophie to Clear Creek because I thought this would be the safest place for her.”
“Okay,” she said with a nod. “That makes sense.” She looked at the window and back. “But if that’s the case, why aren’t you staying at your parents’ house?”
He bit his lip, glanced at the sky, and heaved another sigh. “Because they don’t know about her yet.”
“What?!”
“Holly, I need help with babysitting until I have a chance to sit down and talk to them. Explain things.”
Her hand flew to her temple again. “That makes sense. Fine. I’ll help. I’ve had enough experience with Katie’s kids.”
“Katie Turner?”
“Yeah. Didn’t you see us at church?”
“I did, but didn’t have time to talk to you or anybody else.”
“I saw you speaking with the Cookes as we were leaving. You found time for them,” she said feeling a pang of hurt. Silly as it was. They hadn’t seen each other in years.
“I couldn’t get away from them.” He went to the door and opened it. “Go inside. I’ll go fetch us a couple of coffees and be right back.”
“Java Wagon’s just down the street,” she said lamely.
“I know. I’ll be right back.”
“What do I do if she wakes up?” she asked with a hint of panic.
“She won’t. She’s a heavy sleeper. Back in a jiffy.”
Holly watched him jog across the parking lot to a car, get in, and drive off. She then closed the door, leaned against it and looked at the bed. “Wow.”
Zane returned with two coffees, hers with plenty of cream and sugar, just the way she liked it. “You remembered,” she said after taking a sip.
He glanced at her cup. “It’s something you never forget.”
“You still like yours black?” she asked, curious.
“Of course. That’s why it’s easy to remember yours. It’s completely opposite.” He sat on the other bed and motioned to a chair at a small desk.
She turned the chair toward him and sat. “Tell me everything,” she said softly.
“Well, I met Jillian in college. We were friends but she was way out of my league. Rich family, that sort of thing. Parents have a house in the Hamptons …”
“Oh, that type.” She looked at the baby. “How old is she?”
“About eight months. Her birthday is December sixteenth.”
“Merry Christmas,” Holly commented. “And this Jillian never told you?”
“No. We… had a thing for each other but both knew it couldn’t go anywhere. For one, I was a nobody in her parents’ eyes.”
“Then how did …” she nodded at the other bed with raised eyebrows.
“Last summer we spent a lot of time together. It