of wrapping him up tightly and putting him in his bassinet, she brought him to her room and let him sleep in her bed with her. The smell of him, his little nighttime murmurs, and feeling his warm little body against her were absolute bliss.
Chapter 11
Orlando
Slamming his hand on the steering wheel, Orlando could kick himself in his own nuts now for not having run a background check on Dani. What the hell had he been thinking? When Felicia called to tell him she’d just left the house and told him about how well the baby had taken to Dani so quickly, he’d been beyond relieved. Felicia sounded almost annoyed at how easy it’d been for Dani to calm him. He’d been certain he hit it out of the park with Dani. As soon as he’d gotten off the phone with Felicia, he’d shot Dani a text to tell her so and to explain he might be a little longer than he’d first thought. Almost two hours later he’d yet to hear back from her. She never responded to his texts, and he’d been calling her even before Byron had been released from jail. He’d called and texted several more times since, and once again as he drove, her phone went to voicemail. As a new babysitter, wouldn’t she know it’d be important to return the parent’s calls ASAP? She’d been so damn professional. Why the fuck wasn’t she answering or returning any of his calls? He must’ve called about ten times now. Orlando was trying not to panic, but the more time passed, and he wasn’t able to get ahold of her, the more he thought of how stupid he’d sound if God forbid, he’d have to call the cops or something. Nope, I didn’t run a background check. If we hadn’t hired her at the shop, I wouldn’t even know where she lives.
His stomach had started to knot up, as he sat in the parking lot of the county jail and each girl about Dani’s age walked out of the women’s side with their walking papers. It was a reminder of when he’d been in and out of trouble and how all of the girls he’d hung with could get into equally as much trouble as him, despite them not all looking or acting like thugs. Most of the women he’d seen walk out of the facility did look like obvious losers, but there had been a handful that looked as seemingly innocent as Dani did. That coupled with the fact that she wasn’t responding, and it dawned on him that he’d left his son in the hands of a practical stranger. Sure, he had her info from the employment papers she’d filled out for the shop, but that didn’t mean anything. He still knew so little about her, and he’d left the most precious thing in his life in her hands. Now he felt ready to lose his shit. Hitting speed dial, he called Felicia this time. She answered on the second ring, sounding all cheery. “Hey, there.”
“Hey, did Dani mention having to go anywhere today?”
Felicia was quiet but then responded. “No, she didn’t. Why?”
“I can’t get ahold of her. I texted her after I got off the phone with you earlier, and she never responded, and she’s not answering her phone. She didn’t mention anything at all?”
He heard her sigh as if she was trying to remember. “The only thing we talked about was her experience with kids and her going to school. Oh, her fiancé called her just before I left.”
For a moment, Orlando was pulled out of his worried thoughts, stunned by this. Fiancé? When did that happen? “He did? Do you know for what?”
“She said he asked her to check in. That he always does when she has a new client and she’s going over for the first time. I guess he was worried because she hadn’t. She was all cutsie with him, with her I love yous before she hung up. But that was it. I heard her apologize for not checking in and then assure him she was okay and that she’d call him when she was done.”
Shaking off the irrational unpleasantness this brought on, Orlando went back to worrying instead. More so because now he could rule out the other thing he’d begun to think: that maybe she’d forgotten her phone at home.
With nothing more to offer, he was off the phone with Felicia quick enough. He needed to try