Lynda gave her a look best described as dubious. “You know damn well that’s not how Cy looks at it. He feels responsible.”
“Yes, well, so much time has gone by I’m sure there’s no use in trying to hunt down a man who skipped town and never looked back.”
“You don’t mean that,” her friend chided. “Now’s not the time to lose hope.”
She had no idea why it made any difference whether she lost hope last week, today, or at some time in the future. The facts were hard to ignore.
“I have to start thinking about the future—our future. Arianne and me. At the very least, I have to get a job. The baby is almost three months old. It’s time.”
“Promise me you won’t make any decisions before the new year. Take this time to relax and let Reed run the show. Think of the next ten days as a mini-vacation. Let all this stuff go and just enjoy the family time. There will be plenty of opportunity after the first to make changes—if any are necessary.”
As Summer finished packing a cooler with travel goodies and baby food, she thought about Lynda’s words. Letting Reed run the show was an interesting suggestion. It wasn’t in her nature to take a passive role or to let others make decisions for her, but in this instance, she felt a willingness to add other points of view to hers.
Ari’s impatient wail made her hurry up and finish. Her daughter wanted food, and judging by how loud the complaining cry sounded, she wasn’t happy about waiting.
Clutching her boobs, she chuckled. Having nearly made it through three months of nursing without losing her mind, she was trying to wean the baby with supplemental bottle feedings even though Ari resisted. There were decisions to be made. If she jumped into a job to earn cash, Summer knew she couldn’t be actively nursing. Her maternity leave was coming to an end.
“Here I come, sweetie.”
Her baby’s demanding screech abruptly stopped the minute Summer leaned over the crib rail and smiled. Ari’s face lit with excitement. She giggled and cooed. Her little hands and legs moved to show her happiness.
Being a mom was the coolest thing ever.
“Who’s got milk?” she asked with a chuckle. Raising her hand, she answered, “I do,” to the baby’s cooing delight.
Scooping her healthy twelve-pound baby from the crib, she danced around the bedroom, singing silly ditties and covering sweet Ari’s face with kisses.
After a diaper check, they sank onto the comfy rocker glider that was a gift from Bud and Lynda. She loved the overstuffed pink cushions and padding. The rocking mechanism gave the chair an easy glide, and it even had a matching ottoman.
Cuddling the baby, she helped Ari latch onto her nipple and relaxed as the familiar tug and waves of oxytocin hormones transported her to a place of maternal bliss.
When feeding time was over and the required burps produced, there was one more cleanup followed by a quick mommy snack before it was time to get on the road. She had a two-hour drive ahead of her—more if there were stops along the way.
In the car with everyone safely belted and ready to go, she backed to the end of the driveway and stopped to check for moving people or cars. Looking in one direction and finding it clear, she swung her head to gaze in the other direction and nearly crapped her pants when Todd Dinkins tapped on her window and put his face an inch from the glass.
What the fu-
Pressing the window button, she rolled it down but not too much.
“Summer,” his thin-sounding voice said. “Road trip?” he asked after rudely peering at the luggage and baby paraphernalia taking up the back seat.
In the back of her mind, she heard the sound of a railroad-crossing bell and instinctively tapped her mental brakes. Something was not quite right about the guy, and while she felt sorely tempted to tell him to back the hell off, she proceeded with caution.
“Heading home for Christmas.”
“Ah,” he replied. “Sacramento?”
Every conversation she ever had with Todd whirled in her mind, although she needn’t have bothered. There was no goddamn way she would have given up any information about her hometown.
Her heart began to race. Maybe Bud or Lynda had mentioned it? The possibility was there but remote.
Making a face, she shook her head but didn’t offer details. “Good heavens, no.”
His eyes darted to the baby. Her blood boiled and protective feelings closed the ranks.