Page 8 of Ardently Yours

“Of course not. They’re all beautiful.” I clear my throat. “In their own way. She’s a newborn. They come out a little wrinkled and flaky. She just needs some time toacclimate.”

Reese approaches and looks at the photo over my shoulder. “Is that conehead normal?”

“Jesus, Reese. Yes, it happens sometimes from the birth canal. Henry had one too.”

“Oh, yeah. That’s right. He did.”

“Charlotte gave her the name I suggested,” I say, a touch of pride sneaking into my tone.

“Nice.”

I stand. “On to business. She’s staying in Blackwater. Do you have a progress report for me?”

He rolls his shoulders and cracks his thick neck. “Yeah. Guys like Polford make me feel like I need a shower.”

Agreed. “But will he take the bait?”

Reese snorts. “No question.”

“Then finish it.”

Highway to Hell

Charlotte

March 1995

“That was the creepiestthing I’ve ever seen. You should call the cops.” Rochelle shudders in the driver’s seat of my car. Today was Bronnie’s first trip to the doctor after coming home from the hospital. I’m not cleared to drive yet, so Rochelle offered a ride. We left her car at my parents’ place and took my Ford Escort, rather than go through the hassle of swapping car seats.

“And say what? Officer, every time anyone in my family goes out into public, sooner or later, Jeremy Polford looks at us weird?”

“It’s stalking.”

I shake my head. “How do you even prove that? It’s always in normal places, like back at the gas station. He could say it was a coincidence.”

She lifts her eyebrows. “It’s not an accident that he happened to be parked in the same medical plaza as us, then left at the same time as us, and pulled in for gas when we did. Come on.”

My skin crawls, and I twist in my seat to look out the back window. “We did lose him, right?”

“He got stuck at the light before we left town. I wish Steve’s boss had left it alone. He made everything worse. Polford used to ignore you.”

“I mean, Mr. McRae's heart was in the right place.” She isn’t wrong, though.

Rochelle takes a deep breath. “Okay. What do you say we stop at my place for lunch before I take you home? You can feed the baby there.”

“Good idea. My boobs are ready to explode.”

She shoots me an alarmed glance. “Is that a thing?”

“Who knows? People warned me about lack of sleep. Nobody told me I’d have to wear an adult diaper to deal with blood clots from hell or that I’d cry as much as the baby does either.”

Rochelle gives me a sympathetic smile and pulls onto the dirt road heading for her little house. Her warm brown eyes and long dark curls are beautiful, but it’s that smile that makes her stunning. “I’m telling Dusty all of this the next time he starts with the ‘we’d make beautiful babies’ thing.”

“Maybe wait to ask me if motherhood is sunshine and roses until after they take the stitches out,” I say.

She cringes. “You know what? I’m good playing the cool aunt.” She pulls into her driveway and puts the car in Park. “You two stay here until I put Brutus in my bedroom. I don’t want him acting like a goober with the baby. Be right back.”

Her door clunks closed as she leaves to put her German Shepherd behind a closed door, and I lean my head back. Two minutes with my eyes closed sounds like heaven.

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