Page 65 of Seeking Happily Ever After

She only hoped it hadn’t been too late.

Her eyes scanned the room, but she didn’t see Nick.

“Steph.” Damon stood and offered her his seat. “Sit.” He didn’t wait for a response, but moved away to the corner of the room to talk to Remington, no doubt to get filled in on the rest of the situation.

“How is…” Steph sat next to Katie, who offered her a small smile. “Well, how’s everyone?”

Katie chuckled a little but there was no humor in it. “This one is just fine,” she said. “And that’s the small blessing out of all of this. She’s completely unaffected by what went on. I spoke with Susan Johnson, the caseworker, and she’ll be here in the morning to assess the situation further. But we both agreed Amelia should stay with us for the night. She’s had enough disruption.”

Steph nodded. That seemed like a good idea. “And her—Jessica? What happened?”

Katie snorted with disgust. “An overdose.” She shook her head. “Can you believe it? She didn’t even have her daughter back for a full hour before using. She’s stable now, and from what we’ve heard…” She bent closer to Steph. “The nurses tell me that she’s been going on and on about how much the baby cried and how she couldn’t handle the noise.” Katie sat up again. “It’s disgusting. I don’t know anything about anything, but I do know that Amelia should be with Nick and Charlotte.”

“Well…” Steph swallowed. “I’m sure Nick is going to do everything legally he can to make that happen. And now, maybe the courts will be able to see clearly what the best thing for Amelia is.”

“I hope so.” Katie snuggled the baby closer. “Do you want to…”

“No.” Steph shook off the offer to cuddle the little girl she thought of as a niece. “I should talk to Nick.” She looked around again. “Where is he?”

Katie sighed. “Probably making the nurses crazy. He refuses to sit down. They won’t let him back, and they won’t tell him what’s going on. All we know is she’s in surgery. Still. It’s probably for the best that he’s not in here.” Katie used her head to gesture toward Jeremy, who still hadn’t sat down. “I think Jeremy might kill him if he does. I don’t know why, but he’s blaming Nick for all of this.”

“But it was Billy.”

“I know.” Katie shrugged. “You can’t talk to him. Either of them.”

“I still can’t believe this, you know?”

“I know.” Katie nodded slowly. “But you know what…in a way, it’s kind of good that it all played out the way it did. I mean, otherwise Charlotte wouldn’t have been there. She wouldn’t have heard Amelia’s cries and…well, I don’t want to think about it.”

Steph nodded her agreement, as a question popped into her head. “Howdidshe hear Amelia? I mean, the kid is loud, sure. But the lodge was a long way away from the cabin and…” She drifted off, unable to reconcile how Charlotte had heard the baby through the woods.

Katie looked down at the baby and smiled softly before looking up again. “Maybe it was motherly instinct?”

That felt right. And it was the only thing that made sense.

Stephanie bent and pressed a kiss to the little girl’s head, before going in search of the baby’s father.

ChapterNineteen

It had been over an hour.Almost two.

Why weren’t they telling him anything? Where was the doctor? And why—

“Nick?”

He spun around so fast he almost hit Stephanie, who’d come up behind him.

“They won’t tell me anything.”

“I know.” Her voice was gentle. “Come here.” She held her arms open, but Nick shook his head.

He couldn’t relax. And he definitely couldn’t let himself seek comfort. Not when he didn’t know whether Charlotte was going to be okay or not. She was in there because ofhim.It was his fault she was fighting for her life right now. Sure, Billy had pulled the trigger, but Charlotte never should have been there by herself. She never should have been running from him. The fact that it was his lie that made her leave, that had driven her right into Billy’s trap, made him sick to his stomach.

No.

He wouldn’t rest until he knew she was okay. And if she wasn’t—no!

He wouldn’t, hecouldn’tlet himself think that way.

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