Page 22 of One Little Mistake

And then there’s the baby.

Yeah. Someone’s gotta figure out what the hell to do with him, too.

I need to find her family. Fast. Otherwise, I’m going to do something stupid.

I cross the room in a few quick strides and stop beside Erin again. Pulling her phone from my pocket, I bring it close to her face and unlock it with.

The sooner I hand Erin over to her parents, the sooner I’ll start sleeping at night.

The lock screen lights up, and the first thing I do is reset the passcode. Then I go straight to her contacts and search for anyone labeled “Mom”.

Nothing.

“Dad”.

No results.

“Mommy. Father. Dearest Mom. Mama”.

Nada.

Eventually, I give up and just scroll through her entire contact list, hoping to spot someone with her last name. Still nothing.

I open her messaging app. A few texts from clients. A couple from Vivienne. Not a single message from family. Not even from a close friend.

I finally find that Max guy—only to be disappointed again. According to the app, he hasn’t been online in ages.

I glance back at Erin. Then lower myself into the chair beside her bed.

Before I even realize it, I’m tapping out some strange rhythm on my knee, nerves getting the better of me.

“Who are you, mysterious stranger who just dropped into my life?” I whisper, my eyes fixed on the slow, steady rhythm of her heartbeat on the monitor.

Then I suddenly straighten up and leave the room. No point in putting this off any longer.

With quick strides, I cross the hospital lobby and push through the front doors. A sharp gust of wind cuts through my jacket, making me shiver. I yank my hood over my head and head straight for the parking lot. Once in the car, I punch thename of her town into the GPS, silently praying that a five-hour drive won’t end at some broken-down shack in the middle of nowhere.

But honestly, what other choice do I have? Her flower shop’s been closed for weeks according to her last social media post, which means I won’t find any employees to talk to. No one to fill in the blanks. No one to explain how this woman ended up in my apartment, in my life.

It’s like Erin’s a ghost—seen only by me and the handful of people caught in her orbit. She showed up out of nowhere and vanished just as suddenly, leaving behind a trail of questions with no answers.

A thick fog settles over the highway, forcing me to ease off the gas. At this pace, I’m not sure I’ll make it back home tonight—but weirdly, I don’t mind. The drive gives me something to do. A break from the endless stretch of nothing.

That’s the downside of my job. You work like a machine for six months straight, no weekends, no breaks—and then suddenly, you’ve got all the time in the world and no idea what the hell to do with it. Especially when you live alone and keep relationships at arm’s length.

Of course, the weather decides to throw a full-on tantrum. What should’ve been a three-hour trip drags out to five. When I finally roll into Aspen Creek, I pull off onto the shoulder of a narrow, uneven road to check the directions. A wave of doubt hits me hard.

What if this is another dead end?

What if I drive all the way out here just to turn around again?

Can I really go back to my life like nothing ever happened?

My hands grip the steering wheel tighter as I turn off onto a dirt path. A line of old houses greets me—some boarded up, some barely standing. Hope starts to slip away again.

But then I see it.

A well-kept house with a real roof and trimmed hedges. The number matches.

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