Facing West (Forever Wilde 1)

Honovi gave me a smile of reassurance. “Sure you can. Her grave is in the churchyard. Adriana will be buried next to her. She still had Curt and Reeve, Nico. They were her family.”

Bile rose up my throat at the thought of the Billingham brothers being my sister’s only remaining family, and I shoved it away. While the image of my mother’s body in a grave only a few miles away from me settled over my heart, I realized something else. For some reason I hadn’t thought of it until now.

“How did you find me?” I asked the attorney. “How did you know how to get ahold of me?”

“Adriana listed your contact information when she made the will before the baby came,” he said. His eyes were so kind and I was grateful she’d chosen such an empathetic man to do this legal process.

“But how did she know? I never contacted her after I left.”

He shrugged. “Could be she did an Internet search. Or maybe hired a private investigator. If you’re living and doing business under your legal name, it’s not that hard.”

I thought about Adriana knowing how to contact me and not reaching out. I wondered how long she’d known where I was—what she might have thought about me after all these years. While I settled into a complete funk, I heard the beginnings of a baby crying.

Goldie’s face lit up as she stood.

“C’mon Nico, let’s go meet your precious girl.”

Chapter 6

West

For the next four days it seemed like everywhere I went in town people were talking about “that weirdo from California” who’d come to take Adriana’s precious angel from us. It took all my self-control not to show up at Adriana’s house all hours of the day to check on them. But both Goldie and Hon had assured me Nico was managing okay with Goldie’s help.

It was on the fifth day when Goldie showed up at the office that I freaked out.

“What are you doing here?” I snapped when I saw her come in and put her lunch in the fridge as if it were any old normal day at work.

Her head snapped up, warm honey curls bouncing fresh out of the curlers she still used daily. “Excuse me, Dr. Wilde, but I work here.” Her voice was the voice of my childhood, and it immediately put me into kid mode. I tried hard not to whine my response.

“But what about Pippa?”

“What about Pippa?” she shot back at me.

“She needs you. Where’s Nico? Who’s with him? What if something happens?”

“Dr. Wilde, have I ever done anything to put a child in danger?”

Oh shit.

“No, ma’am,” I muttered.

“Then mind your own business, and let’s get to work. Leigh Coney is here with JJ, and it sounds like he might have the flu.”

I followed her out of the break room to one of the small exam rooms. Sure enough, the five-year-old had the flu. It was our first confirmed case of the season. That meant work was about to get very busy. Once we got him squared away with everything he and his mom needed, we moved on to the next child waiting for her annual checkup. The day remained steady until it was time to close up shop.

I followed Goldie out to the small parking area and opened the sedan door for her.

“So, ah, are you headed to Adriana’s house?” I asked as nonchalantly as I dared.

She looked up at me with a knowing smirk. “I think you mean Nico’s house, Dr. Wilde.”

I felt my jaw tick at the thought of it being his house instead of hers now. “Whatever. Are you going to check on them?”

“Nope. I’m headed home to spend some much-needed time with Gene. If I don’t cook something healthy for him soon, he’s liable to subsist on frozen dinners until he turns into one.”

“But…,” I began.

“If you’re so worried about them, West, why don’t you stop by? I’m surprised you haven’t visited Pippa since the day of the funeral. That’s not like you.”

It was true. Since Pippa had been born, I hadn’t gone more than one or two days without seeing her. My arms were itching to hold her, and I was desperate to put my nose to her little head and smell the baby wash scent of her.

“I didn’t want to interfere,” I explained.

“That’s a load of malarkey, and we both know it. Something’s gotten into you, and you’re throwing a hissy fit. Whatever it is, get over it. She needs us right now whether you’re scared or not.”

She was right about Pippa needing us. The baby had already spent the past several hours without a familiar face, and I didn’t want her to go to bed tonight without being rocked by someone who loved her. I sure as hell knew Nico wasn’t that person.

“I’m not scared, Goldie. I’m just worried I’m going to punch that guy in the face is all.”