Dare To Resist (Dare Nation 1)

“I want to be the one knocking on that door. Grabbing my baby. Facing the bitch who thought leaving her alone on my doorstep was a good idea. Trying to extort money from me.” His voice rose in anger as he spoke.

She held on to his hand, his touch warm and rough in hers. “I know. But sometimes you have to let the professionals do their jobs.”

A muscle ticked in his jaw, and she ached to lean forward and kiss him, calm him, but she’d given up that right last night.

“You do realize when this is over we’re going to talk?” he asked as if reading her mind.

Her heart squeezed at the knowledge but she held on to hope. “I know.” As she looked into the eyes of the man she loved, she wondered how she’d ever walked out of his house last night. How she’d let a decision to not have kids, one she’d made at eighteen years old, rule her life when her feelings for Austin were so strong.

When she looked back on her past relationships or almost-relationships, she could see how things played out. Last night, alone in her bed, she’d realized she’d let Daniel go because she hadn’t wanted to have his baby. She hadn’t wanted to marry him.

And in high school, she’d missed so many activities with friends and lost a boy she’d wanted to date because she’d had to be caregiver to her siblings and cousins. As a result, she let herself walk out on the man she loved because she was afraid to admit she wanted the very thing she’d discounted.

What a mess. She needed to own her feelings, admit them out loud, and hope Austin still wanted to try with her. That leaving him hadn’t shattered his trust in her.

But first came getting Jenny back. Nothing mattered more than that.

* * *

Time ticked by slowly, and Austin felt as if he were coming out of his skin waiting for the police to return. He couldn’t see the motel room from his position in the car, which was probably for the best. Nothing would stop him from getting his kid if he had a visual on her, that much he knew.

Beside him, Quinn was solid. A rock. Holding on to him and keeping him calm. Talking to him about her uncle and telling him stories about successful situations he’d found himself in and repeated at family dinners. Austin needed to hear those things, and she knew just what to say.

Finally, he saw Cal walking his way with a baby in his arms. He vaguely registered the uniformed officers behind him with a familiar-looking woman being led to a police cruiser.

He didn’t remember opening the door or getting out or running across the lot. He didn’t even recall grabbing Jenny and taking her from Cal. He just knew that suddenly he was on his knees on the asphalt, his baby in his arms, the sweet smell of her shampoo filling his senses and tears falling from his eyes. And he didn’t even give a shit that he was crying in public.

“What happened?” Quinn asked her uncle.

“Too damned easy.” He spread his hands wide. “She opened the door expecting it to be Austin.” He shook his head. “She started crying about needing the money and being unable to support a baby and keep her job as a flight attendant.”

“So why didn’t she just come to me and tell me she was having my baby?” Austin asked, now standing up, holding Jenny close.

Cal sighed. “Because she has mental health issues she tried to hide from the airline, but they found out and fired her. She apparently thought it would be better to extort a lump sum from you and walk away … planning to return whenever she needed cash by threatening to file for custody.” Cal pointed to his temple and swirled his finger in the age-old gesture of crazy.

“I’m making her sign away parental rights.” Austin was getting his lawyer on that immediately.

“I don’t think you’ll have much of a problem even if you did have to end up in court to get it done. She can’t take care of herself let alone an infant.” Cal glanced at Quinn, who was watching Austin with the most loving smile on her face.

He pressed a kiss to the baby’s soft head. “Nobody’s taking you from me.” But he held the baby out for Quinn.

Her eyes welled as she accepted the infant and cuddled her close. “Hey, little girl. You gave us quite a scare. We’re going to teach you not to go anywhere with strangers,” she said, wrapping her arms tighter around Jenny, dipping her head, and taking a moment to just breathe.

Austin caught the word we. We’re going to teach you. Maybe a night away from them had taught her what she really wanted out of life. He could only hope.