Tempting Perfection

“I will. Rest, baby.”

“Sing me my song?”

In the dimmed light, I sang “Found” a cappella to my family. Slowly, Sawyer’s eyes drifted shut.

I meant what I’d said earlier. Something within me had flipped when I held my son and realized what I had to lose. I wanted Sawyer Wade as my wife.

And I was determined to convince her I meant it.

Chapter Fifty-One

Sawyer

Cameron had come to the hospital and was seeing Dylan again. He’d been there every day. I hoped I’d be released the next day. Three days felt like an eternity. We were allowing my parents to visit today. And I had been a nervous wreck on the inside. Dylan had been a little fussier, which I think might have been because of my mood. After nursing him and forcing myself to chill, Dylan had calmed significantly. Nursing was hard. I still had to use the bottle some, which only added to my nerves.

Kurt brought him to the changing area. “Oh, shit. Fuck!”

Kurt put one hand up to block the stream of pee coming from Dylan while holding him with the other. I giggled, then held my stomach. The C-

section was still sore. At Kurt’s outburst, Dylan began to cry.

“Oh, you scared the little guy. It’s just a little pee, Mr. Rockstar.”

Kurt spit into one of the towels. “He got me good. I can taste piss, Sawyer.”

“Cuss muffs! We don’t want his first word to be one of your nasty little four-letter ones.”

Cameron shook his head. “You two really do deserve each other.”

Knoah and Garrick knocked on the door. They were going to stay with Dylan in the room next door while my parents were here. Honestly, he’d been a super baby through the night, only waking up every three hours or so to feed. I couldn’t believe it.

Cameron gave him a kiss on the head before Kurt put him in his bassinet and brought him next door, where Knoah and Garrick waited with the security team. As they left, he said, “I can’t wait to teach him how to play bunt ball in the backyard.”

Those were good memories. It was what I had to focus on from when I was child. “Oh, man. I’d forgotten how much I played that with Mattie. She always wanted to bat and run for both teams.”

We chuckled. “I think I may have given Monica baby fever.”

Something about her changed when she held Dylan. I noticed a yearning on her face. She’d left a little earlier to help with the house. The movers were taking everything today so it would be ready when I was released tomorrow. We’d be going home just as Kurt wanted, to our new home. Our first night in the house would include the entire family—even George.

“Oh, no. We’re not ready for a baby yet. Do not jinx me, Sawyer.”

“We’ll see. Dylan would love a baby cousin.”

Cameron pointed at me. “Stop it, Sawyer. That shit’s not funny.”

I whispered, “Our kids would be the same age.”

Kurt came back in the room. “Your parents are on their way. You sure you want to do this?”

No, of course I don’t want to do this. I was afraid of what the truth might reveal. We hadn’t talked since I’d learned Adriane was alive. And we were certain they’d enabled her to hurt me. If they were guilty, they deserved whatever came their way. Hopefully, the security team would find something as they searched some warehouse my parents had visited in the last twenty-four hours. The security team had been tailing them while I was in the hospital, hoping something came up. Seemed Sawyer’s parents may have slipped up.

“Yes. I’m ready.”

Steve and two other security men were in the private bathroom inside my hospital room. Another member of the security team had searched my parents when they arrived. The hope was we’d be able to talk and shed some light on what had happened. At the very least, we’d buy the security team time while they searched the warehouse. One condition of the meeting was they had to leave their cell phones in their car. If someone called to notify them, it would be too late.

There were a couple of knocks and Kurt opened the door. Mom peeked in, wearing her pink Suzy Homemaker cardigan. “There’s my girl. How are you feeling?”

The sugary sweetness sent chills up my spine. They were being fake. Of course. I worked to keep the hurt out of my voice. “Pretty good, considering.”