Have My Baby (Crescent Cove 1)

“Um, that’s a little TMI, don’t you think?” It wasn’t, but I was great at stalling.

“Is there anything off the table with us at this point? I now know you have been propositioned to be a gestational incubator.”

“I suppose not. And no, I’m good, thanks. Think I know how Tab A fits into slot B.”

Big Tab A, from all the talk Seth was throwing around. Probably trying to sweeten the pot.

Sage glanced at my shirt. “At least that part’s fitting.”

I glanced down at my “I Can’t Adult Today” shirt and my cutoff shorts. I really wished I had time to change. Then again, the quicker I got Laurie settled, the quicker I could go home and soak in a tub before work in the morning.

Or maybe I would just climb in with the kid.

I shook my head. No, that wasn’t happening. Extra time at Seth’s was a no-go tonight and for the foreseeable future.

I grabbed my iPad and my iPencil and dumped them into my purse. My Christmas present from Seth last year kept his daughter endlessly entertained. Could’ve been the eight coloring apps I had on it too.

Hurrying outside, I waved to Sage as I climbed into my trusty Subaru Outback. Then I headed to Seth’s place on the opposite side of the lake. My old house was on the fringes of town, but I’d made this trip plenty of times. And most of them actually didn’t involve a cry for help from Seth.

He was a really good dad, but Laurie was asserting her independence. She was very much like her father, and I’d known they would butt heads eventually.

I toyed with my arrow necklace as the lakeside road curved around the bend. The gazebo and the pier came into view. It was late enough that most of the pedestrian traffic was light as people finished up dinners and the shops started closing up for the night.

It was late for Laurie to be up. If she was already down for the night by the time I got there, I was going to string Seth up by his short and curlies.

My car made the steep climb up to the mansions on the far side of the lake. They were surrounded by gates of all kinds to keep the riffraff out, and the moneyed in. The house Seth had chosen for his home with Laurie after his divorce definitely wasn’t at the top of the scale, but they definitely weren’t slumming it.

Hamiltons never did.

According to my mother, a Hamilton had been in residence since the town had been established. In fact, the town had nearly been named Hamilton Cove, but some of the residents had fought for the name to be a bit more welcoming. Hamilton sounded so stern.

Much like the men, and the women, of the line. Seth even had his moments of stoic behavior, but Laurie had definitely changed him for the better.

I parked in the long, winding driveway and sat with my fingers wrapped around the steering wheel. There were wear marks from a hundred thousand miles of me gripping them. From the various levels of news about my mom’s sickness, to money issues, to frustration—all of the handprints were carved into this wheel.

Tonight it was nerves and frustration adding another layer to the already worn gray leather. I wasn’t ready to face Seth, but his little girl trumped all. In fact, she was the reason for much of the drama in my life right now.

Seth wouldn’t have looked twice at me if Laurie hadn’t vocalized her very passionate view on having a sister. A brother wasn’t really in her purview, though Seth tried to indicate she was open to either. We both knew it was female or bust in this princess’s life.

I leaned over and dug my sandals out of my canvas bag, swapping my dusty ancient sneakers for more comfortable shoes. Especially if bath time troubles were in my future.

I was pretty sure my poor feet swelled to double their size the minute I took my sneakers off. I needed to be horizontal for a week.

My heart raced at the thought. No.

No.

No.

Not that kind of horizontal.

I peered into my bag for any other goodies. I was good at packing extras of most things, including clothing, but nope. Dusty T-shirt and cutoffs it was. My backup shirt had been used when a toddler sprayed me with ketchup yesterday.

I slammed the door and tromped through the river rock edging the wide driveway, then up the grand staircase. Solar lights flared from large lamps flanking the double entry door. The aged walnut wood screamed of money and affluence.

I didn’t even get the pretense of knocking. A blood-curdling scream had me pulling the large door open.

“Laurie Elizabeth Hamilton, that is enough.” A rare bellow from Seth kicked my heart rate into high gear as I hit the stairs at two at a time.