Cal cleared his throat. “We’ll need a statement from Amy, me, and of course you,” he said to Austin. “But it can wait until morning. Take the baby home and get some sleep. If you have the original note she left with the baby, bring that with you to the station.”
Austin nodded. “I want a word with her.” He tipped his head toward the squad car holding Nelle Jamieson.
“Make it quick,” Cal said.
Austin glanced at Quinn.
“I’ve got her. Go ahead.”
Drawing a deep breath, Austin walked with Cal to the open back door of the squad car and stared at the woman he remembered from the bar in Chicago. Back then she’d been in a tight dress, her hair had been in waves around her shoulders, and her makeup perfect. Now? She looked like she’d been through a rough patch. Her hair was a tousled mess, her makeup smudged beneath her eyes, and her expression was defeated.
“Why?” Austin braced a hand on the top of the car and glared down, wanting to hear the excuse from her. “Why not come to me and just tell me you were pregnant?”
“You wouldn’t have believed me. Besides, I needed you to want her. To keep her safe. Then you’d get attached and give me the money I needed.” She struggled against the cuffs holding her hands behind her back.
“So you left an infant alone on my doorstep in the dark? At night?” he asked, his voice rising.
Nelle dipped her head but she looked up at him, embarrassed, at least. “I hung around until you came home. I knew you took her inside,” she said defensively.
“Not good enough. Look, lady, you are never going to see my baby again. You’ll be getting an agreement to dissolve all parental rights from my lawyer. I expect you to sign it.”
“What’s in it for me?” she had the nerve to ask.
“Jail time for anything the cops can come up with.” He slammed his hand on the top of the car and walked away, heading back to where Quinn was waiting with Jenny.
Cal joined him and Austin faced Quinn’s uncle. “I don’t know how to thank you.”
“I’d say I was just doing my job but we both know this was more.” He smiled then. “Thank you for being so good to my daughter. You could have gone off on her and I’d have understood.” He ran a hand over his face.
“Let’s just focus on the fact that we got Jenny back and it ended well. Amy’s a good kid. I’m happy to have her continue to work for me. These were … extenuating circumstances,” Austin said.
“And she learned a big lesson.” Cal’s smile was grim. “I’ll drop you two off at Austin’s. Okay?”
Quinn nodded.
“Thanks again, Cal. For everything.”
* * *
Since they didn’t have a car seat, Austin held on to Jenny during the short ride home. Quinn sat in the far corner near the car door, watching them, her heart in her throat. The love Austin had for Jenny was genuine, real, and ran deep already. She felt the same way. Although her uncle had reassured them they’d get the baby back safely, deep down, she’d known anything could go wrong. Thank God it hadn’t. Quinn was only now beginning to breathe normally again.
Cal dropped them off in the driveway, and Quinn accompanied Austin into his house, waiting downstairs while he took Jenny up to her crib. The baby had fallen asleep in his arms, and Quinn assumed she’d transfer easily.
She strode around the house, waiting so they could talk. From the hallway with the modern bold paintings to the kitchen with the array of bottles and nipples spread all over to the family room with the baby swing, the entire house felt like home. Her home. Much more than the apartment she’d returned to last night.
“Hey.” Austin joined her in the family room.
“Hi. Did she go down okay?” Quinn asked about Jenny.
He nodded. “She’s sleeping like a baby.” He grinned at his poor joke. “Honestly she’s going to bounce back from this much quicker than I will.” He walked to the sliding glass door and looked out at the pool area. “Thank God Nelle just handed over the baby to Cal. This could have gone down so much worse.”
Quinn walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, his warm, masculine scent a balm to her still-shaking insides. “But it didn’t. You have your little girl back.”
He spun suddenly, switching their positions so her back was against the cool pane of glass, his arms braced on either side of her head. “Do I have my girl back? Or do we have our little girl back?” he asked, his dark indigo eyes boring into hers.
She swallowed hard, understanding that this was the defining moment in her life. What she said now could change everything. “I’m sorry I left last night. I hurt you and that wasn’t my intention.”