course there are ways,” Eve muttered. She didn’t even know what car to look for. “He isn’t coming back.”
“Try the number that called earlier.”
“Oh, good idea. There’s no caller ID but I should be able to call.”
“Is everything okay in here?” Holly asked as she brushed a strand of dark hair back from her face. She took a seat across from Eve.
“Oh, just wonderful.” Eve listened to the voice message of Ethan Forester. “Please leave a message,” it prompted. So she did. “This isn’t fair. You can’t do this to Tori. Call me and please tell me you’re coming back.”
“He got in a Ford truck and scooted on down the street,” Holly said after the call ended. “I’m sorry. I would have stopped him if I’d known he was pulling a fast one on you.”
“Not a fast one, just...” Eve sighed as she glanced down at the sleeping child. Six months old, the child didn’t know much about her life. But she had to know an emptiness where her parents had been. She had to know that everything was topsy-turvy right now.
“She’s beautiful,” Holly cooed, leaning to brush a finger down Tori’s cheek.
“She is,” Kylie agreed. She held Cara, her foster daughter, in her arms.
Eve glanced up at Holly. “You have dark rings under your eyes. You’re obviously not getting enough sleep. Your mom?”
“Off her meds again. It’s a battle.”
“I’m sorry,” Kylie spoke softly from across the table. “Can we do anything to help?”
“No, there’s nothing. It’s been my life for, well, my whole life. You would think I’d be used to it.”
“But you know how life can be when it’s good. I’m sure that makes the turmoil all the more obvious.” Kylie reached for Holly’s hand and gave it a squeeze.
Holly nodded but her attention shifted back to the baby Eve held. “I’m not here to talk about me. It’s obvious Eve has her own drama today. And I’m more than a little curious. So if you really want to take pity on me...”
Eve managed to laugh. “Ex-fiancé.”
Holly’s eyes widened. “Wowza. And you broke it off with him?”
Eve nodded.
“I’m not sure if we can continue to be friends.” Holly laughed as she said it. “He’s tall, dark, beyond handsome, knows how to hold a baby. And you dumped him?”
“She obviously martyred herself,” Kylie offered.
“Not helping.” Eve shot her friend a look.
“Truth hurts,” Kylie shot back.
“The baby is his?” Holly asked.
“No.” Eve glanced down at the sleeping baby girl. “She’s the daughter of our best friends, James and Hanna. They were killed. I guess in an accident. I can’t remember if he told me.”
The grief washed over her again, squeezing her heart until she wanted to beg for mercy. She’d been so selfish. She’d been so focused on her own life. She hadn’t even known. She had no one to blame but herself.
“I can’t believe they’re gone.” Her arms went a little tighter around the sleeping child.
“Wow, that’s tough.” Holly bent to kiss the top of Eve’s head. “I’m sorry, I have to get back to work. Let me know if I can get you anything.”
Thirty minutes had passed since Ethan’s rapid departure. The clock on the wall continued to tick away the seconds, the minutes. She looked at Kylie.
“He’ll be back,” Kylie assured her. “Maybe he needed to hit the gas station. Or rent a hotel room.”
“He isn’t coming back. He would have answered the phone.”
“We can’t stay here all day,” Kylie said. Cara had fallen asleep in her arms. “We should head back to the ranch.”
“To do what? I don’t know the first thing about taking care of a baby.”
“Start by calling her Tori. That’s her name. And she’s precious. Look at her, Eve. Say something to her.”
“You have beautiful eyes,” Eve cooed to the little girl. Tori, all blond curls, blue eyes and dimples, grinned. She looked like Hanna. Eve felt a sob rising up in her throat, but she refused to give it room to escape. Her throat tightened with the effort. She closed her eyes and shook her head against the onslaught of emotions.
“I can’t do this.”
“You can,” Kylie insisted. “You’re strong. You’re capable.”
“Right, I can take care of myself. But I can’t take care of a child. Not on a daily basis. Watching yours for a few hours is easy. They walk, talk and can go potty all by themselves. Cara being the exception. This—” she held the baby away from her “—this is toxic.”
“She needs her diaper changed.”
Eve shuddered. “Why isn’t she potty trained?”
“Because she’s six months old. Don’t worry, you can do this. And he’ll be back. He’s only been gone for a half an hour.”
“You don’t know him the way I know him.”
“Yeah, about that.” Kylie grew serious and Eve knew more questions were coming. “Why didn’t I know about Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome?”
“Because you didn’t need to know. I ended it and we both moved on.”
“I don’t think moving on is as easy as saying the words,” Kylie said as she grabbed a diaper and wipes from the bag Ethan had left behind. A bag with several outfits, more than enough diapers, bottles, food and formula.
“It was for the best,” Eve defended. “It was the right thing to do.”
Kylie shook her head. “Right thing for who? You or him?”
“That isn’t fair.”
“Isn’t it?” Kylie asked. “You decided for him that he didn’t want to be married to someone in a wheelchair.”
“Someone he would have to take care of for the rest of his life.”
Kylie arched a brow at that. “Really? Because who is taking care of you now?”
Eve ignored the question. Kylie shook her head.
“Give me that baby. I’ll change her diaper.” Kylie settled Cara in her car seat and reached for Tori. “But you’ll have to change the next diaper.”
“You say that as
