“You can still have that.”
Beau just shook his head.
Cassidy’s heart went out to him. He was never going to get over Sarah. She wished it didn’t bother her as much as it did.
“What about you?” he asked. “You want kids someday?”
She glanced away. Of course she wanted kids, though she wasn’t sure it would ever happen. “Depends on the guy. I’m not interested in being a single mom. I’d want my baby to have a father.”
Beau fell silent. She knew he was thinking of his own dad and the relationship they’d never had.
“Before we head back,” Beau said, “I want to check on Missy and Evie. They’re home from the hospital. I want to make sure they have everything they need.”
“Good idea. But if we’re going to see them, let’s make a stop at the Pink Blossom, pick up a little gift. It’s just down the street.”
“I should have thought of that myself. And I could really use something to eat.”
“Me, too.” Cassidy leaned back in her seat. Whatever happened between them, she was glad Beau had his baby sister and Missy. Maybe, in time, he would understand it wasn’t too late to have a family of his own.
She wanted that for him, she realized. She wanted him to be happy. Even if that happiness came at her own expense.
Warning bells went off in her head. Every day she was falling harder for Beau. She needed to end things now, before she got hurt.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t willing to leave until he was no longer a murder suspect.
She sighed as the car rolled down the block. The sooner that happened, the better off both of them would be.
Chapter Twenty
Carrying a stuffed pink giraffe and a pair of tiny pink crocheted booties he couldn’t resist buying, Beau followed Cassidy up the stairs to the apartment above the Pleasant Hill Café. A Minnie Mouse baby bouncer Cassidy had picked out waited in the car, in a box that would barely fit inside.
After a quick stop at Burger King, he’d called Josie, so she and Missy were expecting them. Josie pulled open the door at his knock, but instead of a smile, a worried frown darkened her face.
“Come on in. Missy’s in the bedroom nursing Evie. She’ll be finished in just a minute.”
Nursing. He swallowed. Babies were completely foreign to him. He handed the booties to Josie, along with the giraffe, as he and Cassidy walked into the living room. He spotted a bassinet in the corner with a mobile made of tiny seahorses dangling above it. A soft pink blanket was draped over one end of the couch and there were stuffed animals scattered around, probably other gifts from friends.
“There’s a baby bouncer in the car,” Beau said.
“If you don’t already have one,” Cassidy added.
Josie smiled tiredly. “I loved the one I had for Missy when she was a baby, but we don’t have one for Evie. Room’s a little crowded, but we can make it work.”
“Let me just go get it.” Beau went back down to the car and brought the box upstairs. “It plays music and vibrates,” he said, hoping that was a good thing as he set the box down.
“It’s a wonderful gift. Thank you both very much.” She looked tired and frazzled, her blond hair dull and lifeless. It occurred to him that she was working full-time at the café, running the place one employee short without Missy, and trying to help her daughter care for her newborn.
“I’m forgetting my manners,” Josie said. “Would either of you like some coffee or a glass of iced tea?”
“Coffee sounds good,” Beau said.
“It’s chilly out.” Cassidy smiled. “Coffee sounds great. Let me help you with it.”
While the women were in the kitchen, Beau took the bouncer out of the box. It didn’t need tools for the assembly so he started putting it together. While he worked, he thought of Missy and mentally formulated a plan.
Hearing laughter and the rattle of glassware, he set the assembled bouncer aside as the women walked back into the living room.
“Oh, you put it together!” Cassidy grinned excitedly and handed him a steaming mug, then sat down on the sofa beside him.
