“Will we be able to hear the heartbeat?”
She nodded. “Affirmative. I’ll be more than twelve weeks along, and a Doppler fetal monitor should be able to pick up the baby’s heartbeat.”
Huck grinned full-on this time. “Do you think it’s a boy or a girl?”
“I have absolutely no idea.”
“Yeah, but do you feel anything? Do you have any sort of mother’s intuition?”
Mother’s intuition. What if she couldn’t relate to the baby as her own mother had to her? She didn’t have those emotions, or she didn’t know how to express them. She reached for a pen to tap on the worn door. “Did you know that while many cultures have myths and old wives’ tales about mothers being able to sense something about their unborn babies, none of it is scientifically verifiable? I have no better chance of guessing than do you.”
“Then I guess it’s a boy,” he said instantly.
She sat back, intrigued. “Why?”
He shrugged. “Gut feeling.”
There was no possible way he could know that fact. She crossed her arms. “We’ll see.”
“Are you ready to tell anybody yet?”
“No. You?”
He shook his head. “No. I figure it’s nobody’s business but ours.”
She liked that. “Did Rachel ask you out again?”
His chin lifted. “Why? You jealous?”
She considered the question. Was she jealous? “No. I’m fairly confident in our relationship. I’m not jealous, just curious.”
“I like that about you,” he said. He often surprised her with that statement.
She never understood to what he referred. “Please clarify.”
He shook his head. “Nope. I just like you.”
She might never fully understand him, but she did trust him. Believing in somebody besides her mom was new for her, especially since her own father was such an abomination. She’s been spared pain in her childhood by not learning of him until recently.
Huck sobered. “Have you been able to reach Abigail Caine?”
“Yes. She came in earlier for an interview. I believe she knew that Jason Abbott would escape.”
Huck ran a rough hand through his hair, ruffling the thick mass. “Why would she do that? She has to know that he wants her dead.”
“She’s a narcissist who lacks the ability to feel fear,” Laurel said. “If Abbott attempts to harm her, I’m sure she’s confident she can handle him.”
“Why would she want him free?”
Laurel looked out the window to find a light snow falling. When had it started to snow again? “She obviously wanted Jason Abbott to escape, so she definitely has a plan.” What that plan might be, Laurel had absolutely no idea.
Kate poked her head in the doorway. “Nester called and said his sister is doing well in the hospital. Broken leg in three places and a concussion. No clue who hit her, though.”
“I’m glad she’s going to be all right,” Laurel said.
Kate nodded. “Melissa Cutting and Haylee Johnson are here as promised. Do you want them in the conference room, or do you want them down at Fish and Wildlife?”
“Let’s interview them here,” Laurel said. “Is that all right with you, Huck?”
