“You’re not alone with this.” He gives my foot a pat and then gathers up the mess and supplies. “I’ll call you later with my plan.”
On the way out, he flicks off the light and closes the door. I curl up and palm my stomach.
“Did you hear that?” I say to the baby growing inside me. “Daddy has a plan.”
Chapter 5
Rhett
It’s been three days since I brought Abby to Riko and Derek’s. And, finally, I have a solution.
“Abs,” I say when I enter Riko’s. “You ready?”
She’s sitting on the arm of the couch, perched like a cat, munching on an apple. “Yup.”
Beside her, on the floor, is her backpack. It’s the only thing she has to her name at the moment, but she doesn’t seem too peeved about not having more clothes or stuff.
When we step outside, Riko and the neighbor kids wave to us from their intense soccer game. I show Abby next door where there’s no longer a sign in the yard. The night I came here with her, I got really lucky because no one had rented out the unit and I know the landlord.
“What is this?” Abby asks when I hand her a key.
“This is me taking care of shit,” I grumble, unable to meet her intense gaze. “It’s not safe for our baby if you’re traipsing around the creepy parts of town running from cops.”
I step inside behind her after she unlocks the door. The unit is the exact replica of Riko and Derek’s except the floor plan is a mirror image of theirs. It took some scrambling to get it furnished, and a hit to my checking account, but it’s now livable.
Abby is strangely quiet as she takes in the sparsely furnished place. I figure she can decorate it however she wants.
I clear my throat and say, “Yeah, so there are a few dishes and things in the kitchen. Food in the fridge. Bed and dresser upstairs. If you need something, just borrow from Riko until I can grab it.”
She sets her backpack down on the coffee table and then crosses her arms over her chest. A frown mars her face as she studies the space.
“It’s not the Ritz Carlton,” I deadpan, “but it’ll have to do on such short notice.”
“I didn’t say anything.” Her eyes narrow. “Where’s the bathroom?”
“Upstairs like at Riko’s.”
I follow her up the stairs and she slips into the bathroom. When she comes out, she finds me standing in the empty guest room. Or, in our case, the nursery.
“I didn’t know what to get. Maybe we can figure that out together. We still have time.” I gesture to one corner. “Crib. Baby stuff. You know.”
She stiffens and then chews on her bottom lip. There’s an uneasiness about her that I’m unfamiliar with. Abby is typically spitting fire. She’s not usually so subdued.
“What’s wrong?” I demand.
She shrugs and her eyes water. “I don’t know.”
“That’s a fucking lie.”
“I’m not lying.” She scowls at me. “I’m just…overwhelmed.”
“That makes two of us,” I say with a grunt. “But we can be overwhelmed together.”
She nods slowly as if mulling over my words. “I get to have all this, and you’ll help with the baby?”
“I thought that was obvious.”
“But…”
