“She says this is the reason we have to sell and put her in a home.”
“And you believe her?”
“I can only go by what she says.” Raiden sounded at the end of his rope. He also sounded much less confident than he had when he first arrived. A good sign?
“We’re heading back now,” Blaize said. “Is Kit being released tonight?”
“That’s the plan, according to her doctor.”
“Keep me posted, will you?” Blaize frowned. “There’s not much I can do from the road, but I’ll be there as soon as humanly possible.”
“Will do.” Raiden paused a beat. “Any guesses as to your ETA?”
“I’m three hours out, if traffic cooperates.” He didn’t mention the fact they could be derailed by someone determined to take them out. Was it safe to go back to the ranch?
They couldn’t leave Rue with Kit and Raiden anymore.
The brothers exchanged goodbyes. Their bond might have been challenged, but Carys could hear how much they cared for each other in their voices. You can’t fake something as genuine as that. She’d witnessed people trying to convince her they were a solid unit. She had a special detector for people like that.
“What if whoever cut my battery cable gets to them first?” Blaize said the minute the call ended.
She glanced at the screen to make certain Raiden didn’t accidentally hear something he shouldn’t. Relief washed over her when the generic screensaver came up. “Everyone should be safe at the hospital.”
“What if Kit is released before we get there?”
“That’s a possibility. But there’s a good chance we’ll get there first.” The mention of hospitals caused Blaize’s muscles to string tight. Having his beloved Kit in one must be the worst feeling.
“There is so much that needs to be done when I get back.” He rubbed the two-day-old scruff on his chin. Dark circles cradled his eyes, and yet the man was still sex-on-a-stick gorgeous, looking more like a sculpture than a human.
Carys faked a cough. “I seem to be coming down with something. I could take a couple of days off, just until you get settled. Besides, I need to make a trip to the orphanage to explain why I kept Rue over the weekend.”
“Will you have to drop her off?”
“At some point she—”
He gave one finite headshake. “If you don’t get me busted for not being her father, the government believes I’m the one at least for now. Correct?”
“I have to establish paternity at some point in the near future. I can’t leave it open-ended like this and keep my job. Plus, my boss will catch on and the courts will require proof before establishing custody.”
“I’ll find a way to adopt her. I’ll get a lawyer to intervene. I’ll say her mother was my best friend and wanted me to be the guardian.”
“Blaize, be reasonable. You can’t take care of everyone. Kit needs someone in the house to watch over her. Rue is a full-time job. You heard how tired Raiden is. It’s already too much. Add in the fact you need to save the ranch to keep a roof over Kit’s head and there’s just too much going on for you to be able to take care of an infant.”
“I can do it.”
Stubbornmust’ve been his middle name. Carys admired his determination. Reality said that he wasn’t Superman.
“If anyone could, it would be you.” She needed to add a dose of reality into the situation. “The task is impossible, and you would wear yourself down. I can help for a couple of days, but then I’ll have to get back to my own schedule. Where does that leave Rue?”
“I need that meeting with my brothers to figure it out. What if they come back? What if everyone takes a shift? We have to have someone home to watch Kit while she’s awake anyway. Why not let them assist her in taking care of Rue?”
“That sounds more like a fairy tale than reality.”
He bit down on his bottom lip. “Having Rue in the house has made Kit the happiest I’ve seen her. They always say parents never recover from losing a child. Cormac wasn’t a kid, but he was her son and she loved him. So much so, she jumped to his defense when I brought up one or two of his many deficiencies. I barely scratched the surface.”
“She loves you, too.”
“I guess I can do no wrong in her eyes. Believe me when I say I’m far from perfect.” He glanced around. “I can pull over if you want to slide up to the passenger seat.”
