“The bomb’s name is Samantha.”
“And the mother?”
“A mistake.” I sighed. “But she’s not.” I held her like a football along my forearm, which happened to be one of her favorite ways to be held. It left her legs free to squirm and her field of vision impressively wide. “Trina was her incubator’s name.”
Mason’s eyebrow winged up. “Incubator?”
“A mother wouldn’t leave her on my porch in the dead of winter. I don’t even know when she dropped her off—or how long she was alone. Anything could have happened. Our wildlife isn’t crazy on the lake, but I’m out in the middle of nowhere. I hate imagining all the awful possibilities.”
“Okay, okay. Bring it back down. Worst case scenarios aside, did she give you any clue she was pregnant?”
“No.” I started swaying as Sami’s gurgles lessened. “It was a hookup. No more and definitely no less. We had a good time in a hotel. I can’t say there was much conversation.”
“But she found you.”
“We shot the shit about Crescent Cove. You know how it is. We’re the small town with the big reputation. I guess it stuck, especially when she got pregnant. I don’t know why she didn’t try to find me sooner. I would have—”
“What? Helped?”
I shoved my hair back with my free hand. “Yeah. I don’t know. I didn’t have the chance to know. I just got her, and I don’t know squat about babies.”
Mason snorted. “We barely know about girls, period.”
“Speak for yourself.”
“Obviously, you do.” He nodded at Sami.
“Shut up.” I exhaled. “I panicked and called Gina.”
“Because she has ovaries?”
Frustrated, I paced with Sami when she started making questionable noises. “No, because she’s my best friend, and she actually used to do the whole babysitting thing.”
And I knew she wouldn’t turn me down.
Even if the look on her face when she opened my cabin door that night still haunted me.
Mason’s face definitely had an air of dubiousness. “Look, man. I’m glad she was there for you. Even if this situation is…” At a loss, he shrugged. “Nothing surprises me since I got back to the Cove. I’m not sure when the baby boom started going on, but it is crazy. I’m in shock that men sleep with anyone in this town.”
“Yeah, well, I wasn’t with Trina in town. To be honest, I make sure I am out of town when I need a bit of stress relief.”
But I hadn’t with Gina. We hadn’t even bothered with condoms when I had no clue about her birth control situation. Which said plenty, I supposed.
“Is that what the kids are calling it?”
“Asshole.”
Mason covered Sami’s ears. “How could you?”
Sami giggled and grabbed Mason’s finger. There was a bit of wonder in my brother’s eyes as he smiled at her.
This little girl had some sort of magic inside her. I’d seen it happen to everyone that came into her sphere. Gina was the first and the most important, but at Thanksgiving and even with the quickie photo shoot, no one was safe when Sami had you in her sights. All my friends had been charmed by her. My dad was already too. She certainly had me wrapped, and I was surprisingly okay with it.
Especially with Gina settling in like she was made for all of it. Made for me. In every possible way, including sexually. She seemed to have an appetite just like mine.
Thank fuck.
I was an ass. It had taken this to shake me out of my stupidity.