“We fed her ten minutes ago,” Jack says.
“Burped her?”
“She puked all over Jack’s back,” Cyrus says, watching me intently. “Of course, that might have just been a reaction to the shirt he was wearing. It was pretty nauseating.”
Cami shudders with tears, banging me with her tiny fists. My heart breaks. “Oh, baby. It’s okay, it’s okay. Shh. Shh.” I keep jogging her on my hip, cuddling her close and rubbing her back. “It’s okay.”
Slowly, her cries start to die down. I hug her, murmuring to her under my breath, until eventually they trail away into sad little sniffles. “There we go,” I say quietly. “It’s not so bad, is it? Everything’s okay.” I wipe her cheeks dry. She snuggles angrily into my chest, hiccuping. “She’s fine,” I tell the guys. “She just needed a cuddle.”
No one says anything. I look up. All three men are staring at me, their eyes wide.
I blink. “What?”
“She’s a witch,” Cyrus says faintly. “What the Hell. She’s been crying for about six hours straight. Are you saying all we had to do ispick her up?”
I frown. “Didn’t you try that? You just left her crying in a car seat?”
Jack looks uncomfortable. “She’s a baby,” he says. “We thought they just cry when they need food, or sleep, or a new nappy. But we tried all of that, and it didn’t work.”
“They’re not Tamagotchis,” I say reproachfully. “You don’t just feed them and clean their poop and then ignore them until they die.” Cami sputters, pouting, and I press a kiss to her hair. “Poor thing. Are all the horrible men ignoring you?” I glance down at the car seat on the table. It’s a convertible model, with a handle you can push up to use as a carrier. The padding inside looks cheap and thin. “She was probably crying because she was uncomfortable. Why was she in this?”
“That’s how she was given to us this morning,” Jack says, wringing his hands. “We tried to buy her some stuff, but we didn’t know where to start. We still don’t have a crib or anything.”
I look around the room again, picking up on the details I’ve missed. There are brand-new baby items strewn all over the place. Baby wipes. A pack of onesies. An unopened bag of dummies. A pot of formula is sitting by the sink in the kitchenette, the little plastic scoop laying on the counter next to it.
I soften a bit. Clearly, someone had an emergency and dumped the baby on the boys last-minute. It’s hardly their fault they’re unprepared. “Whoever stuck you guys on babysitting duty must have been desperate, huh?” I kiss Cami’s head. She paddles her little feet against my stomach, looking up at me with huge eyes. “Who was it? Sister? Friend of the family?”
Jack looks uncomfortable. “Not exactly.”
“No?” I jiggle Cami in my arms. “Where’s the mum?”
“She’s... out of the picture,” Cyrus says, after a moment.
“Oh. The dad, then? He really should’ve sent her with some nappies, at least.” I pat Cami’s little butt. “This one doesn’t even fit her right.” There are a few beats of silence, and I glance up at them. “Guys? The father?”
No one answers.
I frown. “I’m sorry, is that a hard question?”
Jack and Cyrus share a loaded look. Sebastian clenches his teeth, not meeting my eyes.
Dread trickles down my spine as I take in their guilty faces. Something is wrong. I straighten, my voice sharpening. “Whose child is this?”
Jack sighs, running a hand through his hair. “If we’re honest, Beth, we’re not entirely sure.”
Three
Beth
Shock rocks through me. Automatically, I tighten my grip on Cami, taking a step towards the front door. “Excuse me?”My voice comes out an octave higher than normal. “You’re not sure?”
“Nope,” Cyrus drawls. “No clue, I’m afraid.”
I stare at him, my mind running at a mile a minute, and he just smiles back, dimple flashing.
Just my luck. I finally get to meet my gorgeous neighbors, and they turn out to be kidnapping psychos.
“I’m sorry; did yousteal this child?”I ask, incredulous. The smile drops right off Cyrus’s face.