“I did. Quinn says it’s nothing to worry about.”
“Okay, good. We’re almost there. See you shortly”
Zander stands after I end the call. “On that note, I’m out of here.”
“What? You don’t want to stay for the inquisition?” Not that I can blame him. I don’t either.
“I’d do just about anything for you, pal. But you’re on your own with this one.” He puts his hand on my shoulder. “If you want to talk about Shari later, give me a call.”
I grip my hair and tug. “Shit, yeah. I don’t know what to do.”
Zander leaves, and I walk him to the door. I step outside, sit on the front steps, and consider my next move with Shari. Is she calling because she wants Daisy back, or maybe she wants to work out some kind of arrangement? I can’t say no. She’s the child’s mother, and I doubt the law would grant me full custody. They probably wouldn’t like the idea of me being on the road and Daisy left with a nanny. If she was left with Quinn, however—
Wait, what the hell am I saying? I can’t keep Quinn here with me forever. She has her own life, and she made it perfectly clear she wasn’t interested in having a family. Zander said she was falling for Daisy. But that doesn’t mean she wants to be her sole caregiver—her mother.
Unless she was falling for me too…
Damn. Damn. Damn.
I need to stop thinking like that. We’re having sex, and she’s not looking for more.
Am I?
Before I can answer that question, Mom and Dad pull into the driveway, and I stand. Mom jumps from the passenger seat and hurries to me. She cups my cheeks, looks me over.
“Have you been getting any sleep?”
“Yes,” I say, even though I’ve been gett
ing very little. “I’m fine, Mom.” Dad steps up to me and we shake hands. “You didn’t have to rush home.”
“We wanted to, son. We want to meet your daughter,” he says, but I can read between the lines. There’s a full-on interrogation about to happen.
“Come on in, then.”
They follow me inside and the air conditioning is a nice break from the heat. “Quinn put her to bed, so we need to keep our voices down.” I lead them upstairs, and my pulse jumps when Quinn’s soft voice reaches my ears. She’s humming a lullaby to Daisy.
“Hey,” I say quietly, and when she spins to see me, a soft smile on her mouth, I know I’m in fucking trouble. She glances past my shoulders.
“Oh, I didn’t—”
“Mom and Dad came home early. They wanted to meet Daisy.”
“Let me get out of your way.”
I step up to her, and brush my knuckles over hers. “No, stay,” I say, wanting her with me when my folks meet Daisy.
“Quinn,” my mother says and gives her a hug. “It’s so good to see you, and thank you for helping Jonah out. He told me he’d be lost without you.”
Her eyes meet mine, and she smiles. “We’re like family,” she says, and this time I note that she’s no longer calling me her brother. Good thing, because that’s just wrong. But we are like family. At least for these last couple weeks we’ve been playing house. My dad greets Quinn, and then everyone turns their attention to a sleeping Daisy.
“Jonah, she’s beautiful,” Mom says.
I smile at that. Proud of my little girl.
“He’s so good with her, Alice.” Quinn puts her hand on my arm, and her heat sinks into my skin, curls around my heart. “You would be so proud of the way he’s stepped up. I know I am.”
My chest swells, and Mom gives me a little hug, but her eyes are on the way Quinn just touched me. “We raised him right,” she says, a new light in her eyes as she focuses back in on me. She studies me for a minute, and I catch a spark of something in her eyes before she looks away. Damn, does she know what Quinn and I’ve really been doing?