Page 84 of Sudden Summer

“I wouldn’t have had to if you were doing your job of making her not feel like a complete and total burden on this family.”

“Birdie…what?”

I pinched Lachlan’s side. “Ouch!” he yelped. “Hey, no fair hurting the guy with a bad leg.”

“Sorry, all I see is a little brother who was just so sweet trying to stir up shit for me now.”

“Can’t help it if I like giving Beau shit. He got off pretty easy with the whole secret kid thing. Figure someone’s got to keep him in line. And as the youngest brother, it falls on my shoulders.”

“Here, take Juniper. I’m not above wrestling you for being a dickhead,” Beau laughed as he slid Juniper into my arms.

“Your uncle and daddy are whacky. Did you know that, berry girl? You won’t be like this with your siblings one day, will you? No. Because you’ll be too busy teaching them about kindness and sharing. Won’t you, brilliant girl?”

“What’s this about siblings for Juniper?” Hayes asked, strolling into the room with a beer in his hand.

Beau chuckled. “Oh, just that Birdie and I are planning on giving her a bunch of⁠—”

My phone buzzed, a shrill alarm sounding around the room as everyone else in the family started pulling out their own phones. With Juniper in my arms, I was at the mercy of someone telling me what had happened.

“Fuck. Looks like there’s a missing kid out in Lark Lake,” Hayes announced.

“Not a kid,” Lachlan growled, “a baby. It says she’s only a few weeks old.”

“Oh God,” Violet gasped.

“What?” I replied.

“Read down further. The mother’s body was found. The suspect is the baby’s father. That’s awful.”

“Let me see,” I whispered to Beau, whose eyes were glued to his phone. The first picture shown was a precious newborn baby, but by the time Beau scrolled to the picture of her mother, my stomach was threatening to empty.

“Alexis…” I whispered.

Beau flinched. “Did you know her?”

“Yes. I was the midwife on call for her birth. It was the night Juniper…He was the one who…” I couldn’t look away from the phone. There he was. Sawyer Buchanan. I hadn’t thought about him since that day. But sure enough…scruffy hair. Big beard. He’d hurt her. Had we given her the information she needed to get somewhere safe? I didn’t go back to check on her. I trusted that my colleagues would help.

Oh, God. Was this my fault?

I turned and handed Juniper to Hayes, whose eyes were locked on my face. My now free hand drifted over my side, the phantom pain from being shoved into the cart sitting on my skin like a ghost.

Beau’s eyes tracked the movement immediately. He wrapped his hand around my arm and walked me over to the couch. “You never told me what happened that day.”

I pointed to the picture of the man wanted in connection to the disappearance of Alexis’s baby and her…death. This was surreal. “He shoved me when I tried to tell him to leave the room. The guy was throwing red flags all over the place, and one of the nurses alerted me to the situation. I went in to assess and…yeah. I thought we’d gotten her the resources she needed. Now she’s gone…”

“Birdie, I’m sure you did everything you could.” Jessie walked over and sat beside me, her hand resting on my shoulder. “Come on. Will you help me set the table?”

I nodded, grateful for something to do. Because the shock of what I’d just learned shook me to the core. We’d known he was dangerous. Had she taken the steps to get away? And had none of it mattered in the end?

Plates were set out. Glasses filled with water. A little apple juice for Beckett and a bottle sitting in the fridge ready for Juniper when the time came. It was easy going through the motions, pretending like I was listening when everyone moved on from Alexis and the baby, to plans for Founder’s Day. It started as a fundraiser for Lachlan after his accident, but had continued for the last few years as a way for the community to come out and enjoy the ranch.

I had been looking forward to enjoying it with Beau and Juniper this year, but nothing, not even talking about a fun day in the middle of summer, could take away the ache deep in my chest.

Colt suddenly walked in the front door and scanned the room until his eyes landed on Violet. There was no pause—he made his way to her like a compass finding true north. Violet stood, meeting him at the end of the table.

“Hey,” Violet cooed as he wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her neck. “It’s okay.”

The entire table sat quiet, watching the two of them embrace. “I’m so glad you’re here and you’re safe. If anything ever happened to you, or Connor⁠—”