Page 16 of Echo’s Secret

"He won't be alone. The women will watch him. He'll be safe, I promise you."

Hannah bites her lip, looking up at Theo sleeping peacefully. "I haven't left him alone since he was born. Not once. I didn’t even have a babysitter. I had to take him with me and was lucky enough that my bosses didn’t mind."

"You've been doing this completely by yourself for eight months?"

"I didn't have a choice."

The casual way she says it, like drowning alone was just another Tuesday, makes something tighten in my chest. She should have had help. Should have had me. Would have had me if she'd just told me.

But I can't change the past. I can only deal with what's in front of me now.

"There's a diner in town," I say. "Opens early. Makes decent coffee and better pancakes. We could get breakfast. Talk without worrying about waking him up. Be back before he even knows you're gone."

"Wesley—"

"Do you trust me?" I ask.

She meets my eyes. Takes a long moment before answering. "I don't trust anyone."

"Fair enough. Different question: Do you trust me to keep Theo safe?"

Another pause. Then, slowly: "Yes."

"Then trust that the people I trust with my life will take care of him for an hour. Nora and Eden between them have more childcare experience than most pediatricians. And if something happens, which it won't, we're ten minutes away."

She chews on her lip some more. Looking at Theo. Looking at me. Weighing options the way people who grew up with nothing learn to weigh everything.

"Okay," she says. "But only if someone actually stays with him the entire time. Not just checks on him. Actually sits in this room and watches him."

"Done."

"And I want something in exchange."

I raise an eyebrow. "What?"

"The whole story. How you joined the club. Everything you haven't told me about this life." Her hazel eyes are steady on mine. "If I'm staying here, if Theo's going to be around these people, I need to know what I'm getting into. All of it."

That's fair. More than fair. She's trusting me with her son, our son. She deserves to know what kind of world she's walking into.

"Okay," I agree. "The whole story. But you have to eat something while I tell it. You look like you haven't had a decent meal in weeks."

"Months," she corrects.

Yeah. That tracks.

I stand up, knees protesting slightly from sitting on the floor for an hour. Offer Hannah my hand. She takes it and I pull her to her feet. She sways slightly, exhaustion and probably low blood sugar catching up.

I steady her with a hand on her elbow. "When's the last time you ate?"

"Yesterday. Maybe. I don't remember."

Christ.

"Definitely getting breakfast then. Come on."

I lead her out of the room, leaving the door cracked so we can hear if Theo wakes up. Downstairs, the clubhouse is more active than before. Canvas and Eden are back from their shopping trip, bags covering every available surface. Ivy and Rosie are sorting through baby supplies, making piles. Judge sits at the bar with Phoenix, both of them drinking coffee and talking in low voices.

Everyone looks up when we appear on the stairs.