Page 21 of Her Unexpected Joy

“Surrogate?”

“Yep.”

She stepped aside, and Chloe rushed to my bedside. “I’ve been worried sick.” Then she started to cry.

She reached out tentatively to touch Olivia’s cheek, and a huge smile crossed her face, as tears started to fall.

Chloe looked terrible, but I would bet anything she couldn’t hold a candle to me.

“Oh God.”

I looked up and saw Zarek filling the doorway. He was still in his fire department sweatshirt, jaw set, one hand braced on the doorframe, eyes already finding Olivia before they found me.

He walked forward and put his arm around Chloe, then looked down at his daughter. They were both awestruck. Chloe had stopped touching her, almost as if she were afraid she would disappear.

I held up my daughter… their daughter… and said the only thing that needed saying.

"Look who decided to show up early."

With that, Olivia woke up, her little fists pumping the air.

“I think she wants to be picked up by her mommy,” I whispered.

Chloe’s smile was radiant as she carefully lifted Olivia out of my arms, and held her like she was the most precious thing on Earth.

Because she was.

Chapter Six

The doorbell rang.

I paused the Housewives of Salt Lake Cities and got up off my couch.

What the hell? Nobody ever rang my doorbell. Hell, nobody even knocked, they just walked in.

Probably a salesman.

I looked down at my sweats and flannel shirt. Then I touched my unwashed hair.

I was only two days out of the hospital, I was supposed to look like crap.

But probably not this crappy. When I looked at myself in the mirror this morning, I realized canned dog food that had been left out in the sun for a week looked better. Well, at least it would scare the salesman away… fast.

When I got to my front door, it was, as I suspected, unlocked. My big brother Drake would be so pissed. There had been a few itsy-bitsy little problems in the last couple of years. Stalkers and the like. Still, it was Jasper Creek, and I did own a gun.

I grimaced. The gun wasn’t really handy. It was currently locked up under my bed, with thumbprint access. After all, Lawson, Zephyr, and Bella did come over and play.

The doorbell rang again.

I opened the door.

I gasped. It was Adam and James.

“How did you find me?”

“Jasper Creek still has a phone book, and your address is listed.” Adam looked smug.

“We do?”