Not Quite Mine (Not Quite #2)(49)
Author: Catherine Bybee

Dean turned her around to face him, wiped her tears with his thumbs. “You listen to me, Katelyn Morrison. You are not your mother. If you ever doubt your own gene pool, then look to your dad. He stepped up when your mother walked out on all of you and he’d move the state of Texas with his bare hands to keep you safe. That love, that loyalty, stems from his side. So don’t second-guess your heart.”

“I don’t want to disappoint him…I don’t want to fail Savannah.”

“Wanting to be the perfect daughter, after all the bumps you’ve given that man in his life, is almost comical, but I get it. If he saw you with your baby girl, he’d be so proud of you…of what you’re trying so hard to do. As for being the perfect mother, hon, I haven’t yet met a perfect mom. You’re going to make mistakes but none of them are going to result in Savannah needing a therapist’s couch when she’s an adult.”

Katie gave him a half-baked smile. “Since when did you become so wise?”

“I’ve always been wise. You just weren’t looking.”

She chuckled and let some of the day’s tension drift away.

Dean kissed her, slowly, and circled her with his arms. He tilted her head and deepened their kiss. As his tongue slid over hers, her body tingled and her mind went soft.

Savannah.

She stiffened in his arms and ended their kiss. “That has to wait,” she told him.

“Oh, why?”

“I was running out the door to pick up more formula before Monica called me. Then Patrick called and I ran here. Savannah is going to wake up anytime and I’m out.”

“Want me to go?”

“No. I’ll go. Mind if I leave her with you? I’ll only be a minute.”

Dean winked. “I can handle her. I do have a nephew, you know.”

“I remember.” Katie gave him a peck of a kiss as she dashed out of the room. She gathered her purse and moved to the front door. “You’re sure?”

“Go, worrywart. We’ll be fine.”

Chapter Twenty

“O.M.Geeee. Katelyn? Is that you?”

Katie swiveled in the baby goods and feminine hygiene aisle to the sound of her name. In her path was one of the last people she’d ever thought she’d see in a grocery store.

“Sasha?”

Sasha Godier lived in New York and occasionally France. What the hell is she doing here?

“It is you…” Sasha rushed forward in five-inch heels, which was a task in itself, and threw her arms around Katelyn’s shoulders. With heels, Sasha actually met Katelyn’s height. It helped that Katie was wearing a flat pair of shoes. And no makeup.

Katie rubbed a hand over her face and hoped her longtime friend…er, acquaintance, didn’t notice her lack of polish.

“What on earth are you doing here?” Sasha asked in a rush.

“Helping…er, a friend. My God, it’s good to see you.” Katie’s response was automatic and completely insincere. She expected no less of Sasha.

“You…you look positively…tired.” Sasha grasped Katie’s hands and offered a most stoic look of alarm. “Oh, God. Tell me your father hasn’t cut you off.”

She would think that…wouldn’t she?

“No. Nothing like that. You caught me at an awkward time. What are you doing here?”

Sasha glanced around her and whispered. “I met someone.”

“That’s great.”

Sasha ran a hand down her skirt and stood taller. “It is…he’s amazing. Married, but amazing.”

Speechless. There was no other response. “Married?”

“He doesn’t love her.” Sasha tossed a lock of perfectly dyed black hair from her shoulder and released a nervous giggle. “He flies in and sees me. And it’s soooo close to LA. Don’t you think?”

Katie bit her lip and avoided saying anything controversial. She and Sasha had partied in Vienna, and hit the best clubs in New York. They weren’t friends. Just…people who hung out. Plastic people who knew very little about the other. What Katie did know was that Sasha had always been looking for someone rich enough to help her escape her dysfunctional family.

To hear she was hooking up with a married man wasn’t surprising.

Actually, it was depressing.

“Very close to the city.”

They stood there, taking in the other in silence. “Well, I should go,” Katie told her.

“Great seeing you.”

“You, too.” Sasha kissed both Katie’s cheeks and let her swivel away. Out of the corner of Katie’s eye, she noticed Sasha grab an early pregnancy test.

Katie peered down at the bottles of formula in her basket and forced herself to continue walking forward.

It’s not your business.

Take the baby and run, she wanted to shout at her could be friend. But she couldn’t do that. Shouldn’t do that.

The cashier smiled as she rang up Katelyn’s purchases and bagged the formula.

In her car, Katie grasped the wheel and realized her heart was beating too fast. The lie she was living was larger than Sasha’s…by a lot.

Something needed to change.

The answers from Patrick were coming too slow for Dean’s taste. He’d spent some time researching private detectives and found one who specialized in finding parents of adopted children. Dean took the opportunity of Katie leaving Savannah in his care to snap a couple of pictures with his cell phone. Not that a picture could help that much. She’d grown so much in such a short time, she wouldn’t look at all like she did the day she was born. As he saw it, all infants started to look alike.

Savannah could easily be his niece or even Jack’s daughter for that matter.

As if hearing his thoughts, Savannah slowly blinked her eyes open.

Dean couldn’t stop the grin that spread over his face. She really was amazing.

Without waiting for her to fuss, he unbuckled her from the car seat and lifted her into his arms. She protested with a whine and, with one pat of her bottom, Dean understood her needs. He noticed a diaper bag left on his sofa and attempted to grab it while holding her. He fiddled a little before giving up and setting her down on the floor.

Savannah’s shriek filled the room.

“I’m hurrying, darlin’. No need to cry.”

But Savannah didn’t listen. She went on crying and flailing her arms as if to emphasize her point about his delay.

He found several diapers and a box of those wet wipe things moms used. Dean had seen Katie use a cushion for diaper changes and searched the bag for one.