“Thank ya for the cash. You seem like a real nice lady.” His grin betrayed a missing premolar, tobacco stains, and something else—relief, satisfaction; I couldn’t read the expression.

“We’ve all been in tough spots.”

“Well, you saved my life today. I better be on my way. Got a kid waiting at home for me.”

“I hope things get better for you!” I called out to his fast retreating back. A hand shot up, waving the wad of cash.

His brake lights blinked on and off, and spraying gravel his car sped down the road and disappeared into the gloom. I wasn’t ready to drive, my nerves weak from emotional overload. As I turned off my overhead light, I flicked on my high beams, the headlights snagging on a large object on the side of the road next to where the stranger had just been parked. It looked like a…baby carrier?

I stepped out of the car and approached it cautiously, as if I expected it to contain something other than what was inside: a tiny infant—couldn’t have been more than a day or two old—snuggled sleepily up to a tattered stuffed toy. A velveteen rabbit, just like in the book.

It could only be the strange man’s child, and I wondered what kind of human would abandon a baby on the road. There was no way I was returning this newborn to a monster.

Glancing around, still no cars. Still no witnesses. I picked up the car seat by the handle and hefted it back to my car. It was heavier than I thought, and I wondered if hauling this around was what created mom strength. After clipping it into the seat belt as best I could without the base, I sat in the driver’s seat deliberating. I had never found a baby before—well, duh! The situation was surreal, like something that happened only in the movies. Should I take it to the police station and turn it in? Should I bring it home and feed it and change it first, just to make sure it was cared for? A lot of shoulds ran through my mind, but just because I should didn’t mean I would.

I pocketed the scrap of paper with the license plate number, half tempted to tear it up as if it never existed. Then I put my blinker on like a good little law-abiding citizen as I headed home with my new stolen baby.

Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Felicity

Fifteen years ago…