Her voice was gentle but her body felt strong, solid. He liked holding her; she fit perfectly in his arms. He briefly closed his eyes as his panic dissipated, taking refuge in the scent of papaya from her shampoo, the soft brush of her cheek against his. It was when she made a small sound that he opened his eyes and realized he was holding her longer than he should have. He silently swore, gathered himself and stepped back. “I’m sorry that—”

  She smiled at him. “No need to apologize you must have been in a panic.” She took off her jacket. “Now let me make you something—”

  The doorbell rang.

  “Hold on a minute,” Joshua said and opened the door.

  Frank burst into the room. “This crazy woman just—”

  When Frank and Karen saw each other they both said in horror, “You!”

  Frank pointed at her. “What is she doing here?”

  Karen pointed back at him. “What is he doing here?”

  “You better watch out for knives.”

  “Shut up, Frank,” Joshua said.

  Karen’s eyebrows shot up. “Frank? You know this man?”

  Frank frantically shook his hands at her. “This is the crazy woman!”

  Joshua held up his hands and said in a firm, demanding voice, “One of you needs to stop shouting and tell me what’s going on.”

  “She’s the one who stole Olivia,” Frank said.

  Karen shook her head. “I didn’t steal her. I saved her from being sold.”

  “What?” Joshua said.

  Frank laughed. “I told you she was crazy.”

  “I’m not crazy,” Karen said. “I was in the park. I overheard you talking to that man.”

  Joshua pinched the bridge of his nose as if in pain. He motioned to the kitchen with a jerk of his head. “Frank, explain.”

  “You don’t believe me?” Karen said.

  “I’ll get to you in a minute,” Joshua said. “If you don’t mind waiting here, Frank and I need to clarify a few things first.”

  “He’ll lie.”

  Joshua sent her a look that promised he’d uncover the truth. “Don’t worry. I’ll be right back.” He grabbed Frank’s arm and dragged him into the kitchen before he switched to a pidgin English they’d used mostly as children that borrowed words from French and Yoruba. They could both speak it at a pace so fast that it wouldn’t sound like English at all and make it hard for Karen to understand them. “Start talking.”

  “She doesn’t know what she’s saying.”

  “Tilly told me about the money.”

  “When?”

  “When she told me that you were supposed to be looking after Olivia. When she told me that she tried to call you, but you didn’t call her back. When I called her back after you didn’t reply to any of my texts about where you were. That’s when.”

  Frank hung his head.

  “What have you done?”

  Frank took a deep breath before he said in a rush, “I promised this guy I could get him a baby.”

  “And where were you going to get this baby?”

  He motioned towards Joshua.

  “From me?”

  He nodded.

  “Without telling me?”

  He nodded again.

  “Why did you do that?”

  “The money’s good,” he mumbled.

  “You’ll have to give it back.”

  Frank rubbed his left arm. “I already spent most of it. I was supposed to get the remainder of the payment today, but the guy took it back.”

  Joshua swore.

  “Nobody wanted her. You didn’t want to keep her, right? You said so yourself. You barely could stand the thought of looking after her for three weeks. I saw an opportunity.”

  Joshua grabbed his collar, wanting to squeeze some sense into him, and said in a cold voice, “An opportunity? You see a helpless infant and you see an opportunity?”

  “It would have worked out.”

  Joshua released Frank’s collar in disgust and wiped his hands together as if he’d just hauled out trash. “You’re the reason people don’t trust Nigerians.”

  Frank sniffed without remorse. “As if you’re any better. Are you going to tell her that the kid isn’t yours? That’s just a different kind of fraud, isn’t it?”

  “I’m not doing it for profit.”

  “You’re doing it to save your job.”

  “It’s not the same.”

  He rubbed his hands together suddenly eager. “I can still make this work. The guy was spooked, but I have his contact and—”

  “Get out.”

  Frank switched to Standard English, which was the language he used most when he wanted to get out of trouble. “You have to listen to me. If I don’t fix this it will really put me in a lot of trouble.”

  “You should have thought of that before.”

  “They’re going to want her. They may come looking.”

  Joshua walked him to the front door. “Get out.”

  Frank pressed his hands together. “Please.”

  “Talk to you later.” Joshua shoved him outside and closed the door then turned and saw Karen. He briefly swore. She’d been so quiet he’d forgotten she was there.

  “Pack your things,” she said.

  “What?”

  “I overheard what that man said before he left. Was he threatening you?”

  “No.”

  “But he said they will look for her. I may not have understood the rest, but I understood that. You can’t stay here. He might come back.”

  “It’s not—”

  “You go pack and I’ll gather the rest of Olivia’s things. I’m not taking ‘no’ for an answer.”

  From the look on her face and her tone he knew there was no point in arguing with her. He quickly grabbed an overnight bag then met her in the living room.

  “You hardly have any stuff for her,” Karen said surprised. “I only found extra diapers and wipes. If you have—”

  “It’s been a stressful time,” he cut in. “I only got her recently.” Not a complete lie.

  “I bet. It’s okay.” She flashed a smile of encouragement. “You’ve got someone on your side now.”

  Chapter 19

  Wrapped in velvet.

  That’s how it had felt being in Joshua’s arms. Like being wrapped in a velvet dress accented with ribbons of chocolate silk. The sensation had surprised Karen. He smelled good too like sweetened hazelnuts and baby powder. She hadn’t expected him to hug her. Such an unexpected show of emotion should have felt strange or awkward but instead it felt right. Good. Delicious.

  No, that was wrong. She didn’t know where that wayward thought had sprung from.

  She stole a glance at him as he sat in the passenger seat of her Honda Accord hybrid. He didn’t say anything.

  She’d been surprised by how sparse and masculine his apartment was. No pictures of Olivia anywhere, no toys or extra baby blankets. She saw a portable baby cot but not a proper crib. Had Olivia’s mother taken everything out of spite or had they struggled and he’d finally gotten custody of her? She knew it wasn’t her place to pry but she was curious how he’d ended up in that situation. She knew he wasn’t struggling financially so what other reason could there be that he had so few items for a baby?

  But what she did know was how devoted he was to her. Karen bit back a smile. It had felt so good to be the one to take the panicked terror off his face. Unfortunately, he was a lot more trusting than she’d taken him for. She couldn’t believe someone had conned him like that.

  She sent him a look, unnerved by his silence. “I can’t begin to believe how awful this must be for you.”

  “You really don’t have to do this.”

  “Yes, I do. I have a spare room. But you have to be more careful. There are terrible opportunists out there. When my mom was in England babies were being snatched from their prams left and right. Gran kept a close eye out. How do you know this man? Did he answer an ad or something?”

  “We grew up together.”

  “I’m sorry?”

  He scratched his chin and spoke with reluctance. “It’s not that bad. He’s my cousin.”

  “But I overheard him threaten you. For the next few days you’ll stay with me. Does your lease allow you to change the locks?”

  “Yes, but—”

  “Great! I’m going to get your apartment locks and pass code changed. You can’t trust a man like that won’t try again.”

  “He won’t.”

  “I understand you have to defend him because he’s family but you can’t deny that, if I'm reading the situation correctly, he wants to sell Olivia.”

  “Yes, he did but now—”

  Karen gripped the steering wheel with renewed anger. “No, don’t stand up for him. It’s an outrage that he’d use your kindness against you like that. It’s happened to me too. I learned my lesson.”

  “You don’t understand. I’m not—”

  “You’re a good father. We all can make bad choices when it comes to who we trust. Please don’t feel bad about this. Everything will work out. I can even help you get a certified caregiver so that nothing like this ever happens again. Everything will be okay.”

  Chapter 20

  The moment Karen opened the front door to her townhouse she and Joshua were greeted by the sound of wails.

  An attractive, harried looking woman met them in the foyer with a crying Olivia. “I’m sorry,” she said her voice near the breaking point of fatigue, “I’ve changed her, fed her, sang to her but she won’t calm down.”

  “Poor thing,” Karen said. “She misses her daddy. But he’s here.”

  The woman quickly handed Olivia to Joshua. The rush of relief he felt when he dropped his bag and held her in his arms shocked and nearly overpowered him.

  His heart continued to race and his hands trembled even though he knew she was safe. The memory of Frank’s words still turned his heart cold. I lost her.

  Only a few moments ago his world had gone cold and grey; he thought of nothing else but finding her. Rescuing her. Making sure she was safe.

  He looked over her tear stained face, then her arms and legs, to make sure that she wasn’t injured or scratched anywhere. When he was certain she was okay, he tenderly kissed her on the forehead and pressed her chubby cheek to his and whispered her name. It took him a few moments to realize that the room had become eerily silent. Olivia had stopped crying, her nose red but she’d stopped crying. He hadn’t even noticed. He looked around and saw Karen and the other woman looking at him with tears in their eyes.

  “You must have been so worried,” Karen sniffed, wiping away a tear.

  “Uh, yeah,” Joshua said feeling suddenly shy. He’d let his emotions get the best of him. He wasn’t usually like that.

  “You must be exhausted.” She reached for his bag. “I’ll show you where you will stay.”

  He held out his free hand. “I’ll take it and you can show me the way.”

  “It’s okay, you’re already carrying Olivia.”

  “I can carry that too.”

  “Let me help you.”

  “You already helped me.”

  “Don’t pretend that you don’t want to hold Olivia close with both hands. Follow me.”

  Joshua tried not to laugh as he watched Karen struggle to take his overnight bag up the stairs. Twice she nearly fell over, but quickly steadied herself.

  “What did you pack in here?” she grumbled.

  He honestly couldn’t remember, he’d been too overwhelmed by what Frank had told him and Karen’s demand that he’d shoved whatever was closest to him. “Books probably.”

  “You know there are digitized versions, right?”

  He nodded. “Heard a rumor about that.”

  She set the bag down once they reached the top of the stairs. He nudged her aside and grabbed it. “Just show me the room.”

  She stared at him stunned for a moment, looked at the bag with a wary determination before she thought better of arguing and headed down the hall.

  She opened the first door to the right and waited.

  He walked inside and swore. It wasn’t the muted butter yellow room and twin sized bed that shocked him or the sight of the desk with five wooden figurines of dancing bears that let him know she’d given him her office. It was the crib.

  She’d bought a crib.

  Things were getting worse by the minute. He didn’t expect her to go through this expense.

  “Did you assemble this yourself?” he asked hoping she’d say no.

  “Paid for assembly,” she said.

  “How much did it cost?”

  “My pride.”

  He sent her a look. “Really.”

  “I’ll take it out of your next cheque.”

  “Good.”

  She frowned. “That was a joke.”

  He set his bag down on the bed. “It better not be.”

  “You’re overtired.” She dramatically dropped her voice to a stage whisper and said, “We’ll talk later.”

  Joshua watched her cautiously back out of the room. “Why are you whispering?”

  She pointed to Olivia. He glanced down and saw she was fast asleep, her face pressed against his chest.

  “’Night,” Karen mouthed before she closed the door.

  Joshua placed Olivia gently down in the crib then sat down hard on the bed. He briefly froze when it squeaked, afraid the sound would wake her. He stared at the crib ready to jump into action, but Olivia only turned her head and pursed her lips. He released a sigh and slowly leaned back and gazed at the ceiling. He couldn’t believe the mess Frank had gotten him into.

  You’re a fraud as much as me. His cousin’s words hurt because they were true.

  Chapter 21

  She felt like a hero. Karen raised her hands above her head as if she were a superhero accepting applause. Reuniting Joshua with his daughter was one of the top three best things she’d ever experienced (second to that hug he’d given her, but she wouldn’t think about that now).

  Karen quickly let her hands fall when she saw her friend, Trisha Watts, waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs.

  Dressed in smart burgundy trousers and a yellow blouse she made business casual look like an expensive trend. But as a real estate agent she always made sure to look her best. She lifted a well arched brow and said, “You know that guy is scary sexy, right?”

  Karen walked past her. “No, I didn’t notice.”

  “I did. Is he single?”

  “He’s coming out—”

  “He’s gay?”

  “Of a bad breakup,” Karen finished.

  She rubbed her hands together in delight. “Oh, perfect. He’ll need comforting.”

  “Right now his priority is his daughter.”

  “She doesn’t take that much attention.”

  “You could hardly manage a couple hours.”

  Trisha smoothed back her curly black hair. “It was an off day.”

  Karen walked into her living room and sat on the couch, adjusting the poinsettia shaped pillow she’d bought out for the holidays. “Give the man time.”

  Trisha took a seat in front of her. “Of course I won’t even try if you’re interested.”

  “Why would I be interested?”

  Trisha slapped her forehead. “Oh I forgot. You’re still in love with the man who only sees you as his golden goose.”

  “That’s not funny.”

  “I wasn’t trying to be funny. Give up on Marshall.”

  “No, this is my year.” Karen leaned forward, eager to share. “You should have seen the way he looked at me a couple of days ago.” Just the thought made her smile. “He was impressed.”

  Trisha folded her arms. “Really?”

  “Yes, I stood up to him and even made him take me more serious in meetings.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes.” She frowned. “Don’t sound so shocked.”

  “That doesn’t sound like you.”

  Karen clasped her hands together pleased. “That’s exactly what he said. And when Joshua told me that I should listen to how he talks to me, I took his advice. Even made some money.” She told her about the piggybank.

  “So you did this because Joshua asked you to?”

  “Well...it was a good idea.”

  Trisha looked intrigued. “What else has Joshua said about Marshall?”

  “Nothing else worth repeating. He doesn’t truly understand how instrumental Marshall is to the company. He thinks it’s all because of me.”

  Trisha started to grin. “Oooo...Joshua is sexy and smart.”

  “Don’t you start.”

  “I think only you don’t recognize how much you’ve contributed to the success of this business.”

  “I do, but this challenge will get Marshall to see me in a new way, plus I think we’ve gotten a little stuck with the business.”

  Trisha’s grin widened. “Should I assume that Joshua is going to help you with that?”

  “Yes, of course, but...no don’t look at me like that. We work together. This is purely business. I still feel guilty that I was about to fire him and didn’t know he’d had a baby. This project is important for both of us.”

  Her friend nodded. “More than you know.”

  Chapter 22

  She could almost make him believe in Santa Claus and his elves. As Joshua sat at the dining table finishing his dinner, he tried to keep his gaze from drifting to Karen’s living room where a seven foot Christmas tree stood decorated with gold and white ornaments and red ribbons; a lush green garland accented with pine cones and berries was strewn along the mantelpiece. He saw a string of tiny lights draping the window, a starburst shaped mirror, and a bowl of tiny candy canes sitting on the ledge. He couldn’t imagine an adult without children going through such lengths. But aside from the decorations and the faint scent of pine what really made him think of a magical elf that treated kids with toys were Karen’s smiles.

  They were also bright, welcoming and ready to appear. How could someone always be in a good mood? How was that possible?

 

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