Chapter Four
Penelope
I stood there waiting, with Camden's car seat clutched in my hand like it was a lifeline. It was a brisk fall day, but there was sweat dripping down my face. Why was I doing this? After not speaking to Harrison for a year, I was just going to show up here? What the hell did I expect? That he would take Camden and I in and protect us? This whole thing was entirely crazy. But it wasn’t for me, it was for Camden’s safety. I would do anything for my baby. I raised my shaky hand and pressed the doorbell and waited. It only took a moment before Harrison's face appeared behind the glass door. He didn’t look any different. Same messy hair, same beautiful body that immediately turned me on. Same gray eyes that pulled me into him so quickly I could hardly breathe. But as my eyes settled on his, I realized he had a very confused look, and every right to look that way.
“Penelope?”
I smiled at him feebly. “We need to talk.”
He looked down at the car seat I was holding and his eyes grew wide. Clearly he assessed the situation pretty quickly. I shouldn’t have expected any less from a detective. He opened the door and I stepped in. “It's been a long time. How have you been?” he asked anxiously.
“Busy.” I held up the car seat. “You have somewhere I can set him down? He's sleeping.”
He nodded and extended his hand. I followed his direction, walking into the kitchen. I put Camden down on the floor and sat down at the table. My hands were shaking. I had to get this out. I needed to get help.
“How have you been?”
He stood next to the refrigerator with his arms crossed. He was directly between me and the car seat. The baby, his baby. “Fine. Just a little bit crazy.”
“Yeah. I saw. They're talking about it all over the news. You’ve had twenty unsolved cases in the past couple months? That mustn’t make you very happy.”
“No,” he said roughly. “Is that why you're here?”
“No, it's not.”
“Then tell me what all this is about.”
I didn’t respond right away. I looked at my hands.
He continued. “I mean you just left that morning, you didn't even say goodbye.”
“I know, and I've thought about the morning since then…”
“So have I.”
He thought about me? That wasn't something I was expecting him to say. He seemed so standoffish, like it was just a simple one night stand. I was surprised he even remembered my name.
“So I think I need to start at the beginning. Can you sit down? You're making me nervous.”
He pulled out a chair from the kitchen table and sat across from me. As soon as he sat down he looked tense, which didn’t help my nerves. He folded his arms again like he was assessing me. He had to know what I wanted. But I couldn't blame him. I just showed up on his doorstep after a year of not speaking to him, with a baby. If he only knew that I also had a bag in my car and no place to sleep tonight. That was going to make this conversation extra interesting.
“So I need to tell you about Camden.” I sighed heavily. I knew that once I started, the story would just come out in a rush of words and I wouldn’t be able to stop. But maybe that was the easiest way to do this, just like ripping off a Band-Aid. “The little baby that I have in this car seat is yours.” I paused for a moment, letting it sink in. Harrison's face remained unchanged. All those years of interrogation practice had really hardened him. Not a flicker of emotion crossed his eyes. I was a little impressed. “And up until about three days ago, we were making it. I was doing extra time at the diner, picking up actual work wherever I could. There's this little old lady who was taking care of him in my apartment building. She was amazing. Then three days ago, everything changed. I was at work and this guy in a suit came in.” Suddenly his eyes tensed. So maybe him having a baby wasn't as big of a deal as a guy in a suit? Or maybe he knew what was coming. I didn't know what was worse.
“He said that he was looking for me. But then I realized he wasn’t actually interested in me—he wanted Camden. He told me that there’s this place that we should go and they would pay for us to stay there, and it seemed like this great opportunity. But I should have known better. He gave me this really bad vibe, like he wanted more then he was letting on. But then he mentioned why. Do you think that maybe you should've mentioned about you being a shifter?”
Now his whole body tensed.
“I thought you knew.”
“No, I didn't. So you know what that means then. Camden's also part shifter. But apparently, the whole human-shifter relationship really gets some people going. He asked me all these questions about Camden, and who his father was. But I wouldn’t tell him anything. I couldn’t.”
It had only taken me a few minutes to figure out what the man in the suit truly wanted. And it terrified me. “They want to do tests on him, Harrison! They want to take my baby and hurt him. So I did the only thing I thought to do. I ran. I slipped out the back door and went to get Camden. I left my apartment, and now I have nowhere to go. And I didn't know where else to turn to, and I know that that's not fair and that I didn't tell you and I should have, but here I am. I need some type of support system. And you're the only shifter I know. So here I am. Please help me.” It came out in a rush of words and I realized I had been holding my breath. What if he didn’t take us in? What had I done?
I looked deep into his eyes, and for a moment, it was hard not to want to fall into his arms once again. His face softened. He knew I was telling the truth.
“You sure this guy didn't follow you? Tap your phone, setup surveillance on you?”
I shrugged. “I'm trying to take care of a two month old, who I just found out is part shifter, so I haven't really been paying attention to my surroundings very much. Besides, it took a lot just to find you. And clearly, they already knew that you were tied to us. How did they know that, Harrison? How do they know anything about Camden?”
He just sat there looking confused. I realized he wasn't sure either.
“The murders you've been seeing on TV? They’re not random. The guys at the precinct and I’ve kind of come to the conclusion that he’s killing shifters. And the fact that someone approached you about testing only confirms that. Some type of organization is going after my kind. And when it comes to my kind? I really thought you knew. I thought it's why you didn't stay.”
“Why I didn't stay? I didn't stay because I didn't think you wanted me to. I thought it was a one night stand. I wasn't going to become one of those clingy girls that hung around.”
“You weren't clingy. I wanted you to stay around.”
I sucked in a breath. He had wanted me to stay. He had wanted me.
“Well, I guess here's our second chance. So what the hell are we going to do with it?”
He shook his head as his mouth dropped open a little bit, clearly taking it all in. “Well, for starters, you’re obviously going to move in here, so I can keep an eye on you and… what did you say his name was?”
“Camden. And don't ask me why. I know it's a gross city name, but it is what it is.”
“No.” He smiled. “I like it. I like it a lot. So he’s two months old?”
“Yeah. Almost to the day. He's a joy. He's healthy and a really quiet, calm baby. I lucked out big time.”
He looked down at the little infant car seat. “Can I see him? Can I hold him?”
My heart about exploded out of my chest. I felt like I was going to melt into a puddle right there and then. “Of course you can. You’re his dad.”
His head popped up on the word dad. “Dad. I never thought I'd hear that.”
“Get ready to hear it a lot. Because you just went from being one of Seattle's most eligible bachelors to having an instant family.”
I thought he would look more jarred, like that would bother him more than it did. But instead he looked happy, content that we were there. Maybe Harrison had been feeling lonelier than I realized, or maybe I was just so desperate to make this work I was being overly optimistic. Either way, I should've given him the benefit of the doubt earlier.
We were here now. And that was what was most important: all of us.