I held her close for a long while, running my fingers through her soft hair. Her features were relaxed and angelic. I knew, in that moment, that there was nothing evil about her. She could in no way be involved with Dean Moss.

Still, I wasn’t completely at ease. Regret was starting to settle in my heart. I thought about my late wife. What would she say about my actions? Guilt tightened around my chest, making it hard to breathe.

Through the baby monitor, I heard Frankie start to fuss. I grabbed it and turned down the volume so that it would not wake Lauren. She deserved to sleep.

Quickly, I put on my clothes and walked into the nursery. There, I found Frankie wiggling about, looking up at me with his bright blue eyes. At first, the color had roused my suspicion, but the doctor assured me it was common for babies to start off with blue eyes. He said they would most likely change when he became a little older.

But, even at three months, they still sparkled with their ocean hue.

I’d just have to be patient.

“What’s the matter, little buddy?” I asked him, gently picking him up. “Are you hungry, or do you need a diaper change? Both?” He didn’t respond, but he did manage to hit me in the nose with his tiny mittened hand. I laughed, kissing his nose. He giggled, this time hitting the side of my head. “Why do I get the feeling that you’re going to grow up to become a boxer? I’m going to have to start calling you mini Mike Tyson.”

As I spoke with my son, I changed his diaper, remembering all of the times I had done the same for Gina. It was strange, in a way. After Sabrina’s death, I’d assumed I would never have more children. After all, who would be able to replace my wife? And yet, I had just slept with a woman I barely knew – one who had carried my child for seven months without me even knowing she existed. It hurt my head to even think about it.

Gina crept into the room. “Daddy?” she called out.

I turned and looked at her. “Yes, sweetie?”

She didn’t respond. Instead, she crept forward, hands clutched around the crib railing, looking down at the baby.

“What do you think of your new baby brother?” I asked her.

She was quiet for a moment, thinking it over as she studied his face. Eventually, she looked up at me with a smile. “I like him. He’s cute. But, is he really my brother?”

I nodded.

“How?”

I bit my lip. Crap. I didn’t want to have this conversation with her right now. “Um… the stork?”

Gina looked at me, lips pressed together, hand on her hip. She didn’t believe me.

“Um…”

“It’s okay, daddy. I’m just happy that I have a brother!” She giggled. “Because now I’m a big sister, right?”

“That’s right, pumpkin. It’s a lot of responsibility. Do you think you’re up for it?”

“Yup!”

“Alright, so you don’t mind feeding the baby, then?” I asked, raising an eyebrow in question.

Her eyes widened. “You mean, I can help feed the baby?” “

“Of course. Go sit in the blue chair.”

With a giggle, she did as she was told.

“What have you been up to?” I asked, wondering how long Lauren and I had spent together. All notions of time had escaped me. I no longer knew if it was day or night.

“Coloring.”

“Sorry Daddy couldn’t color with you. Things have been busy with the baby, but it doesn’t mean that I love you any less.”

“I know,” she said, holding the bottle for her brother. “Is Lauren going to live with us all the time now? Is she going to be my mommy?”

Her question took me by surprise. I honestly didn’t know how to answer.

Even though Lauren had been living with us for the past three months, I had yet to make a solid decision. I kept putting it off, too scared to let go and too scared to hold on.

“I’m not sure. It’ll be up to her, I suppose.” The thought of her leaving, however, pained me. Even though I felt guilty about what we had done together, I didn’t want her to leave.

“I don’t want her to leave. I like her. She’s nice.”

I kissed the top of her head. “Don’t worry about it, pumpkin.”

She just nodded and focused all of her attention on feeding Frankie. Just then, the doorbell rang.

“That’s Uncle Cruz and Auntie Amelia. Do you think you can handle Frankie for a few minutes?”

“Yes!” she exclaimed, eager to take on the role of a responsible and capable older sister.

I smiled and jogged for the front door.

Cruz immediately pulled me into a hug, congratulating me. Amelia smiled, holding a casserole dish in her hands. Hunter hid behind their legs.

“So, where’s the little guy?”

“In the nursery, with Gina.”

I led them down the hall. As soon as Amelia saw the baby, she started to coo and make a fuss. Frankie giggled happily.

Relieved of her burden, Gina jumped down from the chair and started to tell Hunter all about her baby brother. She was rambling about a mile a minute, her voice filled with excitement and glee.

“So, when are you going to have one of your own? Or is taking care of your nephew enough for now?” I asked Cruz.

“Soon. We certainly tried during the honeymoon.”

I chuckled. “I can imagine. Those poor, poor cleaning women. I hope you gave them a good tip.”

“Of course I did. I very much appreciated the clean sheets every night.”

“Every night, for three months? Damn.”

Cruz smirked. “What can I say?” He puffed out his chest in a prideful manner.

I glanced at Amelia. “He’s not being serious, is he?”

She shrugged, grin playing on her lips. “Maybe, maybe not.”

“You guys are nuts… do you even have any nuts left?”

“Where’s Lauren?” Amelia asked, interrupting.

“Sleeping. She was exhausted.”

“So what do you make of her? Do you think she has anything to do with all of this?”

“I mean… it’s possible, but I don’t think it’s likely. She just doesn’t seem like the kind of person that would work for Dean. After three months, I think I would have figured it out. ”

“Looks can be deceiving. You have to admit that all of this is pretty suspicious.”

Cruz had a point.

“But don’t worry, we’ll get this all sorted out. Although you do have to come down to the office after dinner. I think Ned found something, and he wants to have a word with you.”

I groaned. “Are you really going to make me go to the office on your first day back?”?”

“Do you want to catch this bastard or not?”

I sighed. He was right. I had put this off for long enough. It was time to take him down once and for all. We were done hiding.