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“A dying nurse confessed to a possible baby swap just hours before her death. Martha Belle Hayes called for hospital administrators and revealed that she may have mistakenly switched baby girls who were born two years ago on September 8. According to family members, at the beginning of October two years ago, Hayes had abruptly quit her job at the hospital to find work in a clinic.
“Former coworkers say that she’d seemed troubled by something but never confided in anyone. Her mother said Hayes was unwilling to take this secret to her grave and this is why she finally unburdened herself. The state of South Carolina, in cooperation with the hospital, is investigating into how a switch could have taken place.”
Ryker DuGrandpre turned off the small, flat-screen television in the kitchen. The story of the baby switch had first broken last night and was the top story on all the news channels. Grateful that it had nothing to do with his family, Ryker glanced over at his two-year-old daughter, his heart filled with love. She sat at the table in a booster seat, patiently waiting for her breakfast.
Kai’s presence gave him such joy. She made him feel a bottomless peace and contentment whenever she was around. Despite the tragic circumstances surrounding her birth, his daughter was all that was good in his life.
“Daayee...” she said. “Eat...”
“I hear you. Would you like some applesauce, Kai?”
Her features became more animated as she answered, “Yessh.”
“Okay, little lady, but you have to eat your eggs,” Ryker said, placing a small plate in front of her.
She glanced down at the plate and then shook her head. “Nooo.”
“I thought you like scrambled eggs, princess. You eat them when Jordin makes them.”
Scrunching up her nose and pointing to the eggs, Kai responded, “Me no like it.”
Ryker chuckled. “Oh, is that your way of saying that you don’t like my cooking?”
She grinned at him, her infectious smile echoing through his veins, making his heart sing with delight.
“How about some toast then?” he suggested. “You can’t just eat applesauce.”
“Yessh.”
“I guess I’m going to have to get Jordin to show me how she makes scrambled eggs,” he muttered to himself.
Ryker smiled as he heard Kai singing to herself. She loved to sing. He stole a peek at her. Her tiny head was bobbing as she sang softly, and the warm brown spiral curls danced around her cinnamon-tinted face.
He took a piece of toast lathered in apple jelly over to her. “Here you go, sweetie.”
“Tank you,” Kai murmured.
Ryker planted a kiss on her forehead. “Eat up, Kai.”
After they finished breakfast, he cleaned her up and helped her slip on a sundress.
He checked his watch and then said, “It’s time to take you to day care. Hurry up and put on your shoes.”
Kai rushed off and returned a few minutes later with a pair of pink sandals.
“Don’t you want to wear the black ones?”
She shook her head no.
He decided it was better to let her win this round than to risk a tantrum at this point. He had to be in court this morning so he needed to get to his office early.
* * *
After dropping Kai off, Ryker drove the short distance to his office. He parked his SUV in his assigned space and hopped out. The May weather was already warming up; the sun was bright and the sky a calming hue of blue. He wanted to be anywhere but inside the law firm founded by his grandparents.
The DuGrandpres had been a solid fixture in Charleston since the 1960s, when his grandparents had relocated from New Orleans with their twin sons and opened the doors of the DuGrandpre Law Offices in the downtown business district.
His uncle, Etienne, and father, Jacques, had taken over the business after their parents retired. Etienne’s twin daughters, Jadin and Jordin, were attorneys, as were Ryker and his mother, Rochelle DuGrandpre. Ryker’s sister, Aubry, had chosen not to join the family business. A world-renowned chef in her own right, she owned a restaurant near the Charleston waterfront.
“Jordin, what are you doing here so early?” he asked his twenty-six-year-old cousin as he walked into the office’s kitchen. She normally did not come into the office until nine or ten.
“I needed to take care of some paperwork,” she responded while surveying the selections of coffees, teas and hot chocolate packets for the Keurig brewer. “Why are you here at this hour?”
“I have court this morning.”
“How’s my sweet pea?” Jordin asked as she selected a coffee pod and placed it in the machine. “Want one?”
“I’ll pass on the coffee, but Kai is great,” he said with a smile. “This morning she decided to wear pink sandals with the orange and yellow dress I picked out for her.”
Jordin laughed. “It’s fine for her to express herself, Ryker. She is her own kind of beautiful. I like that.”
“Oh, I need your recipe for making scrambled eggs. Kai doesn’t seem to like the way I cook them.”
“Cheese,” she responded. “Kai likes shredded cheese in her eggs. She won’t eat them if they’re plain.”
“I had no idea.” Ryker released a short sigh. “I feel like a terrible father when it comes to things like this. I should know my daughter’s likes and dislikes.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself.” Jordin retrieved her coffee and added sugar. “I only discovered it by accident. I eat mine with cheese and the weekend Kai stayed with me she had some and loved them.”
“I was surprised that she wanted scrambled eggs in the first place,” he said. “She saw me making some and asked me to share.”
“That seems to be her new word,” Jordin responded with a chuckle.
Ryker agreed. “I’m always reminding her that she has to share.”
Jordin took a sip of her coffee. “She’s growing up so fast.”
“I’m not ready for it,” he uttered. “That little girl is my life. I hate that her mother isn’t here to see our daughter.” Angela should be there to help him raise Kai. It had never been in the plans for him to be a single father.
Jordin gave his arm a gentle squeeze. “I know that this isn’t easy for you, but I want you to know that you’re doing a great job, Ryker.”
He awarded her with a smile. “Thanks, cousin.” They were words he wanted to hear but he wasn’t sure he deserved them. He was still a newbie when it came to fathering skills.
“You know I’m here if you ever need me. I love Kai like she’s my own.”
“That’s why I love you,” Ryker told her as he checked his watch. “I better get to work. Talk to you later.”
The only two ways Ryker had been able to deal with the death of his wife were lavishing all of his attention on his young daughter and staying busy as a managing partner in his family-owned law firm.
He strode with purpose into his corner office, anxious to start his day. It was going to be a long one.
Ryker sat down at his desk, turned on the computer and was soon engrossed in the notes for his upcoming court case. He studied the declarations of the witnesses, committing them to memory.
When he looked up at the wall clock, an hour had passed. Ryker had about another hour before he had to show up in court, so he relaxed.
*