was down and the dark night snuggled up against the windowpane. The chair beside the bed was empty. She turned to check on Duncan and gasped at the empty bassinet.
In place of the baby, someone had left a white box. A box just like the one she’d received before she’d left her job in Nashville.
Terror struck. Her stalker was back. And he’d taken her son.
Kaylee threw the covers back and lowered her feet to the slippers someone had so kindly placed next to her bed. With trembling fingers, she snatched the robe from the end of the bed and tossed it around her shoulders.
She rushed to the door and threw it open—only to come to a halt. “Mrs. Crawford?”
The dark-haired woman turned from speaking with two of the nurses—with Duncan in her arms. Kaylee pressed a hand to her pounding heart and walked over to her. “What are you doing?”
“Oh, I worried you, didn’t I? I’m so sorry.” She immediately handed the baby to Kaylee, who gathered him close and inhaled his sweet scent. Her knees trembled and tears gathered at the back of her throat.
But Duncan was safe. Her stalker was in custody. He hadn’t left the box. She could relax. The fact that she’d immediately reverted to her jumpy, nerve-racking, stalker days frustrated her. But that box...
The woman placed a hand on Kaylee’s shoulder and squeezed. “You were sleeping so soundly, I hated to wake you. Joshua had to leave. Clay called him and asked him to come in to discuss the attack on you in more detail. As he was leaving, he introduced your little man to me. Then he started to fuss, so I picked him up and fed him his bottle.”
“Oh. Well, thank you.” Kaylee had needed the sleep, definitely felt better because of it, but the last thing she wanted was for this woman to form an attachment to her child.
But at least Mrs. Crawford wouldn’t hurt him.
Kaylee chided herself for her initial fear. If anyone had taken her baby through the hospital doors, all kinds of alarms would have gone off.
She sighed. The day’s events had rattled her more than she wanted to admit. “I’m going back to my room. Thank you for stopping by.” She turned to go.
“Kaylee?”
Kaylee stopped. “Yes?”
“Could we talk for a few minutes?”
Mrs. Crawford was one of the last people she wanted to talk to, but she didn’t want to be rude, either. “Sure.”
Kaylee led the way into her room and sat on the bed.
The white box mocked her. Mrs. Crawford had probably left it there when she’d taken Duncan to feed him. The fact that the box was the same as the one from her stalker was just a coincidence. Kaylee’s back stiffened. She had no desire for gifts from the woman she considered a gold digger.
Mrs. Crawford took the chair her son had vacated sometime earlier. “We have a lot to talk about.”
Kaylee pulled her gaze from the box. “Like what?”
“Well, for one—” Mrs. Crawford said, “—I know you adored your mother and I could never take her place. I wouldn’t even try, but can we at least be friends?”
Taken aback, Kaylee sank her teeth into her bottom lower lip as she considered her response. “Mrs. Crawford, why did you agree to marry my father?” she finally asked.
Mrs. Crawford blinked. “First, please call me Olivia. And I agreed to marry your father because I love him.”
Kaylee gaped. “But why? He’s so totally unlovable.” Except for his money, Kaylee truly couldn’t see the draw to the man. “I’m his daughter, and I can hardly stand to be around him.” And yet, he’d allowed her to move back into her old room and have one of the spares for the baby. Of course, that was a temporary arrangement, as she planned to move out as soon as it was feasible—especially if he was truly getting married again—but he’d let her.
Olivia crossed her legs. “How long have you been gone from Wrangler’s Corner? It’s been a few years, yes?”
“Four years. I left shortly after high school because I couldn’t stand to be in the same town with him. He’s overbearing, controlling, manipulative—”
“Yes, he was all those things—and he readily admits it.”
Kaylee snapped her mouth shut. “Since when?” she finally managed.
“Since he got out of rehab and turned his life around.”
The woman kept throwing bombshells at her. “Rehab? What rehab?”
“That’s what I meant by we have a lot to talk about.”
“I’ve been home for two weeks and I haven’t seen any indication that he’s a changed man—except I haven’t seen any alcohol in the house.” And he hadn’t completely avoided her. But she hadn’t really given him the opportunity to prove that he’d changed. She simply left the room whenever he entered.
“That’s one indication then, isn’t it?”
Kaylee gave a grudging nod. “He came to the hospital and didn’t even hold Duncan.”
But she had to admit, her father hadn’t yelled at her once since she’d been back.
Olivia frowned. “It’s probably just because he’s unsure and nervous.”
Kaylee laughed. “He hasn’t been unsure or nervous a day in his life.”
“Not when he was drinking. The alcohol gave him some kind of a false bravado, but now...give him a chance, honey. Give us a chance. We just want to be here and love you and Duncan. Please?”
“I would actually love to believe that’s true, but—” She cleared her throat of the sudden lump that had formed. “I guess the best I can do is to try and reserve judgment. For now.”
Olivia nodded. “All right. We’ll take that. For now.” She reached into her bag and pulled out a small box. “It’s not much, but this is for Duncan.”
Kaylee frowned. Another gift? “But didn’t you leave that box?” She pointed to the one in Duncan’s bassinet.
Olivia frowned. “No. Why?”
A tremor ripped through Kaylee. She forced herself to breathe. “Okay, if you didn’t, then who did?”
“I don’t know, hon. It wasn’t there when I came in to see you—and when I picked up Duncan.”
Kaylee felt sick. Her first instinct had been right. Maybe.
“Do you want me to hold Duncan while you open it?” Olivia asked.
“No.” Kaylee forced a smile. “It’s all right. Someone must have popped in while I was sleeping and left it.” Natalie, maybe? Maybe, but the box reminded her of previous “gifts.” And Natalie had already given her a gift.
“All right,” Olivia said. “I’ll see you later.” She rose, walked to the door, gave Kaylee one last smile and slipped out.
Kaylee leaned her head back against the pillow and let a few tears slip out. What was she going to do? Olivia Crawford was a very nice woman. At least, that was the way she came across. So, she was either a very good actress or she sincerely meant every word she said.
Time would tell.
She swallowed and looked at the box again. Telling herself she was being silly, that one of her father’s friends or Natalie had left it, she held Duncan in the crook of her right arm and, using a fingernail on her left hand, lifted the lid to the pretty white box. She slipped it off and stared at the gift.
A dozen black roses stared back at her.