At Hidden Falls (Angel's Bay Novel) Read Online Free PDF Page A

term.
    “She’ll stay for now. We’ll see how it goes. There’s still the unresolved issue of paternity, but one thing at a time.” She glanced down at her watch. “I should get home. My mother has been with Annie and the baby all day, and none of us got much sleep last night. That seven-pound bundle of joy can really cry. Annie is afraid to breastfeed, thinking she’ll get even more attached, so we all took turns with the bottle. Her baby is picking up on her indecision.”
    “Sounds like you have your hands full.”
    “As do you,” she said with a smile. “It’s nice to meet someone from your family. Maybe I can get Isabella to tell me some of your secrets.”
    And maybe he’d made a mistake putting the two of them together, but it was too late now. “I’ve already told you my secrets,” he said lightly.
    “I’ve barely scratched the surface. But I’m not done trying,” she teased.
    It was the perfect opportunity to ask her out. But while that question had been hovering on his lips for the past few days, he’d held it back. He wasn’t officially divorced yet. Nor was he quite ready to get involved with another woman, and Charlotte wasn’t just any woman. She was already someone he cared about. He wasn’t ready to dive into something deep and intense, but with her, he didn’t think it could be any other way.
    Or maybe he was a coward. Because if he did ask her out, he really didn’t want her to say no, and he wasn’t completely convinced that he’d get a yes. She might be willing to flirt, but he wasn’t so sure about her taking a bigger step forward.
    Charlotte’s cell phone began to vibrate. “This is my mother. Hang on a sec, will you?” She moved a few steps down the hall into a quiet alcove.
    He didn’t want to intrude on her call, but when she said, “What do you mean she’s gone?” he walked down the hall to join her.
    “I’ve got to get home,” Charlotte said, ending the call.
    “Something wrong?”
    “Annie went out for a walk hours ago and never came back. The baby was napping, and my mother had a friend over, so she didn’t realize until just now that Annie hadn’t returned. I can’t imagine where she could be.” Charlotte glanced down at her watch. “It’s after eight.”
    “Maybe she’s talking to the father,” he suggested. The identity of the baby’s father was still a mystery to everyone but Annie. “She needs to get his release to give the baby up.”
    “I suppose, but she’s had nine months to talk to him. You’re probably right, though. She doesn’t really have any other friends, so he seems the likely choice. But still, to stay away so long when she just got out of the hospital and had a baby . . . I don’t have a good feeling about this.”
    He didn’t, either. “There’s another scenario to consider.”
    “I don’t want to believe she’s run away,” Charlotte said quickly, shaking her head.
    “She’s been under a lot of pressure. It might have gotten to her.”
    “She wouldn’t leave her baby behind. She loves him.”
    “She’s also exhausted and confused.”
    “And her hormones are running rampant,” Charlotte added. “I hope you’re wrong.”
    “Call me when you find out more. I’ll help any way I can.”
    “You have a dog,” Isabella said in amazement as she stepped into Joe’s living room, and a large golden retriever jumped up and smothered her with kisses. “And he’s
really
friendly.”
    Joe grabbed his collar. “Sorry about that. Down, Rufus.”
    The dog gave an eager bark in reply.
    “He belonged to Uncle Carlos,” Joe explained. “The neighbors took him for a while, but once I moved in, he dug his way back into the yard and hasn’t left since. He’ll settle down in a second. He always gets excited when I come home. Don’t you, boy?” he added as he scratched behind the dog’s ears.
    “I feel better knowing you’re not coming home to a quiet, lonely house,” she said.
    “Rufus is good company. Man’s