Page 79 of Lucky In Love

Quinn threw a lazy salute to Jackson. “Okay, I will. Let her know I can’t be a mom to Ciara. I don’t want her even going there.”

“Will do,” Jackson said.

He and Doc left the room and immediately exited the club, both slipping their sunglasses on to shield their eyes from the bright sunlight. Once inside the car, Jackson called Maeve. He had the phone on speaker. He and Doc gave her a complete rundown regarding the meeting they’d just had.

“So, she’s the same old Quinn,” Maeve said after she’d listened to their narrative of the encounter they’d had with her sister. Neither man could mistake the disappointment in her voice.

“We’ve got you covered, Maeve. Angel will take off work the day of your surgery and be at the hospital with you,” Jackson said.

“And we’ll keep Ciara at our house as long as needed for you to recover,” Doc added. “Elizabeth said you brought Ciara over this morning, and thinks she’ll do great with us.”

“Thank you both so much,” Maeve said. “And of course Angel and Elizabeth, too. I truly don’t know what I’d do without all of you. I guess I’m not surprised that Quinn reacted the way she did. But I’d still like you to try to find Blain.”

“Maeve, Quinn didn’t seem so sure that Blain is Ciara’s father,” Jackson said. “She admitted to being with other men during that time.”

“I don’t remember it that way. She really wanted to hold on to Blain. I’m not so sure she would have been with anyone else.”

Jackson and Doc exchanged frustrated glances. “We’ll keep looking for him,” Jackson said. When he ended the call, he glanced at Doc again. “Thoughts?”

Doc shook his head. “I’m not sure what good can come from finding him, for Maeve, Ciara, or him.”

Chapter 4

Delta

Maeve stared at her phone after saying goodbye and thank you to Jackson and Doc, waiting for Quinn to call. Was she really ready for this call? Especially knowing that Quinn had already said that she wouldn’t ever take care of Ciara, even if the surgery went poorly for her. How could Quinn say she’d rather Ciara be placed into the foster care system than take care of her? Maeve just couldn’t fathom it. Of course, Quinn didn’t know Ciara. Didn’t know how great she was.

The ringing of the phone startled Maeve. It was an unknown number, which she normally wouldn’t answer. But she assumed it was Quinn. She calmed her thoughts, along with her suddenly racing heartbeat, and then tapped the accept button and brought the phone to her ear. “Hello, this is Maeve.”

There was a pause before a voice spoke.

“It’s Quinn.”

Quinn’s voice sounded raspy, but it was still recognizable to Maeve.

“Hi. How are you?” Maeve asked.

“Better than you if those two men you hired were telling the truth.”

“Yes, they told you the truth.” It felt odd talking to her. There was so much she wanted to say, so much she wanted to ask her sister, but it was like she was talking to a total stranger. Where should she even start? “It’s nice to hear your voice.”

“Yours, too,” Quinn said. “Besides the aneurism thing, you’ve been okay?”

“Yes. Ciara and I are good. She’s an incredible little girl. She goes to preschool. She has friends, loves to wear dresses, and loves the color purple.” She heard a sigh from Quinn. “Quinn, this surgery is serious. The risks after it are serious.”

“I’m sorry, Maeve. At least they found you have it. I wish Dad could have known before his ruptured. I guess medical knowledge and diagnostic testing are better now than when Dad died.”

“Yeah,” Maeve agreed. “I’m really being careful to not let my blood pressure get elevated, and they have me on meds to prevent it, since that’s a risk until the surgery.”

“Why haven’t you scheduled it yet?” Quinn asked.

Maeve heard the judgement in her voice.

“I need to be sure Ciara will be provided for if I don’t make it or can’t take care of her after, but Jackson said you wanted me to know your life couldn’t accommodate Ciara.” Her voice trailed off, not knowing exactly how to phrase it or not sound judgmental in how she said it.

“Look, I guess I can be here with you if you want, when you have your surgery. I just can’t stay. And if anything happens, I can’t take Ciara with me. It wouldn’t be fair to her. My lifestyle is what it is, and it’s not a good one for any kid.”

“Okay, I get it,” Maeve said, even though she didn’t. “I’d like to see you while you’re in town. Would you like to meet Ciara?”