Page 5 of Echoes of Danger

But I knew then, as I know now, this baby wasn’t my late husband’s. He died serving our country, and I hadn’t seen him for several months prior to his death.

But still, I took the used condom and had it tested against the baby’s DNA when the time was right. The results will be in this letter. But they leave no room for doubt. This little girl is yours.

I looked for you, and it wasn’t hard to find you. You mentioned being part of a biker club and working in security. It didn’t take long to put the pieces together. But I kept this news to myself, thinking maybe this baby was what I needed to pull myself out of the darkness. I was selfish. I see that now.

You seem like a good man, Jacob. You’ll make a great father. But me? I’ll make a terrible mother. Steve was my soulmate. We were married for ten years, and we chose not to have children.We dreamed of adopting someday, but we wanted to wait until we were ready.

She was born yesterday. Tomorrow, they’re sending us home. But for me, home is no longer on this earth. My home is with Steve, and I want so desperately to be there.

I have included my medical records and the DNA results in case you need it for your daughter. She was born a healthy little girl with no issues. She’s beautiful.

The staff said I couldn’t leave the hospital without filling out the birth certificate. I didn’t want to name her because I didn’t feel like it was my place. She may have my DNA, but she isn’t really my daughter. However, and I know this sounds creepy, but when I researched you, I found out about your sister. The one who was killed and you were wrongly imprisoned for. Her name was Jessica Adair, right?

So, that’s the name I chose: Jessica Adair Reynolds. I think you can change it if you want. I don’t mind.

I don’t have a lot of money, just a few grand, but it’s yours if you want it.

Well, that’s everything. I don’t know if meeting face to face to give her to you is a good idea, so I plan to take her to the firehouse in a few days and place her in that new baby box they've added.

Don’t bother coming to look for me. I’m going home and won’t be here to find.

Take good care of Jessica. Even though I don’t love her like a mother should, I still care for her deeply. Raise her right, protect her, and love her. Find someone who can love you both the way my Steve loved me.

I would say sorry, but I think everything will work out how it should.

Goodbye, Jacob Reynolds.

~ Jeanna Cornwell.

I do remember Jeanna. I could tell she was out of her head the entire night we were together. I just assumed she was high. Instead, she was just lost.

I get it. Fuck, do I get it. I felt the same way when my sister’s boyfriend killed her. I was arrested and sent to prison for three months before they found enough proof to clear my name. They knew who killed her but couldn’t find him.

Now, they never will. Taylor and I made sure of it with a hell of a lot of help from King.

The doorbell rings, snapping me from my head, and I curse. I forgot to disable that damn thing. Every time it rings, the baby wakes up.

I check the monitor and sigh with relief when I see Jessica is still sound asleep.

With one final sigh, I open the door and nearly fall on my ass.

“I can’t hire you,” I say. “Sorry, have a good day.”

“Wait.”

But I slam the door and run a shaky hand through my hair.

Why the hell are my hands shaking?

Shaking my head, I open the door and say, “Don’t move. I’ll be right back,” before slamming the door again in her face.

What’s going on?

I grab my phone and call Taylor.

“Everything okay?”

“I can’t breathe,” I say, my voice tight. “I can’t fucking see.”