Katie set her purse down again. “Sorry ’bout that. I’m Miss Popular today.”

“You are that. Listen…I need access to the security tapes or files of the hotel for the days leading up to Savannah being left at your door. I think I know how she got up to your room and where she might have been hiding after she dropped Savannah off.”

“I’ll call and have them available. I looked at some of them the day after and didn’t see anything.”

“Were you looking for a woman carrying a baby?”

Savannah started to fuss in the infant carrier so Katie picked it up with her free hand and swayed her back and forth, calming her.

“Well, yeah.”

“If you were dumping a baby, would you walk in, set the car seat down, and then walk away?”

Katie cringed at the word dumping. Savannah wasn’t dumped. “No. I guess not.”

“Exactly. So, can you get me the files?”

“Yeah…I think so. I’ll call the hotel.”

“OK. The files should be digital so have them e-mail ’em to you and then you can forward them to me.”

“Sure.” She jotted down the information he asked for and put a note on top of her laptop. “Anything else?”

“Yeah…one thing. I met your brother yesterday. He wasn’t happy to see me.”

Katie stopped rocking Savannah and set her down before she dropped her. “My brother?”

“He was at your place. Seemed shocked you had a guy friend visiting. He bought that we were close, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s asked the staff here to look out for me and notify him when I’m around. I’m going to lay low here for a while.”

Jessie! So that explained her frantic call. But it wasn’t uncommon for Katie to have a lover around. Why would Jack start asking about Dean? Unless…

“Lay low. My brother is a direct link to my dad. And we don’t want him onto this…not yet.”

“Whatever you say.”

“That’s what I say…but, Patrick, we’re running out of time. The older Savannah gets, the harder it is to hide her. I need answers.”

“I know you do. And I’m on the edge of a breakthrough. Hang in there a little longer.”

“OK. Good luck.”

She bypassed the grocery store and drove directly to Dean’s. His modest home sat along the foothills and gave a view of the vast expanse of cities that sat below the San Bernardino Mountains, otherwise known as the Inland Empire.

After carefully unbuckling the car seat, Katie swung the diaper bag and her purse over her arm and marched her sleeping child up the steps of his home.

She rang the doorbell and attempted to calm herself before he opened the door.

He must have said something to Jack about them, or Jack wouldn’t be asking about Patrick and butting into her life. The last thing she needed now was her brother poking his nose where it didn’t belong.

Dean opened the door, saw her, and beamed a smile.

She frowned, cutting off his smile.

“What a nice surprise.”

“Shh, she’s asleep.” And he might not think seeing them was so nice once she let him know why she was there. Dean let them in out of the heat. Katie brushed past him, into the living room, and placed Savannah in the middle of the floor. She didn’t bother taking her out of the car seat for fear she’d wake.

Dean walked up behind her and whispered. “What’s wrong?”

She swung around, hushed him again, then marched out of the room, and out of earshot of the baby. Once she made it to the back of the house, she met Dean’s eyes with her hands on her hips. “You told my brother about us. Didn’t you?”

Dean blinked twice and kept his lips shut.

“Dammit, Dean.”

“I told him I wanted to see you…on a personal level.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m not sneaking around this time, Katie. If we’re going to give us a shot, and that means seeing each other outside the bedroom.”

“Did you stop and think about what I want? The last thing I need right now is my brother sticking his nose in my business. What if he comes around or finds out about Savannah? Did you think of that?” she said in a ragged whisper, keeping her voice low.

Dean’s jaw clenched and his arms crossed over his chest. “I didn’t know about Savannah when I spoke to Jack. I was only thinking of you and me.”

She hadn’t considered that. She turned away and stared out the glass doors to the backyard.

Dean moved behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. She tried to shrug out of them but he held tight. “What happened, Katie?”

“Jessie called Monica asking about us…you and me. She said Jack was worried about who I was spending time with. Jack hasn’t asked who I’ve been with for years. I knew something wasn’t right. Then Patrick called, said he ran into Jack at the hotel when he was looking for information on Savannah’s real mom. So Jack thinks I’m sleeping with Patrick while his best friend is trying to sleep with me. Great, huh?”

Dean slowly wrapped his arms around her and leaned his chin on the top of her head. “I can call Jack, tell him you’re only sleeping with me.”

She snorted out a small laugh and tried to find the humor. “It’s all becoming so complicated. I just want to find Savannah’s birth mom and make damn sure I can keep this little girl. Is that asking too much?”