Ashton Hill Fools

"Rheagan reached out to me about a week ago, wanting to see Noah. I knew you wouldn't approve without being there yourself, so I agreed to meet with her, myself, in the hopes that she wasn't silly enough to try and take him from school or anything like that," Melody said.

"Rheagan's a lot of things, mother, but she's not stupid, she wouldn't just take him without saying anything. The consequences would be far too great for her to risk her own personal comforts," he said.

"It doesn't matter, by the time I got there she was gone. I was right on time; but all I found was Quinn and another abandoned child," she said sadly. "Quinn seemed to be in a state of shock, so I offered her the use of our regular nanny for tonight and a place to stay. She has nothing for the baby, and no idea what she is going to do, and I thought Noah might like to know he had a sister before anything is decided about her future."

"You'd give her up?" Grayson asked, horrified at the idea of anyone giving up their child. Except this wasn't her child. It was a child none of them knew existed until today.

"Maybe, I don't know. I'm not in a position to look after a baby, I live out of a suitcase, I don't have a permanent home or anything remotely resembling what a child would need growing up. I've never changed a nappy or made a bottle of formula, I'm not a Suzie homemaker sort of girl!" she said in a rush of words, feeling frustrated and angry at being put in this position. The fact that she sat in the living room of Grayson Ryde, a man she'd admired for years, and had admitted that she was totally inept and out of her depth, was humiliating, especially as he seemed so at ease carrying April around using only one big strong arm.

"Where is Noah?" Grayson asked. "You said you had agreed to meet Rheagan with him." The panic that had gripped Grayson since his mother's initial phone call dissipated and he looked around wondering why he wasn't here.

"He's at school, I didn't actually take him with me," she said with a patient sigh. "I'm not stupid either, Darling," Melody smiled. "She looks like Noah did at that age," she indicated the baby in her son's arms.

Grayson looked down at the baby girl and had to admit his mother was right. There was no mistaking the resemblance to the mother of his child in the baby, nor in the woman who sat silently watching him from the sofa. The family traits were strong in the women of that family, and, as much as he didn't want to acknowledge it, he could feel a physical attraction for Quinn pull at his insides. From the moment he had set eyes on her his first thought was that he wanted her. He wanted her under him, on top of him, up against the nearest wall, his second thought which quickly followed was, 'No! Not again!'

Rheagan had been a stunning woman, but it had taken work, he knew, because he had paid for most of it. Quinn seemed effortlessly gorgeous. Her hair was a riot of blond and brown waves, and her eyes were the bright blue of an afternoon sky under perfectly arched eyebrows. 'This woman's beauty was all natural, and highly potent, dammit!' Grayson cursed and tried yet again to pull his eyes away from her. The logical and sane part of his brain screamed at him to send her away, to make sure that he protected not only himself but his son from anymore drama from Rheagan's family. The rest of him, led by a very neglected libido, wanted to rip her clothes off to look at what he could only assume was a most delectable body beneath them.

The silence stretched out as Grayson seemed lost in thought, and Quinn seemed to not know what to say, so she buried her face in his hands and tried to think about what she was going to do. She had to find Rheagan; that had to be the first thing she did. Well, after working out how to look after April. Oh God, how was she ever going to look after a baby? she almost cried at the enormity of the situation.

"I need to pick Noah up from school. Be nice to our guests," Melody patted Grayson's arm and looked at him seriously before lowering her voice. "Quinn is a victim here as well as that baby," she said seriously. "She needs our help."

"Yes, Mother," Grayson rolled his eyes and watched her go before turning back to Quinn. "Why don't you come into the kitchen, I'll make you a drink and you can tell me what happened."

"It's probably easier if I show you," Quinn stood and bent down to retrieve the letter from the baby bag beneath the stroller.

"How is she? Rheagan, I mean?" he asked as he jostled baby April, trying to distract himself from the thoughts he was starting to have about Quinn. Grayson watched her easy grace as she moved, taking in her attractiveness and the flex of the muscles in her legs as she squatted beside the stroller to retrieve whatever she wanted to show him.

"She wasn't there," Quinn said in a tired voice. "The waitress had seen her come in and go to the bathroom, but when we looked for her, she wasn't there. I thought the couple at the next table belonged to the baby until they left and I realised what had happened and began looking for her. If she'd changed her mind about meeting me, I didn't care, I was used to that, but to leave me with a baby!" She got to her feet and held out the letter Rheagan had left with the baby to Grayson.

He took it from her and walked back toward the kitchen, needing to put some distance between himself and Quinn. He read the letter carefully, furious that Rheagan could be so reckless with other people's lives. She was right about one thing, he did value family above all else, and this little girl was his son's half-sister.

"Coffee?" he asked.

"Tea?" she inquired hopefully.

"I can do that," he stepped forward and handed her the baby so he could make the drinks. He noted that she held the little girl nervously, as if she thought the baby might be fragile and break in her arms. She obviously had no experience with children. He understood now why his meddling mother had offered her help, and he wondered where the nanny was if Melody had gone to pick up Noah.

Quinn sat and watched Grayson from the kitchen table. The house was cosy and warm and not at all what she had expected from the wealthy businessman. He looked much the same as the last time she had seen him, tall, with broad shoulders and a stocky build that made him seem even more imposing than his formidable reputation would lead someone to believe. He was a good and kind man to those who knew him well, and even her lying, excuse making sister had acknowledged that fact in her letter. She sat the baby on her lap and tried to think of something to say to fill the silence, but her mind kept circling back to the fact that she had no idea what she was doing. Not with the baby; and not in this house with the handsome Grayson Ryde that made her think anything but maternal things.

"So what do you think you'll do?" he asked casually, hating the idea that she would consider giving up the child.

"I think I need to find Rheagan before I make any decisions," Quinn said carefully. She'd already admitted her lack of child-rearing ability, there was no point in belabouring the fact.

"I have a private investigator who found her once before. I'll get him to start looking. She can't have gone far in a couple of hours. If we're lucky she'll still be in town when he finds her," Grayson said, taking charge.

"When did this become a joint effort? I am quite capable of hiring an investigator. I'm not totally useless!" she said defensively, feeling way out of her depth, despite her words.

"This became a joint effort when you accepted my mother's invitation to come here and let us help you. Even Rheagan suggested you come to see me if you needed help. It's pretty obvious you need that help," he said pointedly. "Besides, my man has found her before and knows who and what to look for where Rheagan is concerned."

"Fine, but I want to meet with him, and I'll pay his fee!" she said belligerently, feeling like he was criticising her.

"Great, I'll get him over here this afternoon. The sooner we find Rheagan, the sooner we can all move on with our lives," he said abruptly, not understanding why she seemed angry with him. He's been nothing but charming, despite the fact that all he wanted to do was help her out her of the blouse she wore and discover the shape of her breasts, as well as the rest of her.

"Great," she echoed, and immediately felt bad, as the baby began to fuss on her lap, picking up on her frazzled nerves.

"Here, let me," he offered, putting a mug of tea on the table in front of her and holding out his hands.

"I'm quite capable, thank you," she said, coming to her feet and holding the little girl close as she rocked with her in her arms.

"Suit yourself," he leaned back against the kitchen island and picked up his phone to call the investigator.

Quinn settled April and sat back down to sip her tea and once again study the man whose house she sat in. He was arrogant and demanding, taking control of the situation, despite the fact that she was a grown woman who was more than capable of coping with this latest speed bump in her life. She was an accomplished correspondent for a major network, she had talked to world leaders and chiefs of hostile peoples, she could handle one small, sweet natured little girl.

She was about to tell Grayson as much when he finally ended his phone conversation with the investigator, but had to bite her tongue as the front door opened noisily and the sound of running feet echoed down the hallway.

"Dad! You're home early!" Noah said, practically slamming into Grayson's legs and smiling widely as he was lifted into the air to be hugged tightly against his father's chest.

"I am," he grinned as his son returned the hug, melting against his body. "I couldn't wait to hear all about your day."

"Well, first we had to practise writing our names," he pulled a face at his father. "My friend, Sebastian, thinks it's unfair that my name only has four letters and his has too many to count, but I don't, I think it's great! Then we made dinosaurs. Billy made Jamie cry. I fell down and scraped my knee, but I didn't even cry," Noah said proudly.

"I'd love to see your dinosaur, buddy. Where is it? Who is Billy, and why did he make Jamie cry? And I am very glad your knee is okay. As for your name, you just got lucky," he chuckled, and Noah wriggled out of his father's arms back to the floor to look for his dinosaur and turned, seeing Quinn and the baby on her lap, and looked at her curiously.

"Who are you?" he asked, forgetting his dinosaur momentarily.

"Noah, this is your Aunty Quinn. She is going to stay with us tonight," Grayson introduced his son.

"Pleased to meet you," Noah said formally, sticking out a small hand in her direction.

"I'm very pleased to see you again," she smiled at the little boy. "I met you when you were a lot smaller, You're father must be feeding you something good for you to have grown so much since I saw you last. You will be as tall as him soon!"

"I'm almost five, and I am starting real school soon, aren't I, Dad," Noah brought his father into the conversation, Grayson nodding in agreement.

"I see, that must be why you have to practise writing your name. Teachers like to make you write your name on everything at school," she said, being taken in by the little boy's enthusiasm.

"What's your baby's name?" he asked.

"This is April," she smiled.

"That's a girl's name!" Noah protested.

"April is a little girl," Quinn laughed lightly.

"Oh," Noah said, obviously disappointed in that information. "Didn't you want a little boy?" he asked curiously.

"Unfortunately, I wasn't asked what I wanted when April arrived," she said sadly.

"Maybe you could take her back and exchange her. Boys are the best, aren't they, Grandma," he appealed to Melody.

"Yes, but little girls are lovely too, just in a different way," Melody smiled indulgently. "I'm sure April and your Aunty Quinn are very happy to be girls, just like Grandma and Nanny Jo."

"I'm Jo, may I?" the nanny asked, holding her hands out for the little girl. "How old is she?" Jo asked, lifting her up and smiling. "It'll be nice to have a baby in the nursery again. This guy is getting so big now!"

"Honestly, I have no idea," Quinn admitted. "How am I supposed to know any of that or anything about this child?" she put her hands over her face again and squeezed her eyes shut.

"We'll work it out," Melody said softly. "Jo, why don't you take April and Quinn up to the nursery, and I'll get the spare room ready. Grayson can get Noah his snack this afternoon."

Once again Quinn let herself be bundled up by the powerhouse that was Melody Ryde and be taken to the nursery where they searched through the large bag from the pram. The documentation was all there at the bottom of the bag, including a birth certificate and immunisation card. The birth certificate listed the father as unknown, not that it should surprise Quinn, but she had hoped that if she couldn't find Rheagan the father might have wanted his daughter, just as Grayson had wanted his son. Another door closed on her, and once again she felt out of her depth.

"Today is April's birthday, she's one," Quinn sighed. "She's a little April Fool, poor thing."

*****

A door slammed, booming through the upper corridor of the old house, and Quinn screamed. Her hands flew up to cover her head and she dove to the side, covering her ears and gasping for breath, her eyes squeezed shut as she mumbled to herself. It only took a few moments for her to gain control of herself, but it was a few moments too long, and she had to face the worried looks of the two men in the room as she sat up and pulled herself together.

"I'm sorry," she immediately apologised, realising she couldn't brush this off easily, but that she needed to try, not just for her own sake, but for April. Who wanted a nutcase with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder looking after an infant? "The boom, was it a door slamming?" she asked. "Whatever it was gave me such a big fright, I'm so sorry."

Grayson had moved immediately to sit beside her on the couch while the other man seemed to study her from where he sat on the other side of the coffee table. Roland Chapman was a private investigator, and he tilted his head as he considered his next words to her.

"The PTSD is from the car bomb incident?" Roland asked.

"Yes," she said with a sigh. "It's getting better though, that sort of thing rarely happens now." She said, taking a deep breath and straightening her shoulders. "How did you know?"

"I saw the news reports at the time. I know who you are, Miss Thomas," he said without pulling any punches. "You were lucky to walk away from that café, I'm surprised you aren't still recovering and recuperating from your injuries in a hospital somewhere. I understand they were quite extensive."

"I'm fine," she gave what she hoped was a confident smile. "Just a little jumpy now and then, and this has been a bit of a stressful day. The truth is that I was coming home to Ashton Hill to relax and recover and finally sort out my mother's estate and see if the current tenants were interested in buying her cottage, when Rheagan dumped her responsibilities on me. I hadn't even booked a place to stay yet when all of this happened." She spread her hands. "I need you to find her, please, Mr. Chapman."

"Melody told me you were staying here, at Ryders Ridge." Roland looked at Grayson and then back at Quinn.

"For tonight, but I will have to find somewhere else tomorrow and work out what to do with April, so the sooner you find her mother, the better," Quinn urged.

"Wait, you're that reporter! The one who got blown up in the café while interviewing insurgents?" Grayson asked incredulously. When Rheagan had talked about her sister, she had said she was working for a small local newspaper on puff pieces. Rheagan had only ever spoken disparagingly of her sister; it was a surprise, he realised now, that she had left her daughter with Quinn.

"So much for my fifteen minutes of fame," Quinn laughed. "That's one of the reasons I came home to rest. No one here would recognise me as that reporter or believe me if I told them."

"I believe you," Roland shrugged. "No one would blame you for being more than a little rattled after what you went through."

"What I went through?" she asked.

"It was pretty well documented, plus, a friend of mine was on the team that brought you home after the incident. He said you were pretty messed up," Roland said in his straight-forward way.

"No, by the time I made it back here I was well on the way to recovery," she lied. "Mostly it was all just cuts and bruises."

Grayson said nothing as he listened to Roland and Quinn talk. For Roland to say she was pretty messed up meant it was probably far worse than she would ever let on. No wonder she was cowering on the couch because of the echoing boom of a door slamming upstairs. At the moment he had wanted to gather her in his arms and protect her, but he had the feeling that was the last thing she would want. She seemed to value her independence more than the comfort of family, from what he knew. He considered his source of information about Quinn Thomas and realised that it wasn't the most reliable. He had to stop thinking about how much he wanted her and remember who she was. The last thing he needed was another manipulative woman like Rheagan turning his life upside down.

"So, about Rheagan," Grayson interrupted the conversation. "Did you find anything in the baby bag that could be helpful?" he asked Quinn.

"Birth certificate, no father listed, but she was born not too far away one year ago today. There's an immunisation record, but that's about all, aside of a few photos," she spread them out on the table.

"Do you mind if I take copies of these?" he asked, picking up a couple of photos.

"Not at all, take copies of whatever you need if you think it will help," she said. "Look, I haven't seen Rheagan for two years, it was tense at the time, and we parted on bad terms. I couldn't even tell you what she looked like now."

"Your last meeting was tense, and yet she left you her baby?" Roland quizzed her.

"My mother's funeral, and once again I had to do everything while she floated in and took all the credit and ignored her son," she cut off that thought, not daring to look at Grayson. "We had a fight about that, and a few other things. She left the next day. At the time she said she was living in the UAE, but she could have been living down the road, for all I knew."

Grayson frowned hearing her say she has fought with Rheagan over her treatment of Noah. He'd met Quinn only that one time, at the funeral, and she had been poised, unemotional and businesslike, her hair pulled back and knotted severely and her dress business-like. What he remembered from the brief meeting didn't gel with the woman sitting beside him now. She obviously cared about Noah though, he could tell from watching them together earlier.

He needed Roland to find Rheagan so he could move Quinn along. He'd promised his mother he would be helpful, but she was a pure temptation to him. Being attracted to his crazy ex's sister was a complication he didn't need in his life, no matter how much his body and the irrational, illogical part of his mind told him otherwise. He needed his safe, boring life where he could bring up Noah without any drama.

Roland stayed another half hour and then left, promising to stay in contact and let them know if he found anything of value in his search. Grayson walked him to the door, and Quinn held back a little, they were friends, and she had said all she needed to the man. She wanted to speak to Grayson though, so she waiting before heading back to the nursery to check on April.

"I'm sorry about this, I never meant to impose," she began as he came back into the room. "I was just in a state of shock when your mother swooped in to fix things. I promise I won't abuse your hospitality."