Forlot: Thunder Will Come Down - Book Twenty-Seven

Chapter Nine

I instantly fell in love with the new baby and knew that she felt the same about me. How she badly wanted me to hold her. I picked her up like that I do with Tamara and rested her on my chest. I noticed that there were goosebumps on her skin and touched her legs and little hands. She was cold. My guess was that she had been outside for more than fifteen minutes, and that was scary to even think about.

The innocent girl pressed herself against me and cooed. That is why she was desperate for me to touch and hold her. The poor dear was cold and needed warmth. I massaged the parts of her that were not covered by clothing and kissed both of her cheeks. She glanced up at me and called me her mama again.

"Silly baby," I said. "I am not your mama. You must have me confused for another woman."

She did not care what I had to say. Probably because she could not understand a word that I said. I was her mama, and that was that. I motioned to the box and asked her why she was in there. She stayed silent and buried her face in my chest. I played with her hair strands and sighed.

"How am I going to locate your family if you do not give me at least a hint?" I said to her. "I cannot begin to imagine how worried and scared your parents are."

All of a sudden, the baby burst out crying. She grasped my dress with those hands of hers and kept repeating that she did not want me, Mama, to leave. I rocked her and attempted to reassure her that I would not leave her until she was safe and sound. She relaxed, but not by much. She was whimpering and telling me that she loved me.

"Me love Mama! Me. Love. Mama!"

"I appreciate that you love me, but I am not your mama. I can be the substitute until we find your real mama."

The baby girl gripped the end of her dress and rolled it up. I uttered a horrified gasp at what I was witnessing with my own eyes. Her chest and belly were covered with bruises. Some were purple, and others were red. If there were one or two bruises, I would buy that she accidentally fell. In my case, however, there were more than twenty - no, more than thirty - bruises. I was so heartbroken that I started to cry with her.

This adorable and innocent baby was psychically abused, and I was not going to stand for it. Someone in the family or who was close to the family was putting this girl through pain that she did not deserve. If her family was searching for her, they will find her safe and sound. Until then, Caleb and I would care for her as if she were our child. We would shower her with toys and feed her whatever she likes.

I gasped again. Oh, no. I had forgotten about Caleb! His heart must be breaking.

Holding onto the new baby, I zigzagged through the woods and was back to my starting point, the parking lot. The Prius was still there, and I rushed to it and poked my head in. I was relieved that Caleb was alright. He was lying back in the seat and sleeping. I quietly got back in the car, shut the door, and placed a hand on his shoulder and shook him gently.

"Caleb? Sweetheart, please wake up."

His eyes fluttered open, and he yawned. "C-Cindy?"

"Yes, it is me. And just so that you are not scared, I am not angry anymore. Sorry that I lashed out at you. It was wrong of me, and you suffered more than enough."

Caleb pushed up his glasses. "I accept your apology. I am sorry that I compared you to Ava. You are nothing like her."

I took his hand into mine. "You, Caleb Night, have nothing to be sorry for."

His eyes landed on the baby in my lap. "Oh my goooooooooosh! What is that thing?!"

"A baby girl who needs our help."

"Cindy, I can see that it is a baby girl. I am just wondering why you brought her into our car."

"What is the problem? You never react like this when Tamara is in the car."

He lowered his face to the baby and sniffed her. "Just as I thought. She smells stinky."

The cutie giggled and grabbed his nose.

"Hey. Could you pretty please release my nose?"

She did so and kissed his nose. "Dada."

"Awe!" I said. "She called you Dada."

Caleb blushed. "B-but I am not her daddy."

"You are now. This little sucker is coming home with us."

Caleb and I agreed to stop by the toy store that is next to my bookstore and get a couple toys for the new baby. I decided to wait until we were settled back at home to tell him that she had been abused. He was abused by Ava and Slapi, so it would hit him hard.

During the drive, the new baby was having a blast being in my husband's lap. She was rolling around and playing with his shirt and saying how much she loved her dada. At one point, she reached into his pocket and pulled out a chocolate bar. It was the snack that Caleb had planned on eating.

"Hey," he said as he pulled the car up to the toy store and put it in park. "That is my chocolate bar. I need it to take my medicine."

Her face saddened, and she rubbed her belly.

"Alright, alright. We can share it."

She cooed happily and hugged him. "Me love Dada."

"I bet that you say that to all the boys."

I shifted my head to see the toys on display - and saw her. Saw Destiny.