by Lori Wilde
“Hey!”
The fierce gaze that met his eyes brooked no argument. “Time’s a’wasting,” Colton said quietly. “There’s a scared little girl out there waiting for us to find her. I suggest you form a line with all these other nice people and focus on finding the girl.”
April was relieved when the deputy did as he was told, moving in beside Steven. But her relief didn’t last long.
“I heard about your fondness for naked dolls,” he told the teen. “How do we know you didn’t have something to do with the kid’s disappearance?”
The punch to the deputy’s gut seemed to come out of nowhere. In the next moment, he and the lanky teen were rolling in the dirt. Although Dugg clearly had the weight advantage, Steven’s surprise attack and anger overcame it. To the law enforcer’s obvious embarrassment, he was quickly pinned and straddled by the young streetfighter. He raised his arms to fend off the rain of blows.
Though they both knew the deputy deserved whatever was coming to him, Colton plucked Steven off him, and April helped Dugg to his feet. Shaking her off, the deputy brushed the dirt from his uniform that, prior to this, had been crisply starched.
The flat of April’s hand hit him against the side of the head, and Dugg immediately reached up to touch his throbbing temple. Although the beaning had been an automatic reaction, she recovered quickly and retrieved a bit of vegetation from his hair.
“Grass,” she offered by way of explanation.
“Don’t expect me to thank you,” he said, still rubbing the side of his head.
“If you say so much as one word in retaliation to Steven,” she warned, “I’ll, I’ll—” She looked at Colton to enlist his help.
“Tell the IRS he cheated on his taxes?” her partner suggested.
The little deputy clutched his chest. “You wouldn’t!”
“Come on,” said Colton, nudging them both toward the woods where the volunteer searchers had gone. “We have work to do.”
A couple of times, April thought they had found the child, but once it had only been a pile of dry leaves and the other time the rustling behind a tree came from two gray squirrels playing tag. And with each false alarm, Deputy Dugg had started to step forward to claim the rescue as his own.
April rolled her eyes as she imagined what was probably going through his head. Sheriffs Candidate Rescues Toddler from Certain Death. But she doubted that even a headline like that would help his campaign. Apparently, Maybelline agreed. Each time the deputy went near April, the yellow dog bared her teeth and growled at him.
They searched for almost an hour more. By then the wind moved in menacing gusts around them, pelting them with occasional large droplets of rain as thunder rumbled a warning in the distance.
April rubbed her bare arms and turned the collar up on her shirt. They were nearing the creek that cut across the back border of the campground, but still no sign of the little girl. April’s voice was hoarse from hollering Kim’s name, and her bare legs and arms were covered with scratches from sticks and thorns, but she wouldn’t give up. The first time she had seen the dark-haired, blue-eyed toddler, she’d fallen in love with her. She hated to think of that sweet little child alone, afraid, and crying for her mother.
Maybelline had lost interest shortly after they’d started their search, preferring to spook rabbits and quail out of their hiding spots. So much for that bright idea.
A shout sounded through the woods to the left of her. It was Colton, and he sounded excited. Heedless of the briars that snagged her ankles, April joined some of the others in running toward him.
A circle of searchers gathered around the tiny form stirring from her napping place beside a cluster of newly sprouted wildflowers. Colton knelt beside her, his voice low and calm to avoid startling her. “Hi, sweetheart. Did you have a nice nap?”
She nodded, obviously unaware of the commotion she had caused, and rubbed her eyes with a chubby fist. “I saw de Easter bunny,” she declared.
“Well, let’s go back to your campsite so you can tell your mama and daddy all about it.” Despite the increasing rain, Colton remained kneeling and casually held out a hand to her.
April’s heart swelled with pleasure. She couldn’t help being proud of her friend’s reassuring way with the child as he quickly and easily gained her trust.
Little Kimmy was reaching out to take his hand when Officer Dugg stepped away from the group of onlookers and snatched her up into his arms.
“We’d better get this kid out of here before lightning hits.”
Kim screwed her face up and popped her bottom lip out a split second before she bawled with a force and resonance that would have done any opera singer proud.
Colton stepped toward Dugg, then hesitated. April could see that he didn’t want to get into a tug-of-war over the child. She moved to his side and prepared to give the deputy a piece of her mind for scaring the child as he had. But as she passed Dugg, the toddler leaned toward her, holding out her arms and bawling even louder.
Dugg seemed even more confused than April by the child’s reaction. Rather than argue with the screaming child, he wordlessly handed her over to April.
Rain plastered the girl’s dark pageboy hair to her round face as treetops danced the hula in the wet breeze. But April didn’t notice any of that as Kimmy’s soft arms went around her neck, and the child snuggled against her.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. I won’t let anything happen to you.” April tucked her chin against the tiny shoulder and understood with heartbreaking clarity the deep-seated need that had been driving her to have a child of her own. All her protective urges surfaced, and she held the toddler tightly, as if afraid of losing her yet again.
Colton wrapped his shirt around Kimmy, who was now sucking her thumb, and walked with April back to the campsite. Mr. Kohlman met them halfway, having heard the shouts where he had been searching. Kimmy eagerly went to her joyous father, leaving an aching emptiness in April’s chest.
As if sensing her loss, Colton wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Grateful for the comforting gesture, April leaned against her friend, drawing from his ever-present strength. Rain trickled down through the crisp curls of his brown hair, and goose bumps flecked his tanned skin.
April looked up at him as they walked, a smile curling her lips. “Are you cold or just glad to see me?”
Colton grinned down at her and squeezed her shoulder. “A little of both, I guess.”
He tugged the limp brim of his hat. When rainwater funneled off onto April, he sheepishly took it off, baring his head to the steady patter.
“That was sweet the way Kimmy took to you,” he said.
Pushing the soggy strings of hair away from her face, she shook her head. “I must have reminded her of her mother. We look somewhat alike, you know.”
“Not really.” He grinned again as if he were enjoying a secret joke.
April didn’t even bother to ask. Instead, she blurted what she’d been wanting to tell him since her conversation with her own mother.
“I’m going to leave town, and I want you to buy out my half of the campground.”
He drew his thumb in a circle on her shoulder. “Look, I know you’re upset about the little girl getting lost, but this is the first time it’s happened in the six years we’ve owned this place. Don’t you think maybe you’re overreacting?”
“It has nothing to do with Kimmy. Well, I take that back. She made me see how much I want and need a baby of my own.” April stopped in her tracks and faced her partner, oblivious to the rain soaking them both. “I’ve held other people’s babies before, but this was somehow different. Did you see the way she held out her little arms to me? And the way she snuggled against me as though she trusted me to take care of her and make everything all right?”
April wrapped her arms around her waist, savoring the sweet memory of it.
“Holding and comforting that little girl made me see so clearly what I’ve been missing without a child of my own. Buddy
, I need to do something now.”
Colton turned away from her and started walking back toward the Kohlmans’ campsite, hesitating as she fell into step beside him.
“What about the campground? This was your baby. You’re the one who found it; you’re the one who negotiated the deal, and you’re the one who suggested I leave my job in Pennsylvania to become your partner. What am I supposed to do while you’re away getting yourself pregnant? And more importantly, how are you going to do it without your family finding out? Your mother will certainly have something to say about it.”
Colton reached up and kneaded the spot between his eyebrows.
“I’ll miss the campground, but right now a baby is more important to me,” April said softly. “But I know that whatever price you offer for my share of the business will be fair, and I’m willing to accept payment in monthly installments. It doesn’t have to be much … just enough to pay for an apartment and fertility treatments.”
His jaw clenched, signaling his displeasure with the whole situation, but April wouldn’t let his reaction stop her. This was too important to let a little disapproval stand in her way. Not even Colton’s disapproval.
“As for my mother,” she continued, “I’ll move out of town—maybe out of state—and let her think I eloped with somebody I met there. After the artificial insemination is successful, I’ll announce my pregnancy, then get a ‘divorce’ and move back home.”
He was persistent, just as she knew he would be. “Have you considered just telling your mother what you want to do? She may surprise you and be very supportive.”
She could tell even as he said the words that he didn’t believe them.
“It was bad enough that Stella got pregnant by accident.” She blew out a sigh. “It would kill my mother to know that her single daughter got pregnant on purpose.”
The rain was pouring now, but the sun surprised them by popping out from behind a cloud. Neither of them increased their pace. It wasn’t the first time they’d been caught in a sudden shower.
Colton reached out and took her hand in his. “I don’t want you to go away,” he confessed. “I need you here.”
April pressed his callused hand. “I’m sure you’ll be able to find someone to take my place.”
He shut his eyes. “Never.”
The patter of the rain against the leaves abruptly ended, filling the woods with an eerie silence in the moments before the birds and crickets resumed their chirping.
“Oh, come on. Now you’re the one who’s overreacting.”
He stopped, turning to face her fully, her hand still held captive in his. “What will it take to keep you here?”
“There’s really no point in discussing it, because my mind is—”
“I’ve got it,” he declared. “I have a solution that’ll suit both of our needs.”
“You do?”
“I’ll give you a baby!”
4
April tried to pull her hand from his grasp, but he held tight. “Look, if this is one of your daily date requests, it’s not very funny. I’m serious about this, and I need to know whether you’re interested in helping me. If not, just say so, and I’ll find another way to do it.”
“I am interested in helping you … that’s what friends are for. And I’m very serious about my offer.”
She was skeptical. Friends did help each other, but this seemed excessive, even for best buddies like themselves. “Having trouble getting a date for this weekend?” she teased.
Colton turned toward the office and resumed walking, letting their joined hands swing with each stride. “Could you accept my offer better if you thought I had an ulterior motive?”
She looked up at him and was suddenly, acutely aware of his bare chest. She had seen him shirtless before, but she’d always looked at him as one would a brother. Although he’d jokingly asked her for a date on a regular basis, she’d never taken him seriously. At least, she thought he’d been joking at the time. “It would be more believable,” she admitted.
“You want a baby. I want you to stay here and continue as my partner at the campground. This way both of us will be happy.”
“You always told me it’s not good to mix business and pleasure.”
“We’d be mixing business and business. Your business is to start a family. My business is to keep this campground running smoothly.”
“You scratch my back, and I scratch yours?”
He smiled and squeezed her hand. “Among other things.”
April’s feet grew roots. Patiently, as always, Colton stopped to wait for her. The problem was that he now faced her, and his naked chest was right at her eye level. She tried to ignore the breadth of his shoulders and the flatness of his stomach. Even more, she tried not to imagine the intimate activity he was suggesting they engage in to produce the baby she wanted.
“You’re not really serious about this.”
He tucked a finger under her chin and lifted it until her gaze met his own. Even more than staring at his chest, April found it difficult looking him in the eye. “I’m as serious as you are about wanting a baby,” he said.
Her breath caught in her throat. “That’s pretty serious.”
He nodded. There was no hint of mischief in his eyes, no quirking of his lip as when he tried to suppress a grin. He was serious.
She couldn’t ask for a better donor. Physically, he was in great shape. Lean, yet muscular. She couldn’t remember the last time he’d been sick.
He was smart, too. In just a few short years, he’d helped turn the campground around from the brink of bankruptcy to a thriving, growing business.
And with his expressive eyes, firm jawline, and well-defined facial features, there was no doubt he’d sire beautiful offspring.
This was crazy! She was thinking about him as if he were a stallion at stud. And, as with Daisy’s moment of indiscretion, there most certainly would be a high price to pay later.
She shook her head. “The reason I’m going away to have a baby,” she reminded him, “is to avoid the stigma that hung over Stella and Nicole. I want to raise my child in Bliss County, and the only way to do it in peace is to abide by tradition and get married.”
“Okay,” Colton said easily. “Then I’ll marry you. If you decide you don’t want to remain married after you conceive, we can get a friendly divorce.”
April patted her friend’s arm. “I’ve already ruined one friendship by marrying the guy, and I don’t believe in making the same mistake twice. As for divorce, I never want to go through that again, especially not with a baby involved.” Impulsively, she stood on tiptoe and kissed her friend’s cheek. “It was very sweet of you to make such a generous offer. You’re a good friend, Buddy.”
That was a close call. For a moment there, she had started to seriously consider his suggestion. She supposed it would be better for both of them—and their friendship—if she put a close to the conversation.
“So, then it’s a deal. You’ll buy out my share of the campground; I’ll leave town to get pregnant, and if all goes well, I could be back working with you within a year or two.”
“Tell you what, we don’t have to get married legally,” Colton persisted. She wasn’t sure, but it seemed as though a lightbulb had switched on over his head. Before she had time to consider its meaning, he spilled his idea. “If you’re worried about your family and the town gossips, we could put on a mock marriage with a phony preacher. Then, once you get pregnant, we can split up without the hassle of a legal divorce.”
His voice was too calm, too casual for the enormity of what he was suggesting. Although he watched for her reaction, he wouldn’t meet her eyes. April supposed he was trying not to let on how important the success of the campground was to him. In her concern about planning for a baby, she had failed to consider the harmful impact her leaving would have on their business. On Colton’s livelihood. It wouldn’t be fair of her to abandon him just as the campground was starting to turn a healthy profit. On
the other hand…
“It wouldn’t be fair of me to use a friend like that,” she said, dismissing the tempting thought.
He gave a cockeyed grin. “I’ve been used in worse ways.”
Turning away from her, he picked up a large rock from the dirt path and tossed it into the woods. “I suggest you make up your mind pretty quick. Your family reunion next month would be a great time for a wedding.”
The more April thought about it, the more she supposed Colton’s crazy plan could work. In the past couple of days, since he’d first suggested the unorthodox arrangement, she could think of little else. She’d finally come to the conclusion that since she was going through the insemination procedure anyway, it might as well be with a donor whose background she knew. And in the meantime, the pretense of marriage to Colton would be believable and acceptable to her old-fashioned family and neighbors.
April propped an elbow against the store counter and tipped the doll bottle up so the squirrel could drain the rest of the milk formula the veterinarian had prescribed for it.
For as long as she could remember, Colton had been there for her. Whenever she’d needed a study partner in school, he was right there. When she’d needed a partner to help her buy and manage Cozy Acres, he’d quit his job in Pennsylvania and returned to Virginia. And now that she wanted a baby, he was willing to help her once again … his most personal offer yet.
The bell over the door jangled as Colton entered the store. Sweat glistened at his temples and dampened the hair at the back of his neck. He held out a lush bouquet of brown-eyed Susans. She accepted the proffered bundle, and he brushed a blonde tendril away from her cheek.
“When I saw these, they reminded me of your hair.”
“You mean my eyes?” she asked, referring to the brown irises that used to fool strangers into thinking she was Colton’s sister.
“Those, too,” he agreed. His hand lingered near her face. “I was talking about the yellow petals.”