by Lisa Jackson
“Oh, Lord, what a mess.” It seemed that the odds of adopting J.D. were impossible. Chandra wanted to cry, but didn’t. Even if they couldn’t adopt the baby, she and Dallas still had each other. Or did they? Without J.D. would Dallas be willing to try and make this marriage work? She could trick him, of course, by becoming pregnant with his child. He wouldn’t divorce her then, not with his feelings on children and family. But could she do it?
No.
She wouldn’t base this marriage on lies or trickery, even if it cost her the husband she loved as much as life itself.
Feeling as if the weight of the world rested on her slim shoulders, Chandra walked to the barn and saddled Brandy. The rain had let up a little, and the game little mare was frisky, anxious to stretch her legs as Chandra rode her over the sodden fields surrounding the house. Thoughts of J.D. and Dallas filled her mind, but she refused to be depressed. And just like the afternoon sun that had begun to peer through the dark clouds, her mood lightened.
The smell of rain-washed ground filled her nostrils, and the cool wind raced through her hair. She thought of life without Dallas or J.D. and decided, while her knees were clamped firmly around her mount’s withers, that she’d have to tell Dallas that she loved him. She’d always been truthful with him before, and now, even if it meant his rejection, she had to confront him with the simple fact that she’d fallen in love with him. If he laughed in her face, so be it. If he divorced her on the spot, she’d survive. But life would never be the same, and these past few precious days would surely shine as the brightest in her life.
She rode Brandy back to the barn, groomed all the horses, fed and watered the stock, and when she was finished, snapped out the lights. “You could use a bath yourself,” she told Sam. “Maybe tomorrow, since I’m a woman of leisure for the next week or so.” That thought, too, was depressing. What if she had no husband, no baby, no job? A lump filled her throat, and she scratched Sam’s ears. “Well, buddy, we’ve still got each other, right?”
The big dog loped to the back door.
Chandra couldn’t shake her dark mood. She showered, changed and started cooking a huge pot of stew. As the stew simmered, she baked cornbread and found a frozen container of last year’s applesauce. Now, no matter what time Dallas arrived home, she’d have a hot meal ready and waiting. As if that were enough to tie him to you! What a fool she’d been! And what a mess she’d gotten herself into!
Once the bread was out of the oven, she turned the stew down and grabbed a paperback thriller she’d been trying to read ever since J.D. and Dallas had slammed into her life. But the story didn’t interest her and before long she tossed the damned book aside, sitting near the fire and wishing she could predict the future.
She must’ve dozed, because before she knew it, Sam was barking his fool head off.
Dallas!
Her heart leapt and she wondered if she had the nerve to tell him that she loved him.
As he opened the door, she flung herself into his arms and held him close. Tears filled her eyes at the thought that she could not only lose J.D., but this man, as well.
“What’s this?” he asked with a familiar chuckle that touched her heart.
“I’m just glad to see you,” she said, embarrassed and sniffing.
His arms held her tight, and he buried his face in her hair. “And I’m glad to see you.” He kissed her cheek and held her at arm’s length, surveying her. His face drew into a pensive frown at the sight of her tears.
“The accident victims?”
“Most will pull through,” he said, sounding as weary as he looked, “but we lost a couple.”
“I’m sorry.”
“So am I,” he said, holding her and sighing in relief or contentment, she didn’t know which. She caught a glimpse of naked fear in his eyes, and she wondered what had happened.
“How about a glass of wine?”
“You got one?”
“In a minute.” She pulled out a bottle of chardonnay from the refrigerator, found the corkscrew and poured them each a glass. “What will we toast to?” she asked.
“How about to you?” he suggested, releasing the top button of his shirt. “You’re a local hero—make that heroine.”
“I am? And all this time I thought that the Bob Fillmores of the world would like to tar and feather me in the press.”
“Oh, but that’s changed. You vindicated yourself,” he said with a twinkle in his tired eyes. “Remember the boy you wanted me to treat this afternoon? The boy with the flu. Well, you were right. He has pneumonia. And I think we treated him in time. We pumped him full of antibiotics, and he’s starting to respond. Thanks to you. If he’d had to sit around the waiting room…” He shrugged. “Well, it could’ve been bad.”
Chandra felt tears well in her eyes. Vindicated? She hardly thought so. She’d lost Gordy Shore, but this time another life had been spared.
Dallas took a swallow of his wine, then twisted one finger in a lock of her hair, staring at the golden strands as if he were fascinated with her. “You know, even old hard-nosed Trent conceded that Riverbend could use another doctor. If you’re interested.”
“Another Dr. O’Rourke?” she replied, shaking her head, but smiling nonetheless. “Could the world stand it?”
“Could you?” His voice was low and serious.
“I—I don’t know.” She blinked hard. Practice medicine again? It had been so long. And, in truth, she’d missed it. But she wasn’t sure she was ready. “How would you feel about having a doctor for a wife?”
Dallas grinned crookedly, as if he knew something she didn’t. He tossed back his wine and set down the glass. “Personally, I’d go for it. I wouldn’t mind seeing you every day. In fact, you would certainly perk up the place, but I’m not the only one we have to consider. I don’t know how our son would feel about his mother—”
Her wineglass crashed to the floor, shattering and splashing chardonnay all over the floor. Sam jumped to his feet, growling fiercely.
“Our…son?” she repeated hoarsely. Her throat closed, and for a few seconds she could hear nothing save the rush of blood through her head. “The baby—is he…?”
Dallas’s face split into a wide grin. He took her hand and led her to the stairs where she sank onto the bottom step. “Gayla Vanwyk was lying. She’s not J.D.’s mother. She was hired by a couple who wanted a child so badly that they would do anything, including pay her ten thousand dollars to pose as the mother. It might’ve worked, too. Her blood type was compatible with the child’s and since we didn’t know the father, it would be hard to disprove her story.”
Nothing was making much sense. “Then how—”
“The DNA testing. She balked at that, and Sheriff Newell was already checking her out. I’d already called my friend in Denver—you remember, the private investigator?”
“How could I ever forget?” Chandra said dryly.
“Well, he worked the pieces of the puzzle out and called Sheriff Newell, who confronted Gayla with the truth. She broke down and confessed. She had a baby a few weeks ago, which she sold to another couple, the Hendersons. This was just a way to make a little more cash. Charges are already being considered against the couple that put her up to it.”
“But I talked to Marian Sedgewick. There are other people who want the baby—”
“I know. Influential people with money. But when push came to shove, Social Services was worried about a scandal if it turns out that any of the couples who have applied for custody of the Million Dollar Baby have done anything the least bit shady.”
“So…?” she prodded, hardly daring to hope, though her silly spirits were rapidly climbing.
“So, until the mother is located, the baby will be put in a permanent foster-care situation, and hopefully those parents will be able to adopt him.”
“Meaning us?” she asked. Her breath caught deep in her lungs.
“Meaning us.”
Tears ran down her face. “Thank God.”
<
br /> “This means we have to stay married, you know.” His steady blue gaze assessed her as he leaned over the stairs, his face so close, she could see the lines of worry near his eyes.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“No?”
“Oh, God, Dallas, don’t you know how much I love you?” she asked, the words tumbling out in a rasp. “Even if we had lost J.D., I would have wanted to stay married to you. I—I…” Words failed her as she realized he might not feel the same.
But Dallas’s blue eyes reflected the depth of his emotions, of his love. He gathered her into his arms. “And here I’d been thinking that you’d leave me if it weren’t for the baby,” he said, his voice cracking with raw emotion.
“Oh, Dallas. Never!” she cried, taking his face in her hands and kissing him long on the lips. “I just spent the last few hours scheming how to keep you married to me if we lost the baby. No matter what happens, Doctor, you’re stuck with me.”
“Promise?” he asked, hardly daring to believe her as he folded her into his arms.
“Forever!”
“I’m going to hold you to it, Ms. Hill.”
“Mrs. O’Rourke,” she corrected with a hearty laugh that seemed to spring from her very soul. She wound her arms around his neck and brushed her lips over his. With or without the baby, she knew she would love this man forever, but the fact that they were to become J.D.’s parents only made their future brighter and happier.
“Come on, Mrs. O’Rourke,” he said, lifting her off her feet and carrying her up the stairs. “Let’s celebrate.”
EPILOGUE
DEEP IN SLEEP, Chandra heard the cry, a pitiful wail that permeated her subconscious. Sam barked, and she was instantly awake.
Dallas mumbled and turned over. “Some father you turned out to be,” she muttered, grinning at him just the same. They’d been married over two months and she still felt like a newlywed as each day brought more happiness.
The baby cried again and Chandra smiled. “Coming,” she whispered, sliding her feet into slippers and crawling out from the warmth of the bed. She threw on her robe, padded to the bassinet and picked up the squalling infant. “Shh…” she murmured, kissing the down that was his hair. She carried him downstairs and heated a bottle, all the while rocking slowly back and forth, humming and feeling happier than she ever had in her life.
Outside, snow powdered the ground and moonglow cast the icicles and snow with a silvery sheen. As she sat in the rocker near the dying embers in the fireplace, she placed a bottle in her baby’s mouth. J.D. suckled hungrily, and Sam circled three times before dropping onto the rug near the hearth.
“Merry Christmas.” She heard the words and looked up to see Dallas, his hair rumpled, his eyes still heavy with sleep, looking not too different from the first time she’d seen him in the hospital emergency room.
“Merry Christmas to you, too. Even though it’s only Christmas Eve.”
“I know, I know.” He shuffled down the stairs, clad only in jeans, and plugged in the lights of the Christmas tree. The red, green, blue and yellow bulbs reflected on the windowpanes. “Are you ready for the tribe?” he asked, tossing a mossy length of oak onto the grate before taking J.D. from her arms and feeding his son.
“Your family? Why not?”
“They’re loud, opinionated and—”
“I’ve already met Brian.”
“Well, Mom and the girls aren’t as bad as he is.”
Chandra laughed. “You’ll have to put up with mine, too.”
“Can you imagine everyone in here?” He looked around the small cabin. The addition wasn’t yet finished, and with all the relatives, the room would be cramped. Fortunately, Dallas’s family was staying at his condo, as the lease hadn’t yet expired, and Chandra’s family was going to sleep at the local hotel.
“It’ll be perfect.”
Dallas, still holding J.D., sat next to the hearth, and Chandra cuddled up next to him. Sam wagged his tail and placed his head in her lap.
“I have an early Christmas present for you,” Chandra confided, deciding now was the time to share her secret.
“Can’t it wait?”
“Nope. I think you’ll want it now.”
One dark eyebrow lifted in interest.
“Well, actually, you’re not going to receive it until next summer, but it’s been ordered.”
His face pulled into a frown and she giggled. He must’ve suspected, for his lips slid into a wide smile. “Don’t tell me—”
“That’s right, Doctor. We’ve got a brother or sister for J.D. on the way.”
Dallas swallowed hard, and he forgot about the bottle, causing J.D. to cry out.
“Here, let me handle this one,” Chandra said, reaching for the baby. “You know, I was worried that someone would come and take this little guy away from us.” The baby cuddled close to her breast and yawned.
“Never,” Dallas promised. “I don’t care how many children we have, J.D. is our first, and I’d walk through hell to keep him with us.”
“Would you?” Tears glistened in her eyes.
“You and J.D. and now the new baby are the most important things in my life,” he said, his voice husky. He cradled his wife and child close to him. “Nothing will ever change that. And nothing, nothing, will ever come between us. I love you, Chandra, and I always will.”
The sound of his conviction caused the tears to stream from her eyes. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s change this guy and put him back to bed.”
While the lights of the Christmas tree twinkled and the fire blazed in the grate, Chandra carried J.D. up the stairs. Dallas, holding her, kissed the top of her head. “I’ve never been this happy in my life,” he admitted, and his happiness was the best Christmas present she’d ever received.
* * * * *
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ISBN: 9781459291386
Lisa Jackson’s The Abandoned Box Set
Copyright © 2015 by Harlequin Books S.A.
The publisher acknowledges the copyright holder of the individual works as follows:
Million Dollar Baby
Copyright © 1992 by Lisa Jackson
Sail Away
Copyright © 1992 by Lisa Jackson
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