The Baby Arrangement

by Moyra Tarling

  She’d stuck rigidly to the high-protein diet and regular exercise the doctor had recommended, succeeding in keeping her weight gain to a minimum. But that hadn’t stopped her grumbling about her expanding waistline and complaining daily about how the pregnancy was ruining her figure.

  She’d grown restless and impatient for the birth to be over, and as her due date drew near, Jared had awakened several times during the night to hear Paula talking on the phone. Everything had been going according to plan, and he’d convinced himself she was simply making arrangements for her return to L.A.

  But two days before the baby’s due date, she’d suddenly and inexplicably disappeared, leaving him shaken, confused and very angry.

  After hiring a private detective to find her, he’d called every hospital in Oregon and Washington in an attempt to locate her himself, to no avail.

  The only explanation he could think of for her abrupt departure was she’d had a change of heart... and had decided to keep the baby after all.

  While he longed to reject the notion out of hand, he found he couldn’t dismiss it altogether, not after watching the loving way she’d changed and fed the baby. Nor could he quite forget the hint of sadness he’d glimpsed in the shimmering depths of her green eyes...a sadness that puzzled him.

  Jared frowned. If he didn’t know better, he would almost swear Paula had changed...that she was a different person altogether.

  “How long will it take to get to...uh, Grace Harbor?” The question cut into Jared’s chaotic thoughts, and he turned to find Paula in the doorway.

  “It depends on the traffic and how many stops we make for the baby. All being well, we should get home sometime late tonight,” he told her.

  “Then I really think Nicky should be in a proper car seat.”

  “Fine. If the store you mentioned does in fact exist, we’ll stop and buy one.”

  “Thank you.” Faith said, relieved at his response. “The baby’s stroller and my knapsack are by the front door,” she told him, having already packed some clothes and her sketch pad, charcoal and pencils for the trip. “I still have to make up a few bottles and pack Nicky’s diaper bag.” Spinning away. she headed for the kitchen.

  It was almost ten, and if Paula kept her promise, she would be calling very soon.

  When Faith heard the front door being opened she sighed with relief. Peeking out of the kitchen window, she watched Nicky’s father carry the stroller and knapsack to his car.

  Suddenly the silence was shattered by the telephone ringing. Faith quickly grabbed for the receiver, her pulse thundering loudly in her ears.

  “Hello!”

  “Faith? Hi! It’s me.”

  “Paula! Oh...I’m so glad you called.”

  “Is something wrong?”

  “Nicky’s father’s here,” Faith said, her heart hammering wildly. “At least, he says he’s Nicky’s father. He arrived out of the blue this morning.” She stretched the phone cord to enable her to look outside.

  “Jared’s there? You have to be joking!” Paula responded, shock in her voice.

  “It’s no joke, believe me.”

  “Yes...but, how—?” Paula broke off, then hurried on. “Describe him.”

  “Describe him?” Faith threw a panicked glance at Jared standing at the trunk of his car. “He’s just like you said,” she replied, and then briefly described him.

  “That’s Jared, all right,” Paula said, her voice echoing over the wire.

  “He says he’s come to take Nicky home with him.” Faith hurried on, all the while keeping an eye on Jared. “He’s rude and arrogant, and he said something about you two having a deal. What kind of deal? What does he mean?”

  “What did you tell him?” Paula asked, ignoring her question.

  “I told him Nicky wasn’t going anywhere without me. He keeps calling me Paula. Doesn’t he know you have a twin sister?”

  Paula was silent for a moment, and Faith could almost hear the wheels spinning in her sister’s head as she plotted out a strategy. “Are you saying he thinks you’re me?” Paula finally asked.

  “Yes. I tried to set him straight, but he wouldn’t listen.” She watched as Jared closed the trunk and moved to the driver’s door. “Maybe you should talk to him, tell him I’m only looking after Nicky until you get back.”

  “No...that’s not a good idea.”

  “But surely you don’t want me to just hand Nicky over to him, do you?” she went on, at a loss to understand her sister’s lack of concern for her baby.

  Her question was met with silence.

  “Paula! Are you still there?”

  “I’m still here.”

  “What’s going on? There’s something you’re not telling me. Did you run away from this man? Was he physically abusing you?” she asked, as this possible explanation for her sister’s strange behavior jumped into her mind.

  “No! No...it’s nothing like that,” Paula assured her. “But he is very controlling. He told me I’d better forget about my acting career, and if I insisted on pursuing it, he’d fight me for sole custody of the baby, and do everything in his power to stop me from ever seeing Nicky again.”

  Faith drew a startled breath. “Oh, how awful!” she responded, angered by Jared’s arrogance and his dictatorial attitude. “What do you want me to do?”

  “It would really help if I knew you were looking after Nicky. Will you do that for me?”

  “I’ll stay with him, I promise.”

  “And if you could play along with Jared—”

  “Play along? But why?”

  “If you tell him who you are, chances are he’ll throw you out. Couldn’t you just do it for a little while? For Nicky’s sake. Just until I can talk to a lawyer and get some advice on how I should proceed,” Paula pleaded.

  “Oh...all right,” Faith reluctantly agreed.

  “Thanks sis. It really means a lot to me. Ah...listen, I’ve got to go. I’ll be in touch. I know where to find you.”

  “Wait...” Faith began, but her sister had already hung up.

  Faith slowly replaced the receiver. There had been something in her sister’s voice, something Faith found infinitely disturbing.

  “Who were you talking to?” Jared’s appearance startled her. His question cut through her wayward thoughts, sending a guilty flush to her cheeks.

  “No one...it was a wrong number.” Faith managed to keep her voice even. “By the way, if we are stopping at the baby store, we should pick up a few tins of formula and another package of diapers,” she added, in the hope of diverting his attention from the call.

  “Aren’t you carrying this doting-mother act a bit too far?” Jared commented.

  “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “All right, Paula, we’ll play it your way,” he said, with more than a hint of impatience. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

  Faith closed the flap on the diaper bag and held it out to him. “I’ll get Nicky.”

  As she handed Jared the bag, his fingers brushed against hers, sending a ripple of sensation scampering up her arm. Faith’s gaze flew to meet his, but his stare was icy and unreadable, giving nothing away.

  Faith turned away and headed down the hall to her bedroom, where Nicky lay on her bed, contentedly asleep. Gently gathering the baby into her arms and wrapping him in his baby blanket, Faith grabbed her keys from the dresser and left the room.

  “Your friend is trusting indeed to give you your own set of keys,” Jared commented after she’d finished locking the door.

  Faith made no response as they crossed to the car. Jared opened the passenger door for her, and with great care she settled herself and her precious cargo into the leather bucket seat.

  Reaching behind her for the strap of the seat belt, she suddenly found herself staring into a pair of dazzling blue eyes.

  “Let me do that,” Jared said and, pulling the seat belt, he leaned across to secure it.

  Her breath locked in her throat as she shrank ba
ck against the upholstery. The faint smell of pine mingling with a darker, earthier scent that was decidedly male assailed her, and she felt her heart stumble against her ribs in response.

  The instant Jared withdrew and closed the car door, Faith released the breath she was holding, and waited for her heart to find its usual rhythm, silently admonishing herself for reacting.

  “Which way is the store?” Jared asked a few moments later as he eased the car out of the driveway.

  “Take the first street on the left, and you’ll see the parking lot in about three blocks,” Faith answered, keeping her gaze firmly focused on the road ahead.

  Half an hour later Nicky was safely ensconced in his brand-new car seat. Faith glanced at the clock on the dashboard, calculating that it would probably be another hour before Nicky would need changing and feeding.

  Faith was silent as her companion drove under the sign indicating they were entering the freeway that would take them north. During her rather rushed conversation with Paula she hadn’t even thought to ask her twin about Grace Harbor or its location.

  The license plate on the car told her he was from Oregon, and with a name like Grace Harbor, it had to be somewhere on the coast. But much as she longed to ask Jared, she decided silence was the best policy.

  Shifting her attention to the traffic on the busy freeway, she began to relax, enjoying the comfort and luxury his car offered. She even began to take pleasure in the ride, silently acknowledging that had everything to do with Jared’s driving skills.

  Unlike Glen, her ex-husband, Jared McAndrew was a highly competent driver, a driver who inspired confidence in his passengers, not anxiety. Jared appeared unperturbed by the poor driving habits of his fellow travelers. Instead of shouting and cursing at a driver who cut in front of him, he merely adjusted his speed, or calmly shifted lanes whenever the need arose.

  Jared...Jared McAndrew. She let the name slide silently over her tongue. Solid and strong, she thought, much like the man himself.

  Paula had said he was a controlling man, and Faith could easily relate and sympathize, having been married to a man who’d tried to rule her life.

  But while Jared had been both rude and arrogant, demanding she hand over his son, and while his attitude toward the woman he believed had given birth to his son had been less than chivalrous, she found she couldn’t fault him for the love and commitment he obviously felt toward his baby.

  And what about the deal Jared had mentioned? What was that about? Stifling a sigh, Faith glanced into the back seat to check on Nicky, marveling at how good a baby he was and the fact that he was still asleep.

  “Is he all right?” The softly spoken query came from the man at her side.

  “Yes,” Faith replied.

  “He sleeps a lot But I guess that’s normal.”

  Faith heard the faint trace of anxiety in his voice. “Newborns do sleep a lot. But they can have their wakeful and fussy times, too. Erica had a fussy time—” She broke off abruptly, realizing with a sudden horror what she’d said.

  “Erica? Who’s Erica?” Jared threw her a puzzled glance.

  Faith swallowed nervously. “Uh... Erica was just a kid I used to baby-sit,” she improvised.

  “Really,” he said, though the skepticism in his voice told her he didn’t believe a word she’d said. “As long as Nicky’s asleep, I don’t suppose you’d like to tell me why you ran off?”

  His change of topic caught Faith totally off guard. She had no idea how to respond to his question.

  “No,” she said after a lengthy pause, praying silently he wouldn’t pursue the matter. But the look Jared shot her told Faith he had other ideas.

  “Did you leave because you’d changed your mind about our agreement?”

  Glancing across at his profile. Faith noted the taut lines around his mouth as well as the stiffness of his jaw. Why did he look fearful of her reply?

  What agreement? she wanted to ask, wishing again she’d insisted on a more detailed explanation from Paula before agreeing to participate in this charade.

  “Cat got your tongue?” Jared flashed her a challenging look before returning his gaze once more to the road and the fast-moving traffic.

  Faith said nothing as she stared down at his hands resting confidently on the steering wheel. It was then that she noticed the shiny gold band circling the fourth finger of his left hand. Her heart slammed against her breastbone in startled reaction, as the significance of the ring registered.

  What bizarre game was her twin playing? Why hadn’t Paula mentioned she and Jared McAndrew were married? Why hadn’t Paula warned her she’d been cast in the role of counterfeit wife?

  Chapter Three

  The drive was pleasant and uneventful. They made several stops along the way to feed and change Nicky, including one outside Portland for supper.

  As they waited for their hamburgers to arrive, Nicky began to fuss. Faith was surprised when Jared offered to hold him. He held her gaze in silent challenge, and, more than a little curious to see how he would deal with his fractious son, she handed him the baby.

  She watched in admiration as Jared made caressing circles on his son’s back. When he nestled Nicky into the curve of his neck and kissed the top of the baby’s head, Faith’s throat closed over with emotion, and tears gathered in her eyes.

  Glen hadn’t bothered to stick around long enough to see his daughter. But even before she discovered she was pregnant, she’d suspected him of having an affair.

  She’d been midway through her pregnancy when the doctor had informed them there were major problems, that their baby would be born with multiple defects and with little chance of survival. Glen had taken his anger and frustration out on her, verbally berating her, blaming her for everything, before leaving for greener pastures.

  Terminating the pregnancy hadn’t been an option Faith had even considered, and so she’d struggled on alone, trying to come to terms with the harsh reality that her baby would not survive.

  After Erica was born, Faith had insisted on taking the baby home, and the doctors had reluctantly agreed. The memories of those few precious days she’d had with her daughter had enabled her to work through some of her guilt and grief, and had eventually given her strength to go on.

  Through lowered lashes Faith watched Jared attempt to quiet his son’s urgent cries by gently rocking him and murmuring soft words. She admired his ability to remain calm in the face of Nicky’s cries, and was impressed that he appeared to be totally unfazed by the stares from the other patrons of the restaurant.

  When he smiled down at Nicky, the look of love Faith glimpsed in his eyes stirred old longings and brought an ache to her chest. Blinking back tears stinging her eyes, Faith concentrated on the hamburger the waitress had just brought. “It isn’t too late.” Jared’s voice cut through the silence.

  Frowning, she met his gaze. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand.”

  “If you’re having second thoughts, I can take you into Portland and drop you at the bus station,” he said, his tone cool and indifferent.

  Faith kept her voice steady. “I’m not leaving Nicky,” she said, and caught the grudging respect that flashed in his eyes.

  Later, after Nicky had fallen asleep in his arms, Jared had finished his own meal. Then, bundling the still-sleeping infant into his blanket, Jared paid the waitress and headed out to the car.

  They continued their journey north in silence. Soon the warmth from the car’s heater made Faith drowsy, and unable to fight off the wave of tiredness, she dozed off.

  Almost an hour later the change in the car’s rhythm roused her. Opening her eyes, she realized they were no longer on the freeway.

  Darkness had descended, making it impossible to see the surrounding countryside. For a fleeting second a feeling of panic gripped her, sending her heart fluttering in her breast.

  She had no idea where she was going. No idea what to expect once they reached Grace Harbor. And no idea whether she could, or should, in view
of the ring on Jared’s finger, go on pretending to be her twin.

  Faith drew a steadying breath and turned to study his silhouette. Undoubtedly aware that she’d awakened, he cast a quick glance in her direction. Even in the shadowed darkness of the car’s interior she felt the impact of his gaze, and a ripple of sensation danced across her nerve endings.

  She immediately turned her attention to the beam of headlights on the road ahead, silently acknowledging that he was indeed one of the most attractive men she’d ever encountered.

  But looks could be deceiving. Glen Nelson had also been an attractive man, but behind his dynamic good looks there lurked a controlling and self-centered man.

  Glen had been one of her instructors at the art college she’d attended. He was a well-known artist in his own right, so she’d been flattered by his attentions and by the compliments he’d afforded her work. Although he was twenty years her senior, she’d developed a crush on him, and when he asked her to accompany him to an art show in town, she’d eagerly accepted.

  They’d had so many interests in common, or so she’d thought, and she’d felt comfortable and at ease with him. Six months later they’d had a quiet wedding, with only her parents and Glen’s sister in attendance.

  Almost from the moment the ceremony was over he’d changed, and it wasn’t long before she came to the realization that having a wife much younger than himself fed his already overblown ego. He loved to show her off to his friends and colleagues as if she were a trophy, insensitive and uncaring of his wife’s feelings.

  Annoyed at the route her thoughts had taken, Faith closed the door on her memories, and suddenly through a break in the trees she glimpsed an array of twinkling lights.

  The trees at last thinned out to reveal a peaceful little community she guessed must be Grace Harbor. Her gaze slid beyond the lights to what appeared to be ribbons of silver shimmering and undulating in the moonlight.