A Home for Adam

by Gina Ferris Wilkins

  Melissa blinked her little round eyes, trying blearily to focus on his face. Her pink mouth puckered, her miniature fingers flexed. She made a soft sound that was somewhere between a coo and a hiccup.

  Adam grinned. Damn. She really was cute.

  He’d have been out of his mind not to take her in. Baby or mother.

  * * *

  Melissa had almost settled back down to sleep when Adam was startled by a knock on the cabin door. He must have been dozing himself; he hadn’t heard anyone approaching—either by foot or vehicle.

  Jerked awake when Adam stood, Melissa started to whimper. Adam patted her absently as he walked to the door.

  “Who is it?” he asked by habit, thinking maybe it was a power lineman—possibly a state trooper investigating Jenny’s wrecked car.

  The cheery voice that answered was unexpectedly familiar. “Hey, cuz, it’s me. Cody. Open up. It’s freezing out here.”

  “Cody?” Adam jerked the door open to find his lanky blond cousin on the doorstep, nose and cheeks reddened by cold, his torso bundled into a heavy, lined suede jacket. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “It’s Granny Fran’s fault,” Cody explained hastily. “I drove down to check on her and she made me—hey! Is that a baby?” His bright blue eyes had fixed in fascination on the bundle in the crook of Adam’s left arm.

  “Of course it’s a baby,” Adam said crossly, suddenly aware that he was holding Melissa in the open doorway. “Get in here and shut the door, Cody. You’re letting all the heat out.”

  “Of course it’s a baby,” Cody repeated in bewilderment, though he automatically followed his cousin’s orders. “How silly of me to act surprised.”

  Adam led Cody quickly into the kitchen, since he didn’t want to disturb Jenny yet. He realized that Cody was still so busy staring at the baby that he hadn’t even noticed the woman sleeping on the couch.

  “There’s coffee,” Adam said, nodding toward the coffeepot as he tucked Melissa’s blanket more snugly around her in the chilly room. “Pour yourself a cup if you like.”

  “Thanks. A hot drink sounds good.” Still watching his cousin out of the corner of his eye, Cody poured coffee, took a sip, then immediately asked, “Uh—does Granny Fran know about the kid?”

  Surprised by the question, Adam shook his head. “No, of course not. Why?”

  “Well, she was so insistent on having me drive out here to check on you. She seemed quite worried that she couldn’t reach you by phone, so worried that she broke her promise not to tell anyone where you were staying. I thought maybe—”

  “No. Granny’s just overreacting to the storm, I guess. Trust me, Melissa was a surprise even to me.”

  “Melissa? That’s the kid?”

  Adam smiled. “Yeah.” He pulled the blanket back enough for Cody to see the baby’s face. “Cute, huh?”

  Cody stepped closer and leaned over to study the tiny face. Melissa gazed back up at him as though fascinated by this new adult in her short life. “She’s a sweetheart,” Cody agreed. “I think she has your eyes.”

  Adam had been looking down at the baby. His head snapped up. “My eyes?”

  “Yeah. And maybe your nose. Except for the bump you got when you broke yours, of course.”

  “Cody, I’m not this baby’s father.”

  Now it was Cody who looked confused. “You aren’t? Then where did you—?”

  “Adam? I thought I heard another voice in here.” Jenny stood in the doorway to the kitchen, her dark curls tousled around her face, her amber eyes still heavy lidded from sleep. Her blue sweat suit bagged around her, hiding her figure, but emphasizing her slender bone structure.

  Adam found it necessary to swallow. Hard. It was one of those moments when Jenny’s natural beauty caught him unprepared, made him suddenly, vividly aware of her as a damn attractive woman, despite everything.

  Cody’s attention was immediately diverted from the baby. “Well,” he said, looking Jenny over thoroughly. “Isn’t this interesting.” And he began to grin.

  Adam gave a mental groan. Cody was notorious for his love of a good joke—especially his own. And Cody had been trying for years to catch his older cousin in an awkward situation; anything, Cody had said repeatedly, to make Adam seem just a little less perfect and a lot more human.

  This just might be the opportunity Cody had been waiting for.

  “Jenny,” Adam said, motioning with his free hand toward Cody. “My cousin, Cody Carson. Cody, meet Jenny Newcomb, and her daughter, Melissa.”

  “It’s a real pleasure to meet you,” Cody said, flashing one of his patented, charming smiles. He ran a hand through his thick mop of sandy gold hair, his brilliant blue eyes gleaming with intrigue.

  Though Adam knew Cody evaded commitments the way a hypochondriac avoided germs, he was also aware that his cousin had never had any difficulty attracting feminine admiration. He found himself wondering how Jenny was reacting to that megawatt smile.

  And then he was angry for himself for even wondering.

  “It’s nice to meet you, too,” Jenny said to Cody, self-consciously smoothing her hair. “Um—how did you get here?”

  “I drove. I have a four-wheel-drive Jeep. The roads are still lousy, but thawing. I wouldn’t try taking your Jag out for a few days yet, Adam.”

  “I wasn’t planning to,” Adam replied. “How about giving us a lift back to civilization? We need to get the baby to a doctor.”

  Cody’s eyes rounded in concern as he turned back to the infant. “Is something wrong? She’s so tiny—I hope she isn’t ill.”

  “She isn’t,” Adam answered. “She’s just brand-new. She’s only a day old, give or take a couple of hours.”

  Cody gasped. “A day old? Are you saying you delivered this baby?”

  Adam nodded and cradled Melissa a bit closer. “I delivered her.”

  Cody whirled toward Jenny. “What are you doing standing here in this chilly kitchen? You should be sitting in front of the fire. Come on, let me help you to the couch. Are you okay? Can you walk?”

  He had his arm around her shoulders as he fussed over her, already guiding her into the other room.

  Adam opened his mouth to tell Cody he was overreacting, but he fell silent when he heard Jenny laugh.

  “I’m fine,” she said to Cody. “Really. But it’s sweet of you to be concerned.”

  Sweet? Adam followed the other couple into the living room, frowning. When he had tried to fuss over Jenny, she’d almost taken his head off. She’d never called him sweet.

  Of course, no one had ever called Adam Stone sweet. But that was beside the point.

  Cody made sure Jenny was comfortably seated on the couch, a blanket tucked around her shoulders. “Can I get you anything?” he asked solicitously, for all the world, Adam thought, as though Cody were the host and Jenny his honored guest.

  Jenny was still smiling. “Only my baby.”

  “You bet.” Cody spun toward Adam.

  Adam dodged Cody’s eager hands. “I’ll give her the baby,” he said gruffly.

  “Sure.” Cody backed away. “So tell me what happened. How did you end up here with Adam, Jenny?”

  Jenny murmured an absent thank-you to Adam as he laid Melissa in her arms. And then she turned to answer Cody. “Did you see a little blue car hugging a tree a few hundred yards down the road?”

  Cody frowned. “No,” he admitted. “I was trying to drive and read Granny Fran’s directions to the cabin. Her handwriting is terrible. Are you saying you wrecked your car?”

  She nodded. “I lost control in the ice storm Thursday evening. Fortunately I saw Adam’s lights—the electricity was still on then—and made my way here. He took me in, and he’s been taking wonderful care of me ever since.”

  She smiled at Adam and he immediately forgave her for smiling at Cody. Of course, he still didn’t much like it.

  “And Adam delivered the kid.” Cody shook his head in apparent wonder. “That’s a far cry from fixing
noses, isn’t it, cuz?”

  He didn’t give Adam a chance to answer. Cody knelt in front of Jenny and stroked a finger gently down Melissa’s downy cheek. “She’s beautiful. Really beautiful. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a prettier baby. Well, except for my sister’s kids,” he added hastily. “Let’s just say Melissa’s equally pretty to Paige and Aaron.”

  “Very diplomatic.” Jenny seemed genuinely amused. “I’m sure your sister would appreciate your tact.”

  “Then it would be the first time she’d ever called me tactful,” Cody confessed. And then he stood and turned to Adam. “If we’re driving out of here today, we’d better be on our way. The temperature will probably drop again after dark.”

  Adam agreed. “Are you up to this, Jenny?” he asked. “It won’t be a particularly comfortable trip for you, I’m afraid.”

  “I can take it,” she assured him. “Where are we going?”

  “To my grandmother’s house. We’ll stay there while we make arrangements for Melissa to see a doctor and for something to be done about your car.”

  For once, Jenny deferred to his judgment without question.

  * * *

  Both Cody and Adam insisted that Jenny should stay on the couch with the baby while they loaded the Jeep and secured the cabin. They even made a trek to Jenny’s car to retrieve the rest of her things. Adam had explained that he was afraid her possessions would be stolen if they left them unattended in the car after the roads thawed.

  In less than an hour, they were underway. Cody drove, Adam sat in the front passenger seat and Jenny in the back seat with the baby, who was securely fastened into the newborn car seat Jenny had received as a shower gift from a group of her former co-workers.

  “You must have had a nice shower,” Adam commented, thinking of the diapers, sleepers and pacifiers they’d already used out of her gifts.

  Jenny, he noted, looked more than a little uncomfortable. Cody was driving slowly and with almost obsessive care, but the storm-damaged road was rough and bumpy. Adam didn’t like the tightness around Jenny’s mouth or the weary droop of her eyelids. Maybe conversation would take her mind off her discomfort.

  “Yes,” she answered him. “I had a very nice shower. My friends from work were very supportive during the past few months.”

  “Are you from around here, Jenny?” Cody asked, glancing briefly in the rearview mirror.

  “Texas,” she said. “I was on my way to Tennessee when I got lost on this road.”

  “Tennessee, huh? Got family there?”

  “No.”

  Cody didn’t press her for more information. Adam assumed Cody could tell Jenny wasn’t eager to elaborate.

  Adam almost asked her then if she’d made a decision about his job offer. He changed his mind only because he didn’t want to risk quarreling with her in front of Cody.

  And they would quarrel unless Jenny gave him the answer he wanted to hear.

  Melissa squirmed in her car seat and began to fuss. Jenny bent over her, making crooning mother sounds, offering the pacifier, catching the baby’s tiny flailing fists in her own loving hands.

  Adam became distracted just watching her.

  There was a special glow in her amber eyes when she looked at her baby, he noted. A special softness in her musical voice. A special beauty in her face.

  He found himself thinking poetically of madonnas and guardian angels. And then, becoming aware of what he was doing, he blinked, scowled and turned around in his seat to face the front again.

  Only to look right back over his shoulder at Jenny and the baby.

  He never noticed how very closely Cody was watching him.

  Chapter Eight

  It was just past dusk when Cody turned the Jeep into the driveway of a neat frame house. A light gleamed invitingly from the doorway beneath a wide, welcoming front porch. Lace curtains fluttered in the front windows.

  Jenny thought it was one of the prettiest little houses she’d ever seen. But she might have been tempted to think that about any place where she could get off this hard leather seat and onto a soft chair or sofa, she thought ruefully.

  “Grandma’s house,” Cody said with a grin over his shoulder. “And Red Riding Hood and the Big, Bad Wolf have come to visit her.”

  “Assuming Jenny’s Red Riding Hood and you’re the wolf,” Adam drawled, “what does that make Melissa and me?”

  Cody chuckled, and shot back an answer without hesitation. “Beauty and the Beast.”

  Regally ignoring his cousin—as Jenny thought he must do fairly often—Adam opened his door. “Don’t move, Jenny. I’ll help you out.”

  She’d already reached for her own door handle, intending to let him know she could get out without his help. A moment later, she realized she’d been overly optimistic. She was so stiff and sore, she could hardly move. She needed all the help Adam offered just to climb out of the high sports vehicle.

  He put an arm around her to steady her. “Careful,” he warned. “There are still patches of ice everywhere.”

  Shivering, she nodded. She hadn’t worn her coat for the heated ride in the Jeep, and her sweat suit was woefully inadequate for the frigid outside temperature.

  Adam pulled her closer. “Cody, can you bring the baby?”

  Jenny bit her lip as she looked quickly around at Adam’s cousin. Could he safely carry a tiny baby over icy pavement? She wanted to say she’d take Melissa, herself, but she was terrified of losing her footing and falling. She rather wished Adam were carrying the baby.

  As annoying as he could be, Adam certainly inspired faith in his competence.

  She watched anxiously while Cody leaned into the Jeep to unstrap the baby. He wrapped her snugly in a warm layer of blankets before lifting her out into the cold.

  Jenny began to relax almost immediately. Cody certainly seemed comfortable enough with the baby in his arms.

  “Cody’s good with kids,” Adam murmured, as though sensing Jenny’s misgivings. “He’s had a lot of practice with his niece and nephew. They’re crazy about him.”

  Jenny nodded, then shivered again. Instinctively she crowded closer to Adam. He responded by drawing her into the warmth of his denim-and-flannel-covered body. “Let’s get you inside,” he said, leading her after Cody.

  The door opened just as they all stepped onto the porch. A tiny, gray-haired woman in a black-and-silver wind suit rushed over the threshold. “Adam! I’m so glad to see you’re all right. I was worried about you out there in the woods during such a storm. I hope you forgive me for sending Cody to—why, goodness! Who’s this?”

  Adam guided Jenny into the house with his grandmother and Cody. “Jenny Newcomb, this is my grandmother, Frances Carson.”

  “It’s very nice to meet you, Mrs. Carson,” Jenny managed to say through cold-stiffened lips.

  “You poor dear, you’re freezing. I’ll put on some water for hot tea. Or would you prefer cocoa?”

  “Tea sounds wonderful,” Jenny said gratefully.

  “Here’s someone else for you to meet, Granny Fran.” Cody dug into the blankets to expose Melissa’s furrowed pink face. “This is Jenny’s one-day-old daughter, Melissa. Adam delivered her.”

  “Oh, my goodness!” The wide-eyed little woman looked from Adam to Jenny to the baby.

  Her face promptly softened. “What an angel,” she crooned. “Isn’t she the sweetest thing? Cody, you be careful with her, you hear? Bring her into the parlor where her mama can hold her in the big upholstered rocker. Oh, my, she’s such a dear.”

  Adam made a rueful face at Jenny. “Just follow Granny Fran and Cody,” he suggested. “I’ll go make the tea. Granny Fran’s going to be too busy admiring the baby to remember it for a while.”

  Jenny nodded a bit nervously and watched Adam disappear, leaving her alone with these people she really didn’t know at all, no matter how nice they seemed.

  As Adam had predicted, his grandmother spent some time oohing and aahing over the baby once Jenny was settled int
o the rocker with Melissa in her arms. She treated Jenny as a welcome guest, insisting that Jenny call her Granny Fran, as nearly everyone else did, she explained.

  Jenny repeated her abbreviated story about being lost on the way to Tennessee, about going into premature labor and Adam’s delivery of the baby. She could see the pride glowing in Frances Carson’s eyes at her grandson’s skill. She obviously adored her eldest grandchild.

  Jenny was grateful that neither Granny Fran nor Cody asked about the baby’s father. She assumed they guessed that she was unmarried, but there was no condemnation or disapproval in their friendly expressions.

  Very nice people.

  She looked down at Melissa, who was beginning to make the funny little faces that indicated she would be wanting to eat soon. As much as Jenny regretted her lapse of bad judgment in getting involved with Carl, she could never be sorry about Melissa, she thought wistfully. Already she loved this baby more than she’d ever imagined she could love anyone. Whatever trials lay ahead for them, they’d survive somehow. Together.

  Adam came back into the room balancing a tray, which held a ceramic teapot, three cups, a sugar bowl, a plate of what appeared to be homemade cookies and three dessert plates.

  “Teatime,” he said, by way of announcing his return. “Sorry, Melissa, there’s nothing here for you. We’ll wait until you’re old enough to appreciate Granny Fran’s cookies. Nobody makes them better.”

  Cringing, Jenny saw that Cody seemed intrigued by Adam’s implication that Melissa would be around when she was old enough to eat cookies. Despite his rather lazy manner, Cody didn’t seem to miss much, she’d already realized.

  Granny Fran never seemed to notice. She thanked Adam for bringing the tea, exclaiming sheepishly at her own neglect to do so.

  “I was so excited about having a baby in the house again that I forgot all about it,” she explained.

  “I know you did,” Adam said with a smile. “Sit down. Since I made the tea, I’ll serve. Cody, how about running out to the Jeep and bringing in the infant seat so Jenny can set the baby down for a little while?”

  “Sure thing.” Cody was already on his feet and moving cooperatively toward the door.