Found: One Baby

by Cathy Gillen Thacker

  Thad sobered. “I hadn’t thought about it that way.”

  Michelle called upon even more of her law-school training. “Your brother may change his mind about the child.”

  Thad’s mouth took on a downward slant. “No. He won’t.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “Because of the way we grew up.” Thad’s mood turned reflective. “Our mom was really great—loving and fun, smart and kind—but she died from an aneurysm when Russell and I were in elementary school. We barely knew our dad—he was a geologist for an oil company. I’ve no doubt he loved us in his way, but he wasn’t interested in being a hands-on parent. Nevertheless, he left the project he was working on in South America and came back to Summit to take care of us.” He exhaled. “For the next ten years or so, he worked assignments around the state. When we hit our teens and were old enough to stay alone, he went back to the more exciting gigs in South and Central America. From that point on, until he died five years ago, we rarely saw him because he was just never home.”

  Michelle touched Thad’s arm gently. “That sounds lonely.”

  Thad glanced at her hand, then said, “Summit’s a closeknit community. We had a lot of people looking out for us. Plenty to eat. And the house across the street to live in.”

  But, Michelle speculated, not what he had obviously wanted most—a loving, emotionally engaged and interested parent on the premises.

  “What was your childhood like?” Thad asked, his rumbling drawl sending shivers over her skin.

  She figured she might as well be honest, too. “I grew up in a well-to-do suburban enclave of Dallas. I was an only child of two very loving but ambitious people.” She paused. “So let’s just say, for me, failure in any venue was not an option.”

  Thad chuckled sympathetically. “You’re giving me new appreciation for my laissez-faire teens.”

  Michelle sighed. The understanding look on his face soon had her confiding further in him. “Don’t get me wrong. I had plenty of attention and everything I needed to succeed. Including special tutors and private coaches when necessary.”

  Thad seemed to know instinctively there was more. “But…?”

  “There were times when I felt as if I had been born on a treadmill set at high speed with no way to get off.” Times when she had felt she would never please her folks no matter how much she accomplished. Michelle forced herself to go on. “My parents were both tenured university professors and department chairs. When they weren’t hovering over me, urging me to greater heights, they worked all the time.”

  William stirred and began to whimper again. She went over to pick him up before he began to wail in earnest. Soothing him with a cuddle and a kiss, Michelle walked back to Thad.

  “That sounds rough,” he said.

  Michelle nodded and handed the baby to him. “Too much so for my folks,” she admitted, watching with pleasure as William snuggled up to Thad every bit as easily as he had snuggled up to her. Then she frowned. “My mom and dad both died of stress-related illnesses a few years ago. Their health problems spurred me to reevaluate my own life. I decided I didn’t want to continue to live in the big city, so I began saving money and looking around for a place to live a quieter life.”

  “I know what you mean. I went to medical school and did my E.R. residency in Houston. By the time I’d finished, I’d had enough of rush-hour traffic and crowds. When there was an opening at the Summit hospital, I jumped at it.”

  William’s lashes shut. His breathing grew deep and even once again.

  “But we digress,” Michelle said.

  Thad cast a loving glance at the infant in his arms. “Yes,” he said softly. “We do.”

  Forcing herself to pull back emotionally, before she got in way over her head, Michelle said, “You need to get this situation with William sorted out as soon as possible.”

  Before either of them fell even more in love with this abandoned little boy.

  THE FIRST ORDER of business, they both decided, after they had resettled the sleeping William in his bed, was to get the addresses and phone numbers of the people involved. That turned out to be easy enough. An Internet search quickly gave them contact information for Candace Wright, as well as Brice and Beatrix Johnson.

  Aware he was so far out of his depth it wasn’t funny, Thad asked, “Any advice on how I should handle this?”

  Michelle glanced sideways at him, reminding him, “I’m not going to represent you.”

  Thad wondered if she had any idea how beautiful she looked in the soft light of her elegantly decorated living room, feet propped up on the coffee table, laptop computer settled on her jean-clad thighs. He propped up his feet on the coffee table, too, next to hers. “You could still advise me as a friend.”

  Her eyes remained on the screen as she studied the information there. She typed in the print command. “Are we friends?”

  Somewhere in the too-quiet depths of her house, he heard a laser printer start up. “I think we’re getting there.” As she put her laptop aside and moved to stand, he inhaled the orange-blossom fragrance of her shampoo.

  He stood, too. “Why? Does that bother you?”

  He followed her down the hall to the kitchen. A home-office space had been built into one wall, with floor-to-ceiling kitchen cabinets on either side. The printer was on the shelf above the desk. She plucked several pages out of the tray and gave him a look of lawyerly calm. “These are highly unusual circumstances.”

  No argument there. Thad shrugged, aware he hadn’t been this affected by a woman in a long time. If ever. “What better way to get to know each other?”

  Her lips curved cynically. “I hope you’re not hitting on me.”

  Was he? “Wouldn’t think of it.” Thad matched her semiamused tone.

  Silence fell between them. Knowing this would all go a lot easier if Michelle were there to help him and their tiny charge, Thad walked back to the living room with her. “Just help me get through the rest of the weekend,” he proposed.

  In his bed, William pushed out his lower lip in indignation and began to whimper once again.

  “Then if I need to hire someone, I’ll do it on Monday morning.” He picked up William and cradled him in his arms. The little guy couldn’t have weighed more than eight pounds and still had the faint redness of skin all newborns had. Yet he already had so much personality. “I don’t want to screw this up. This little guy has already been through enough.” Thad fought the unexpected tightness in his throat, continued in a voice that sounded rusty, even to him. “And since my brother is not acting responsibly…”

  Michelle turned away, but not before Thad thought he saw a glint of empathetic tears in her green eyes. She cleared her throat. “Speaking of Russell, maybe you should try to find whatever it is he signed and make sure those papers state what he thinks they do.”

  “Good point.” Legal jargon could be as confusing as medical terminology. “You want to come over with us, help me search?”

  Surprise mingled briefly with disappointment in her eyes. “You’re taking the baby tonight, then?”

  “I figured I’d keep William at my place tonight since you had him all day.” Thad gazed at Michelle. She looked like she’d just lost her best friend. “You can stay over, too.” The invitation was out before he could think.

  She took it completely the wrong way. The droll expression was back on her face. “Uh, thanks, but…no.”

  He held up one palm. “I’ll be the perfect gentleman.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m sure you would be.”

  She fit the crocheted cap on William’s head and helped Thad bundle him up in a blanket. When that was done, she picked up the diaper bag and Moses basket, while he held the door for both of them.

  Together, they strolled down the front walk and across the street. Thad led the way up his front porch, wishing he’d thought to turn on the lights before he’d gone over to Michelle’s home.

  “So, my rep is that bad?” Thad shif
ted William to one arm while he unlocked the door and hit the lights.

  “Or good.” Michelle preceded Thad inside in another drift of orange blossom. For the first time he realized how disorderly his home was.

  “Excuse me?” he asked in confusion.

  “It all depends on how you look at it,” she explained.

  Thad switched on more lamps, wishing he’d thought to vacuum or dust in the past month, instead of sitting around reading medical journals and working out at the hospital fitness center in his spare time.

  “Please continue,” he prodded her.

  She looked him straight in the eye. “You’ve got a reputation for dating around, not sleeping around.”

  “Good to know,” he said.

  The sparkle was back in her eyes. “Isn’t it?”

  Thad figured it wouldn’t hurt to flirt. Especially since she’d started it. “As long as we’re on the subject, want to know what your rep in the community is?”

  DID SHE WANT to know?

  His goading look was all the provocation she needed. “Well, I guess now I have to know.”

  Thad put William over his shoulder and gently patted his back, then turned his attention back to her. “Ice princess.”

  Okay, that hurt. A little. Especially since she’d done nothing to deserve it.

  She made her eyes go wide. “Really?”

  “Mm-hm.” Thad stepped closer, still patting William on the back. “Word is, you’ve been asked out by at least twenty guys—”

  “I think that’s a small exaggeration,” she said.

  “—and said no to every single one,” Thad finished smugly, leaving no doubt that he’d been investigating the details of her romantic life, or lack thereof, too.

  She shrugged, aware her pulse was racing, and defended herself. “Well, that’s because I won’t go out with someone if I don’t see hope of anything…happening.”

  A smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, he leaned down so they were practically nose to nose. “How can you know if you don’t go out with them?”

  “I just do.”

  He let his gaze drift over her slowly, before returning to her eyes. “See, I don’t buy that,” he told her with lazy male confidence. “I don’t think you can begin to know someone unless you spend one-on-one time together. You’ve got to take a risk—”

  Michelle smirked. “Well, I hear you’ve done plenty of that.”

  “—to reap rewards.” He sneaked a peek at the baby on his shoulder. He grinned when he realized that William was sound asleep again. He walked over to the Moses basket and gently laid the baby down, covering him with a blanket.

  Trying not to notice how naturally Thad had taken to being a daddy figure to the abandoned little boy, Michelle rocked forward on her toes.

  The thought of Thad reaping rewards with any other woman bothered her more than it should. Marshaling all her defenses, she asked sweetly, “How’s that method working out for you so far?”

  “I haven’t hit pay dirt yet.” His gaze slid past the delicate hollow of her throat, to her lips and then her eyes. “I will.”

  She took a deep breath, dropped her gaze. Then found herself remembering the way he’d looked, shirtless and just out of bed, that morning. Flushing, she tore her eyes from the masculine contours of his chest. “Sure you will.”

  “Make fun all you like,” he said. He stepped closer. “You need to take more risks.”

  His words hit a chord. She’d heard the same from others, too. “Just see if you can find the papers,” she instructed irritably, deciding Dr. Thad Garner was the last man she would ever get involved with.

  Thad sighed. “Wish me luck. That attic is a mess.”

  “IT’S NOT THERE,” Thad reported in frustration a short time later.

  He’d only been up in the attic twenty minutes, Michelle thought. She removed the bottle she’d been heating from the bowl of warm water. “Are you sure?”

  Thad looked at William, who was lying patiently in his Moses basket, eyes wide open, trying awkwardly to get his thumb to his mouth. “I checked through the most recent boxes.”

  Which meant Thad hadn’t checked through everything belonging to his brother, Michelle deduced. “Maybe it’s in an older box,” she suggested, wiping the outside of the bottle dry. “Do you want me to go up and look?”

  Thad glanced at her clothes. “It’s kind of grimy up there,” he warned.

  Michelle tested the bottle on the inside of her wrist. “Not a problem. You’ll have to feed William, though.”

  “He’s ready to eat again?”

  “Yes, he is.” Michelle handed Thad the bottle of formula.

  Thad smiled, as if he relished his first chance to give William a bottle.

  “You know, we could probably just wait and ask Candace Wright.”

  “That’s assuming we can find her and she’ll talk to us. She may not. In any case, it’s best to be as prepared as you can be before you walk into a situation like this.” She sighed. “So if Russell thinks the papers he signed are in the attic, I think we need to do everything possible to find them. Because if we can find them, then we will know what attorney he used to prepare them.”

  “What if they didn’t use an attorney? What if they just went online and printed out some do-it-yourself forms and signed those?”

  Michelle exhaled. “Then none of what they’ve done may be legal. But again, we’re getting ahead of ourselves.” She held up a staying hand. “How do I get to the attic?”

  Thad picked up William and the bottle. “We’ll walk you up there.”

  Thad motioned her up the stairs. Past the master bedroom, with its heavy mahogany furniture and big, comfortable-looking bed. There was a stack of books and what looked like medical journals on both nightstands. Baskets of what looked like clean, unfolded laundry, and an overflowing hamper. On down the hall, past another bath and bedroom, decorated in teenage-boy motif, with a big sign on the door that read: Russell’s Room—No One Else Allowed. Next to that was a study, with a desk and cozy leather armchair and ottoman. Along one wall was a stack of gift boxes, reminding Michelle of all the women in town who were chasing him. Before she could stop herself, she blurted, “What’s this? The trophy room?”

  “I’m planning to donate it all. I just can’t do it anywhere in town. ’Cause someone will know and then I’ll hurt somebody’s feelings…and I don’t want to do that.”

  She could see he was serious. “It must be hard to be you,” she said dryly.

  He returned her droll look and opened a door leading to the third floor. “Up there.”

  Michelle hit the switch next to the door. Light flooded the third floor and spilled down the rough wooden stairs. “Thanks.”

  Thad wandered back in the direction they’d come. “William, let’s go into the master bedroom and have ourselves a bottle, shall we?”

  Shaking her head, Michelle headed up the stairs. Thad was right. It was a mess. And a pretty big one. Most of it seemed to be Russell’s, judging by the name scrawled in black Magic Marker on the sides of boxes.

  She began looking. And looking. And looking. Finally, thirty minutes later, she hit the jackpot. Or at least she hoped she had. She found a metal lockbox, the kind where people tended to store their important papers. Only problem was, she noted, it was locked.

  Footsteps sounded on the stairs. Thad came up to stand beside her. “Any luck?”

  She waved her find. “This could be it.”

  Thad towered over her, six feet two inches of attractive single male. “I didn’t know he had that up here,” he murmured in a low, sexy voice.

  Once again, Michelle forced herself to set her attraction to the handsome doctor aside. She moved past him and headed briskly down the stairs. “Where’s William?”

  Thad followed laconically. “In his Moses basket, asleep.”

  Which meant she now had Thad’s undivided attention, at least for the next ten minutes or so, until William awakened again. She ignored the
tingling in her midriff and forced herself to stay focused on the task. “You don’t happen to have a key for this?”

  He shook his head.

  “How about a paper clip?”

  “In my study.”

  They peeked in the master bedroom, where William was sleeping, then ducked into the study, opened a desk drawer and rummaged around. Finally he produced a paper clip and handed it over.

  She could feel him watching her as she sat on the edge of the desk and began to work on the lock.

  She looked up. The intent, appreciative, all-male look in his eyes made her catch her breath. “What are you thinking?” she demanded.

  Thad tucked a finger beneath her chin, moved in closer. “This.”

  Chapter Three

  Michelle had plenty of time to duck her head and step away—if she wanted to avoid the kiss.

  She didn’t.

  Maybe because kissing him was all she’d been thinking about since he’d answered the door that morning, fresh out of bed.

  Actually, she reminded herself sagely, the zing of awareness had happened a lot sooner than that. He’d caught her attention as soon as she realized who was living across the street from her.

  The parade of women making their way to his front door—plus his reputation as a love-’em-and-leave-’em type—had kept her from acting on that purely physical attraction.

  But coming face-to-face with him this morning, being close enough to touch that powerful, masculine body, had forced her to see him in a new light.

  Not just as a neighbor or a guy she was too wary of to befriend.

  But as a man who conjured up the kind of romantic day-dreams and pure, physical lust she didn’t know she possessed. And seeing him with William, knowing how deeply he cared about family, even when it seemed that the only family he had left didn’t care all that much about him, had added another dimension to the mystery that was Thad.