A Daughter's Perfect Secret

by Kimberly Van Meter

  Ford stared at the note, turning it over, searching for a signature, but it was simply a typed note, as impersonal as it was suspicious.

  Fargo entered the room, carrying a dark-haired baby boy as awkwardly as if he’d been carrying a wiggling ferret. “Oh, I see you’ve found what was on my doorstep early this morning,” he said sourly.

  “Is that…Rafe Black’s baby?” Ford asked, incredulous.

  “It’s what the note says, isn’t it?” Fargo snapped, handing off the kid with distaste. “I’ll do the honors and call Black. You keep the kid busy. He smells funky. Maybe you could check his pants.”

  Ford stared at the baby, unable to fathom that Baby Devin, the kid whose very existence had been questioned repeatedly for months, was now in his arms. He eyed Fargo, not buying for a second that the kid had just shown up without warning, but as he adjusted the baby, who’d begun to fuss, he realized now was not the time to pick that fight. He’d have to tell Hawk his suspicions later.

  Fargo picked up the phone and made the call to Rafe without a lot of ceremony.

  “Hey, Doc. I’ve got good news. Your kid showed up. I’ll deliver him to your office in about a half hour.” He hung up and met Ford’s incredulous stare. “What? It’s good news. He ought to be happy.”

  “Sure, Chief. It’s good news,” he said, patting the baby on his bottom when he fussed some more. “Doesn’t it seem a little coincidental that the baby just showed up when Rafe put some pressure on you to find him?” he asked, unable to keep his suspicion to himself. “Just saying…seems odd.”

  Fargo’s stare narrowed. “The kid’s here. Rafe’s happy. Case closed. Move on.”

  “Yeah, that’s the Cold Plains way, isn’t it?” he muttered, walking away from Fargo before he said something he really couldn’t take back.

  He supposed Fargo was right about one thing: Rafe would be happy and relieved. And that was a good thing. Ford would try to accept the news as simply that: good.

  Rafe’s hands shook as he clicked off his phone. Darcy stared, worried. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “That was Fargo. They’ve found Devin.”

  “What?” Darcy exclaimed. “Where?”

  “I don’t know. He didn’t give me details. He’s on his way now.” Tears of joy brimmed in his eyes. “I’m finally going to meet my son, after all these long months, I’m finally going to meet him!”

  Darcy rose and hugged him tightly. “I’m so glad, sweetheart. So glad. You deserve happiness. And Devin will be a lucky boy to have you as a father.”

  Rafe didn’t have a chance to answer, for Fargo and Grayson both entered the office. Fargo was carrying a small baby boy.

  The air squeezed from his lungs in a painful exhale; his heart hammered so hard he thought he might die on the spot. Darcy took a spot behind him, and Grayson’s stare narrowed when he saw her. The meeting between the two momentarily took his attention as he worried that Grayson might recognize something familiar about Darcy, but Grayson gave nothing away. He simply smiled with generosity, like a king granting a full pardon to an unruly subject, and basked in Rafe’s joy.

  “Here,” Fargo said, putting the boy unceremoniously into Rafe’s arms. “Congratulations. It’s a boy.”

  Grayson stepped forward, his arms outstretched as if to embrace Rafe and the baby, but he simply smiled and clapped his hands together as if with happiness. “Behind the scenes, I had Chief Fargo chasing down every lead, putting some heat on people of interest, but we didn’t want to say anything until the investigation yielded results. And now, your son is in your arms. All’s well that ends well, Dr. Black. Wouldn’t you agree?”

  Rafe barely heard Grayson, he was too busy taking in every detail of Devin’s little face. “He’s beautiful,” he murmured, tears breaking the surface and starting to flow. He blinked them back and choked on the words he said next. “Thank you for bringing him home to me.”

  Fargo’s smile bordered on a smirk, and Grayson simply looked smug, but Rafe didn’t care. He had his son. He’d deal with the who, what and how later.

  “Rest assured we haven’t given up on finding who took the little guy,” Grayson said, nodding to Fargo. “Isn’t that right, Chief?”

  “Absolutely,” Fargo said, no doubt lying through his teeth. “Whoever did this will be caught. I promise you that.”

  Rafe looked up and met Fargo’s stare. “Good. Because anyone who would steal a child is beyond redemption in my book.”

  “Well, you two have a lot of catching up to do. One more thing,” Grayson said, going to the door. “What did you decide, on the offer to run the OB clinic?”

  Rafe straightened and adjusted the baby in his arms. “I’m sorry, I have to decline. I like working with my patients too much here in my practice, but I’d be happy to continue volunteering on Saturdays to help out.”

  Darcy interjected with a sweet smile, “Plus now that we have Devin, our time will be limited. Isn’t that right, sweetheart?”

  Rafe caught Darcy’s gaze and nodded in full agreement, in spite of Grayson’s obvious displeasure at his refusal. “I plan to be a hands-on father. To this boy and any other that may come along.”

  Darcy beamed and shot Grayson a look that could only be deemed as a victory dance in her eyes. Grayson’s smile tightened and he shrugged. “Understandable. But maybe with time, you’ll change your mind. Until then…enjoy your son.”

  Rafe stared at the cherubic face that was so like his own and murmured a promise as he nuzzled the sweet, soft skin of his son, “Oh, I will.”

  The days that followed Devin’s return were a whirlwind of activity. Darcy had a blast shopping for baby furniture and all the appropriate trappings, turning the guest bedroom into Devin’s.

  Rafe stared in wonder at the transformation. The room was painted in shades of baby blue with stenciled airplanes flying along the walls and a beautiful cherrywood crib set with matching bedding that filled the small room perfectly.

  Darcy fell into the role of mother quite easily and was nearly as protective of Devin as Rafe, and it filled Rafe’s heart with joy.

  “Will you marry me?” he asked one morning after she’d fed and changed Devin. She paused in her dressing of the little man and stared. He realized he could’ve finessed it a bit more, but he was overcome with love for this woman and the words simply spilled out of their own accord. But no matter, it was his heart’s desire in spite of the presentation. “I don’t have a ring yet, but we can rectify that today if you like. All I know is that I want you in my life forever and the best way to do that is to give you my name. Would you do me the honor of being my wife and Devin’s mother?”

  It took an agonizingly long moment for Darcy to respond, and for a second, Rafe worried she’d turn him down, but that wasn’t the case. She jerked a short nod, tears filling her eyes. “Yes,” she whispered. “Nothing would make me happier.” She glanced down at Devin and smiled. “I don’t need a fancy ring. This little man is better than any material item you could give me. And I definitely want more of them. Maybe not this minute, but we can negotiate that basketball team.”

  He gathered her in his arms and held her close, sending a prayer to whoever might be listening to watch over them, for they’d need all the guardian angels out there to make it in Cold Plains.

  Nothing had changed—Grayson still needed to be stopped and Rafe had vowed to help in any way that he could to find answers about Catherine—but with Darcy and Devin, he felt he could do anything.

  It was the best feeling he’d had since stepping foot in Cold Plains, and he planned to savor it.

  Epilogue

  A commotion in the front office brought Rafe running. Darcy was helping a badly beaten woman into Exam Room One, galvanizing him into action.

  The woman, face swollen and bruised, her lip and nose busted, groaned as she lay on the exam bed, holding her side. Rafe was horrified by the extent of her injuries, but the professional in him was already assessing her condition.

 
“Ma’am, can you tell me what happened?” he asked, swiftly checking her pupils for evidence of shock, then slipping a blood-pressure cuff on. “You’re hurt badly. I’m going to stabilize you, but you need to go to the hospital.”

  She groaned again, tears squeezing from her swollen lids. “Hurtsss,” she moaned. “So b-bad.”

  Rafe looked to Darcy and she shot off to call the ambulance.

  “What’s your name?” he asked, trying to keep her conscious. “I’m Dr. Black. I’m going to take care of you. You’re safe now.”

  “G-Gemma,” she managed to whisper, though it was difficult to understand at first because of her injured lip.

  “Gemma? Okay, Gemma, the ambulance is here. I—” Her hand clutched his in a surprisingly strong grip. Her expression pleaded with him not to leave her. Fear was in her eyes and he nodded in understanding. “I’ll go with you to the hospital.” Her grip loosened as her eyes registered relief. Rafe couldn’t help but wonder if this was the work of Grayson or his henchmen, but there was no way to find out at the moment. Gemma was barely conscious.

  The ambulance arrived and trundled Gemma into the back, and Rafe climbed in to sit beside her.

  “Cancel all patients,” he instructed Darcy just before the doors closed, and they raced the short distance to the hospital.

  He relinquished her care to the trauma department but he waited for news. It was an hour before they’d patched her enough to put her in a room, with heavy painkillers on a drip. Rafe entered her room, relieved to see the blood wiped away and the wounds attended to. He checked her chart. Severe facial lacerations and bruising, a bruised kidney and liver but otherwise no internal bleeding, which surprised him.

  Rafe went to her bedside and found her awake.

  “You should be resting,” he said softly.

  “Thank you,” she said, her voice raspy and drugged.

  “No need for thanks,” he said. “I wouldn’t be much of a doctor if I ignored an injured woman who stumbled into my practice.”

  She attempted a smile, but it was too painful and she stopped.

  “Gemma, what happened?” he asked.

  Just then Grayson walked in and Rafe resisted the urge to scowl. Fargo must’ve alerted him to the call that went out over dispatch when the ambulance was called.

  “I came as soon as I heard,” Grayson said, his face a mask of concern. “Who did this?”

  Rafe answered, “Not sure. Do you know her?”

  Grayson shook his head and gingerly took her hand. “No, but she’s in Cold Plains’s care and we will do our best to find out who did this to her and bring them to justice.”

  Gemma stared at Grayson, her eyes brimming. “My ex-husband…he found me. I tried to run, but he caught me and did this.... He’s dangerous....”

  Grayson rubbed her hand gently. “Don’t you worry about him. We’ll find him before he can be a danger to anyone else. You rest.”

  Her eyelids fluttered shut and she dropped into a drugged sleep that she desperately needed to heal. Grayson turned to Rafe, who was watching the exchange with guarded reserve. He didn’t trust Grayson taking an interest in this poor woman. She’d clearly been through enough. But he could say nothing. He was still walking a tightrope with Grayson, playing the part that kept him alive.

  “Have the nurses tell me as soon as she’s well enough to leave. I want to make sure she’s taken care of. I will personally see to her needs. Cold Plains is a safe place. If word of this gets out, it could tarnish our image. This is a family-friendly town, not one where defenseless women get brutalized.”

  Amazingly hypocritical, thought Rafe but nodded gravely just the same. “Of course.”

  “I’ll get Chief Fargo to take her statement when she’s feeling up to it.” Grayson took one last look at Gemma and said, “I’ll bring the audio version of my lecture tonight—Healing the Heart. It’s appropriate, don’t you think?”

  “Very,” he agreed. “I think she’ll like that.”

  Pleased, Grayson nodded and left.

  As soon as Grayson was gone, Rafe dropped the act and regarded the sleeping Gemma with apprehension. Grayson taking an active interest in the woman wasn’t a good thing. In his experience, when Samuel Grayson took a shine to a woman…sometimes they ended up dead.

  He’d have to find a way to warn the woman…or else she’d find herself running from one madman—straight into the arms of another.

  That now-familiar tightening in his chest reminded him that even though he’d finally found Devin, all was far from well in Cold Plains.

  Rafe could feel the tension in the tightrope he continued to walk. The urge to pack up his little family and split was strong, but when he looked at Gemma, saw the trust in her eyes for the madman pretending to care about her well-being, he saw countless other people falling for Grayson’s lies and he couldn’t walk away. Not yet.

  The battle was coming and, whether he liked it or not, he was already on the front lines.

  There was no turning back now.

  * * * * *

  ISBN: 9781459223400

  Copyright © 2012 by Harlequin Books S.A.

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