The Unclaimed Baby

by Sherryl Woods

  “I haven’t even thought about it,” she admitted.

  “It’s too cold to do anything outdoors. I suppose we’ll just stick close to home.”

  He was shaking his head even as she spoke. “I don’t think so. We’re going shopping.”

  She stared at him in astonishment. Men hated to shop. She knew. With the possible exception of her uncle Jordan, who always dressed impeccably, not a single Adams male ever set foot in a store unless he had to. Then they bought jeans, underwear, socks and shirts by the dozens, so they wouldn’t have to repeat the traumatic experience for another year. When it came to gifts, they were top-of-the-line catalog shoppers.

  “Shopping for what?” she asked.

  “Baby supplies.”

  “We have plenty of formula and diapers,” she argued. “Lizzy and Justin’s wife have passed along some hand-me-down baby clothes.”

  “They’re all blue,” he noted. “That’s all wrong for our girl. She needs, I don’t know, maybe something pink and frilly.”

  Unwilling to admit just how tempted she was, Sharon Lynn regarded him with amusement. “You want to go shopping for pink and frilly girl clothes?”

  He turned and scowled as if she’d questioned his manhood. “You have a problem with that?”

  She swallowed the laugh that was threatening to bubble up and shook her head. “I’m just surprised, that’s all.”

  “I thought women loved to shop,” he grumbled.

  “We do. It’s men who get all antsy at the mention of spending more than ten minutes in anything other than a sporting goods store.”

  “Where’s the nearest mall?” he asked, as if the question alone were proof that he wasn’t like other men.

  “Garden City.”

  “How far?”

  “Thirty miles.”

  “Close enough.” He shoved a plate piled high with pancakes in front of her. “You game?”

  He sounded so grimly determined to challenge her, she couldn’t help nodding her acquiescence. “Sure.” She hesitated, then added, “We can’t go overboard.”

  “I’m not talking about buying out the stores, just getting a few things she really needs.”

  “Okay, then.”

  By four o’clock, with the baby ensconced in her new top-of-the-line stroller and Cord weighed down with more packages than Santa’s sleigh on Christmas Eve, Sharon Lynn insisted enough was enough.

  “I have to rest. There is not a single store left in this mall that we haven’t been in,” she complained. “I need something to drink. I need food. I need to get off my feet.”

  Cord grinned at her. “Can’t take it, huh?”

  “The only person I know who shops with more enthusiasm and endurance is my aunt Jenny, but she got her start as a kid in New York. Bloomingdale’s was her idea of a corner market. That was before she and her mom moved here and Janet married Grandpa Harlan. Jenny could keep up with you. I can’t.”

  “Next time, maybe I’ll invite her.”

  He sounded serious enough that Sharon Lynn felt a sharp pang of jealousy, before reminding herself that Jenny was happily married and therefore completely unavailable for anything more than shopping with Cord Branson. She glanced over to find Cord grinning broadly as if he’d read her mind.

  “Don’t even go there,” she muttered.

  “Go where?” he inquired innocently. “I thought we were going to the food court.”

  She weighed another sharp retort, then wisely swallowed it. Cord followed along as she steered the stroller to the cluster of fast-food outlets where she collapsed into the first available chair. Cord deposited the packages beside her.

  “Okay, sweetheart, what can I get you to put some color back in your cheeks and wipe that scowl off your face?”

  “A transfusion, maybe.”

  “Sorry, this place is a little short on those. How about a burger, fries and a soda?”

  “Sounds too much like what I could fix for myself at Dolan’s. I think maybe a dozen tacos, some guacamole, the hottest salsa they have and a chocolate milk shake.”

  Cord stared at her and shuddered. “Mexican food and a milk shake?”

  “I don’t see why not.”

  “It’s your call. You serious about that dozen tacos?”

  She considered the question, then said, “I suppose two would do for a start. We’ll see how I feel after that.”

  When he was gone, she glanced into the stroller and grinned at the baby, who was wearing her new frilly pink bonnet that was about as practical on a cold winter day as sandals would be. Her little fists clutched the brim as if she couldn’t quite decide whether to tug it on tighter or rip it off.

  Every single passerby gazed into the stroller and grinned at the sight. More than a few stopped to comment on her beautiful baby girl. Rather than correct them, Sharon Lynn merely murmured her thanks, but her reaction was worrisome. She felt a maternal stirring of pride, along with a deepening of the wistfulness that was constantly with her these days.

  When Cord came back with the food, he studied her intently. “Something wrong? I mean something other than low blood sugar?”

  “No, not really.”

  Just then another woman bent down to smile at Ashley, then turned to Cord. “Your daughter is just precious. My granddaughter’s just about the same age. She’s in Oklahoma. Oh, how I miss her.”

  Cord flashed a sympathetic look of understanding at Sharon Lynn, then smiled at the woman. “I can just imagine.”

  “You two count your lucky stars. You’ve been given one of God’s greatest blessings,” the woman said, then turned and walked on.

  Cord sighed as she left. “That happen a lot while I was gone?”

  Sharon Lynn nodded.

  He reached over and took her hand in his. “I know it’s hard, darlin’, but she is our blessing for now.”

  “But what happens when…” She couldn’t even say the words.

  “When she has to go?” Cord finished for her. “We’ll get by. We’ll have to.”

  Sharon Lynn didn’t think that was going to be nearly as easy as he was pretending. Not for either one of them. One thing was clear to her now, Cord was every bit as caught up in this world of makebelieve parenting as she was. She might not totally understand his motives, but she knew they were as deep and sincere as her own.

  She reached for a taco and bit into it, but her appetite had vanished. She put it back on the tray and gazed bleakly at Cord.

  “I’m ready to go if you are.”

  “Not yet. Finish your food. You’ll feel better. There’s not much that can’t be fixed with the kick of a little salsa.” He picked up the taco and held it for her. “One more bite.”

  She dutifully took that bite and then, with his gaze locked on hers, she took one more. Before she knew it, she’d finished one taco and was reaching for the second.

  “Better?” be asked.

  “Okay, yes. You’re a very wise man.”

  “I do have my moments,” he agreed with a twinkle in his eyes.

  “So, smarty, tell me again why a baby who’s not yet one needs a saddle.”

  His cheeks flushed a dull red. “Okay, maybe that was going a little overboard, but she’ll be able to ride a rocking horse soon. After that she’ll graduate to the real thing.”

  “Do you realize how long that will be?” she protested.

  His expression sobered. “I know.”

  A tear escaped and began to slide slowly down her cheek. He reached over and brushed it away with a gentle caress.

  “Don’t think about that, Sharon Lynn. Concentrate on the here and now. It’s all any of us ever have, anyway.”

  Cord was getting to be a mighty fast talker. He managed to convince Sharon Lynn to let him spend another night on her sofa so he could take the middle-of-the-night feedings. He made it sound like a generous and unselfish gesture, but he knew it was anything but that. As long as he was in that house, spending time with Sharon Lynn and the baby, he could pretend that
that was the way it would always be. A fine one he was to be telling her to concentrate on the present and not to look too far ahead, when he was already gazing years into the future.

  Sunday morning he awoke to see a vision standing over him. Used to seeing Sharon Lynn in jeans and cotton blouses or sweaters, he was stunned to see her all dressed up in a dress made of soft blue wool in a shade the exact color of her eyes. She’d let her hair fall to her shoulders and had brushed it to a shine.

  “Going someplace?”

  “I thought I’d go to church, if you don’t mind staying here with Ashley a little longer. Do you need to get back to White Pines?”

  “Not right away.”

  He thought he knew why she was so anxious to go to Sunday services. There were prayers she needed to say in a place where she’d be sure God would hear her. He wouldn’t mind offering up a few of those prayers himself.

  “We could bundle up the baby and go together,” he suggested.

  She shook her head. “That’s okay. I’m running late as it is.”

  “Then go,” he said. Something told him her words would be heard more readily than his own anyway. There were a few sins he probably needed to acknowledge before the Almighty would be interested in much else he had to say. He could start off with lust, which seemed to be slamming through him on a regular basis lately.

  “We’ll be right here when you get back,” he promised.

  Sharon Lynn turned away, then hesitated before turning back. “If you don’t have any plans for the rest of the day, Grandpa Harlan wants me to bring the baby to White Pines for Sunday dinner. You’re welcome to join us.”

  Much as he wanted to go along, Cord was hesitant. “Are you sure that’s such a good idea? I’m a hired hand out there.”

  A smile flickered then faded as she said wryly, “Believe me, no one will be happier to see you with us than Grandpa Harlan.”

  “Am I supposed to understand what you mean by that?”

  “Not yet, but when you figure it out, you might want to run like hell.”

  He thought he was beginning to get the picture. It was definitely one that could work to his advantage. “Not to worry. I know how to hold my own with a man like your granddaddy.” Especially when he suspected they had very similar goals in mind. It might be helpful to have an ally like Harlan Adams pushing Sharon Lynn his way.

  “Well, just consider yourself warned.”

  “Duly noted. Now scoot or you’ll be late. The little one and I have to get all spiffed up for our debut at White Pines. She’ll charm the socks off of them.”

  “So will you,” Sharon Lynn murmured under her breath.

  “What was that?” Cord asked, hoping she’d repeat it. His ego could use a few more encouraging slips of the tongue like that. Most of the time she kept a friendly, but frustratingly impersonal distance between them.

  “Nothing,” she said and hurried off before he could pursue the point.

  When Sharon Lynn returned a little over an hour later, she looked more at peace. Cord wished his own faith were strong enough to see him through whatever lay ahead. His had been tested a time or two too many with things turning out badly on each and every occasion.

  Then, again, he reminded himself, the last time had led him to Texas and eventually to Sharon Lynn. Maybe he ought to be rethinking to whom he owed a debt of gratitude.

  “So, do the kid and I pass muster?” he asked, holding up Ashley. She was wearing one of her new outfits, a snuggly little yellow romper with lace trim and colorful ducks embroidered across the front. “She picked it out herself.”

  “Oh, really? How did she do that?”

  “I held up everything we bought until I got a smile out of her. This was the clear winner.”

  “I see. Did you all discuss anything else while I was gone?”

  “Just that we hoped that worried crease in your brow would be gone when you got back. It is.”

  “I do feel better,” she conceded. “I’m certain everything is going to turn out the way it’s supposed to.”

  It had been days since they’d heard anything from her cousin about the investigation. Maybe today they would get more answers. “Will Justin be at dinner?” he asked.

  “Everyone will be at dinner, except maybe my uncle Luke and Jessie. It’s a long way from their place and they don’t always make the trip. Then, again, I doubt Jessie will miss the chance to get a look at the baby. She’s called every single day to ask about her.”

  “All your cousins will be there, too?”

  “Except for Angela, Luke and Jessie’s daughter. She’s living in Montana with her family. They get back for holidays or whenever a whim strikes her. Other than that, Sunday dinners are pretty well jam-packed with relatives. Don’t panic, though. You’ve already met quite a few people. You know my dad and Harlan Patrick and Grandpa Harlan. You’re working with them, so that’ll be a high enough recommendation for everybody else. You don’t have a thing to be nervous about.”

  But he was. He hadn’t been this edgy going on his first date ever. Facing parental inquisitions had been nerve-racking then, but they hadn’t really mattered in the long run. Though Sharon Lynn couldn’t possibly realize it, this family gathering did matter. It was vital that he make a good impression. He needed the whole slew of Adamses on his side. Without that, he had a feeling he’d never win over Sharon Lynn.

  “Let’s do it, then,” he said finally.

  “You sound like you’re going to an execution,” she noted with amusement.

  “Feels a lot like it, too.” He ran a finger around the inside of his collar, which felt as if it was cutting off breath. He scowled at her. “Don’t you dare laugh.”

  “Never,” she promised, though she looked as if she were having to fight doing just that. “You might try thinking about the fact that I’m walking into that house with a stranger beside me and a baby in my arms. You won’t even be the center of attention. I’ll be plagued with more questions than a politician caught up in the middle of a sex scandal.”

  “You really do know how to bring a man back down to earth.”

  “I was trying to reassure you.”

  Cord wasn’t reassured, but he pushed aside his own uneasiness to concentrate on hers. When they walked up to the front door at White Pines, he gave her arm a reassuring squeeze. “Ready?”

  She shot him a brave little smile. “Hey, it’s only dinner, right? How bad can it be?”

  Of course, dinner was the least of it. From the instant they walked through the door, they were being subjected to a mix of speculative glances and, in his case, downright penetrating glares. He was relieved when he finally spotted a familiar, friendly face.

  “Cord, I’m so glad you could come along with Sharon Lynn,” Harlan Adams said, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and guiding him over to speak to his wife. “Janet, you remember Cord, don’t you?”

  She gave him a warm smile and shook his hand. “Of course. I’m so delighted Sharon Lynn brought you along today.”

  “Thank you for including me.”

  She shot an amused glance toward her husband. “Trust me, Harlan couldn’t wait to have you over. He’s already thinking of you as family.”

  “Hush, Janet. Do you want to scare the man to death?”

  “Just giving him fair warning.”

  Cord grinned at her. “Not necessary. I think your husband and I understand each other completely.”

  He wasn’t sure who was more surprised by his statement, but Harlan Adams recovered first. With a hoot of laughter, he slapped Cord on the back. “You need any help, son, you just come to me. I still have a little influence with my grandchildren, no matter how old and independent they think they are.”

  “If you don’t mind, sir, I think I’ll just take it from here on my own.”

  “Confidence, I like that,” Harlan Adams enthused. His expression sobered. “Just remember what I told you when you first came around. Sharon Lynn’s had a rough time of it. You’ll have to t
ake things nice and easy.”

  Cord wanted to grumble that if he took them much more slowly, he’d be standing still, but he simply nodded. “I’ve gentled a lot of skittish horses in my time. I figure a woman who’s been hurt is a lot like that.”

  Harlan grinned. “I’m not sure Sharon Lynn would appreciate the analogy, but you’ve definitely got the right idea. Now you come with me. I want to get another peek at that baby you two have been looking after.”

  “She’s the prettiest little girl I’ve ever seen,” Cord told him as they worked their way through the crowd surrounding Sharon Lynn. “Smart, too.”

  “You sound a lot like a proud papa.”

  Cord didn’t even bother trying to deny it. “Yes, I suppose I do.”

  Sharon Lynn glanced up just then and met his gaze. A smile lit her eyes for just an instant and then she was distracted by the arrival of yet another relative.

  “Justin,” she murmured in a tone that held both welcome and panic.

  “Hey, Sharon Lynn,” he said, giving her a subtle shake of his head, even as he stroked a finger lightly down the baby’s cheek. “Hey, beautiful,” he whispered.

  Cord moved closer. As if there had been some signal, the others slipped away, leaving Justin alone with Sharon Lynn, Cord and the baby.

  “There’s no news, then?” Sharon Lynn asked after she’d introduced him to her cousin.

  “Nothing concrete,” Justin said.

  Cord thought he heard an unspoken warning in his voice. “But you expect to have something soon, don’t you?”

  “It’s possible we’re getting close,” Justin said with a worried look at Sharon Lynn.

  She swallowed hard, but she didn’t crumple at the news. “How close?” she asked in a breathless whisper.

  “I’m meeting with someone in Garden City tomorrow who may know who the mother is.”

  The color washed out of her cheeks. She turned suddenly and shoved the baby into Cord’s arms, then fled from the room. Startled by the abrupt move, Ashley began to cry. Justin met Cord’s gaze evenly.

  “Here, let me take her. You go see how Sharon Lynn’s doing. Right now, I’m probably the last person she wants around.”