In a few short hours, it began to seem totally natural to have a child tucked into the crook of her arm as she went about her other chores. Old lullabies she hadn’t thought of in years came back to her as she held the baby and rocked her to sleep.
As the time flew by, she began to dread the ringing of the phone. Each time she answered, she expected it to be Justin with word on the baby’s family, with an announcement that someone was coming to claim the child. She couldn’t help wondering how she would cope with that inevitable end.
On Friday night, the baby had needed Sharon Lynn to survive. By Sunday, she worried that maybe it was turning the other way around. Finding the baby on her doorstep was giving her, at long last, a reason to live.
But such a tenuous reason, she warned herself, one that could be snatched from her at any moment. Yet how could any woman defend herself against loving a beautiful, helpless child?
There were limits, though. Even she could see that. It was one reason she resisted the temptation to name the baby. Surely the child already had a name. She had to. It wasn’t Sharon Lynn’s place to choose another, even if it meant calling her nothing more than sweetie or little one. It was awkward and frustrating at times, but it was the way it had to be.
When the phone rang at nine o’clock on Sunday night, she jumped. At the sound of Justin’s voice, her heart slowed to a dull thud.
“Everything okay over there?” he asked.
“Of course. Have you found out anything?”
“Nothing. Still no reports of a missing baby. It’s as if she appeared out of nowhere.”
“Maybe she’s just a gift from heaven,” Sharon Lynn said quietly, unable to hide the wistfulness. “Maybe this was meant to be.”
“Don’t go there,” Justin warned. “Please don’t go there. Not yet. We’re just in the early stages of the investigation. Anything could happen.”
She sighed. “I know.”
“What do you intend to do about work tomorrow?”
“I’m taking her with me, of course.”
It was Justin’s turn to sigh heavily. “I figured as much. Lizzy called. She says she has a portable crib and a carrier out at her place that you can use. I’ll pick them up first thing in the morning and drop them off at Dolan’s.”
“Thanks, Justin. You’re an angel.”
“I hope you still feel that way when this is all over.”
“No matter what happens, I won’t blame you. I promise.”
“I’ll see you in the morning.”
After she’d hung up, Sharon Lynn went in to check on the baby and stood for a long time just watching her sleep. She was so innocent and trusting and yet already in her young life, she had been betrayed in the cruelest way of all. Was she aware of that on some level? Would it affect her for the rest of her life? Or did she only know that there was someone now keeping her warm and fed and safe? She certainly seemed to be sleeping peacefully enough.
As the night wore on, Sharon Lynn envied her that. She tossed and turned, knowing that the day ahead would be chaotic, that it would be filled with unanswerable questions and maybe with heartwrenching loss. The weather had saved her from the visitors and the questions all weekend, but she wouldn’t be so lucky come morning. It wasn’t in the Adams genes to let something like this pass unnoticed.
Sure enough, not only was Justin on the doorstep when she arrived at Dolan’s, but her mother and grandmother were there right on his heels. Her aunts and her cousins followed at a head-spinning clip.
Thanks to Lizzy’s contributions, the baby was settled into a portable crib behind the lunch counter where every single Adams could ooh and aah over her, along with half the town. By noon Sharon Lynn was so sick of advice, so tired of warnings about getting attached that she was ready to scream. She would have thrown everyone out and locked the doors, but Dolan’s was a business and the novelty of an abandoned baby on the premises had the lunch counter busier than it had been in weeks.
By two, things had finally settled down again. Patsy Driscoll had gone home after pocketing more tips than she usually did in a week. Sharon Lynn finally had a chance to hold the baby herself.
“You charmed the socks off of them,” she informed the gurgling child. “Little wonder. You’re every bit as cute as any Adams baby I’ve ever seen and, believe me, there are a lot of them.”
“Hey, are you maligning my descendants?” Grandpa Harlan inquired as he slid onto a stool next to her, his gaze locked on the baby.
Sharon Lynn sighed. “I should have known you wouldn’t be able to resist coming into town to see her for yourself.”
“Why should I be the only one left out?” he inquired.
“Because she’s a baby, not a circus sideshow.”
“You upset because everyone’s interested or because they’re all offering up advice you don’t want to hear?”
Of course, he would see that, she thought. Her grandfather was the wisest man she knew. She gazed into his bright blue eyes and saw the concern there.
“I know what I’m letting myself in for,” she assured him.
“I’m sure you do,” he agreed. “Doesn’t mean we can’t worry about you.”
“Do you intend to add in your two cents?”
He grinned. “Not if you’ll let me hold her, while you go pour me a cup of real coffee.”
Amused by his eagerness, Sharon Lynn relinquished the baby gladly enough, but she poured decaf into the cup she handed him. Her grandfather scowled.
“You, too?”
“I take my marching orders from a higher authority.”
“Who’s that?” he demanded indignantly.
“Janet.”
“Whatever happened to the days when an old man was respected?”
“We do respect you and we love you. That’s why we want you to stick around. Now, drink the decaf. It tastes just as good as the high-octane stuff.”
“If taste were all that mattered, there wouldn’t be two kinds. I want a little kick.”
“Well, you won’t get it here and that’s that.”
“Stubborn brat.”
“Stubborn old man.”
He grinned. “If you’re calling me names, I guess your spunk is back. Might’s well go along home and find something else to worry about.”
“Might’s well,” she agreed. “I really am okay, Grandpa Harlan.”
He lifted the baby above his head until she giggled, then brought her down for a kiss before handing her back to Sharon Lynn. He headed for the door, then turned back.
“By the way, Cord’s working out real good at White Pines. Your daddy’s kept him hopping and from what I hear, Cord is up to it.”
“He got the job, then? I’d wondered.”
Surprise registered on his face. “You haven’t talked to him?”
“Not since Friday night.”
“Interesting,” he said thoughtfully. “Well, something tells me he’ll be coming around first chance he gets.”
Her gaze narrowed at the vague innuendo in his tone. “What is that supposed to mean? You haven’t been meddling again, have you?”
“I asked a few questions, that’s all. We were hiring the man. What would you have me do?”
“I thought Daddy interviewed him.”
“He did. I just came along behind him and picked up a few more details, tidied up some loose ends, you might say.”
“Such as?”
“Oh, this and that.”
“Grandpa!”
“You take care, darlin’ girl. Bring that baby out to the ranch this weekend, if she’s still staying with you. Nothing I love more than fussing over a new baby.”
He was gone before she could reply, but not before the casual invitation stirred up all of her worst fears. Would the baby be with her by the weekend? Would she even be with her tomorr
ow? The uncertainty was difficult now. How much worse would it get as time passed? What would her impulsive decision to become the child’s foster mother lead to? What would it cost her?
“It doesn’t matter,” she murmured, settling the baby into the carrier so she could clean up the lunch counter and grill from the day’s onslaught of customers. She didn’t matter. The baby’s well-being was all that counted, and for now she was in a position to see that nobody ever hurt that precious child again.
Another round of curious neighbors and family members dropped in around four. By nightfall, she was sick of being subjected to concerned glances and of listening to all the warnings. She was ready to close up on the dot of six, if only to prevent any more lectures from well-meaning relatives. Just as she was about to lock the door and breathe a sigh of relief, Cord appeared. Given the hints her grandfather had dropped earlier, she wasn’t sure just how welcome she ought to make him.
“Too late to get dinner?” he asked, his expression hopeful.
She regarded him warily. “That depends.”
“On?”
“Whether you intend to offer advice.”
He grinned. “I gather your family’s been calling on you today. I assumed as much from the ruckus going on out at the ranch all day. Every time one of the women came back with a report, all the men gathered around to hear it. I got the feeling your brother and your father were just itching to sneak into town and take a look for themselves. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if they showed up tonight.”
“They’ll probably hold out till tomorrow. Grandpa Harlan came in their place.”
“I’m not surprised. He probably would have been here Saturday right after he talked to me, if the roads hadn’t been so bad. He had more questions than a reporter sniffing out a hot scoop.”
“I’ll bet. Watch your step around him or you won’t have a secret left.”
Cord met her gaze evenly. “I’m not all that big on secrets, not with the people who matter to me. I’m a cards-on-the-table kind of guy. What about you?”
“I don’t know. In my family, it’s virtually impossible to keep any,” she said a little wistfully. “It might be nice to try sometime. I’ve always wanted to be mysterious. That’s hard to pull off when you’ve lived in the same town all your life and your life’s an open book. Do you know how difficult it is to get any privacy at all with relatives looking over your shoulder every time you turn around?”
“Think about the flip side. You could be like me and not have anyone to share things with at all. Believe me, darlin’, you’re better off.”
“I suppose,” she said, but after a day like today she had a really hard time relating to his perspective. “Sometimes I wonder if I shouldn’t have done what you did, just taken off and gotten a fresh start someplace totally new.” She thought of her uncle Luke and her cousin Angela. “Of course, others in my family have tried it and wound up right back here again. Only one moved far enough away to get some peace and quiet, but she’s back with her family at the drop of a hat. All she has to do is hint and Grandpa sends Uncle Jordan flying up to bring them all down.”
Cord listened thoughtfully, but his expression was skeptical. “Why would you leave all you have here, a family, a business, your home?”
“It might have been easier,” she said quietly, thinking of the days after Kyle’s death, when she’d faced reminders everywhere she turned. That would have been the time to go. Instead she’d bought Dolan’s and pretty much ensured that she’d be here forever.
“Easier?” Cord repeated. “I don’t understand.”
She forced a smile. “No, I don’t suppose you do.” She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.”
“I’m not sure I believe that.” His gaze searched hers. “Something tells me it matters very much. Are you going to tell me the whole story?”
“Maybe,” she said. “One of these days.”
He tilted his head “Now, you see, you do know how to keep secrets, after all.”
She could feel a slow grin spreading across her face. “You’re right. I guess I do. Does that make me a woman of mystery?”
“It does to me.”
She gave a little nod of satisfaction. “Well, then, that’s something.” She flashed him a brilliant smile. “So, tell me, what are you doing here? I’m surprised you’re not eating in the bunkhouse out at White Pines. The food’s better there than anything I could throw together for you.”
He winked at her. “But the company’s a whole lot more fascinating around here.”
Sharon Lynn flushed under his warm gaze, but before she could warn him off, before she could make it clear that she wasn’t interested in pursuing anything more than conversation—or maybe just a hint of flirting to see if she was still any good at it—he turned away and scanned the drugstore.
“Where’s my girl?” he demanded. “I’ve spent the whole weekend wondering how she was getting along. Everybody at the ranch was offering up opinions, but I couldn’t wait to see for myself.”
So that was why he’d come, she thought, feeling oddly disgruntled by the discovery that this visit was all about the baby. Apparently he’d just been making idle, small talk with her, biding his time.
Before she could reply, Cord spotted the portable crib and headed straight for it. Sharon Lynn watched as he scooped the baby up and held her in the air. The baby gurgled with delight as she had earlier for Grandpa Harlan. Sharon Lynn wanted to haul the baby into her arms and explain that girls shouldn’t go trusting a man whose attentions were so fickle. Then again, maybe she was the one who needed that advice. She’d realized when Cord walked through the door that she’d been half watching for him all weekend long.
“You’ve made a conquest, I see.” She couldn’t seem to help the testy note in her voice. Fortunately Cord seemed oblivious to it.
“I’ve always been a big hit with ladies under two.”
Sharon Lynn was willing to wager he’d been a huge success with women of any age. Aside from his looks, there was that quick wit and easygoing charm about him that could weave a spell in the blink of an eye. If she’d been a lot less wary of men and relationships, she might have been taken with him herself. As it was, she could view the ingrained flirting with tolerant amusement. Or so she reassured herself.
“Have you ever been married?” she asked.
He took the out-of-the-blue question in stride. “No, why?”
It was as if the words had just popped out of her head. She couldn’t have explained if her life depended on it. She swallowed hard and managed to improvise. “You’re so good with the baby. It’s as if you’re used to this. I thought maybe you’d had a wife and kids.”
He shrugged. “Nope. Just second nature, I suppose. I like kids, but I’ve never had any of my own. Guess I always thought kids deserved two parents who loved each other and intended to stick together through thick and thin. There’s never been a woman I felt that way about.”
“Lots of brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews?”
He shook his head. “No, an only child. Maybe that’s why I gravitate toward big families with lots of kids underfoot.”
“Then you’re at the right place at White Pines. As you’ve seen already, the ranch is crawling with family.”
He settled the baby against his shoulder, then turned his penetrating gaze on Sharon Lynn. “Ever heard the expression about being all alone in a crowd? Sometimes when what you want most in the world seems almost within reach, it’s harder than ever to accept that you don’t really have it.”
As his words sank in, Sharon Lynn’s gaze sought out the baby. It was true. For the past two days, she had been caught up in a game of make-believe. She had held a child in her arms and despite all the disclaimers she had voiced to her family, she had pretended that the baby was hers to keep. She had longed for it to be so.
Knowing that it wasn�
��t, accepting that it might never be, brought the salty sting of tears to her eyes. Before she was aware he’d even moved, Cord had placed the baby back in the carrier and was drawing her into his arms. To her surprise, not only did she not resist, but she went willingly.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
He tucked her head beneath his chin, where she could feel the beat of his heart and smell the clean, masculine scent of him. The comfort was her undoing. Tears, never far from the surface these days, spilled down her cheeks and soaked the soft chambray of his shirt.
“I’m sorry,” he said again. “I never meant to make you cry. What was it I said?”
“It’s not you,” she managed to choke out. “I’ve been a regular waterworks for months now. It doesn’t take much to set me off.”
He tipped her chin up with a finger, then swiped gently at her tears with his thumb. The tender gesture left her trembling.
“Want to tell me why?” he asked.
“Not really.” She regarded him with a watery glance. “Do you mind?”
“I mind that you’re sad, but I don’t mind that you’re not ready to share the reason for it with me. After all, we’re little more than strangers.”
Right now, though, Cord Branson didn’t feel like a stranger. He felt like a trusted, undemanding friend, someone she—and the baby—could rely on. Everyone in her family was certainly reliable, but at the first sign of tears, they worried. They plagued her with solicitous invitations or plunked themselves down in her living room and tried to cheer her up. Adamses wanted to fix things for her. Cord seemed willing to just be there.
“Thank you,” she whispered against his chest.
“No need to thank me,” he insisted. “One of these days I’ll pry the secret out of you and then I’ll go after whoever hurt you.”
“I appreciate the thought, but heroics aren’t needed.” She rested her head against the solid wall of his chest again, unwilling to leave the warmth and comfort of his embrace, even though she knew it would be the wise thing to do. Her life had gotten complicated enough in the past few days without dragging him into the middle of the storm of emotions that the baby had unleashed inside her.
Wildflower Ridge Page 23
