Fortune's Heirs: Reunion

by Marie Ferrarella

  “What’s the matter with him?” Alex asked.

  Sierra felt the baby’s diaper. It was wet so she immediately sat down on the couch to change it. “This is the last diaper I have,” Sierra said. “And I gave him the last bottle right before you came. I’m going to have to go to the store tonight and buy some baby supplies. Do you think you could help me?”

  “Tonight! I’ve got to be in court by eight o’clock in the morning,” Alex exclaimed loud enough to be heard above the baby’s crying. “I’ve got notes to make and—”

  “All right,” Sierra abruptly interrupted. “Sorry I asked.”

  With a shake of his head, Alex headed toward the kitchen with his empty coffee cup. After a couple minutes, he returned and stood in the middle of the living room, his arms folded against his chest.

  “You’re really pushing our friendship, Sierra, you know that, don’t you?” She didn’t answer immediately and he groaned with surrender. “Okay, so I did offer to help you out.”

  She tried not to smile as she carefully placed the baby against her shoulder. He squirmed and then instantly quieted as she patted his back. “It’s just one evening out of your busy life, Alex. And little Bowie will thank you for it later.”

  “Damn it,” he said with a scowl. “Get whatever you need and let’s go before I change my mind.”

  A few minutes later, as they neared the end of Austin Street and were about to turn onto Main, Sierra said, “Alex, would you please drive out to that new grocery store on the west side of town? I don’t want to go to Bailey’s. Everybody in there knows me.”

  Behind the wheel, Alex glanced at her as he braked to a stop at the intersection. “So? What’s wrong with that?”

  Tilting her head back and forth, she tried to explain without sounding insulting. “Well, you’re with me.”

  “So?” he repeated. “Do I look like I’m diseased or something? The last I heard Bailey’s hadn’t barred lawyers from shopping there.”

  Frustration pushed a moan past her lips. “Oh, Alex, you know what I’m talking about. They’ll think something is fishy. Me and you and a baby. Talk will be all over Red Rock.”

  “Sierra,” he said with exaggerated patience. “We just told a child care worker that we planned to get married. The sooner that gossip gets around, the better.”

  She looked at him, her expression horrified. “No! Alex, my parents. I could never deceive them like that. There’s already been too much miscommunication in my family.”

  “All right. All right. Explain to them what’s going on, but make them promise to keep it quiet until little Bowie finds another home. Otherwise you might as well kiss him goodbye right now.”

  Sierra glanced over her shoulder at the baby strapped safely in his car seat. Funny how Bowie was already starting to feel like hers, she thought with a sting of emotional tears. And wasn’t it even more odd to think of Alex as his father? Bowie Calloway. The name had a very nice ring to it even if she didn’t have one on her finger.

  The next afternoon, Sierra surprised her parents by showing up on their front porch with little Bowie in her arms. She’d dressed him in a pair of blue shorts and matching striped T-shirt, just one of the sets of clothing that she and Alex had purchased last night on their shopping spree for the baby. She’d combed Bowie’s hair with just enough oil to make it lay to one side and tied a pair of tiny tennis shoes on his feet. He looked adorable and Sierra could see from the light in her mother’s eyes that she was instantly taken with the baby.

  “Sierra, where in the world did you get such a precious baby?”

  Maria Mendoza leaned over Bowie for a closer look at the baby. Meanwhile Jose had come to the door to see who’d been ringing the bell. When he spotted Sierra and the baby, he joined them on the porch.

  “A cute little boy,” he remarked. “Who are you babysitting for, Sierra?”

  Sierra looked from her father to her mother. The couple had been deeply in love for more than thirty years and that love had kept them both young and vibrant, even through the trying times. At sixty-two, Maria had the svelte, curvy body of a woman twenty years younger. Her rosy-tan skin glowed with scarcely a wrinkle and her black hair was streaked with only a small amount of gray. She was still quite a beautiful woman and made a perfect partner for Jose, who in Sierra’s opinion had to be the most handsome, distinguished man in all of Red Rock.

  Her father was a tall, strongly built man with black hair that had yet refused to gray, even though he had reached the age of sixty-five. He adored his wife and children and Sierra had often wished she could find a man in her life who was even half as wonderful as her father.

  “Actually I’m not babysitting,” Sierra told the both of them. “I’ve become Bowie’s foster mother.”

  “You what?” This was from Jose.

  At the same time, her mother exclaimed by practically shouting her name, “Sierra!”

  “Let’s go into the house,” Sierra suggested. “The mosquitoes are out today and I don’t want Bowie to get bit.”

  Her parents hurried their daughter into the house and hovered over her as she went into the kitchen and placed Bowie, strapped in his carrier, on the dining table.

  “Now what is this about being a foster mother?” Jose demanded.

  Rolling her eyes and shaking her head, Maria sank weakly onto one of the wooden chairs surrounding the table. “Sierra! A baby isn’t like a stray cat or sick puppy!”

  Sierra tried to hide her disappointment as her gaze took in both parents. She’d been hoping the two of them would be happy about the baby. But in all honesty, she hadn’t really expected a joyous reaction from them. For some reason, maybe because she was the youngest of their three daughters, they’d always considered her their little girl instead of a grown woman. Even when she’d been dating Chad and talking of marriage, they had always dismissed her plans, certain that she would break up with him. Well, that part of their opinion about her had been right. She had broken up with Chad. But if they thought, for one minute, that baby Bowie was just a whim with her, then they were going to be in for a surprise.

  “Mother, I do know the difference between a child and an animal!”

  Maria waved a scoffing hand at Sierra. “Oh, you know what I mean. You’ve always taken in stray animals. And even needy friends at times. But a baby is a huge responsibility.”

  Stepping forward, Jose thoughtfully rubbed his jaw as he inspected Bowie’s sleeping face.

  “Your mother is right, honey. You have a job that takes up nearly all your time and—”

  “I’m going to take a leave of absence for a month or two. I have enough money saved. And my position at work will be there when I’m ready to go back. I’ve already discussed it with my superiors.”

  Jose’s black brows lifted as he shared a look of surprise with his wife.

  “You’ve already made these decisions?”

  Sierra nodded. “I know this all sounds sudden. But, frankly, everything happened at once. The baby was left with me at my house. Abandoned. And the mother wants me to have him.”

  Shocked, Maria’s hand crept to her open mouth. Jose clucked his tongue with dismay.

  “Sierra, your job—you see such horrible things. A woman giving up her own baby! What kind of person is this?” her father asked.

  “A desperate teenager, Daddy. She has no husband and her father beats her and her mother.”

  Closing his eyes, Jose placed a hand against his forehead and shook his head. “Dear God, such evilness!”

  Maria said, “There has to be more to it than just this girl wanting you to have the baby. There are laws and regulations about these things. What—”

  “I’ve already spoken to child care services. Alex and I have to go to their offices in San Antonio in about an hour and sign some papers.”

  A curious frown wrinkled Jose’s dark features. “Alex? Alex Calloway? Is he acting as your lawyer or something?”

  Sierra cleared her throat. “Uh, no. Not exactly.
We—uh, we told the child care worker that we were getting married so that little Bowie would have two parents.”

  Aghast, Maria shot up from her chair. “Married! Sierra, what were you thinking?”

  “Are you two getting married?” Jose asked in a far more normal tone than his wife had spoken.

  Sierra wasted no time in shaking her head. “Of course not. He—he’s just helping me out with this. Because he knows I want to keep Bowie. At least for a while.” She turned pleading eyes on her parents. “Please. Both of you, please, keep this to yourselves. Alex and I want everyone to think we’re getting married. Otherwise—well, there might be all sorts of problems.”

  Maria groaned. “And you think lying will keep trouble from happening? That’s not logical, Sierra.”

  Bowie chose that moment to wake up. As he began to squirm and open his eyes, Sierra reached down and picked him up from his carrier. The slight weight of his body cradled against her breast felt good and right. But she doubted her parents would understand her maternal feelings.

  “Alex and I aren’t lying, Mother. We’re just pretending a bit. There can’t be any harm in that. The two of us have been good friends for years. We understand each other. Believe me, there won’t be any problems.”

  Maria and Jose exchanged worried glances while Sierra checked her wristwatch.

  “I’m sorry, you two, but I’ve got to be going,” Sierra apologized. “Alex is going to be expecting us at his office in about thirty minutes. And I might run into traffic.”

  Picking up the plastic carrier with one hand, Sierra turned and started out of the room. Her parents followed close on her heels.

  “But what about your sisters?” Maria asked in a frantic rush. “What are we supposed to tell them?”

  “That Alex and I are taking care of a baby for the next few weeks. That’s all they need to know.”

  Daughter and parents reached the front entrance to the house and Jose laid a gentle hand on Sierra’s shoulder.

  “Where is this all going to lead, Sierra? I can’t see anything permanent. And if you become attached to Bowie it could become very painful for you. Are you sure you want to go through such trauma? After all, you’ve just had this breakup with Chad.”

  “Your father is right, honey,” Maria added. “If you’re clinging to this child because you miss Chad, then you’re doing it for the wrong reasons.”

  “Chad isn’t even in the picture now,” she said and realized with a start that she really meant it. Chad had been a bad mistake, nothing more. Strange that it had taken little Bowie and a few words from Alex to make her see that.

  “Well, you certainly seemed all cut up about him a couple months ago. When you first told us about the breakup,” Maria countered.

  Sierra smiled broadly and marveled that she felt so lighthearted, so good today. Alex had been right all along. She’d not needed Chad “the loser” Newbern to make her happy.

  “I was in a mild state of shock, Mother. But that’s passed. And don’t worry, you two, I can handle this.”

  With a quick wave she hurried out the door and down the steps. She was half afraid that her parents were going to follow her to the car and insist that they accompany her and Alex to child care services and it was all she could do not to look over her shoulder to see if they were emerging from the house. But as she strapped Bowie and his carrier into the back seat of her small car, the front door remained closed and Sierra drove away with a sigh of relief.

  “Yesterday you chased a potential client out of the office and today you tell me to cancel your last two appointments.” Pauline tsk-tsked her tongue as she paced back and forth in front of Alex’s desk. “I really want you to see a doctor, hon. As far as I can tell, you’re cracking up.”

  Alex, who’d been trying to concentrate on the notes he’d made during the trial this morning, snapped his head up with irritation.

  “Damn it, Pauline, don’t you have anything better to do than to make noise in my office? Go make some coffee or file your nails. God knows you’re not going to do any work around here anyway.”

  Pauline stopped in front of Alex’s desk and folded her arms across her chest. “And you are?” she asked in an incredulous tone. “Tell that to the two people who wanted to discuss their problems with you today. Not tomorrow or the next day.”

  Tossing down his pencil, Alex glared at her. “Pauline, one of these days that nose of yours is going to get you into deep trouble. It’s none of your business why I’m taking the rest of the afternoon off.”

  She pooh-poohed his sarcasm. “Well, you’re so right, Counselor. Your secretary and general right-hand woman doesn’t need to know what her boss is up to. If anyone calls I can just wing it and say you’re out meeting with a go-go dancer who forgot to keep her clothes on.”

  Leaning back in his chair, Alex ran a hand over his hair as he thoughtfully studied his secretary. “You really want to know where I’m going?” he asked after a moment.

  “Is Texas big?”

  A clever grin spread across his face. “I’m going to the offices of child care services.”

  His secretary was clearly disappointed. “Oh. I thought you had some wild, hot afternoon date or something,” she confessed, then frowned in puzzlement. “I don’t know of anyone who’s been in the office that’s needed your help with child services. I—”

  Pauline’s words broke off as the tinkling sound of the outer door of the building was opened and closed.

  “Well, what do you think about that?” she whispered toward Alex. “I might get to go to work, after all.”

  Alex chuckled as he watched his secretary scurry out of his office. It was just about time for Sierra to be showing up with little Bowie. Pauline was definitely going to be surprised to see the both of them. And no doubt his clever secretary would take one quick look at the baby and know that Sierra was the woman who needed him.

  Tucking away his legal notes, Alex rose from his chair and carried the manila folder over to a tall file cabinet.

  As he slipped the notes into the proper spot, Sierra’s voice sounded behind him.

  “Am I interrupting?”

  Alex turned and was instantly jolted by the sight of his sweet friend. She was dressed in a close-fitting beige sheath and matching high heels. The color enhanced her rosy-tan skin and made her black hair even blacker. This afternoon she had the mass of curls pinned up on the back of her head with a few stray coils left to dangle against her neck. She looked sexy and sophisticated at the same time. And, like an idiot, he wondered if she’d dressed up for his sake or only to make an impression at child care services.

  Whistling under his breath, Alex walked over to her. “My, my, you look—fabulous.”

  His compliment brought a bright blush of pink to Sierra’s cheeks. “I wanted to make a good impression with child care services,” she said.

  For some reason, her admission stabbed him with disappointment but he made a point to push the feeling aside. Sierra was just a friend. Her concerns were for Bowie, not him.

  “Well, I don’t think you’ll have any problem doing that,” he said. “Where’s Bowie?”

  “Pauline took one look at him and snatched him from me.”

  Slipping his arm around Sierra’s waist, Alex urged her toward the door. “We’d better get in there before she ruins him.”

  “Alex!” Pauline scolded as Alex and Sierra entered the outer office. “You didn’t tell me that Sierra was the guardian of a new baby!”

  “I haven’t had time. And she’s not yet officially the guardian. That’s why we’re headed to child care services,” Alex told her.

  Pauline turned a coy look on her boss. “Oh. Sierra’s your reason for time off. I now forgive you.”

  “What did she mean by that?” Sierra asked as she and the baby and Alex left the law office.

  Alex made a dismissive shrug of one shoulder. “Pauline was cranky with me because I changed some appointment dates.”

  “Oh, Alex, I did
n’t want to interrupt your work,” Sierra said with regret. “I hope none of this causes you any problems.”

  “Forget it, Sierra. Court appearances are always being changed from one day to the next so I’m always juggling appointments. It’s no big deal.”

  Alex’s black SUV was parked behind the building, forcing them to walk down the block and then cut through to a back alleyway. Alex carried the baby while giving Sierra a steadying hand over the rough asphalt of the back street.

  Once they reached the SUV, he buckled the baby in the back seat, then helped Sierra into the front bucket seat before he took his place behind the wheel. Although she’d taken short trips around town with him before, being enclosed in such a small space with him now somehow felt different to Sierra. She tried to hide her nervousness as she glanced over at him and smiled.

  Oh my, oh my, she thought. Why was she suddenly seeing a sexy, intelligent lawyer instead of an old college pal? Why was she charmed by the loop of brown hair falling onto his forehead and the dimple that was coming and going in his cheek? This was Alex. Her old friend, Alex. She wasn’t supposed to be noticing him like this.

  “Uh—I took the baby by my parents just before I drove to your office,” Sierra said, hoping a little conversation would get that marble in her brain back in the right spot. “They were—surprised, to say the least. I’m not so sure they think it’s a good idea for me to keep Bowie. But that doesn’t surprise me,” she added wryly.

  Alex glanced at her as he wheeled them into the flow of traffic. “Why do you say that? Your parents have always seemed like very understanding people to me.”

  Sierra twisted her hands together in her lap. “They are. But I’m their youngest child. They don’t think I’m grown up enough to do anything so serious as take on the responsibility of a baby.”

  Alex’s brows lifted and fell in contemplation. “Well, it is a serious thing. But you’re not an idiot.” He slanted her a sardonic glance. “You’re only one of those when it comes to choosing boyfriends.”

  “Gee, Alex, how sweet of you to say so.”