The Baby Barter

by Patty Smith Hall

  With a man she was coming to care for altogether too much.

  * * *

  There was a reason chicken pox was a childhood disease, Mack thought as he scooted up in the bed, the cotton sheets sticking to him, setting off small fires around the lesions on his back and legs. He reached down to scratch a particularly bad patch along his thigh, first stealing a glance at his bedroom door. Thea had threatened to wrap his hands in a pair of socks fastened with duct tape if she caught him scratching again, and he knew with a sinking certainty that the woman would really do it!

  Better not chance it. Mack sank deeper into his pillows. Three days now, and he still felt like the gum on the bottom of some kid’s shoe, the day hours filled with oatmeal baths, watery broth and gallons of the calamine lotion Mr. Galloway had mixed up. With the way Thea dabbed the pink goo over his exposed arms and chest, he’d begun to resemble a bag of cotton candy at the North Georgia State Fair.

  But no more. Mack pulled himself up again, resolutely ignoring the new wave of pain slicing through him. Thea may think he needed another day in bed, but he’d had enough. His muscles ached from inactivity; the only daily exercise he’d had was the short walk to the bathroom for the oatmeal baths Thea had drawn for him.

  Thea. She really was something, always patient, never complaining, even when he’d been at his worst these past few days. It had surprised him to find out she’d had no idea about his accident. For years, he’d felt hurt over the way she’d failed to live up to their friendship, never contacting him to check on his recovery. Now that he knew she’d never even been aware of his situation, he’d have to let that grudge go. As for whether he still blamed her for the accident itself...he’d need to let that go, too, after all she’d done these past few days to nurse him back to health.

  Besides, it wasn’t all her fault. He’d driven too fast in poor weather conditions and missed the curve. Instead of focusing on the road, his mind had been on Thea and whatever trouble her sister had cooked up.

  Trouble that had caused Thea to run away and not return for eight long years. He knew she’d come back for her family...but her mother was doing poorly, and if Mrs. Miller was to be believed, Eileen’s baby hadn’t survived. Would Thea leave town again when she learned Sarah wasn’t her niece? Maybe not at first, she’d have her mother to care for, but he could only imagine the sadness she’d carry, the guilt that she could have done more to save her family. A knot formed in Mack’s throat just thinking about it.

  There was a light rap on the door before it opened, and the subject of his thoughts walked in. “You’re not in here scratching yourself again, are you? I don’t want you to be scarred.”

  “With you threatening me every five minutes, I don’t think so.”

  She chuckled, a musical sound that seemed to vibrate through to his soul. “Well, at least you’re getting your sense of humor back. Sounds like you’re on the mend.”

  Should he chance asking her if he could see Sarah? Thea had given him almost hourly updates on the infant since he’d fallen ill, but he’d feel better if he could see his daughter for himself. “Think I could get out of bed for a while? Maybe walk a bit?”

  “You mean see Sarah?” She moved quietly through the room, placed a stack of freshly laundered towels on the dresser, tucked in an errant blanket at the corner of the bed before finally reaching for the glass thermometer on his bedside table. Loose curls trembled against her shoulders as she shook it, then held it up to his mouth. “Remember to put it under your tongue.”

  Mack grasped the thermometer between his lips while Thea continue to bustle around the room. Watching her had become his favorite pastime these past few mornings. There was an efficiency in her movements, a discipline that almost seemed as natural as breathing to her. Was that what had drawn her into nursing in the first place, this need to have some small area of her life under control?

  Grasping the glass tube, she slid it out of his mouth and studied it before giving him a relieved smile. “Almost perfect.”

  “Good.” Mack threw back the covers and sat up. He grasped the edge of the bed as the room spun around him and a dull ache started at the base of his skull.

  “You tried to get up too fast. Just sit there for a minute, okay?”

  He couldn’t argue with her even if he wanted to. Mack closed his eyes. “Okay.”

  He drew in a deep breath, hoping to clear his head, but instead breathed in the heady mixture of Thea’s personal scent, a combination of fresh cotton and Ivory soap that he thought smelled better than anything Mr. Hice had bottled in the perfume section of his department store. She was nearby, hovering over him as she had for the past few days, as if she were truly worried for his welfare. The thought made him feel off balance again but for an entirely different reason.

  “Are you okay?”

  He opened his eyes, and his heart tumbled around in his chest at the concern in her expressive face. No wonder injured soldiers fell in love with their nurses, especially if they were as beautiful as Thea was. It would be the easiest thing in the world.

  If he’d let himself—which he wouldn’t. She was determined to take his daughter away from him. “I’m fine.”

  “Good.” The fabric of her cotton jumper rustled softly as she knelt down in front of him and reached for a pair of soft-soled shoes at the foot of the bed. “Let’s get these on you. Don’t want you to get cold.”

  “Are you this way with all of your patients?”

  Thea chuckled as he shoved his foot into the house shoe. “Most times.”

  “No wonder General Patton gave you a reference letter.”

  She stood up and stepped back, a smile dancing along the corners of her mouth. On closer inspection, she looked pale, and the tender flesh under her eyes appeared bruised a purplish blue. She had to be tired, taking care of six children, seven if he counted himself. Exhausted was more like it, but she’d never said a word of complaint. Well, the epidemic would be all over soon.

  “How’s the baby?” Mack asked.

  The tender smile that played along Thea’s lips made his heart do a little flip in his chest. “She’s fine. Not even a smidgen of fever this morning. She’s still a little fussy. She tried to scratch at her spots so often, I finally had to tie a pair of socks on to her hands to keep her for tearing at her skin.”

  “Was that necessary? I mean, she’s so little.”

  She stiffened. “She could scratch herself and end up with infected sores. We don’t want that.” Her voice wobbled a little, and he could tell she was hurt.

  Guilt assailed him over his hasty words. Mack stood up, but this time when the room spun, he wasn’t sure why but the only thought in his head was getting to Thea.

  He cupped her chin in his hand, lifted her face until her gaze met his. Blue eyes shone with unshed tears. “Hey, it’s okay.”

  “I’m just tired, that’s all.”

  “Of course you are. While we’ve all been lying around, you’ve been running around taking care of us without one word of complaint.” He brushed his thumb against the soft curve of her cheek, watched a rosy pink infuse her skin where his fingertips touched. “That couldn’t have been easy.”

  “No. You were worse than the kids. At least they didn’t snap at me.”

  There was that spark he’d grown to admire. “Maybe because I’m not use to having someone take care of me.”

  She seemed to think about that a moment. “I know the feeling.”

  He knew she did. Growing up, he’d at least had his parents to care for him, but Thea had been stuck in the role of caregiver since she was a child. Was that another reason she’d gone into nursing, because taking care of others was the only thing she’d ever known? “I still shouldn’t have said what I did about how you nursed Sarah. You did what was best for her, and that’s all I could have asked for.”

 
“Really?” Her lips curved up into a tentative smile.

  “Are you kidding? Nurse Eison told me you were the greatest thing since coffee beans when it came to taking care of little ones, and boy, if you didn’t prove it. I’m just being an old grouch.”

  “Well, you have a right to be. You’ve been very sick.” She chuckled weakly. “And I usually don’t dissolve into a puddle, but I’ve never taken care of someone I’ve cared about so much before. It just about killed me to bind Sarah’s tiny little hands in those socks but I’ve seen what an infection can do. Just the thought of what could happen to her...” She hiccuped.

  “But she’s fine.” Thea’s confession tugged at his emotions in a way he hadn’t expected. Before he knew what he was doing, he pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. “We’re worrying over nothing. That’s what loving a child does to you. I know not seeing Sarah these last few days has about driven me nuts.”

  “She’s missed you, too.”

  Mack leaned back to look at her. “She has?”

  Thea nodded. “I’ve noticed she watches the door in the evenings, like she’s waiting on you.”

  Mack thought his heart would explode beneath his ribs. His baby girl missed him. “Thank you for telling me that.”

  “I think it would do the both of you some good if you spent a little time together today. Maybe give her her afternoon bottle and rock her to sleep?”

  “You’re okay with that?”

  A tiny line formed between her lovely blue eyes. “You thought I wouldn’t be?”

  Shame sent a flash of heat up his neck. “I just figured with the both of us wanting to raise her, you’d want to keep me as far away from her as possible.”

  “I might have thought that way a couple of days ago,” she said, moving back slightly as if she needed to put some space between them. “But you love her, and I believe she loves you, too. You’re her family, and if it’s proven that she’s my niece, I’d want you to still be a part of her life. If that’s what you want.”

  It was the most unselfish gift he’d ever received, the chance to be a part of Sarah’s life even if Judge Wakefield denied the adoption. Filled with gratitude and wonder, he cupped her face in his hands, her skin warm beneath his fingertips. Thea breathed a soft sigh, and Mack followed the path to her slightly parted lips. For the briefest of moments, his thoughts wandered. What would it feel like to press his mouth against hers, to taste the sweetness that she lived out every day?

  Her eyes widened, almost as if she’d read his thoughts, and without knowing what he intended to do, Mack lowered his head toward hers.

  “Knock, knock.”

  Mack jerked his head around to find Beau Daniels standing in the doorway, his gaze traveling back and forth between them until he finally smiled. “If you want me to come back later...”

  “A good long visit is exactly what the sheriff needs.” Thea slid by Beau, She collected the dirty linens then headed for the door. “Maybe you can convince him to take it easy for another day or two.”

  “I’ll give it my best try.” They passed each other, Beau stepping toward the foot of the bed as Thea clicked the door shut behind her. He turned back to face Mack, a knowing smile plastered on his face. “Looks like Nurse Miller is taking very good care of you.”

  Mack didn’t like the implication. “Don’t say it like that. Thea isn’t anything like her sister.”

  “I never thought she was.” Beau walked over and sat down in the rocking chair next to the bed. “But the two of you did look mighty cozy when I came in.”

  “All right, so I almost kissed her.” Still wanted to, if the truth be told. But kissing Thea would complicate matters, especially concerning Sarah’s adoption. Mack grabbed the robe at the edge of the bed and shoved his arms into the sleeves; his bumps flared back to life. He sank back to sit on the bed. “Thea’s had a rough couple of days, and I didn’t help things by barking at her about Sarah’s care.”

  “So you were only trying to comfort her?”

  Mack nodded. That was as good an excuse as any he could think of at the moment.

  “Fine.” Beau studied him for a long moment, then shook his head. “Anyway, that’s not what brought me out here.”

  True, Beau hadn’t been to Ms. Aurora’s for at least four months. It must have been something important to have brought him this far out of town now. “One of the kids hasn’t taken a turn for the worse, have they?”

  “No, from what I can see, Thea’s done an excellent job nursing everyone through the chicken pox.”

  Mack didn’t doubt it. His own care had been superior. “Then why are you here?”

  Beau’s expression turned serious. “The town council met last night to discuss their plans for reorganizing the police force.”

  Perfect, and him laid up in his sick bed. As if he didn’t have enough to worry about. “They couldn’t wait a week so that I could give them my insights on what direction the county needs to take?”

  “It’s my understanding that’s exactly the reason why they held the meeting last night, so they could feel comfortable discussing their options without your input.”

  Mack didn’t like where this conversation was going. “Did they come to any conclusions?”

  “Not really.” Beau’s mouth twisted to the side as if he’d bit into an unripe persimmon. “To be honest, they seemed more interested in dissecting your personal life.”

  His personal life! Mack jumped to his feet, the world suddenly swirling around him again. He sucked in a deep breath and grabbed hold of the iron bed railing until the room slowed to a standstill. “What personal life? All I ever do is work and spend my evenings here visiting Sarah. My big day out is going to Sunday services then having lunch with your family at Merrilee’s.”

  “I know. Kind of sad, isn’t it?”

  Quite more than sad. Just like his world had become. “Do they have a problem with me adopting a child?”

  “No. Everyone on the council thinks it’s a fine idea, you wanting to raise Sarah.” Beau hesitated, his mouth turning up at one corner in a way that had always meant trouble. “Their concerns are more about your...recent behavior.”

  That made Mack forget about the itching. “What exactly is it about my behavior that has everybody in an uproar?”

  Beau leaned forward and rested his forearms on his thighs. “Is it true you and Thea were holding hands and making goo-goo eyes at each other in the diner the other day?”

  How did folks take an act of friendly comfort and turn it into something that sounded sordid and trashy? Didn’t people have better things to do with their time than spread silly rumors around town? “We were talking about Sarah’s surgery and she took my hand to comfort me, that’s all.” Only it had felt like more, at least to him. Even now, he remembered the spark of awareness that her touch had ignited. He shook the memory away. “Whoever saw us is making a mountain out of an anthill.”

  “You don’t have to convince me. If you say there’s nothing going on between the two of you, then I believe you.”

  Mack drew in a steadying breath. While Beau the boy hadn’t been so dependable, the man who had returned from war was as solid as the granite under Kennesaw Mountain. Mack felt honored to have such a friend. “Didn’t mean to take your head off.”

  “I’ll give you a break this time.” Mack gave him a slight grin. “You’ve been sick.”

  “Anything else I should know?”

  Beau shook his head. “Just like a dog with a bone, aren’t you?”

  He was stalling. What had those old coots on the town council cooked up now? “What is it?”

  There was a slight hesitation, then Beau sighed. “Truth is, most of the council members are a little uncomfortable with the fact that you’ve been out here with Thea for the last few days.”

  M
ack didn’t know whether to laugh or get spitting mad. “You’re kidding me, right?”

  “They feel that it looks inappropriate for the two of you to be out here together, especially after the hand-holding incident in town.”

  “We weren’t holding hands!” Mack raked his hand through his hair then instantly regretted it as the sores on his scalp caught fire. “You did tell them that there are ten people in the house, including one of the most respected ladies in town and Thea’s mother, right? How many chaperons do they think I need?”

  “From the looks of what I just saw, a few more might be in order, Romeo.”

  “Aw, be quiet,” Mack grumbled when Beau chuckled. He went to scrub his jaw then changed his mind. “I don’t remember Merilee and John causing this much talk when they helped out Ms. Aurora earlier this year.”

  “No,” Beau agreed. “But neither of them is a public official like you are. People hold you to a higher moral standard. Judge Wakefield himself said this incident flies in the face of every law-abiding, church-going citizen of Marietta. A little melodramatic but it gave those busybodies in town something to chew on.”

  Mack’s shoulders slumped. Strange as it seemed, he understood exactly what Beau meant. The citizens looked to him, as the law in this county, to be an example of moral living, a standard to which others should aspire. Even though nothing inappropriate ever happened between him and Thea in this situation, there was the appearance that broke with that standard. Without meaning to, he’d let the people of Marietta down. He glanced over at his friend. “What do I have to do to make this right?”

  “Well, I thought I could take you home and follow your recuperation myself.” His friend eyed the door as if half expecting someone to pop in. “But after what I witnessed today, I’m wondering if there’s not another option.”

  Mack’s brows furrowed until realization set in. “I’m not marrying her.”

  “Now hear me out.” Beau pressed his lips together. “If I hadn’t interrupted when I did, you would have kissed that woman, and if news of that ever got around town, you’d either be fired from your position or standing in front of the Justice of the Peace.”