The Baby Barter

by Patty Smith Hall

  “What are they—?” Oh, no, Thea thought. They couldn’t mean...

  “Are they talking about our time here? Don’t they know there’s an outbreak of chicken pox? That there are six—” she glanced over at him “—seven people who are sick. Not to mention, my mother’s staying here, too. There’s nothing inappropriate about that.”

  “Well, yes, but we were also seen together at the diner. And in the hospital waiting room. And at the wedding.”

  When Mack put it like that, no wonder rumors were flying around town about them. Thea dropped down into a wingback chair close to the window. How had this happened? A couple of innocent meetings, an offer of help to a poor woman, and her name and Mack’s were being dragged through the mud all over town. Were they calling her the same names they’d used to describe her sister? How would she find a job now? How would she take care of her mother?

  She glanced at Sarah. What judge would give her custody with rumors like this floating around?

  What about Mack? He was the sheriff in this town—and apparently his position was currently under review. What kind of repercussions would there be for him if they didn’t marry? Thea pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear, her stomach tied in painful knots, her heart beating out a pained rhythm. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Anything you like. We need to be honest if we want this to work.”

  She sucked in a deep breath. “Why aren’t you married already? I mean, there’s got to be someone you’re interested in, maybe a girl you’ve been dating?”

  He shrugged in that self-deprecating sort of way that Thea found endearing. “I hate to tell you this, but I’m not considered much of a catch.”

  Mack not a catch? Where in the world had the man gotten such an idea? Any woman would be blessed to have someone as kind and considerate, someone who loved the child in his arms so abundantly. Had he been hurt by a woman in the past? Or had she bruised his ego by dismissing the notion of marriage so quickly? “What I’m trying to say is there has to be someone else you want to marry besides me. Isn’t there?”

  “No.” He hesitated. “I’m not even sure I’m the marrying type.”

  From the way he said it, she was now certain that Mack had been hurt deeply. The thought caused an ache in her chest. Thea swallowed hard. “I don’t know that I am, either.”

  “Marrying kind or not, we have to consider this for Sarah’s sake.” His expression turned sober.

  But what about them? What about their future? Sarah would one day grow up and make her own life. Had he thought what the next forty or fifty years might hold for them? Would a loveless marriage be fair to Sarah? To either of them? “Then I guess the next question I have is, why me?”

  “You make it sound like there’s some reason I shouldn’t ask you.”

  “It’s not that.” She hesitated. As he had said, they owed it to each other to be truthful with their concerns. “Well, maybe there is. I mean, you know my family’s reputation. Not the kind of people that the sheriff would usually want to associate with, at least, not without an arrest warrant.”

  The corner of his mouth lifted in a wry smile. “Everybody’s got an uncle or a cousin who makes them shake their head. That’s what makes life interesting.”

  “And what keeps the local gossips’ tongues wagging,” Thea muttered.

  “Sweetheart.”

  She lifted her head at the endearment until her gaze met his, and almost sighed. What made this man holding this darling baby girl in his muscular arms so utterly irresistible?

  “I know your family,” Mack started. “But more important than that is that I know you. You love Sarah as much as I do. I’ve always admired the way you’re so devoted to your family, loving them unconditionally even when they don’t deserve it. It’s what I want for Sarah. What she needs from her mother.”

  Thea’s heart lifted slightly, but there were so many other questions that needed answers before she’d even consider something so drastic as marriage. “What about you, Mack? Don’t you want to fall in love?”

  He shrugged, adjusting the napping baby to a more comfortable position. “After four years of being one of the only marriage-aged men in town without any takers, I figure love isn’t in God’s plan for me.”

  Love not in God’s plan for Mack? If anyone deserved that kind of happiness, it was this man. Irritation threatened to clog her throat. “Who are these silly women not to know a good man when they see one?”

  His lips twisted as if he thought her question funny. “There’ve been a few.”

  She swallowed the sudden pang of jealousy. “Then they don’t have the sense the good Lord gave them.”

  “I don’t know. They may have thought it was a lucky escape.”

  The uncertainty Thea heard in his voice didn’t sound like the confident boy with all the big dreams she’d known in high school. What had changed him? Why was he settling when he could still find love, have children of his own?

  “I don’t expect for this to be a marriage in the real sense of the word. Sarah needs our full attention for right now, at least until we get her through the surgery.”

  Thea wasn’t sure why, but his statement disappointed her. “So, a marriage in name only.” She sank back into the couch. “I didn’t know people did that anymore.”

  “I’m sure they do. You just don’t hear folks talking about it much.”

  Thea certainly never thought she’d be having this conversation. Of course, if they agreed, it would be a marriage of convenience. It wasn’t as if they loved each other. Friendship, yes. Attraction, most definitely. But what was a marriage without love?

  “What are you thinking?”

  Thea felt a slight smile curve her lips. “You’ve always done that. Even when we were kids, you’d ask me what I was thinking.”

  “That’s because I like to know what’s going on in that beautiful head of yours.”

  Her heart fluttered, though from nerves or at his compliment, she wasn’t sure. “I can’t pinpoint one thought right now. They seem to be scattered all over the place.”

  He nodded as if he understood. “Just know this. If you marry me, I’ll be there to protect you, to help shoulder whatever the future may hold, to partner with you in raising this child, to be your friend and helpmate for as long as I live.”

  A vow, but still no mention of love. And yet she knew that marriages have been built on much less. If she turned him down, it was almost a certainty she would lose whatever chance she had at raising Eileen’s child. But if she agreed, what did Thea risk losing then? The promise she made to Eileen so long ago roared through her. She’d let her sister down then, had never brought Eileen’s first child home. She refused to fail her again. It didn’t matter what she lost as long as she played a part in raising Sarah.

  “Mack, could you ask me again?”

  “Ask you? Sure.” He stood, then bent down and placed Sarah in her lap.

  Thea shook her head. He really was the most handsome man she’d ever known, spots and all. But when Mack straightened, then knelt down at her feet, Thea almost forgot to breathe.

  Mack took her free hand in both of his, his thumb making tiny circles on the inside of her wrist that sent delightful sparks shimmering up her arm. He lifted his head, his blue eyes gentle and with a touch of vulnerability that made Thea’s heart ache. “Thea Miller, will you do me the honor of marrying me?”

  Someone’s heart will be broken, and I fear it will be mine.

  Sarah whimpered. For now, Thea would settle for the chance to help raise this child she loved more than life itself. Eileen’s child. Her family.

  Thea lifted her chin a notch and with a steadiness she didn’t feel, gave Mack his answer. “Yes, Mack. I will marry you.”

  * * *

  Mack packed his razor and aftershave into his leat
her bag and dropped it in his suitcase, the tangy lemony-lime scent of his shaving cream refreshing after days of lying around in bed. He scraped his hand against his clean-cut jaw and relaxed. No beard or itchy spots for the first time in a week.

  Beau had given him, along with the rest of Thea’s patients, the all clear this morning, right before he’d packed Mack’s bride-to-be and her mother into his car for a ride back to the Millers’ place. Mack hadn’t been keen on the idea. He’d wanted to escort Thea home himself, just to make sure she got her mother settled in without any problems. Wasn’t that his duty as Thea’s future husband, to make sure she was safe and got the rest she so desperately needed?

  But Beau didn’t see the situation in quite the same way. Tongues were already wagging all over town about his and Thea’s quick engagement. No sense giving folks more ammunition than they already had.

  Mack shoved his pajamas into the case. Most of them could hang for all he cared. Rumors were easier to believe than the truth. But it was Thea he worried about. She’d gone through years of shrugging off gossip about her sister, buried beneath the weight of Eileen’s sins. If Beau driving Thea and her mother home protected them from being at the blunt end of someone’s tongue, Mack would step aside.

  But it didn’t mean it sat well with him. Maybe it would be better for both their sakes to marry sooner rather than later. When he got back into town this afternoon, he’d work out a plan. If Thea agreed, they could be married by the end of the week.

  “Almost ready to go?”

  Mack glanced up from his packing to find Ms. Aurora hovering in the doorway, a bundle of clean clothes loading down her arms. Her hair had turned a shade grayer and her wrinkles were more pronounced since her heart scare last spring, but there was still a vivid spark in her tired eyes, as if she knew the work she’d started with these children wasn’t quite finished. Still, tending a houseful of sick children couldn’t have helped her any. Thank You, Lord, for Thea.

  “Ready to be rid of me?”

  A faint smile graced her face. “You know you’re welcome here anytime.”

  It was true. Since his mother’s death a few years ago, Mack had found himself at Ms. Aurora’s door more and more often, like a stray dog looking for food scraps. She’d befriended him, allowed him to mourn his loss, given him a sounding board when something troubled him and always spoke her mind, even when it was something he didn’t want to hear.

  Like now.

  Mack dropped his robe on the bed and turned to her, crossing his arms over his chest. “You’ve got something to say, Ms. Aurora?”

  She didn’t even pretend she didn’t know what he was talking about. “You’re going to marry Thea?”

  Mack drew in a deep breath. This morning before Beau arrived they had told Ms. Aurora their plans to marry and adopt Sarah. She’d appeared to understand the reasons behind the match, had even seemed thrilled as she offered them congratulations on their impending nuptials. But obviously the older woman had reservations. “I thought you were happy for us.”

  “I am. I think outside of knowing the Lord as your Savior, Thea might just be the best thing that’s ever happened to you.”

  That surprised him. Considering Thea had been spying on Ms. Aurora, Mack would have guessed the old woman wouldn’t have thought so highly of his future bride. But then, Ms. Aurora had always had a soft spot for those folks who cared about her children. “Then what’s bothering you?”

  Her pale gray eyes turned almost sorrowful. “I know the two of you love Sarah, but don’t you both deserve something better than a marriage in name only?”

  “Maybe.” He turned back to his suitcase, picked up his robe and bunched it into a ball. “But neither of us can bear the thought of losing Sarah. If we marry, we stand a very good chance of the adoption going through.”

  “And what about love?”

  Thea had asked him almost the same question. What about love? It wasn’t as if he’d never opened himself up to the possibility; he had, more times than he cared to admit. But no woman had ever indicated any hint of love toward him. They wanted a soldier, a man ready to die for his country. A whole man, not someone carrying around a physical disability. His lack of military service was considered a flaw in his character, and his refusal to give any kind of explanation simply fueled that belief. “I haven’t exactly had women lining up for a chance to marry me, now have I?”

  “And whose fault is that?” She took the wrinkled mess that was his spare uniform shirt out of his hand and smoothed it to fold it properly. “There were a couple of lovely ladies who showed an interest in you at church but you were too involved in your work.”

  “If you’re referring to that Mason woman, I caught her selling ration stamps she’d lifted off of some of the girls at the bomber plant. And Susan Bailey told me right from the first she didn’t want any kids.”

  Ms. Aurora pressed her lips together. “I didn’t say they were perfect, just that there were ladies in town you’ve known for a while, someone you might have fallen in love with.”

  Oddly enough, Thea’s face came into focus. Other women had never fascinated him the way she did. Never talked straight to him instead of sugar-coating every word. He respected Thea’s opinion, admired that she gave as good as she got. But was that enough to build a marriage on? Could it eventually lead to love, or would she be like all the others when he didn’t come up to scratch? Maybe he was asking too much from God to even hope for love in his marriage. He’d have his daughter, a job that he liked, his renewed friendship with Thea. That would have to be enough. “Love just muddies the waters. Better for us to have a straightforward understanding.”

  “That’s not the only thing that muddies the waters in a relationship.” Her voice hinted at sarcasm.

  “What are you talking about?”

  She put the neatly folded uniform on the dresser then joined him in folding his remaining clothes. “When were you planning to tell Thea about the night you got that scar?”

  “I already told her about the car accident.”

  “And the extent of your injuries? Have you told her that?”

  Mack’s stomach fell into his shoes. “Did she ask you about them?”

  “No.” Ms. Aurora spared him a glance then went back to folding. “I wouldn’t have told her, anyway. It’s not my story to tell.”

  He breathed a sigh of relief. “You’re making a mountain out of an anthill.”

  She took his uniform pants and shook them out. “That night changed the way you looked at yourself.”

  “No, it didn’t.” Mack grimaced. “Everyone else changed the way they looked at me.”

  “Mack, no one can take away what we believe about ourselves unless we give them the power to do so.”

  Sounded like something his mother might have cross-stitched into a sample. Only there wasn’t any truth to it. “They can when they cancel my college scholarship or tell me I’m not good enough to fight for my country overseas.”

  “I know you were disappointed when the military turned you down, but look what you did. You kept our town safe for the people who stayed behind to build the equipment our boys needed to win the war.” She rolled the pants into a neat little bundle. “As far as school goes, you could have gone to college without your scholarship. It might have been a tougher row to hoe to pay your way through, but you would have had your degree.”

  “And do what? Who would have hired a partially deaf lawyer?”

  Ms. Aurora’s mouth quirked up into a sweet smile. “Marietta hired a partially deaf sheriff, and I hear he’s doing an outstanding job.”

  When he wasn’t fighting the town’s rumor mill. Mack stuffed another pair of socks into the suitcase. “They hired me out of pity after the military declared me a 4-F.”

  “Those old coots? They don’t do anything unless they feel it’s the right
thing for the city.” She cupped his face in the palm of her hand the way his mother used to when he was a small boy. “You’re the right man to police our town, Mack Worthington.”

  He wanted to believe her, but how could he? How would he measure up against men who’d experienced battle firsthand? He couldn’t. All he’d done during the war was hand out parking citations and mediate neighbor disputes. No, now that war heroes were back in Marietta, his days as sheriff were numbered. Disappointment settled over him. For a job he’d never wanted, Mack was going to miss it. “Maybe I’ll look for a job in a smaller town. I hear Hiram is looking for a sheriff. Or Rockmart.”

  “Then you’ll have to talk to Thea. You can’t expect her to move that far away without some reason as to why.”

  Mack hadn’t thought about that. Leaving Mrs. Miller behind in her fragile mental state was out of the question, but how could he expect Thea to balance motherhood and being her mother’s caregiver in a new town without any friends to support her? “I’ll figure out something.”

  “Hmm.” The older woman moved to the bed and started stripping the sheets. “Have you ever asked Thea why she left town that night?”

  “At the time, she said it was a family emergency, but she didn’t explain beyond that.” And for years he hadn’t cared, too busy dealing with the consequences of the accident to think too much about Thea and her family’s problems. But since her return, the question of what could have sent her running that night had stayed on his mind. And what had kept her away in all the years since.

  The more he thought, the more questions he came up with. How would Thea feel when she learned the whole truth behind his scar? Sympathetic for his loss? Angry he’d kept the truth from her? Hurt that, until the past few days, he’d held her at least partially responsible for what happened to him that night?

  “Are you going to talk to her, Mack?”