The Unclaimed Baby

by Sherryl Woods

  “Oh, dear God,” she murmured.

  He bent low and planted a kiss on her that brought the color back into her cheeks. He nodded with satisfaction. “Better. You’re starting to look like a woman who’s been in the kitchen messing around with her fiancé.”

  Leaving her looking as if she’d been poleaxed, he went off to answer the door. He found Dani on the porch, her expression vaguely troubled. The frown lines deepened at the sight of him.

  “You’re here,” she said as if that confirmed her worst fears.

  “Come on in. I figured you’d be the first one on the scene once the word started spreading. All you had to do was walk around the corner of the house. Come to think of it, I’m surprised you didn’t bolt straight through the connecting doorway.”

  She did not seem to find his remarks amusing. “Is it true?” she demanded, clearly prepared to defend her cousin’s honor if necessary.

  Cord regarded her innocently. “Is what true?”

  “Did you buy my cousin an engagement ring earlier today?”

  Interesting that she chose that, rather than the implications of the ring to focus on. “Is that some sort of a crime?”

  She scowled at him. “Did you?”

  “Why don’t you go in the kitchen and ask Sharon Lynn that? I’ll pour you a glass of champagne. You look as if you could use it.”

  She hesitated, her concern shifting quickly to shock. “Champagne?”

  “Nonalcoholic, of course.”

  She waved off his explanation. “No, I meant it sounded as if you were celebrating. Am I interrupting?”

  “Dani, something tells me you’re just the point man. I pretty much figure the entire clan will be here before the night’s out. We’re just prepared, that’s all.”

  “Yes, I can see why you would be.” She walked past him and went into the kitchen, her eyes widening at the sight of all the food on the table. Dismissing it, her gaze went at once to Sharon Lynn who was standing by the sink with her hands behind her back.

  “I hear you’ve had an interesting day,” Dani said lightly. “Anything unusual happen?”

  Sharon Lynn’s gaze wavered, sought his, then she drew in a deep breath and held out her hand.

  “Oh, my,” Dani murmured, taking her hand to examine the ring. “Then it’s true? You two are engaged?”

  As if she still couldn’t quite manage to say the words aloud, Sharon Lynn merely nodded.

  “This is a little fast, isn’t it? Are you sure you’re ready to take a step like this?” Dani asked, then turned to Cord. “No offense to you.”

  He offered a wry smile. “None taken.”

  “Sharon Lynn,” Dani persisted. “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure,” she said at last.

  Her cousin seemed to accept that. “Well, of course, this is only an engagement ring,” she said thoughtfully. “You haven’t set a date for the wedding yet, have you?”

  “As soon as we can take care of the paperwork,” Cord told her, giving her a look that dared her to argue with the plan. He crossed the room to stand beside Sharon Lynn, sliding an arm around her waist. “We’re anxious to get on with it, aren’t we, darlin’?”

  Dani looked shell-shocked. So did Sharon Lynn, if the truth were told. He figured another kiss ought to get that color back into her cheeks again. With a wink for Dani, he slowly lowered his head to touch his lips to Sharon Lynn’s. The kiss lasted no more than an instant, but he knew if he had to put on the same display for every member of the family, the total—and the effects—were going to add up. He wasn’t at all sure his poor body could take it.

  “Aren’t you going to congratulate us?” he asked quietly, forcing himself to focus on their guest. Maybe if they could convince her this was a love-match, she’d help with the others.

  “Well, of course, I’m happy for you both,” Dani said, though it was evident from the semimechanical tone of her voice that her heart wasn’t entirely in it. She kept searching Sharon Lynn’s face as if looking for answers.

  The rest of the family began turning up then, one right after another, until the whole house was packed with Adamses and their spouses. Kids were racing around underfoot. They were the only ones who didn’t seem to be giving the matter of this sudden engagement much thought. Doubts and confusion were evident with everyone else, though some were more polite than others about expressing it.

  Cord would be forever grateful to Harlan Patrick, who gave his sister a fierce hug and said in Cord’s hearing. “I knew it, sis. You picked a winner this time.”

  She seemed startled by the statement. Even Cord wondered at the choice of words, until Harlan Patrick clarified them himself. “Cord’s not the kind of man who’ll let anything stand in the way of getting what he wants, and it’s been obvious to me he’s wanted you since the day he rode into town.”

  The implied criticism of Kyle Mason’s endless delays surprised Cord. He’d always been under the impression that everyone in the family had looked favorably on that union. It appeared that at least one Adams hadn’t. He’d worried for some time now about competing with a saintly ghost, but perhaps Kyle had been only human after all. Of course, it wasn’t Harlan Patrick’s impression of the man that counted. It was Sharon Lynn’s memories.

  There was no time to think that through, though, because Justin came roaring in just then, still in uniform and looking as if he were anxious to put Cord under arrest for trying to steal his cousin.

  “I don’t know what you’re up to, Branson, but I don’t like this,” he muttered after drawing Cord away from the others.

  Cord kept a tight rein on his temper. This was exactly what he’d expected from Justin. The man was totally honorable and fiercely loyal. Cord wanted Justin on his side.

  “I love your cousin,” he said quietly. “She’s agreed to marry me. That’s all you need to know.”

  “If you hurt her, you’ll answer to me.”

  Cord met his defiant glare evenly. “Fair enough,” he agreed. “But I have no intention of hurting her. My goal is to see to it that all her dreams come true.”

  It was easy enough to make the vow sound convincing because he meant every word. The marriage might be a sham on Sharon Lynn’s part, but on Cord’s, it was the answer to a prayer.

  The engagement party was a fiasco. Sharon Lynn sensed that every single person crowded into her house—with the possible exception of her brother and her grandfather—suspected that this was not a love-match. Why Grandpa Harlan and Harlan Patrick thought otherwise was beyond her.

  Of course, her grandfather was a dyed-in-the-wool romantic. That would explain his quiet, beaming acceptance of her announcement. But Harlan Patrick had every reason in the world to have no faith in love at all these days, yet even he seemed to be overjoyed by her news. Maybe he and Cord had bonded in some totally male way on those trips they’d made to Garden City.

  As the night wore on with its unceasing questions, her head began to throb. She was no good at this deception stuff. If anyone had thought to sit her down and cross-examine her, she would have cracked like an egg. As it was, despite the overt skepticism, everyone seemed to be going along with the claim that the two of them had fallen madly in love practically overnight. Each time someone actually tried to corner her, Cord stepped in with a kiss and moral support to lend credence to their impression and put an end to their questions.

  Only Justin made no pretense of being convinced. He’d been scowling since he’d walked through the door. He’d hauled Cord off to a corner for a few obviously intense moments. Whatever Cord had said in response hadn’t exactly reassured her cousin, but it had quieted him down. She could tell, though, that he was just biding his time until he could get a moment alone with her. She did everything in her power to preclude that from happening.

  Unfortunately Justin was both patient and clever. He snared her coming out of the kitchen, whirled her around and half dragged her back inside. He all but pushed her into a chair and stood over her as if she were the
chief suspect in a major crime and he were the bad-cop interrogator.

  “Are you out of your mind?” he demanded.

  She frowned at his tone and his attitude, but she knew better than to start a shouting match that would draw the whole family into the kitchen. “I don’t think so,” she said blandly.

  Justin looked incredulous. “Are you telling me you’re in love with him?”

  The point-blank question startled her. If she was at least half in love with Cord, it hadn’t had time to register yet. Still, she raised her eyes to level a look at her cousin. “Why else would I be marrying him, if I weren’t?”

  “What about Kyle?”

  She knew the question wasn’t asked out of any deep-seated loyalty to her late husband. But Justin knew how devastated she’d been by Kyle’s death. He’d been on the scene the night of the accident and there for her afterward. She supposed it was natural for him to wonder at her sudden leap into the arms of another man. Compared to Kyle’s courtship, Cord’s had set a stunning, record pace.

  “Kyle is dead,” she reminded Justin quietly. “I can’t change that.”

  “But that relationship built up over time. The two of you didn’t rush into marriage.”

  “I’ll say,” she murmured. She forced a smile.

  “Justin, Kyle and I waited and waited and waited to get married. Look at all the time we wasted.”

  “So that’s it? You’re rushing into this because you’ve suddenly concluded that life’s too short and you have to grab on to it while you can?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Bull. That’s not who you are.”

  She regarded him with a touch of defiance. “Maybe it’s not who I was, but maybe it’s who I am now.”

  “I don’t believe it,” he insisted stubbornly.

  “Whether you choose to accept it or not, I am marrying Cord. The sooner the better.”

  “There’s more to it. There has to be.”

  “Such as?”

  “I don’t know, but I’ll figure it out. I’m a cop and every instinct tells me this isn’t the stars-in-your-eyes love-match you two are pretending it is.” Suddenly he looked as if he’d been struck by a bolt of lightning. “The baby. Of course. That’s it, isn’t it? This is about the baby.”

  He searched her face, then moaned. “I knew it. Cord as much as asked me if you’d have a better chance at keeping her if you were married. Oh, sweetie, don’t do it.”

  She saw no point in trying to deny it, not when the truth was likely written all over her face. She reached up and touched his cheek. “I have to, Justin. It’s the only way. In fact, you were the first one to mention that it would make a difference if I were married. Cord just picked up on that.”

  “Dammit, Sharon Lynn. Use your head. It’s not the only way. Grandpa Harlan has influence around here. He’ll use it if he has to.”

  She sighed heavily. “I know he would, but that’s not what I’m going to do. Cord and I are in this together. He loves that little girl as much as I do. This marriage is what we want to do, Justin. Leave it be, please. Don’t tell another soul. Promise me.”

  He looked torn by her plea. “You’re certain?

  You’re absolutely, positively certain you’re willing to take such a drastic step?”

  She was anything but. Still, she managed a smile.

  “Absolutely.”

  She had no choice. She had to believe that this crazy, impulsive marriage plan could work. Whatever Cord’s motivations, it had to work. She couldn’t bear to think of losing the baby she had come to think of as her own. She didn’t allow herself to think about what marrying Cord and living with him would mean at all, because that would have stirred up too many things she wasn’t prepared to deal with.

  After their talk Justin appeared somewhat reconciled to her engagement, but that left at least one more major hurdle to get past: her mother.

  Even more so than Sharon Lynn’s father, Melissa Adams was capable of probing beneath the surface to get at the truth of things. Where her father blustered, ranted and raved, her mother was more subtle. But she was a more than even match for any Adams when it came to being stubborn. She’d resisted Sharon Lynn’s father for a very long time, even though Sharon Lynn had already been born and, in a thoroughly untimely twist, Harlan Patrick had been on the way.

  Oh, yes, Melissa Adams was a tough cookie and she was still there when most of the others had left. How she’d gotten Sharon Lynn’s father to leave her behind was an enigma, but it was testament to her determination to get the answers she wanted from her only daughter.

  “Sit,” her mother ordered, after all but hauling her into the kitchen. “Now, my darling girl, why don’t you tell me what this is all about?”

  Sharon Lynn cast a look of longing toward the door, wishing Cord would appear, but she suspected her mother’s fierce warning look had been enough to keep him out. “I’m engaged to be married. What more can I tell you?”

  Her mother reached across the table and gently brushed a wayward curl from Sharon Lynn’s face. “You could start with telling me why. Not that I don’t happen to think Cord is a hunk.”

  “Mother!”

  “Well, he is. He’s also a decent guy from all accounts.”

  “Yes, he is.”

  “And that’s why you’re marrying him,” her mother concluded.

  Sharon Lynn heard the trap. There’d been no mention of love. Her mother was waiting to see if she’d add that into the mix.

  “That and all the other usual reasons,” Sharon Lynn said carefully, avoiding her mother’s penetrating gaze. She couldn’t bring herself to lie outright, not to her mother.

  “That’s utter nonsense,” her mother exclaimed impatiently. “This isn’t your father you’re talking to or even your brother, who seems to have turned into Cord Branson’s best buddy. This is me and I want the truth.”

  “Cord asked me to marry him. I said yes. I don’t know what else there is to say,” Sharon Lynn said, clinging tenaciously to her story.

  “Sweetheart, you can’t do something like this,” her mother said, clearly unconvinced. “It’s all wrong. You’re not an impulsive woman. You take your time and think things through.”

  “I took my time with Kyle and look at how that turned out,” she shot back, refusing to explain that this had nothing to do with marrying Cord Branson and everything to do with keeping the baby. Her mother simply didn’t need to know that.

  Though she still looked troubled, her mother said, “You’re happy then? Truly?”

  “Very happy,” she insisted, keeping her gaze level and unblinking. It was the hardest deception she’d ever had to pull off and, she found, only a tiny white lie. She might not be deliriously happy, but she was far from miserable about the prospect of being Cord’s wife.

  “This is exactly what I want,” she added for emphasis.

  Her mother regarded her worriedly for several minutes, then finally nodded, her expression resigned. “Then we’ll get together tomorrow and start planning the wedding.”

  Sharon Lynn shook her head. “We don’t want a big wedding. As soon as we get the paperwork out of the way, we’ll have a quiet ceremony with just the family there.”

  “Absolutely not,” her mother said, sounding appalled. “If there’s going to be a wedding, it will be done right.”

  Sharon Lynn laid a silencing hand on her mother’s arm. “Mom, I’ve had my fancy church wedding and a huge reception. I don’t want that again. It will be too painful.”

  Nothing else she could have said would have been more effective. Tears sprang into her mother’s eyes. “Of course. I’m sorry. It’s just that you’re my girl. I want the day to be lovely, something you’ll remember.”

  “Mom, I’m marrying Cord. How will it be anything but memorable?” Oddly, even as she said the words to reassure her mother, she knew somewhere deep inside that it was true. Marrying Cord, whatever the reasons for it, would be one of the most unforgettable moments of her l
ife.

  Sharon Lynn wasn’t one bit surprised when her grandfather came into Dolan’s the next morning. Since he hadn’t weighed in with his own opinion the night before, she’d been fairly certain it wouldn’t be long before he did. Because he had impeccable timing, he arrived just as the last of the breakfast customers left.

  “Hand over that baby,” he said, peering behind the counter toward the portable crib. “I never got so much as a peek at her last night.”

  Sharon Lynn lifted Ashley up and boosted her across the counter into her grandfather’s waiting arms. The baby beamed for him, just as she did for Cord. Obviously they had a little flirt on their hands.

  “Do you want a cup of decaf or did you just come in to play with the baby?” Sharon Lynn inquired.

  “I came to talk to you. Holding this cute little one is just a bonus.”

  “I knew it was too good to be true,” Sharon Lynn murmured.

  Her grandfather scowled. “Don’t you go getting sassy on me, young lady. You can pour me a cup of real coffee to make up for it.”

  She grinned. “I don’t think so.”

  He shrugged. “Oh, well, it was worth a try.” He bounced Ashley on his knee, then said casually, “This is a mighty big step you’re thinking of taking.”

  “You’re not going to start on me, too, are you? Between Mama and Justin, I already feel as if I’ve gone ten rounds with a world-champion prosecutor.”

  “No,” he said at once. “I happen to think Cord Branson is a fine man. He’ll be a good husband.” He gave her a sly look. “I also happen to think he’s in love with you.”

  Her head shot up at that. “In love with me?” she repeated incredulously. “Don’t be ridiculous. He barely knows me.” Despite the denial, she couldn’t seem to help the little thrill that came over her at her grandfather’s claim.

  Grandpa Harlan didn’t seem to be impressed by her vehement protest. “Sometimes it doesn’t take but a heartbeat for a man to recognize the one woman on earth who’s right for him. In Cord’s eyes, you’re that woman. I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”