by Tina Leonard
“Will you come up to the house with me?” he asked again. “My mother is there, but I’m not sure how much help she’ll be with a newborn. She has bad arthritis which the cold seems to aggravate.”
The man had a mother inside the beautiful old ranch house. She’d forgotten that part of the advertisement. Jill nearly sighed with relief. She could go with him and keep an eye on the baby while the proper authorities were called. Her conscience would feel much better.
“On one condition,” Jill said, staring him down so he’d know she meant it.
“Now what?”
“You have to put the gun away. I’m not used to men running around waving armaments.”
“Lady, this is a ranch.”
“Well, this is a baby,” she replied, mimicking his sarcastic tone. “And where I come from, guns and babies are not said in the same breath.”
“You’re a city girl.”
The statement was made without any rancor. Jill nodded. “Down to the underwear I bought at Macy’s.”
“You said you’d come to answer the ad! I specifically said no mall-dwellers,” he said, in a now-I’ve-got-you voice. “If you were really interested in the position, like you claim.”
“I bought them several years ago, when I got my first real job. They might fall off of me any minute. Satisfied?”
His sudden silence made her think perhaps he was. Jill took the baby from him.
“I’ll carry her, you dispense with that,” she said with an imperious nod toward the gun. “Poor little baby,” she murmured, walking toward the house with the delicate package wrapped securely in her arms.
Crackling leaves told her the man was following fast behind her. Jill smiled, hugging the baby to her chest. He was a little crazy, but she had an idea he was also pretty harmless.
After all, she’d been watching the way he’d held the baby in his arms. Those big, flannel-covered arms of his had been holding her quite protectively. He might be grouchy, but he also cared.
After the man and the woman had walked to the house, Sadie eased to her feet. Her legs were cramping from staying still so long. Her eyes burned from the tears she longed to shed. But it wouldn’t do to be caught on Dustin Reed’s land—not since she’d just left the thing she loved most in the world in his care.
Sadie stumbled away, silently begging the tears not to fall. Mr. Reed was handsome, though he was so big and frightening that Sadie had wondered if her mother had told her the right thing to do. But the lady who was visiting him, now, she was something else. Sadie had watched the pretty lady carefully hold her baby and sweetly try to soothe it. In that moment, that lady had become Sadie’s angel, so that Sadie could rest a little easier with the trial she had to bear. Maybe Mr. Reed would marry the lady and then one day, Holly would have a real family.
Just not her real mother. But that couldn’t be helped. Sadie had learned tough lessons in her nineteen years, and one of them was that raising a family without enough to eat was difficult. If trading motherhood for the chance for Holly to be protected, and to have enough food—healthy food—to eat was the only way, then she would make that painful sacrifice.
Stealthily, Sadie pulled her bike from behind the tree, staring down at the basket where her baby had been just a little while ago. Then she peddled away, making certain no one saw her leave the ranch.
By the time Sadie reached her house, the night sky was falling rapidly. Dark blue clouds covered the moon, making everything seem darker. As if anything could seem darker than her life was now. Sadie put her bike away, thinking her house appeared very tiny and dingy compared to Mr. Reed’s ranch. Thank goodness he’d come outside, so she hadn’t had to go up and leave Holly on the porch, the way she’d planned. She’d been terrified enough as it was by the big steers meandering along the fence, and the overwhelming size of the house. It was like creeping up to a castle.
She went inside her house, to be greeted by the smell of greens cooking and the sound of the television blaring. Her mother looked up from shelling pecans she would sell at the roadside stand.
“Did you do it, gal?” her mother asked.
Shamed and regretful, Sadie bowed her head. “I did it, Mama.”
Even though the TV was loud, there was a silence between mother and daughter that was even louder, and more intense. Her mother put down the bowl and the pecans and held out her arms.
“Come here, gal.”
Sadie rushed into the comfort of her mother’s arms, trying desperately not to think about never holding her own daughter in hers.
“You did the right thing. You know you did.”
“But it was hard, Mama! I felt awful, listening to her cry and not being able to go to her!”
Vera Benchley drew soothing fingers through her daughter’s hair. “I know. I know. But think for a moment. Won’t you feel better knowing Holly has enough to eat? Has warm clothes to wear in the winter? Gets regular doctor visits and shots?”
“Yes, but…but she’s mine,” Sadie whispered. “I love her. I feel like I’ve given away my heart.”
“Shh, shh, now,” her mother comforted. “You’ll know you’ve done the right thing when you see Holly going into church, wearing shoes that fit and pretty dresses, gal. When you come home to another dinner of greens and not much more tomorrow, you’ll feel much better.”
“But they can’t love her the way I do.” Sadie turned anguished, dark eyes on her mother. “And he seemed so mean. He was kinda yelling at this woman while I was there.”
Her mother thought about that. “I can’t speak for Dustin. He’s a different man since his wife died. But, Sadie, Miss Eunice is there, too. She may be older now and a bit frail, but the Homecoming Queen I went to high school with had more heart in her than any of those other silly rich girls. Almost more heart than anyone I ever knew.” She was quiet for a moment. “And you know we had to do it, to keep Holly safe.”
Sadie laid her head down in her mother’s lap closing her eyes in deep misery. Of course her mother was right. She thought about the pretty lady who’d yelled at Mr. Reed to put the gun away. A little peace stole into her heart.
If the pretty lady could make Mr. Reed mind, then maybe he wasn’t that bad after all.
Chapter Two
Dustin opened the door so the woman carrying the baby could walk past him into the house. “Mother!” he called. “We’ve got company!”
The lady eyed him a bit peevishly before walking into the parlor off the hall. He watched in amazement as she sat down, settled the baby in her arms, and popped the cap on the bottle. Testing it deftly on her arm, the woman shrugged, then put the bottle to the baby’s lips. The infant started sucking greedily. It was a relief, though the baby’s fussing hadn’t really been that loud. He just hadn’t been able to bear knowing that the minuscule person was hungry. Tiny gulping sounds in the antique-furnished parlor made Dustin smile.
But not as much as the sight of the woman cuddling the infant to her breast, close and secure, as she murmured soft, comforting words to it.
A large piece of the past suddenly lodged in Dustin’s throat. His wife, Nina, had wanted their baby so badly. And although even the baby hadn’t been enough to keep Nina’s unhappiness at bay for long, she’d been a good mother. She had to be turning in her grave to know that her parents were trying to wrest Joey away from his home.
“We have company, Dustin?”
His mother’s voice interrupted his musings. Dustin turned to see Eunice making her way slowly from the kitchen to the parlor.
“You should use your walker, Mother,” he said quietly. But he knew what her instant reprimand to him would be.
“I don’t in front of company, Dustin,” she reminded him. She drew near him, peering around into the parlor. “Oh, my,” she murmured. “Introduce me, please, son.”
“Mother, this is—” he paused, staring at the woman who was looking up from her task with delicate, questioning brows. “I’m sorry. I don’t think I asked you your name. I�
��m Dustin Reed, and this is my mother, Eunice.”
Boy, his manners left a lot to be desired. His legs had been knocked out from under him with the woman’s appearance, and it seemed his brain had taken a vacation.
“Hello,” she replied calmly. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Reed. I’m Jill McCall, from Dallas.”
“How nice of you to visit us all the way from Dallas,” Eunice said, stepping into the parlor and slowly making her way to a chair in front of the fireplace. Dustin hurried to help his mother ease gingerly into the chair. He noticed she chose the seat to give her the best vantage of the feeding session.
“You have a beautiful baby, Jill,” Eunice commented.
“Oh, it’s not mine. We found it,” she corrected, nodding toward Dustin.
“You found it! Dustin?” His mother turned astonished eyes on him.
How to make this situation sound less incredible than it was? “I saw Ms. McCall, and thinking she was trespassing, I…”
No, no, that wasn’t what he meant to say. “She’s come to ask about the housekeeping position, except then the baby…” No, no, that wasn’t right, either. “Tell you the truth, I don’t know what the hell’s happened, Mother. All I can tell you right now is that the baby is sucking on what Ms. McCall called a panic bottle, which means I’ve got to hurry out to the store. I think.” He sat down heavily in a chair, wondering how a peaceful afternoon examining the pecan trees on his property had turned out so complicated.
His mother glanced at Jill, whose attention was solely on burping the baby. “You found the baby on our property?”
“Yes.” Dustin’s nod was brief. And unhappy.
“Hm. I don’t know anyone in town who’s been pregnant,” she said thoughtfully. “I wonder whose baby it could be?”
“I have no idea,” he said tautly.
Jill looked up briefly.
“Well,” Eunice said. “So, you’ve come to apply for the housekeeping position. Isn’t that fortunate for us? We’ve had such difficulty keeping someone.” She smiled at Jill to make her feel comfortable.
Dustin was having trouble covering both subjects, but it seemed his mother was switching back and forth between strange matters with ease.
“Did you bring your credentials, or references, dear?”
Jill shook her head. “I hadn’t really intended to apply or interview today. I thought I was being smart by coming to check out what the ranch was like before taking up your time with my application.”
She noticed Eunice and Dustin looked rather worried. Realizing they might have taken her explanation to mean she wasn’t interested in the job now that she’d seen the ranch, she said hastily, “From what I can tell, this would be a very nice place to work.”
Eunice pursed her lips. “Thank you, my dear.” She leaned back, obviously deciding not to interfere further. The baby burped loudly, breaking the tension in the room.
“Now, you should have room for more dinner,” Jill said to the baby.
The infant seemed content to finish the rest of the bottle, blissfully unaware of her unusual circumstances. Dustin caught his mother looking at him calmly, waiting for him to take the lead. He wished he could somehow telepathize with her to go ahead and take over because he was totally lost. What the heck was he supposed to say to a sexy-as-hell woman who’d said that she was wearing underwear that might fall off at any time?
Except, please, please, stay and keep my house for me?
“We haven’t had much time to explore the job possibility,” he said tensely. “I do know Ms. McCall shops at Macy’s.”
Dustin closed his eyes. Boy, it had been too long. This woman with the unlikely story, and perhaps the stray baby, too, was forcing him to think about things he didn’t want to resurrect from the past. Like sex. And the wife he still missed occasionally, who had tried to be a good mother. Had tried to be a good wife, though it had been a strain for both of them.
And then he thought about sex again. Particularly with Ms. McCall, from Dallas, Texas. Before he got himself into trouble, Dustin decided he’d better get a move on.
“Well, if you ladies will excuse me, I suppose I’ll go call the police. And then head to the store.”
“The police!” His mother’s shocked exclamation startled the baby, which shifted unhappily in Jill’s arms. Whispering, Jill soothed the little one back into stillness. But Jill’s eyes immediately pulled back to Dustin’s. He could tell the first thought in her mind was that he might be calling the police about her for abandoning the baby on his property.
“Somebody left this baby here. It’s not ours. We can’t keep it,” he said. “The police need to be alerted that someone has tried to get rid of their baby. And in a very unfortunate way, too. What if Ms. McCall hadn’t been—” he paused, about to say “trespassing”, when he corrected himself. “What if she hadn’t come to apply for the position? The baby might have been down there for hours.”
“Oh, dear,” Eunice murmured. “I suppose you’re right.”
“She hadn’t been there long,” Jill said hurriedly.
Dustin stared at her, mentally checking her story. She glared back. “I just meant that, when I picked her up, the baby felt warm. Like she hadn’t been outside too long.”
“Oh.” It sounded plausible. And surely, if the baby was Jill’s, she wouldn’t let him call the police to take it away.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Dustin. Anyone with two eyes can see what you’re thinking,” his mother complained. “This is not Jill’s baby. It’s a newborn, honey.”
For the first time Jill smiled, a warm and friendly expression that tugged at Dustin’s heart.
“I know I had a time of it when I had Dustin,” Eunice continued. “Took me months to lose my pregnancy weight.”
“My mother says the same thing. Although you can’t tell by looking at her that she had four of us.” Jill held the baby closer. Dustin saw the child was just about to fall asleep, enjoying the woman’s warmth and soft voice, no doubt.
Lucky baby.
“I hope you don’t mind that I dropped in on you like this,” Jill said to Eunice. “I am interested in the position, if it’s still available.”
“I see,” Eunice replied. “Dustin?”
His mother looked so pleased that Dustin scowled. “Well, I don’t see. Can we get on with finding this child’s parents and save the social amenities for later?”
It was lack of sex, pure and simple, that was making him irritable, Dustin decided.
“But what will happen if you call the police?”
Dustin met his mother’s eyes. “I’m sure they’ll take the baby with them until someone from Child Protective Services can be reached.”
His mother was quiet for a moment. “I really hate for this little orphan to be taken somewhere right before Christmas, Dustin. Don’t you think we should keep her, just over the holidays?” At Dustin’s astonished expression, Eunice hurriedly clarified, “By all means, notify the police. But maybe you could just offer that, until the mother is located, we can take care of her.”
Dustin shook his head slowly, looking first at his mother, then at Jill, who appeared interested in his reaction to these plans. “How in the world are we going to care for that baby?”
“I can,” Eunice replied calmly.
“How?” He stopped himself from reminding her that sometimes, when the arthritis flared up, it was all she could do to walk, never mind care for a tiny and fragile infant—and Joey was a handful besides.
“My hands work just fine, Dustin. Hand me that little angel, please, Jill.”
Gently, Jill laid her in Eunice’s arms. The infant made the transition without opening her sweet, shell-shaped eyelids. Dustin’s heart clenched. Eunice had held Joey that same way many times. Would it hurt anything to give her one last chance to love a baby while she still could?
Shaking his head at the thought that maybe this wasn’t the best idea in the world, Dustin said, “I could mention it to them, I suppose.
But they may not let us have her.”
He’d meant to warn her, but Eunice shook her head. “By heaven,” she said with spirit, “we should be able to get our way on this one thing, Dustin. If we have to fight for our own Joey, and believe me, we are going to fight Maxine tooth and nail, then we should be allowed to keep this little bundle of joy for the holidays. It seems like we deserve this one bit of good fortune.”
Jill’s eyes had widened. Her gaze traveled from his mother to him. Questions were there, but Jill lowered her gaze without asking any of them.
He had to give Ms. McCall some credit: she was handling the whole strange situation with a lot of cool. The uncanny thought hit him that she approved of Eunice’s wish.
Slowly, Dustin nodded. “Maybe you’re right, Mother. I’ll mention that we’ll be willing to keep the infant until her parents can be located. The police will have to take it from there.”
“I should think that there would be few places as nice as this one for her to stay,” Jill said. “Maybe she will get to remain here for Christmas.”
She stood, glancing down at the sleeping infant in Eunice’s arms. “What if I go get some formula, and diapers and wipes while you’re talking to the police?”
Pride had started flowing through Dustin at Jill’s compliment. She liked the ranch and his home, maybe even his mother, and him, but her offer to get supplies pricked the pride instantly. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Since you helped find this child, I think you should be here when the police arrive.”
How stupid did she think he was, anyway? Whether it was her baby or not—and he tended to think his mother was right, because Jill’s body was too melted into those jeans to have recently birthed a baby—the police were going to want to question her. She and the baby appearing at nearly the same time was too coincidental for even Lassiter’s easygoing sheriff to ignore.
“Fine.” Jill sat back down. By the disgust written on her face, Dustin knew she’d guessed his ulterior motive in keeping her there.
“Must we have the police, Dustin? Can’t you just talk to Marsh and see what he thinks we should do?” Eunice asked.
