Child of Her Heart

by Cheryl St. John

  “Sanders is the name of the birth mother, correct?”

  Morgan nodded. “Lisa Sanders. A troubled girl who was living with the adoptive parents.”

  “And the adoptive parents’ names are?”

  “Brian and Carrie Summers.”

  “The baby was taken from the hospital shortly after his birth?”

  “Stolen from the nursery.”

  Justin absorbed the information, deliberately remembering the people involved as individuals. “There was an incident here last fall. An attempt to snatch a baby who was being given up for adoption.”

  Morgan nodded. “Ivy Crosby was bringing a baby from the hospital to our nursery. She was fighting off the offenders when I heard the struggle and ran out. An odd-looking pair—man and woman—got away.”

  “Isn’t Ivy a Crosby Systems executive? What was she doing with a baby?”

  “She volunteers with the crack babies—has a real gift. That particular child was being placed for adoption.”

  “The police were unable to help?”

  “The couple disappeared with no trace.”

  “But now it looks as though these cases are related.”

  “I’m afraid so,” Morgan replied. He ran a hand over his hair before continuing. “And just when I think things are as bad as they can get, something else proves me wrong.”

  “Has something happened to another baby?”

  “No, this is more on the Malone situation.”

  “Meredith Malone,” Justin clarified, apprehensive at the mention of her name. “What’s wrong?”

  “Wayne Thorpe came to me with a confession.”

  What could the wealthy retiree who served on the board of directors have to confess that would make Meredith’s situation worse? Justin waited impatiently.

  “It seems he’s been…keeping company with Sheila Crosby.”

  “Sleeping with her?” Justin asked.

  Morgan nodded.

  Ex-wife of Jack Crosby, the founder of Crosby Systems, Sheila had the reputation of being the neglectful mother who hadn’t been paying attention to her own son or to the Logans’ boy Robbie the day he’d been kidnapped. Talk was she’d always been selfish and narcissistic, and had turned the whole kidnapping situation around to make it look as though she was the victim. She had several children who’d grown up successfully despite her parenting, and now Sheila spent her time squandering her settlement from Jack in Portland and in Palm Springs, where she lived part-time.

  “How is she involved in this?”

  “You know the Logans and the Crosbys have been rivals for years.”

  Justin nodded.

  “And that Sheila was supposed to be watching the Logans’ boy the day he was taken.”

  “Yes.”

  “She hates the Logans for her misconstrued opinion of how bad they made her look. She would do anything to disgrace or lay them low and she’d do it gleefully.”

  “What’s the connection?”

  “Wayne came to me in a fit of regret. It seems he tends to drink and when he drinks, he says more than he should.”

  Justin stood and walked to the window. He stared out at the deceivingly bright day. Dread grasped him by the short hairs. “Thorpe let the sperm mix-up slip and now Sheila Crosby knows,” he guessed.

  “Unfortunately,” Morgan confirmed.

  Justin exhaled on a curse. “What has she done?”

  “Nothing yet that I know of. That was last night and Wayne called me at first light this morning. Justin, we can’t let the information get out this way.”

  His thoughts of resigning were out of the question with this at stake. All business now, Justin turned back to face Morgan. “We have to hit her where she hurts. What leverage do we have? She doesn’t care about her kids…. What do we know about her?”

  Morgan pressed his intercom button. “We’ll go to the source. Office gossip. Cora, what do you know about Sheila Crosby?”

  The receptionist took only seconds to reply. “She’s a shopoholic and she’s had everything on her body tucked or lifted or enhanced. She manages to attract rich men, but none of her relationships last. She picks guys who have money and social status and she loves the country club. Her grown children mostly work for Crosby Systems, that is Ivy, Katie and Trent. Danny is some kind of a rich recluse and nobody knows much about him.” She finally paused for a breath. “That what you wanted to know, Mr. Davis?”

  Morgan couldn’t help a smile. “That’s good, thanks.” He clicked off the intercom and said to Justin, “Trent took Jack’s place as CEO of Crosby Systems.”

  “Jack wouldn’t give a damn if the Logans or the clinic got bad publicity.” The nearly thirty-year feud between the Crosbys and the Logans was legendary.

  “But Trent is decent and responsible. He might be an ally.”

  Morgan stood and filled his coffee mug. “What leverage would he hold over his mother?”

  Justin felt a glimmer of satisfaction. “What does she care most about?”

  “Money. Social status. The country club.”

  “And who is membership chair of the country club?”

  Morgan set down the coffee pot and turned. “Trent Crosby.”

  Bingo.

  Leaving Anna at the hospital’s day care was an emotional experience, but the staff, and especially the caregiver assigned to Anna, were encouraging and helpful. Darla Adams was a sweet-faced young woman with a smile that lit her dimpled features. She immediately snuggled Anna close and spoke to her. “We’re going to have a great time together, aren’t we? I have a crib all ready for you and a special teddy bear with your name on his shirt. Look.”

  She showed Anna the bright blue stuffed animal sporting a yellow T-shirt with Anna’s name in red embroidery.

  A quick glance around the facility showed a similar bear in each child’s crib. The babies already present seemed content in their Excersaucers and in the mesh playpens. The rooms were bright and clean, and the staff cheerful.

  “Call anytime you like,” Darla said.

  Anna only stared in wide-eyed wonder as Meredith kissed her goodbye and swallowed back tears.

  Her first day back was a flurry of welcomes, cards and flowers, and the usual adjustments. In between patients and paperwork, she visited the day care. On her lunch hour, she hurried down to nurse her, and by the time her shift was over, she was exhausted.

  Turning into her driveway, she spotted the familiar dark cherry Lexus SUV at the curb in front of her house.

  Sixteen

  Anxiety rose inside as she pulled into her garage and shut off the engine. Taking Anna and her bag from the car, she stepped outside.

  Justin had placed two enormous boxes on her lawn, and a spade lay beside them. Seeing him made it painfully clear how lonely she’d been since leaving Cannon Beach. “What are you doing?”

  “Hello, Anna,” he said to the baby.

  The infant’s responsive smile at the sound of his voice gave Meredith an added twinge in the area of her heart.

  “Nice to see you, too,” he said to Meredith.

  “I told you I didn’t want to see you.”

  He turned and gestured. “Your wind art has been at my place for a few days. I thought I’d better come over and set it up for you. We did ours yesterday.”

  “That wasn’t necessary.”

  “It was in my garage.”

  She had completely forgotten. “You can just leave it here, then.”

  “Tell me where you want it. It only takes a few minutes to dig a couple of holes and set the anchors. I’ll be careful of your lawn.”

  She glanced around. “Up there at the front of the house.”

  “Good choice. That way you can watch it from your picture window.”

  She turned back to enter the house through the garage and closed the overhead door behind her. Inside, she made Anna comfortable in her seat on the kitchen floor and set about fixing herself some supper.

  While she waited for the microwave, she tipto
ed into her living room and covertly watched Justin from behind the curtains. At least he hadn’t brought the boys; that would have been dirty play on his part. As it was, she had enough trouble seeing only him and not giving in to missing him. How painfully ironic that she was self-protectively shutting out the very people who had been the most accepting of her and Anna.

  Back in the kitchen, she ate her microwave dinner and a pear with a glass of milk, then wiped the counter and picked up the baby.

  Meredith had just taken Anna to her room and changed her diaper when the doorbell rang.

  Meredith snapped up her daughter’s clothing and placed her in her crib before she walked through the house to the door.

  Justin stepped back from the opening and gestured. “All done.”

  She peered out at the metal sculpture she had chosen, its graceful arms slowly turning in the breeze. Would she always feel this bitter sense of loss when she looked at it? “Thanks.”

  “No problem.”

  He studied her and his gaze made her uncomfortable. “May I talk to you for a few minutes?”

  “I don’t think so. Nothing you can say will change what happened and the way it happened.” As much as she regretted that, it was the truth.

  “I’d like a chance to change what you believe about me.”

  “And you’re good at counterarguments, I’ll give you that. Maybe I don’t want my mind changed.”

  “I just know we had something good.”

  She couldn’t argue there’d been something good between them. Still…it didn’t change the facts. She steeled herself and raised her chin. “It’s easy for you to say you didn’t know who I was. It’s not so easy for me to believe it. It’s also easy to say you were going to tell me, but the fact remains, you didn’t. So what am I supposed to think, Justin?”

  “I know how bad it looks, Meredith.”

  “Yes, it does.”

  “I don’t know how to convince you that I was unaware you were…” He stopped and a muscle in his jaw worked.

  “I was what?”

  “That you were the Malone woman. You never told me your last name.”

  She thought back and tried to remember if that was true, but she had no recollection.

  “I learned something about myself that I didn’t like very much,” he admitted.

  She wasn’t going to ask, but he went on anyway.

  “I was caught up in my caseload and court schedules and all the surrounding details, and I wasn’t seeing the people involved. I’m ashamed of that.”

  She tried to comprehend.

  “Maybe it’s unprofessional to be involved in cases on a personal level. Maybe there’s a happy medium there somewhere, but I was so far below the medium that I barely knew people’s names. That was my fault. If I’d been involved on more than a superficial level, this wouldn’t have happened. So, I’m sorry. I wanted to say that.”

  No matter how contrite Justin was, nothing could take away the overwhelming sense of betrayal and the hurt she’d experienced. Besides, even if she wanted to believe him, how could she? It was easier to not have to place her trust in anyone.

  If she’d been more vigilant about looking out for herself, she would have remembered that and not foolishly fallen into the situation.

  A red car swept into her driveway, drawing her attention. Chaney got out and walked toward the small porch. She stepped up beside Justin and looked from him to Meredith with a question in her expression. “Hi, I’m Chaney.”

  “Justin Weber,” he said, moving aside to greet her.

  “I’ve never met a nine-and-a-half in the flesh before.” She stuck out her hand and he shook it.

  One of Justin’s eyebrows rose quizzically.

  Meredith ignored her friend’s comment and Justin’s look. “He was just leaving,” she pointed out.

  “Don’t go on my account,” Chaney said, eyeing him up and down.

  “I brought over Meredith’s wind sculpture.”

  Chaney glanced toward the metal artwork in the yard. “You’re handy, too. Awesome.”

  “Come on in,” Meredith said and made room for her friend to pass. She turned back to Justin for a brief dismissal. “Thank you. Goodbye.”

  “I’ll call you,” he said.

  “I probably won’t answer.”

  “I’ve already figured that out. But I’m hoping.”

  She met his gaze for what seemed a lengthy time and finally stepped in and closed the door.

  Chaney ran to the window and watched him walk away and place the spade in his car. “Oh. My. God.”

  Meredith nodded.

  “He looks so sincere. And he came all the way over here to set up that gizmo for you. He just came to see you, you know, he could have had it sent or left it on your porch.”

  “I know.”

  “What did he say?”

  “That he was sorry and he didn’t know how to convince me he didn’t know who I was when we met.”

  “What did you say?”

  “There wasn’t much to say. I just can’t believe him. Even if he did just find out that morning, he still didn’t tell me.”

  “I can see where that would be a tough thing to stick into a conversation.”

  “I got naked with him. I let him see my scars. I trusted him.”

  “That’s what hurt the most, wasn’t it? You felt vulnerable, but you wanted him. You moved your own safety parameters aside to let him get close.”

  That was what still hurt. “It’s my own fault, when you say it like that.”

  “Take a little responsibility, Mer.”

  “Okay.”

  “He’s gone.” Chaney moved away from the window. “Takes your breath away just looking at the man, doesn’t it?”

  Meredith nodded.

  “Where’s my girl?”

  “In her bed.”

  “Awake? How did day care go?”

  Meredith followed her to Anna’s room, relating their first time at day care and her return to work.

  Chaney stayed for a while, giving Anna a bath and then doing a load of laundry while Meredith fed the baby and put her to bed. As Chaney prepared to leave, she gave her friend a hug. “I want you to remember something.”

  Meredith returned her hug and drew away. “What?”

  “Remember that Justin Weber is not Sean.”

  “I know that.”

  “On an intellectual level you know that, but are you emotionally aware? Sean was a first-class rat. He left you high and dry because he couldn’t deal with your illness and recovery. He didn’t want to stand by or help make critical decisions or be supportive. He’s a weasel. This thing with Denzel isn’t remotely similar.”

  Meredith rolled her eyes.

  “Seriously,” Chaney went on. “Does he seem the type to desert a person when the chips are down?”

  “I don’t know enough about him to make that assessment,” Meredith replied. “I do know he’s an eloquent speaker and a top-notch attorney. Convincing people to see things his way is his job.”

  Chaney squeezed Meredith’s hands and released them. “What if I learned something life changing? What if I was trying to figure out how to tell you without breaking your heart, but you found out some other way first? Would you think I was untrustworthy, too?”

  “That’s not a fair comparison. I’ve known you a long time, and I already know you have my best interests at heart. I don’t know that about Justin.”

  “Isn’t this the same guy you said was so great with his kids?” Chaney asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Then do you really think he’s a totally different person with you?”

  Meredith shrugged. “I don’t know. People aren’t always what they seem.”

  “Bull. A week ago, you couldn’t say enough nice things about the man.” Chaney opened the front door and turned back with a grin. “And I know sex isn’t everything, but if that man had the hots for me, I’d make a lot of exceptions to keep him in my bed.”

&n
bsp; Meredith returned the smile, then called to her friend’s retreating back, “But, then, you’re confident and well-adjusted and I’m a skeptical neurotic. Good night.”

  The following week she received notice in the mail from the laboratory who’d done the DNA tests on her and Anna as soon as they’d returned from Cannon Beach. The results read probability 98.2%.

  Meredith wept with relief. She’d known all along in her heart that Anna was her child, but she’d needed this concrete evidence to set her mind at ease. Whoever Anna’s father was didn’t matter. It hadn’t mattered when she’d anticipated he was white, so it didn’t matter now that she knew he wasn’t.

  With the big uncertainty behind her and her decisions made, she had one chore left—to settle things with her mother. She’d spoken briefly with her father, promising to call him for a visit, so she made the call now.

  “Dad?”

  “Hi, honey. How’re you doing?”

  “Much better now that I have proof that Anna is really my child.”

  “The DNA test?”

  “Yes, it was positive beyond a doubt.”

  “That’s wonderful.” Meredith could practically hear her father’s smile.

  “Yes, it is,” she agreed. “How’s Veronica?”

  Her dad’s voice sobered. “She’s her usual self. Busy. Gone.”

  “I thought I’d fix dinner tomorrow night and you could come over and see us. Think she’ll come?”

  “I’ll ask her,” he said. “She’s still mad that you stopped taking her calls.”

  “I was on vacation.” Knowing her excuse was lame, she thought again. “You know, it’s not fair of me to ask you to be the go-between, so ask her to call me when she gets home, okay?”

  “Will do. Bye, honey.”

  It was later that evening when the phone rang and Meredith saw her folks’ name on the caller ID. “Hello?”

  “You’ve unblocked our number, I see.” Veronica’s tone was aloof.

  “I needed time to think.”

  “With all that thinking, have you come to your senses?”

  Meredith took a deep breath to build her resolve. “I’d like to talk to you and Dad. Will you come for dinner tomorrow evening?”

  “What is it you want to say?”