Accidental Family (The Baby Bet: MacAllisters Gifts #14)

by Joan Elliott Pickart

  “It had better be a temporary condition,” David said, frowning.

  “I’m sure it is. I brought you a picture of Sarah Ann. Here.”

  David hesitated, then with a visibly shaking hand he took the piece of glossy computer paper from Patty and stared at the image of the smiling little girl.

  “Oh, look at her,” he said, awe ringing in his voice. “She’s beautiful.”

  Patty smiled. “Yes, she is. She has your coloring. See? Black hair, your blue eyes. She’s very intelligent, full of energy and chatters like a magpie when the mood strikes. She’s small-boned, delicate, but that doesn’t keep her from wanting to play whatever the other kids are into. You can be very proud of her, David. She’s a wonderful little girl.”

  “But…but I don’t recognize her,” he said, closing his eyes for a moment, then looking at the photograph again. “Damn it, I know she’s my daughter only because you’re telling me she is.”

  “Give it time,” Patty said gently. “Oh, these are cards that Sarah Ann and Tucker drew for you after I told them you had boo-boos.”

  David smiled slightly as he examined the pictures drawn with crayon on bright construction paper.

  “Thank you,” he said. “Tell Sarah Ann and Tucker I really liked these, okay? I appreciate your coming all the way back over here tonight to bring me these things.”

  “No problem. My mother came to the house and is doing her grandmother thing with all three of the children.” Patty drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. “David, there is something I have to tell you.”

  “What is it?”

  “Sarah Ann told Tucker that her mother—what I mean is… Oh, David, I’m so sorry but your wife is dead. Sarah Ann said that her mother is in heaven and she doesn’t remember seeing her before she went there. But she also said it was all right because she had her daddy.”

  “My wife… Sarah Ann’s mother is dead?”

  “Yes. I’m sorry.”

  David looked up at the ceiling for a long moment, then met Patty’s gaze again.

  “Why aren’t I registering any emotions about that? God, I hate this. I’m an empty shell. I look at a picture of my daughter and think ‘cute kid, but I’ve never seen her before.’ My wife is dead, for God’s sake, and I have no reaction beyond ‘oh, well.’”

  “David, stop beating yourself up,” Patty said, leaning toward him. “You must remember that your lack of memory is not your doing.”

  “Yeah,” he said, dragging a restless hand through his hair. He narrowed his eyes. “Sarah Ann said she doesn’t remember seeing her mother? Wouldn’t I have given my daughter a picture of her mother?”

  “There were no framed photographs in Sarah Ann’s bedroom at your house,” Patty said. “I didn’t think anything of it until now. It does seem strange that you wouldn’t keep her image where Sarah Ann could see it, feel connected to it, to her mother. Sarah Ann isn’t upset by that. Her emphasis is on you.”

  “It still doesn’t make sense,” David said, his voice rising. “It’s as though I’m trying to get Sarah Ann to forget her mother even existed. What does that say about me?”

  “That you don’t have all the facts yet,” Patty said. “Don’t stand in judgment of yourself until you know why you seem to be distancing Sarah Ann from the memory of her mother. As an attorney you should gather all the data before reaching a conclusion.”

  “An attorney? I’m a lawyer?” David said, raising his eyebrows.

  “Yep. ‘A turny,’ to quote your daughter. Oh, and you lived in San Francisco before you moved to your new house here in Ventura.”

  “Well, thank you, NYPD Blue,” he said, smiling slightly.

  “I’m Columbo, sir.”

  “Oh, okay,” he said, chuckling. “You need a rumpled raincoat.” He paused and frowned. “This is nuts. I can remember television shows but I don’t recognize a picture of my own daughter?”

  “Dr. Hill said there are no rules about amnesia, remember?”

  “He wasn’t kidding,” he said, shaking his head.

  “Well, I’d best let you get some rest.”

  “No,” David said quickly. “I mean, do you have to leave so soon? This has been a helluva day stuck in this bed, trying to deal with all this and… Can you stay a little longer?”

  “Yes, if you want me to.”

  “Thank you.” David paused and frowned. “Well, we can’t share things about each other because I’m a blank page. Tell me about you, Patty Clark. Why are you a single mother of two little kids?”

  It’s none of your business, Mr. Montgomery, Patty thought with a flash of anger that dissipated as quickly as it had come. David was asking her a very fair question considering the fact she was poking around in her Columbo mode finding out everything she could about him.

  “It’s not a unique story,” she said. “My ex-husband fell in love with another woman and that was that.” A woman who could meet Peter’s needs as she had failed to do. “Peter… Peter hasn’t bothered to see Sophia and rarely takes advantage of his visitation times with Tucker anymore. Sarah Ann was so sweet about that when Tucker told her. She said he could say hello to you whenever he wanted to because she had her daddy. She’s a darling little girl.”

  “Why did you marry that jerk?” David said, frowning.

  “Well, for heaven’s sake,” Patty said, laughing, “what a silly question. We were in love, floating around on cloud nine like any other couple who plans to marry. The first years were terrific. I taught school, Peter was climbing the ladder in the insurance company where he worked, we bought a home, the whole nine yards.

  “We agreed that I’d be a stay-at-home mother and I quit teaching when Tucker was born. It’s heartbreaking for me to realize that I’ll need to go back to teaching second semester and leave my children with caregivers but…

  “David, this is not interesting. It’s just another sad tale of a marriage that didn’t make it. I usually don’t pour out my woes like this. I’m living in the present now and looking to the future. There’s nothing to be gained by dwelling on what happened between me and Peter, except that I did learn something important about myself.”

  “Like what?”

  “Enough of this. I’m changing the subject. Oh, Sarah Ann did have a favorite toy that she brought back to my house from yours. It’s a worse-for-wear teddy bear that—”

  “Patches,” David said, then sat bolt upward. He sank back against the pillow in the next instant, one hand clamped on the top of his head. “Oh, my aching head. Forget the head. Am I right? Is Sarah Ann’s favorite toy a beat-up bear named Patches?”

  “Yes,” Patty said, her eyes dancing with excitement. “Yes, you’re right. Oh, David, see? Your memory is coming back in little bits and pieces. Do you remember anything else about Patches? You mended him with… Do you know?”

  David stared into space. “No, there’s nothing else there.”

  “Don’t worry about it.”

  “What did I mend the bear with?”

  “Duct tape,” Patty said, smiling. “Then you drew hearts on it. I was very touched when I saw it. You really are a very loving father.”

  “I wonder what kind of husband I was?” he said, frowning.

  No doubt a much better husband than she had been in her role of wife, Patty thought. She hoped when David’s memory returned that would prove to be true, so he wouldn’t have to live with the kind of guilt that tormented her.

  “What’s wrong?” David said. “You look very sad all of a sudden.”

  “It was just a fleeting thought, but it’s gone now.”

  “You deserve to be happy, Patty.”

  “Oh?” she said, smiling. “You believe that, of course, because you’ve known me so well for so long.”

  “Laugh if you like,” David said, looking directly into her eyes, “but while I don’t even know at the moment how I like my eggs cooked, I do know that you are a very special, very rare and wonderful person who deserves to be happy.”

&nbs
p; “I’m happy,” Patty said softly. “I have two children, two miracles, and I cherish my role as their mother.”

  “But what about Patty the woman? Is she happy?”

  “I don’t separate the titles, David. Patty the woman is a mother and I am happy.”

  “Mmm.”

  “What does that mean, that ‘mmm’?”

  “That even an empty-minded moron-at-the-moment like me knows that isn’t how it’s supposed to be,” David said decisively. “Nope. Now, according to what I’ve been told I’m a father and I’m an attorney. However, I am also a man who, when I can remember what they are, has wants, needs, desires as do you, Patty the woman.”

  “Wrong.”

  “No, I’m not,” David said, with a burst of laughter. “And I’m beginning to have no difficulty believing that I’m an attorney because I’m obnoxiously sure of myself when I take a stand.”

  “That’s for certain,” Patty said, smiling.

  “Ah, Patty, thank you,” David said. “You actually made me laugh right out loud and the way I’ve felt all day I wondered if I’d ever do that again. I owe you so much for so many things, the most important of which is your willingness to take care of Sarah Ann until I can get out of this place.”

  “No more thanks are necessary, David.”

  “Well, I do want to say that I’m very glad that you came into my life when you did, Patty Clark. Very, very glad.”

  Chapter Four

  Just before dawn the next morning, Patty crawled back into bed after feeding Sophia. She wiggled into a comfortable position, closed her eyes and waited for sleep to come, knowing she needed all she could get to provide energy for the busy day ahead.

  But just as they had after she’d returned from the hospital the previous night, David’s words spoken in a voice ringing with sincerity echoed in her mind.

  I’m very glad that you came into my life when you did, Patty Clark. Very, very glad.

  Oh, drat, she fumed, why was she being haunted by that statement? It was very clear what David meant when he said it. She was caring for his daughter during a stressful crisis in his life. Also, because of his amnesia, she was the only person he felt a link to, someone he sort of knew, and that helped his anxiety a tad considering he didn’t even recognize Sarah Ann from her picture. So, yes, at the moment, David Montgomery was glad that Patty had come into his life. It was very simple really.

  But…

  She couldn’t forget the warmth that had suffused her when David said what he’d said. She’d felt special and important and…and womanly. The very essence of her femininity had seemed to come alive, emerge from the dusty corner where she’d pushed it after Peter had left her. A virile, masculinity-personified man was very glad she had come into his life and…

  “No,” she said, pressing her palms to her temples. “Just stop it right now.”

  She wasn’t in David’s life in that context, not even close, nor would she want to be. No. She was finished with man-and-woman relationships, with having to once again face her inadequacies in that arena.

  She was staying where she belonged, where she excelled, in the role of mother, and that was what David had meant by what he had said.

  “Have you got that yet?” Patty said. “Go back to sleep while you can and knock off the nonsense, Patty Sharpe Clark.”

  But sleep wouldn’t come and she finally left the bed when she heard Tucker and Sarah Ann giggling down the hall. Her day had officially begun.

  In the middle of the afternoon, after naps, including one taken by Patty, she asked Sarah Ann if she would like to talk to her daddy on the telephone.

  “No,” Sarah Ann said, folding her little arms over her chest. “I want to go get my daddy right now.”

  “I know you do, sweetie,” Patty said, “but he can’t leave the hospital yet because of his boo-boos. Wouldn’t it be nice to say hello to him, though?”

  “Guess so,” Sarah Ann said, nodding. “’Kay.”

  “I want to talk to him, too,” Tucker said.

  “Well, we’ll see,” Patty said.

  A few minutes later, David answered the telephone in his hospital room.

  “Hello?”

  “David? It’s Patty. I have a lovely little girl here who would like to say hello to her daddy.”

  “Really? Oh, geez, wait a minute, Patty. What do I say to her? I don’t know how I chat with her. Have you ever heard me call her a nickname that she’ll be expecting to hear? Like princess? Or pumpkin? Or whatever?”

  “No.”

  “What do I say?”

  “Yes, you’re right,” Patty said, glancing at Sarah Ann, “that was a pretty picture she colored for you and I’m sure she’ll be pleased to know you liked it.”

  “I drew a picture, too,” Tucker said.

  “I heard that,” David said. “Okay. The pictures. What else?”

  “She’s standing here waiting for the phone, David,” Patty said.

  “Oh. You can’t help me out anymore because she’ll hear you.”

  “That’s how it is.”

  “I’m a nervous wreck.”

  “Handing over the phone now,” Patty said.

  Sarah Ann clutched the receiver with both hands. “Hi, Daddy… I miss you, too… I want you to come home now. Right now… No. I don’t want to wait… No, no, no.” She burst into tears and dropped the receiver.

  Patty snatched it up. “David?”

  “I blew it. Oh, man, listen to her. Her heart is breaking, Patty.”

  “Hold on a minute,” Patty said, then placed the receiver on the kitchen counter. “Popsicles? Outside?”

  “Yes, yes,” Sarah Ann and Tucker said in unison.

  “I want to hear a thank-you,” Patty said, producing the treats.

  “Thank you,” the pair echoed, then dashed out the back door.

  Patty picked up the receiver again. “End of crisis. When in doubt, bribe ’em.”

  “Sarah Ann stopped crying that fast?”

  “Turned off the tears like a faucet,” Patty said, laughing. “Well, lesson learned. Hearing your voice is upsetting to her when she can’t see you. We won’t do that again.”

  “One broken heart mended by a Popsicle,” David said. “Amazing. Too bad that doesn’t work for adults, huh? You sure read her like a book, Patty.”

  “I’ve had practice at this sort of thing, David.” Patty paused. “How are you feeling today?”

  “Not bad, except for that fact that I’m going out of my mind being trapped in this bed. I’m going to pressure the doctor when he shows up to spring me from this place.”

  “And how do you intend to care for your daughter?”

  “Well, I… Hell, I don’t know,” David said. “I’ll hire a housekeeper or something.”

  “And tell that woman what?” Patty said. “What time does Sarah Ann go to bed? What does she like to eat? What rituals and routines do the two of you have? Do you realize how devastating it would be to her if you forgot something that is very special and important to the two of you? She’d be hurt and confused, think you forgot about her because you were away for a few days.”

  “Well, what in the hell am I going to do?” David said, none too quietly.

  “There’s only one solution to this,” Patty said. “You’ll stay here at my house with Sarah Ann until you get your memory back.”

  What? she thought in a flash of panic in the next instant. What?

  “What?” David said.

  “I’m thinking as a mother, David, and putting Sarah Ann’s needs before yours. I’m sure you’d be more comfortable in your large home, but can you understand how difficult that would be while you have no memory of Sarah Ann’s routine and such?”

  “Yes, but Patty, you don’t even know me. How can you even entertain the idea of taking a stranger into your home? Oh, man, what a complicated mess this is.”

  “I admittedly don’t know you, the man, that well,” Patty said, “but I do know you, the father. That’s what I’
m basing this plan on.” She paused. “Uh-oh, Sophia is awake and not too happy about something. I’ve got to go. Think about what I’ve proposed and we’ll discuss it in more detail later. ’Bye.”

  “Goodbye,” David said, then realized he was speaking to the dial tone.

  He replaced the receiver, sank back against the pillow and stared at the ceiling.

  This was nuts, he thought. Move into Patty’s home when he left the hospital? Crazy. He apparently had a large house waiting for his return and that was where he would take his daughter. The two of them would be just fine.

  Sarah Ann could go to day care and… Oh, really? And just how did he propose to get her there? Put her in a taxi? He couldn’t drive with a cumbersome cast on his leg. Hell, he didn’t even have a vehicle at this point because his was smashed to smithereens.

  Okay, back up here. He’d call an agency and ask them to send applicants for the position of housekeeper with the stipulation that the woman would take Sarah Ann to and from the day-care center.

  But Sarah Ann would need breakfast first, of course, and he didn’t have a clue what his own child liked to eat. Nor what time she went to bed, or if she liked bubbles in her bath, or a story read to her as she snuggled beneath the blankets on her bed.

  David reached over to the table next to the bed and picked up the picture of Sarah Ann.

  “Oh, little girl,” he said, staring at the photograph, “you are so pretty, so innocent, and you trust me to take care of you.”

  He couldn’t bear the thought of his daughter looking up at him with confusion and hurt radiating from those big blue eyes when she realized her daddy didn’t remember what they shared together. There was no way to explain amnesia to a three-year-old. I don’t exactly know who you are at the moment, kiddo, but I’ll get back to you on that.

  But move into Patty’s home?