The Unclaimed Baby Read online

  At dawn she called her part-time employee, Patsy Driscoll, and asked her to open up at Dolan’s. Two hours later with the baby fed and her own breakfast churning acid in her stomach, she drew in a deep breath and forced herself to dial the sheriff’s office. To her dismay her cousin wasn’t in yet, but the new dispatcher clucked sympathetically at Sharon Lynn’s explanation for needing Justin and promised to track him down and get him to her house on the double.

  “I can try him at home,” Sharon Lynn protested.

  “No, indeed. You just take care of that child,” Maribel Hawkins insisted. “I’ll find the sheriff for you. With the roads a mess, people skidding into ditches and every deputy out on calls, there’s no telling where Justin might be. He hasn’t checked in with me yet, but that doesn’t mean he’s not on duty. He has a way of forgetting that it helps if I know where to find him.”

  Sharon Lynn grinned at the touch of indignation in Maribel’s voice. She’d taken over while the regular dispatcher was out on maternity leave and her oft-stated goal was to change Justin’s lackadaisical ways. Obviously she was relishing this latest chance to chide him for not following the rules about reporting in at the start of the day. Maribel wasn’t the least bit intimidated by the fact that as the town’s newly elected sheriff, Justin was the one who made the rules.

  “Don’t forget he could be at Dolan’s having breakfast,” Sharon Lynn said.

  “Believe me, honey, I know all the man’s hiding places. He’ll be over there in a heartbeat.”

  True to Maribel’s promise, Justin arrived within minutes, looking disheveled and cranky. Apparently the dispatcher had dragged him out of bed on what had turned out to be his first day off in two weeks. A newlywed, he was none too pleased about that or about the reason for it.

  “Maybe I was still half asleep, maybe I didn’t hear dispatch right,” he said as he came in the front door without bothering to knock. “Maribel said somebody left a baby on your doorstep last night.”

  There was enough censure and disbelief in his tone to have Sharon Lynn scowling at him defiantly. “That’s correct.”

  His voice climbed. “And the reason you didn’t notify me before now would be?”

  “Because it was late and I figured there wouldn’t be a thing you could do before morning anyway. Cord and I had things under control here.”

  His scowl deepened. “Cord?”

  “Another story,” she said dismissively. If Justin was this worked up over the baby, she could just imagine what he’d have to say about the stranger who’d been a big part of the night’s events. Thankfully he let the mention of Cord pass.

  He glanced around the living room. “Where’s the baby?” he asked.

  “Sleeping, or at least she was until you came in here bellowing.” Hands on hips, she faced him belligerently. “Tone it down, or you can leave right now.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  They scowled at each other for a full minute, before she finally relented and led the way to her bedroom. The baby was squarely in the middle of her bed, surrounded by pillows. She was so tiny, so precious, with her halo of soft blond curls and rosy cheeks. Her solemn, watchful eyes seemed to fix on Sharon Lynn. Just looking at her was enough to fill Sharon Lynn’s heart with joy. With her gaze immediately drawn to the sleeping child, she moved to the edge of the bed and skimmed a finger across a pudgy cheek.

  “Isn’t she beautiful?” she whispered.

  “Oh, no,” Justin said, his gaze locked on her and not the baby.

  Sharon Lynn blinked at his fierce tone, then glanced up at him. “What?”

  “You can’t keep her, Sharon Lynn.”

  She had known that, of course, but something in Justin’s voice riled her. Her stubborn streak kicked in. She lifted her chin. “Why not?”

  “You know perfectly well why not. She’s not yours.”

  “Well, obviously the mother doesn’t want her.”

  “Unless she was kidnapped,” he suggested.

  Sharon Lynn swallowed hard. It was one explanation she had never even considered. Kidnapped babies were held for ransom. They weren’t abandoned. Were they?

  “You don’t seriously think…”

  He raked a hand through his hair and snapped impatiently, “I don’t know what to think. I would have known a hell of a lot more by now if you’d told me about her last night, if I’d been able to check out the alley behind the store for any evidence, and if I’d had time to check all the faxes about missing kids.”

  “Do that now,” she said reasonably. “Whatever evidence was in that alley hasn’t gone anywhere. As for the faxes, I’ve seen your desk. They haven’t gone anywhere, either.”

  “I’ll do all that right after I take her to the hospital to be thoroughly checked out and call social services,” he said. “They’re going to love being hauled out on a Saturday after a blizzard.”

  Sharon Lynn instinctively moved between her cousin and the baby. “My point exactly. If it’s going to be such a bother, then don’t call them.”

  His expression turned sympathetic. “Sweetie, there are procedures in cases like this. You know this is what has to be done.”

  “She’ll just end up in foster care, unless you locate the mom, right?”

  “I suppose.”

  “Then let her stay with me. I’ll call Grandpa Harlan. He can pull a few strings and get me temporary approval as a foster parent. It’s not as if I’m an unfit candidate for it. We can call Lizzy to come check her out medically, if that will make you happy. She’s practically a full-fledged doctor. She’s doing her residency in Garden City, while granddaddy builds that clinic he promised her here in town. It’ll be by the book.” She beamed at him, then shrugged at his intractable scowl. “More or less.”

  “Sharon Lynn—”

  “Justin, this is the way it’s going to be,” she said fiercely, ready to fight him on this if she had to. “That baby would have died last night if Cord and I hadn’t found her. I’m not letting her out of my sight until I know she’s going to be safe. Whoever left her there doesn’t deserve to live, much less have the baby given back to them.”

  “Well, of course not, but—”

  “No buts. You know I’m right. You know she’s better off with me, at least for the time being. I feel like I owe her that much.”

  She watched his face intently, saw the worry, the indecision and prayed he’d go along with her on this. Justin had a powerful sense of right and wrong, a fierce dedication to playing by the rules. She knew she was probably asking him to break a million of them.

  “Please,” she begged. “Just think of what’s best for the baby. Think of all the trauma she’s already been through. She’s here now, she’s warm and safe. Don’t start dragging her around again now, just so you can cross all the t’s and dot all the i’s on your paperwork.”

  He sighed heavily. “Okay,” he relented finally. “But this is temporary. You understand that, right?”

  “Of course.”

  He regarded her skeptically. “You’re sure?”

  “Justin, I understand.”

  “All right, then. Hopefully Lizzy’s not on duty over at Garden City. Call her and get her over here. If she gives the baby a clean bill of health, that’ll do for now. Meantime, I’ll go check out all the reports on missing kids to see if there’s a match.”

  “Thank you,” she said softly.

  “Don’t thank me,” he said curtly. “Something tells me I’m setting you up for heartbreak.”

  Chapter 3

  “Tell me again how you wound up with a baby,” Lizzy said when she arrived an hour later.

  She looked every bit the doctor with her little black bag and white lab coat over a silk blouse. She’d even coiled her long, black hair into a tidy topknot. Sharon Lynn still hadn’t gotten used to her professional demeanor. To her way of thinking, Lizzy was still first and foremost a rambunctious, anything-for-a-lark cowgirl. Her medical degree from the University of Texas said otherwise.
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  As Sharon Lynn repeated the same story she’d told Justin, Lizzy’s eyes widened. Her mouth narrowed into a thin, disapproving line before she muttered a stream of expletives that would have blistered the ears of the person who’d abandoned the baby. Sharon Lynn said only, “My sentiments exactly.”

  “How long was she outside, then?”

  “Probably not more than a minute or two. We heard a thump, went to investigate and there she was.”

  “So her body temperature was warm enough when you brought her inside?”

  Sharon Lynn nodded. “She was pretty well bundled up. She felt fine to me. Cord thought so, too. I took her temperature and it was normal.”

  Just as Justin had, Lizzy seized on the mention of the unfamiliar name. “Cord?”

  “The customer who was there when it happened. He was actually the one who found her.”

  “Interesting,” Lizzy said, studying her face. “Is this Cord person handsome, sexy and single?”

  “I have no idea,” she claimed. At Lizzy’s skeptical look, she conceded, “Not about the single part anyway.”

  Lizzy grinned. “Then he is handsome and sexy?”

  “I suppose. I hardly noticed.”

  “If he’d turned up after you found the baby, I might believe that, but he’d been there how long? A couple of hours? That’s a long time to hang around a drugstore during a blizzard, unless the man had something besides food on his mind.”

  “Are you here to check out the baby or to cross-examine me?” Sharon Lynn grumbled.

  Lizzy patted her cheek. “Not to worry. I have time to do both. Come on, let’s see the baby. We’ll get back to this Cord person later.”

  Without waiting for Sharon Lynn, she headed to the bedroom and bent over the baby, who was wide-awake and waving her tiny fists in the air. Lizzy sighed. “She’s a cute one, all right. And obviously someone has been taking good care of her. Looks to me as if her weight’s normal and her color is good. Just look at those rosy little cheeks.”

  She began examining her with practiced fingers, pausing to tickle a laughing response from her every now and again. When she was finished, she plucked her up off the bed and cradled her in her arms. “You are a little doll.”

  Sharon Lynn watched her aunt, who was actually younger than she was, and had an almost overwhelming desire to yank the baby out of her arms. Even she recognized that as a bad sign. If she was this possessive after less than twenty-four hours, what was going to happen when the time came to give the baby up? Maybe Justin had been right to worry. Maybe this wasn’t going to be as easy as she’d thought.

  “Don’t go getting any ideas,” she told Lizzy. “You’ve got one of your own and I don’t see Hank letting you bring another one home for him to take care of while you finish your residency.”

  “Are you kidding? Hank’s in seventh heaven playing full-time daddy. If he could figure out some way to convince me to stay pregnant and have another kid every nine or ten months, he’d be a happy man. He loves ranching, but parenthood is his true calling. I’m not sure which one of us was more surprised by that. For a long time making a go of his ranch was all that mattered to him. Now he just leaves most of that to Pete and the hands. I come home and he has a zillion and one stories about Jamey for me.”

  “And how do you feel about expanding your family?”

  “I wouldn’t give up Jamey for anything, but it is way too soon to be thinking of having another one. It’s easier now that med school is over and I’m here all the time, but doing my residency over in Garden City is no picnic. The hours are a killer and, despite what Hank says, I can’t put all the burden of taking care of Jamey on him. Besides, I don’t want to miss these early years. Things change too fast. He’s walking and talking a blue streak. To hear Hank and Daddy tell it, he’ll be ready to run the ranch by the time he’s five.”

  “Well, obviously Grandpa Harlan would think any child of his precious baby daughter’s would be a genius,” Sharon Lynn teased. “As for Hank, he’s totally and thoroughly besotted with you. It was a given that any child you two conceived would be brighter and cuter than any other baby on earth, at least in his eyes.”

  She reached for this baby and took her from Lizzy’s arms. “Of course, this one could give little Jamey a run for his money in the looks department.”

  “You sound an awful lot like a proud mama,” Lizzy said, regarding her worriedly. “Sweetie, you aren’t getting any ideas about trying to keep her, are you?”

  “Of course not,” Sharon Lynn denied a little too emphatically. “This is just temporary until Justin can find out who abandoned her and whether there’s any family to take her.”

  “Then why did you bring home enough diapers and formula for months, rather than days?”

  She could feel the color flooding her cheeks. “I just grabbed stuff last night. I wasn’t counting. Neither was Cord. We just accidentally doubled up on some stuff.”

  As soon as the last was out of her mouth, she realized her mistake. The repeat mention of Cord’s name was like waving a red flag in front of Lizzy.

  “Okay, into the kitchen,” Lizzy ordered in the imperious manner of a woman used to having her demands taken seriously. “You can feed the baby and I’ll pour the coffee. I want to hear all about this Cord person.”

  “Don’t you have to get back to your own family?” Sharon Lynn asked hopefully.

  “You are my family,” Lizzy reminded her. “I’m the aunt. I get to be nosy.”

  “You’re younger than I am.”

  “Doesn’t matter. In the family pecking order, I have rank. Ask Daddy.”

  “It would be a waste of time asking Grandpa Harlan,” Sharon Lynn conceded. “Precious Lizzy has ruled the roost since the day she was born. After all those impossible sons of his, to say nothing of Jenny who was a fourteen-year-old troublemaker when he married your mom, you were his darling angel. Little did he know that you’d turn out to be the most stubborn and impossible of all of them.”

  “None of which has a thing to do with the topic,” Lizzy reminded her, oblivious to the familiar teasing.

  “Which is?”

  “Cord. Tell me about him.”

  Sharon Lynn forced a casual, disinterested shrug. “He’s a nice guy. He came into Dolan’s last night, right off the road in the middle of that storm. He’d been traveling from Montana. He’s here looking for a job.”

  “What kind of job?”

  “Actually he has an interview at White Pines today.”

  “Oh, boy,” Lizzy said, chuckling. “And you think I’m subjecting you to an inquisition. Just wait till Daddy gets wind of the fact that you and Cord rescued a baby from a blizzard.”

  That was precisely what Sharon Lynn was most afraid of. Her grandfather was notorious for his matchmaking schemes. She gave Lizzy a pointed look. “Then hopefully he won’t find out about it.”

  “You have to be dreaming. Daddy has a sixth sense for this sort of thing. Not to mention the fact that Justin and I already know about it. I had to tell Hank I was coming here on my way to work at the hospital. Who knows how many people Justin has spoken to? And Cord is at this very moment out at White Pines meeting with whom?”

  “Daddy, more than likely.”

  Lizzy grinned. “Oh, yes, indeed, Uncle Cody is definitely known for his discretion. Add it up, sweetie, and you’re in big trouble.”

  “Cord is being interviewed by my father,” Sharon Lynn reiterated. “Not Grandpa Harlan.”

  Lizzy chuckled. “And you think that’s an improvement?”

  Sharon Lynn sighed. “Okay, maybe not much of one. Maybe Cord won’t mention having met me.”

  “Did you swear him to secrecy?”

  “No.”

  “If you were hoping to get hired on by the biggest rancher in the state, wouldn’t you use the fact that you happen to know his daughter?”

  “Okay, maybe, but it’s not like we’re old friends or anything. We just met.”

  “And rescued a baby tog
ether. It’s a bond, sweetie, the kind that will set off all sorts of wild speculation around White Pines. There’s no getting around it.”

  It was a bond, Sharon Lynn thought with a sigh. Cord’s tenderness with the baby had touched her heart. His outrage and indignation had been every bit a match for her own. Beyond that? She refused to look beyond that. She wasn’t remotely interested in allowing a new man into her life, especially not a charming stranger who might be all too capable of slipping past her defenses. She’d lived amidst charming rogues and scoundrels all her life. She wasn’t interested in dating one. That’s why Kyle, the polar opposite of the men in her family, had held such strong appeal for her. Judging from Lizzy’s expression, she hadn’t yet made herself clear enough. She tried again.

  “Lizzy, for a woman with a practical, scientific mind, you’re talking like the ultimate romantic. Get a grip. Cord Branson is a total stranger.”

  “He might have been when he walked into Dolan’s last night, but something tells me he isn’t now.”

  “You’re imagining things.”

  “We’ll see,” Lizzy predicted. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned the last couple of years, it’s that fate has a sneaky way of turning life upside down when you least expect it. Jamey is proof enough of that.”

  Sharon Lynn could certainly testify to that, too, but her experience with fate wasn’t something she had any intention of repeating. She was in total control of her life these days and she intended to stay that way. She said as much to Lizzy.

  “And this time yesterday were you cuddling a baby in your arms and trying to figure out how you were going to juggle your schedule at Dolan’s and care for her?”

  “No, but—”

  Lizzy grinned. “I rest my case.” She slipped on her coat, then leaned down to brush a kiss across Sharon Lynn’s cheek. “See you, sweetie. Call if you need any help. If I’m not around, talk to Hank. He’s the baby expert, anyway. He’ll probably insist you bring this little princess out to the ranch to play with Jamey.”