The Unclaimed Baby (4 page)

He hung up and turned back to regard Cord speculatively. “You didn't mention that you'd met my daughter.”

“Sharon Lynn?” he asked, impressed by the speed of the family grapevine.

Cody nodded. “How'd that come about?”

Cord debated just how much he should say, finally settling on the bare minimum. “I stopped in town last night for a bite to eat. Dolan's was the only place open.”

“I see. Anything else interesting happen while you were there?”

Cord chuckled at the careful probing. Apparently he was wasting his time being discreet. “Obviously you've heard about the baby that was dropped off on the doorstep.”

“Daddy told me just now. He wants to hear the whole story. So do I, but in my case it'll have to wait for another time. You go on up to the main house and fill him in, then come back here when you're done.”

Cord stood up and started for the door, but Cody stopped him.

“You know, if you'd mentioned what happened, I'd have given you the job without asking a million and one questions. The fact that you helped out my daughter and that poor little abandoned baby would have been enough.”

Cord nodded. “I suspected as much, sir. I wanted to get the job on my own.”

Cody regarded him with approval. “An admirable decision. I think you're going to work out just fine. Now get on up to the house before Daddy comes looking for you. Once he's here, he won't be able to resist telling me how to do things.”

“I imagine that would be time-consuming, sir.”

Cody grinned. “You have no idea.”

Cord had seen the main house in the distance when he'd driven up to White Pines a few hours earlier. It reminded him of a Southern plantation. Cody had explained that was exactly what it was, almost a rep
lica of the burned-to-the-ground home that his ancestors had left behind when they'd fled the South after the Civil War.

He parked in front of the house and climbed the steps, which had already been cleared of snow. Before he could ring the bell, the door swung wide and an older version of Cody with white hair and stooped shoulders held out a hand.

“You must be Cord. Come on in. I've heard all about the goings-on in town last night.”

“I gather Los Piños has an active grapevine.”

“I can't swear for the town, but this family does,” Harlan Adams said with pride. “There's not much that goes on that I don't know about.” He started down the hall and beckoned for Cord to follow. “Let's go in the kitchen if you don't mind. If I'm right there, I have half a chance of getting a decent cup of coffee, instead of that pitiful decaf everybody's been insisting I drink the last few months.”

In the huge kitchen, Harlan Adams glanced around, poked his head into what was apparently a large walk-in pantry and gave a nod of satisfaction. “Good, the housekeeper's gone. If you'll grab a couple of cups from that cupboard over there, I'll pour.”

Cody found two large mugs and put them on the table, hiding his amusement that one of the most powerful men in Texas was having to sneak a cup of real coffee in his own home.

“Are you sure you ought to be drinking this?” he asked.

“Of course not. My daughter, the one who's got
a fancy medical degree now, got a notion that the real stuff is bad for my heart. I'm way past eighty now. It's my opinion that if I want a cup of coffee, then by God, I ought to have one. Age should have some privileges.”

“Just don't keel over on my watch,” Cord said.

The old man's blue eyes twinkled merrily. “I'll guarantee that, if you'll keep my little secret.”

“Done.”

“So tell me about this baby you and Sharon Lynn found.”

“What have you heard?”

“Pitifully little. I tried to wheedle more information out of my grandson, but he's the sheriff and as tight-lipped as an old maid when it comes to an investigation. All I know for sure is that Sharon Lynn talked him into leaving the baby with her for the time being. I've called a judge to make it official that she can provide temporary guardianship for the child, while Justin does his poking around.”

Cord gave a little nod of satisfaction. “She'll take good care of her.”

“Well, of course she will. The girl has a heart as big as Texas. Trouble is, she's mighty vulnerable these days. I just pray she doesn't get hurt. I know Justin thinks she's making a big mistake. Giving up foster care babies isn't always easy, not even on folks who do it all the time.”

“I'll admit I don't know your granddaughter all that well, but she struck me as being a pretty sensible woman. She didn't waste a lot of time getting emo
tional last night. The instant we found that baby, she just took charge.”

“That's her way, but it's been a terrible year for her. Take my word for that.”

Cord had the feeling that was all Harlan Adams intended to say on the subject, but his measured words only confirmed what Cord had read in her eyes. Something tragic had filled her with sorrow. It reminded him that he needed to move slowly, even though his every instinct was to pursue her without pause until he swept her off her feet.

“You a single man, Cord?”

The question took him by surprise, especially in the context of the conversation they'd just been having and his own thoughts.

“Yes, sir.”

“I see,” Harlan Adams said, surveying him speculatively.

Cord tried not to flinch under the intense scrutiny. Finally he met the old man's gaze evenly and asked, “How do I measure up, sir?”

Harlan threw back his head and laughed. “Oh, you'll do well enough, I imagine.”

“Are we talking about ranching now or something else?”

Before he could reply, a woman with black hair threaded with silver and the angled cheekbones of Native American ancestry swept into the kitchen, snatched the mug from in front of Harlan Adams and poured the contents into the sink, even as she gave Cord a smile.

Despite the look of longing he cast at the emptied mug, Harlan Adams's gaze softened as he looked at the woman. “Cord, this is my wife, Janet. She has a sixth sense about when I'm straying from the straight and narrow. It's a damned nuisance.”

Janet Adams smiled at Cord and touched her husband's cheek. “I don't intend to lose you, old man, not if I have to spy on you twenty-four hours a day.”

The affection between the two of them stirred a yearning inside Cord. He wanted what they had. He wanted to have someone in his life who cared enough about his well-being to defy him when it mattered, someone who would treasure every minute they managed to snatch as they grew old together.

Once more an image of Sharon Lynn came to mind. Judging from her grandfather and father, the years would be kind to her. He could envision sharing them with her. The prospect had taken him by surprise the night before, but it was growing on him now. It seemed as natural as breathing, as inevitable as the sunrise.

“I'd best be getting back to Cody now,” he said. “He has chores for me.”

Harlan barely pulled his gaze from his wife, but he said, “Welcome to White Pines. We'll be seeing a lot more of you around here, son.”

As he headed back to Cody's office, Cord kept hearing the echo of that one word—
son.
He supposed Harlan Adams referred to a lot of men in that same easy, casual way. He couldn't possibly have guessed
how much it would mean to Cord to be accepted so readily.

Or how soon Cord intended to make the ties between them real and deep by marrying his granddaughter. Then, again, he recalled the expression on Harlan Adams's face earlier when they'd been talking about Sharon Lynn. He was a wise man. Maybe he'd already been able to read what was in Cord's heart.

S
haron Lynn was falling in love. With every hour that passed, she grew more and more enchanted with the baby she and Cord had discovered in the alley behind Dolan's. The little angel rarely fussed and had a smile that could light up the world.

Because of the weather, she'd had the baby to herself the rest of Saturday and all day Sunday. It had been surprisingly easy to fall into the baby's rhythm, frightening to realize how easily her heart could be stolen.

In a few short hours, it began to seem totally natural to have a child tucked into the crook of her arm as she went about her other chores. Old lullabies she hadn't thought of in years came back to her as she held the baby and rocked her to sleep.

As the time flew by, she began to dread the ringing
of the phone. Each time she answered, she expected it to be Justin with word on the baby's family, with an announcement that someone was coming to claim the child. She couldn't help wondering how she would cope with that inevitable end.

On Friday night, the baby had needed Sharon Lynn to survive. By Sunday, she worried that maybe it was turning the other way around. Finding the baby on her doorstep was giving her, at long last, a reason to live.

But such a tenuous reason, she warned herself, one that could be snatched from her at any moment. Yet how could any woman defend herself against loving a beautiful, helpless child?

There were limits, though. Even she could see that. It was one reason she resisted the temptation to name the baby. Surely the child already had a name. She had to. It wasn't Sharon Lynn's place to choose another, even if it meant calling her nothing more than
sweetie
or
little one.
It was awkward and frustrating at times, but it was the way it had to be.

When the phone rang at nine o'clock on Sunday night, she jumped. At the sound of Justin's voice, her heart slowed to a dull thud.

“Everything okay over there?” he asked.

“Of course. Have you found out anything?”

“Nothing. Still no reports of a missing baby. It's as if she appeared out of nowhere.”

“Maybe she's just a gift from heaven,” Sharon Lynn said quietly, unable to hide the wistfulness. “Maybe this was meant to be.”

“Don't go there,” Justin warned. “Please don't go there. Not yet. We're just in the early stages of the investigation. Anything could happen.”

She sighed. “I know.”

“What do you intend to do about work tomorrow?”

“I'm taking her with me, of course.”

It was Justin's turn to sigh heavily. “I figured as much. Lizzy called. She says she has a portable crib and a carrier out at her place that you can use. I'll pick them up first thing in the morning and drop them off at Dolan's.”

“Thanks, Justin. You're an angel.”

“I hope you still feel that way when this is all over.”

“No matter what happens, I won't blame you. I promise.”

“I'll see you in the morning.”

After she'd hung up, Sharon Lynn went in to check on the baby and stood for a long time just watching her sleep. She was so innocent and trusting and yet already in her young life, she had been betrayed in the cruelest way of all. Was she aware of that on some level? Would it affect her for the rest of her life? Or did she only know that there was someone now keeping her warm and fed and safe? She certainly seemed to be sleeping peacefully enough.

As the night wore on, Sharon Lynn envied her that. She tossed and turned, knowing that the day ahead would be chaotic, that it would be filled with
unanswerable questions and maybe with heart-wrenching loss. The weather had saved her from the visitors and the questions all weekend, but she wouldn't be so lucky come morning. It wasn't in the Adams genes to let something like this pass unnoticed.

Sure enough, not only was Justin on the doorstep when she arrived at Dolan's, but her mother and grandmother were there right on his heels. Her aunts and her cousins followed at a head-spinning clip.

Thanks to Lizzy's contributions, the baby was settled into a portable crib behind the lunch counter where every single Adams could ooh and aah over her, along with half the town. By noon Sharon Lynn was so sick of advice, so tired of warnings about getting attached that she was ready to scream. She would have thrown everyone out and locked the doors, but Dolan's was a business and the novelty of an abandoned baby on the premises had the lunch counter busier than it had been in weeks.

By two, things had finally settled down again. Patsy Driscoll had gone home after pocketing more tips than she usually did in a week. Sharon Lynn finally had a chance to hold the baby herself.

“You charmed the socks off of them,” she informed the gurgling child. “Little wonder. You're every bit as cute as any Adams baby I've ever seen and, believe me, there are a lot of them.”

“Hey, are you maligning my descendants?” Grandpa Harlan inquired as he slid onto a stool next to her, his gaze locked on the baby.

Sharon Lynn sighed. “I should have known you wouldn't be able to resist coming into town to see her for yourself.”

“Why should I be the only one left out?” he inquired.

“Because she's a baby, not a circus sideshow.”

“You upset because everyone's interested or because they're all offering up advice you don't want to hear?”

Of course, he would see that, she thought. Her grandfather was the wisest man she knew. She gazed into his bright blue eyes and saw the concern there.

“I know what I'm letting myself in for,” she assured him.

“I'm sure you do,” he agreed. “Doesn't mean we can't worry about you.”

“Do you intend to add in your two cents?”

He grinned. “Not if you'll let me hold her, while you go pour me a cup of real coffee.”

Amused by his eagerness, Sharon Lynn relinquished the baby gladly enough, but she poured decaf into the cup she handed him. Her grandfather scowled.

“You, too?”

“I take my marching orders from a higher authority.”

“Who's that?” he demanded indignantly.

“Janet.”

“Whatever happened to the days when an old man was respected?”

“We do respect you and we love you. That's why
we want you to stick around. Now, drink the decaf. It tastes just as good as the high-octane stuff.”

“If taste were all that mattered, there wouldn't be two kinds. I want a little kick.”

“Well, you won't get it here and that's that.”

“Stubborn brat.”

“Stubborn old man.”

He grinned. “If you're calling me names, I guess your spunk is back. Might's well go along home and find something else to worry about.”

“Might's well,” she agreed. “I really am okay, Grandpa Harlan.”

He lifted the baby above his head until she giggled, then brought her down for a kiss before handing her back to Sharon Lynn. He headed for the door, then turned back.

“By the way, Cord's working out real good at White Pines. Your daddy's kept him hopping and from what I hear, Cord is up to it.”

“He got the job, then? I'd wondered.”

Surprise registered on his face. “You haven't talked to him?”

“Not since Friday night.”

“Interesting,” he said thoughtfully. “Well, something tells me he'll be coming around first chance he gets.”

Her gaze narrowed at the vague innuendo in his tone. “What is that supposed to mean? You haven't been meddling again, have you?”

“I asked a few questions, that's all. We were hiring the man. What would you have me do?”

“I thought Daddy interviewed him.”

“He did. I just came along behind him and picked up a few more details, tidied up some loose ends, you might say.”

“Such as?”

“Oh, this and that.”

“Grandpa!”

“You take care, darlin' girl. Bring that baby out to the ranch this weekend, if she's still staying with you. Nothing I love more than fussing over a new baby.”

He was gone before she could reply, but not before the casual invitation stirred up all of her worst fears. Would the baby be with her by the weekend? Would she even be with her tomorrow? The uncertainty was difficult now. How much worse would it get as time passed? What would her impulsive decision to become the child's foster mother lead to? What would it cost her?

“It doesn't matter,” she murmured, settling the baby into the carrier so she could clean up the lunch counter and grill from the day's onslaught of customers.
She
didn't matter. The baby's well-being was all that counted, and for now she was in a position to see that nobody ever hurt that precious child again.

Another round of curious neighbors and family members dropped in around four. By nightfall, she was sick of being subjected to concerned glances and of listening to all the warnings. She was ready to close up on the dot of six, if only to prevent any more lectures from well-meaning relatives. Just as
she was about to lock the door and breathe a sigh of relief, Cord appeared. Given the hints her grandfather had dropped earlier, she wasn't sure just how welcome she ought to make him.

“Too late to get dinner?” he asked, his expression hopeful.

She regarded him warily. “That depends.”

“On?”

“Whether you intend to offer advice.”

He grinned. “I gather your family's been calling on you today. I assumed as much from the ruckus going on out at the ranch all day. Every time one of the women came back with a report, all the men gathered around to hear it. I got the feeling your brother and your father were just itching to sneak into town and take a look for themselves. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if they showed up tonight.”

“They'll probably hold out till tomorrow. Grandpa Harlan came in their place.”

“I'm not surprised. He probably would have been here Saturday right after he talked to me, if the roads hadn't been so bad. He had more questions than a reporter sniffing out a hot scoop.”

“I'll bet. Watch your step around him or you won't have a secret left.”

Cord met her gaze evenly. “I'm not all that big on secrets, not with the people who matter to me. I'm a cards-on-the-table kind of guy. What about you?”

“I don't know. In my family, it's virtually impossible to keep any,” she said a little wistfully. “It
might be nice to try sometime. I've always wanted to be mysterious. That's hard to pull off when you've lived in the same town all your life and your life's an open book. Do you know how difficult it is to get any privacy at all with relatives looking over your shoulder every time you turn around?”

“Think about the flip side. You could be like me and not have anyone to share things with at all. Believe me, darlin', you're better off.”

“I suppose,” she said, but after a day like today she had a really hard time relating to his perspective.

“Sometimes I wonder if I shouldn't have done what you did, just taken off and gotten a fresh start someplace totally new.” She thought of her uncle Luke and her cousin Angela. “Of course, others in my family have tried it and wound up right back here again. Only one moved far enough away to get some peace and quiet, but she's back with her family at the drop of a hat. All she has to do is hint and Grandpa sends Uncle Jordan flying up to bring them all down.”

Cord listened thoughtfully, but his expression was skeptical. “Why would you leave all you have here, a family, a business, your home?”

“It might have been easier,” she said quietly, thinking of the days after Kyle's death, when she'd faced reminders everywhere she turned. That would have been the time to go. Instead she'd bought Dolan's and pretty much ensured that she'd be here forever.

“Easier?” Cord repeated. “I don't understand.”

She forced a smile. “No, I don't suppose you do.” She shrugged. “It doesn't matter.”

“I'm not sure I believe that.” His gaze searched hers. “Something tells me it matters very much. Are you going to tell me the whole story?”

“Maybe,” she said. “One of these days.”

He tilted his head “Now, you see, you do know how to keep secrets, after all.”

She could feel a slow grin spreading across her face. “You're right. I guess I do. Does that make me a woman of mystery?”

“It does to me.”

She gave a little nod of satisfaction. “Well, then, that's something.” She flashed him a brilliant smile. “So, tell me, what are you doing here? I'm surprised you're not eating in the bunkhouse out at White Pines. The food's better there than anything I could throw together for you.”

He winked at her. “But the company's a whole lot more fascinating around here.”

Sharon Lynn flushed under his warm gaze, but before she could warn him off, before she could make it clear that she wasn't interested in pursuing anything more than conversation—or maybe just a hint of flirting to see if she was still any good at it—he turned away and scanned the drugstore.

“Where's my girl?” he demanded. “I've spent the whole weekend wondering how she was getting along. Everybody at the ranch was offering up opinions, but I couldn't wait to see for myself.”

So that was why he'd come, she thought, feeling
oddly disgruntled by the discovery that this visit was all about the baby. Apparently he'd just been making idle, small talk with her, biding his time.

Before she could reply, Cord spotted the portable crib and headed straight for it. Sharon Lynn watched as he scooped the baby up and held her in the air. The baby gurgled with delight as she had earlier for Grandpa Harlan. Sharon Lynn wanted to haul the baby into her arms and explain that girls shouldn't go trusting a man whose attentions were so fickle. Then again, maybe she was the one who needed that advice. She'd realized when Cord walked through the door that she'd been half watching for him all weekend long.