Found: One Baby

Chapter Two

Thad expected to have half-a-dozen calls from Michelle Anderson during the day.

There were no phone calls.

And the two times he did call her, just to check in, she had sounded a little exasperated.

He guessed he couldn’t blame her.

She probably thought he didn’t trust her to take care of William in his absence. Nothing could have been further from the truth. Like animals, children knew instinctively whom they could trust and draw comfort from. William had recognized Michelle for the maternal soul she was from the moment she picked him up and cradled him gently in her arms.

Still, the moment his shift was up, Thad headed out the door and drove the short distance home. He parked in his driveway, then headed across the street.

As he approached the front porch of her Arts and Crafts-style home, he noticed the windows were open. Mounting the front steps, he heard Michelle singing softly. He glanced through the window. She was sitting in an old-fashioned rocking chair he hadn’t seen earlier, William in her arms.

Thad couldn’t tell if the baby was awake or asleep—he couldn’t see William’s face—but the moment was so tender and loving it stopped him in his tracks. This, he thought, was what parenthood should be about. This was the kind of life he and his brother should have had as kids, even after their mother died.

But they hadn’t. And there was no going back. Only forward. To the family he wanted to create.

All he needed was a woman to love.

He rapped on the screen.

The lovely vocal rendition of “Brahms’ Lullaby” stopped. Michelle rose slowly and walked over to open the door and let him in. She had changed into vintage jeans and a pale blue knit shirt that clung to her curves. Her apparently just-shampooed hair had dried in a tangle of soft, strawberry-blond curls. He had never seen her wear it that way, but he liked it as much as the sleek, straight style she usually wore.

“William looks…happy,” Thad noted. And so did she.

A pretty pink blush lit Michelle’s cheeks. “He’s very happy,” she said, meeting Thad’s eyes, “as long as he’s being held.” She frowned in concern. “Every time I get him to sleep and put him down, he wakes up after about ten minutes and completely freaks out.”

“Probably remembering…”

“Waking up alone on your front porch?” Michelle asked. “That’s what I was thinking.”

Thad shook his head. His brother was very much like their father had been while he was alive. Neither held much regard for familial responsibility or blood ties. Their lives were all about the latest career challenge.

Thad shoved his hands through his hair in frustration. “Damn Russell,” he muttered.

Michelle exhaled softly. “Haven’t heard from him, I take it?”

“No. And I’ve left several messages.” Thad felt the vibration of his phone. He took it off his belt clip, looked at the caller ID. Speak of the devil. “Finally!” Scowling, Thad put the phone to his ear. “Where are you?” he barked.

“I’m on assignment in Thailand. What’s the emergency?” Russell demanded, sounding equally irritated.

“A baby was left on my porch this morning.” Briefly, Thad explained.

Russell swore like a sailor who’d just found out his shore leave was canceled. But typically, he offered no explanation or apology.

Thad pressed on. “Did you know you were having a baby with Candace when you left the country?”

“I assumed she was pregnant,” Russell retorted, surprisingly matter-of-fact. “I didn’t know for sure.”

And obviously hadn’t bothered to find out, Thad thought irritably. “Why didn’t you mention it to me?” he demanded.

“Because her pregnancy wasn’t relevant to my life,” Russell grumbled.

Figuring he was going to need legal advice sooner rather than later, Thad activated the speaker on his phone and motioned Michelle closer, so she could listen in on the conversation.

“What do you mean Candace’s pregnancy wasn’t relevant to your life?” Thad asked.

Russell exhaled. “It was a surrogate arrangement. I donated sperm for a couple of friends.”

Okay. That made slightly more sense. Thad withdrew the pen and notepad he habitually carried in his shirt pocket. He wrote “Help me out here” on a slip of paper and handed it to Michelle.

She edged closer, concern on her face. “According to the note left with baby William, Brice and Beatrix changed their minds about becoming parents,” Thad told his brother.

“You’ll have to ask Candace Wright about that,” Russell insisted.

Thad jotted down the last name of William’s birth mother. “Do you have a phone number?”

Another disgruntled sigh. “She lives in Big Spring. That’s all I know.”

“What about Brice and Beatrix, the adoptive couple?”

“The Johnsons live in San Angelo. Listen, I can’t do anything from here—you’re going to have to straighten it all out.”

“How?” Thad shot back, aggrieved his brother could be so cold. “I don’t have paternity.”

“Neither do I. I signed away all my rights at the fertility clinic before the surrogate was even impregnated.”

“We’re going to need a copy of those papers ASAP,” Michelle told Thad, switching into lawyer mode.

“Who is that?” Russell demanded.

“Michelle Anderson,” she introduced herself. “I’m a neighbor of your brother’s—I found the baby.”

“She’s also an attorney,” Thad interjected.

Michelle asked Russell, “Is there any way we can look at those papers you signed?”

Russell harrumphed. “They’re in one of the boxes I left in Thad’s attic. If you can find them, you can have ’em. Aside from that, I don’t want anything to do with this. Like Candace Wright, I’ve done my part.”

It wasn’t that simple, Thad knew. “If what Candace said is true…if Brice and Beatrix have changed their minds about taking William into their family…Genetically, the child is half yours.”

“Not to my way of thinking,” Russell snapped.

“He’s a Garner.” And that, Thad thought, should mean something.

Russell scoffed. “What would I do with a kid? I don’t have a home and I don’t want one.”

Every fiber of Thad’s being told him it would be a mistake just to walk away. Anger rising, he said, “You can’t just stand by and do nothing while this child you had a hand in creating is abandoned.”

“Sure I can,” Russell replied. “And you know why? Because it would be best. The kid doesn’t need a father like the one we had. And that’s what I am. However, if you think you can do better, if you want to jump in, Thad, be my guest. Just leave me out of it.”

The connection ended with a decisive click.

Thad locked gazes with Michelle, not sure whether he was sorry or glad she had heard all that. He swore. “What a mess.”

YES, MICHELLE THOUGHT. It was one heck of a mess.

Deciding it was time to try again, she carried the sleeping William over to the elaborately lined Moses basket, and set him down gently on his back. She tucked a blanket around him to keep him warm. Relieved he still appeared to be asleep, at least for the moment, she walked over to the window where Thad was standing. “I’m not sure I should be involved in this situation.”

Thad looked surprised, then confused. “You’re a lawyer.”

Her pulse picked up as she pointed out, “I’m not your lawyer.”

Thad tilted his head. “You could be.”

She kept her expression impassive. “This is a family-law case.”

He raised an eyebrow. “And you have a background in family law. A pretty good one, from what I’ve heard.”

That was then, Michelle thought. This was now. And she knew better these days. She lifted her hands in a vague gesture of dissatisfaction and stepped away. “I did so much of it the first five years out of law school that I burned out on it. My current practice focuses on the needs of small business, wills and estate planning, real estate and consumer law. My law partner—Glenn York—does all the divorce, custody and adoption cases for our firm.”

“I know his reputation. He’s very good.” Thad paused. He glanced over at the sleeping William, then back to Michelle. “I’d still prefer you handle it.”

His was not an uncommon reaction. People with legal trouble often latched on to the first person who appeared able to help them out of it, without bothering to verify credentials or search out expertise in that specific area of the law. “You don’t even know me,” she said.

“You’ve handled the situation well so far.”

That wasn’t the only reason, Michelle decided. “You’re embarrassed by your brother’s attitude, aren’t you?”

A muscle worked in Thad’s jaw. “Wouldn’t you be?”

Michelle tried not to think how easy it was to be here with Thad like this. She shrugged. “I learned a long time ago not to judge people by the messes they get themselves into.” She had always been trained to look at both sides of every issue. “Besides, it sounds as if your brother was trying to do a good deed for someone. It just didn’t turn out the way he expected.”

Thad sobered. “I hadn’t thought about it that way.”

Michelle called upon even more of her law-school training. “Your brother may change his mind about the child.”

Thad’s mouth took on a downward slant. “No. He won’t.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because of the way we grew up.” Thad’s mood turned reflective. “Our mom was really great—loving and fun, smart and kind—but she died from an aneurysm when Russell and I were in elementary school. We barely knew our dad—he was a geologist for an oil company. I’ve no doubt he loved us in his way, but he wasn’t interested in being a hands-on parent. Nevertheless, he left the project he was working on in South America and came back to Summit to take care of us.” He exhaled. “For the next ten years or so, he worked assignments around the state. When we hit our teens and were old enough to stay alone, he went back to the more exciting gigs in South and Central America. From that point on, until he died five years ago, we rarely saw him because he was just never home.”

Michelle touched Thad’s arm gently. “That sounds lonely.”

Thad glanced at her hand, then said, “Summit’s a closeknit community. We had a lot of people looking out for us. Plenty to eat. And the house across the street to live in.”

But, Michelle speculated, not what he had obviously wanted most—a loving, emotionally engaged and interested parent on the premises.

“What was your childhood like?” Thad asked, his rumbling drawl sending shivers over her skin.

She figured she might as well be honest, too. “I grew up in a well-to-do suburban enclave of Dallas. I was an only child of two very loving but ambitious people.” She paused. “So let’s just say, for me, failure in any venue was not an option.”

Thad chuckled sympathetically. “You’re giving me new appreciation for my laissez-faire teens.”

Michelle sighed. The understanding look on his face soon had her confiding further in him. “Don’t get me wrong. I had plenty of attention and everything I needed to succeed. Including special tutors and private coaches when necessary.”

Thad seemed to know instinctively there was more. “But…?”

“There were times when I felt as if I had been born on a treadmill set at high speed with no way to get off.” Times when she had felt she would never please her folks no matter how much she accomplished. Michelle forced herself to go on. “My parents were both tenured university professors and department chairs. When they weren’t hovering over me, urging me to greater heights, they worked all the time.”

William stirred and began to whimper again. She went over to pick him up before he began to wail in earnest. Soothing him with a cuddle and a kiss, Michelle walked back to Thad.

“That sounds rough,” he said.

Michelle nodded and handed the baby to him. “Too much so for my folks,” she admitted, watching with pleasure as William snuggled up to Thad every bit as easily as he had snuggled up to her. Then she frowned. “My mom and dad both died of stress-related illnesses a few years ago. Their health problems spurred me to reevaluate my own life. I decided I didn’t want to continue to live in the big city, so I began saving money and looking around for a place to live a quieter life.”

“I know what you mean. I went to medical school and did my E.R. residency in Houston. By the time I’d finished, I’d had enough of rush-hour traffic and crowds. When there was an opening at the Summit hospital, I jumped at it.”

William’s lashes shut. His breathing grew deep and even once again.

“But we digress,” Michelle said.

Thad cast a loving glance at the infant in his arms. “Yes,” he said softly. “We do.”

Forcing herself to pull back emotionally, before she got in way over her head, Michelle said, “You need to get this situation with William sorted out as soon as possible.”

Before either of them fell even more in love with this abandoned little boy.

THE FIRST ORDER of business, they both decided, after they had resettled the sleeping William in his bed, was to get the addresses and phone numbers of the people involved. That turned out to be easy enough. An Internet search quickly gave them contact information for Candace Wright, as well as Brice and Beatrix Johnson.

Aware he was so far out of his depth it wasn’t funny, Thad asked, “Any advice on how I should handle this?”

Michelle glanced sideways at him, reminding him, “I’m not going to represent you.”

Thad wondered if she had any idea how beautiful she looked in the soft light of her elegantly decorated living room, feet propped up on the coffee table, laptop computer settled on her jean-clad thighs. He propped up his feet on the coffee table, too, next to hers. “You could still advise me as a friend.”

Her eyes remained on the screen as she studied the information there. She typed in the print command. “Are we friends?”

Somewhere in the too-quiet depths of her house, he heard a laser printer start up. “I think we’re getting there.” As she put her laptop aside and moved to stand, he inhaled the orange-blossom fragrance of her shampoo.

He stood, too. “Why? Does that bother you?”

He followed her down the hall to the kitchen. A home-office space had been built into one wall, with floor-to-ceiling kitchen cabinets on either side. The printer was on the shelf above the desk. She plucked several pages out of the tray and gave him a look of lawyerly calm. “These are highly unusual circumstances.”

No argument there. Thad shrugged, aware he hadn’t been this affected by a woman in a long time. If ever. “What better way to get to know each other?”

Her lips curved cynically. “I hope you’re not hitting on me.”

Was he? “Wouldn’t think of it.” Thad matched her semiamused tone.

Silence fell between them. Knowing this would all go a lot easier if Michelle were there to help him and their tiny charge, Thad walked back to the living room with her. “Just help me get through the rest of the weekend,” he proposed.

In his bed, William pushed out his lower lip in indignation and began to whimper once again.

“Then if I need to hire someone, I’ll do it on Monday morning.” He picked up William and cradled him in his arms. The little guy couldn’t have weighed more than eight pounds and still had the faint redness of skin all newborns had. Yet he already had so much personality. “I don’t want to screw this up. This little guy has already been through enough.” Thad fought the unexpected tightness in his throat, continued in a voice that sounded rusty, even to him. “And since my brother is not acting responsibly…”

Michelle turned away, but not before Thad thought he saw a glint of empathetic tears in her green eyes. She cleared her throat. “Speaking of Russell, maybe you should try to find whatever it is he signed and make sure those papers state what he thinks they do.”

“Good point.” Legal jargon could be as confusing as medical terminology. “You want to come over with us, help me search?”

Surprise mingled briefly with disappointment in her eyes. “You’re taking the baby tonight, then?”

“I figured I’d keep William at my place tonight since you had him all day.” Thad gazed at Michelle. She looked like she’d just lost her best friend. “You can stay over, too.” The invitation was out before he could think.

She took it completely the wrong way. The droll expression was back on her face. “Uh, thanks, but…no.”

He held up one palm. “I’ll be the perfect gentleman.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m sure you would be.”

She fit the crocheted cap on William’s head and helped Thad bundle him up in a blanket. When that was done, she picked up the diaper bag and Moses basket, while he held the door for both of them.

Together, they strolled down the front walk and across the street. Thad led the way up his front porch, wishing he’d thought to turn on the lights before he’d gone over to Michelle’s home.

“So, my rep is that bad?” Thad shifted William to one arm while he unlocked the door and hit the lights.

“Or good.” Michelle preceded Thad inside in another drift of orange blossom. For the first time he realized how disorderly his home was.

“Excuse me?” he asked in confusion.

“It all depends on how you look at it,” she explained.

Thad switched on more lamps, wishing he’d thought to vacuum or dust in the past month, instead of sitting around reading medical journals and working out at the hospital fitness center in his spare time.

“Please continue,” he prodded her.

She looked him straight in the eye. “You’ve got a reputation for dating around, not sleeping around.”

“Good to know,” he said.

The sparkle was back in her eyes. “Isn’t it?”

Thad figured it wouldn’t hurt to flirt. Especially since she’d started it. “As long as we’re on the subject, want to know what your rep in the community is?”

DID SHE WANT to know?

His goading look was all the provocation she needed. “Well, I guess now I have to know.”

Thad put William over his shoulder and gently patted his back, then turned his attention back to her. “Ice princess.”

Okay, that hurt. A little. Especially since she’d done nothing to deserve it.

She made her eyes go wide. “Really?”

“Mm-hm.” Thad stepped closer, still patting William on the back. “Word is, you’ve been asked out by at least twenty guys—”

“I think that’s a small exaggeration,” she said.

“—and said no to every single one,” Thad finished smugly, leaving no doubt that he’d been investigating the details of her romantic life, or lack thereof, too.

She shrugged, aware her pulse was racing, and defended herself. “Well, that’s because I won’t go out with someone if I don’t see hope of anything…happening.”

A smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, he leaned down so they were practically nose to nose. “How can you know if you don’t go out with them?”

“I just do.”

He let his gaze drift over her slowly, before returning to her eyes. “See, I don’t buy that,” he told her with lazy male confidence. “I don’t think you can begin to know someone unless you spend one-on-one time together. You’ve got to take a risk—”

Michelle smirked. “Well, I hear you’ve done plenty of that.”

“—to reap rewards.” He sneaked a peek at the baby on his shoulder. He grinned when he realized that William was sound asleep again. He walked over to the Moses basket and gently laid the baby down, covering him with a blanket.

Trying not to notice how naturally Thad had taken to being a daddy figure to the abandoned little boy, Michelle rocked forward on her toes.

The thought of Thad reaping rewards with any other woman bothered her more than it should. Marshaling all her defenses, she asked sweetly, “How’s that method working out for you so far?”

“I haven’t hit pay dirt yet.” His gaze slid past the delicate hollow of her throat, to her lips and then her eyes. “I will.”

She took a deep breath, dropped her gaze. Then found herself remembering the way he’d looked, shirtless and just out of bed, that morning. Flushing, she tore her eyes from the masculine contours of his chest. “Sure you will.”

“Make fun all you like,” he said. He stepped closer. “You need to take more risks.”

His words hit a chord. She’d heard the same from others, too. “Just see if you can find the papers,” she instructed irritably, deciding Dr. Thad Garner was the last man she would ever get involved with.