Wanted: Father for Her Baby: Keeping Baby Secret / Five Brothers and a Baby / Expecting Brand's Baby
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As the minutes ticked by, Leenie tried to think of other things. Her boring lunch date with Jim. The topics she planned to discuss tonight on her midnight radio show before she took phone calls. Andrew’s latest doctor’s checkup when she’d been told he was absolutely perfect, something she’d already known, of course. Getting his two-month pictures made next week. He was such a beautiful child. He had her coloring. Blond hair and blue eyes. But he had Frank’s mouth…and his little hands and feet were miniature replicas of Frank’s. Odd that she could remember so well everything about a man she’d known for such a brief time.
A heavyset guy in the truck ahead of the Lexus in front of her got out and walked down the street, in the direction of the wreck. It never ceased to amaze her how curious people were about disasters, as if some weird inner force drew them to blood and gore.
She checked her watch. Less than five minutes had passed since she’d stopped. It seemed more like thirty. If there was one thing she hated, it was wasting time. Surely it wouldn’t take that much longer before the police would get the traffic moving again, even if only in one lane.
A tow truck went by about the same time the man who’d gone to take a look at the scene came walking back up the street. Several people in other vehicles either got out to talk to him or rolled down their windows to ask him questions. A small crowd gathered in the middle of the road. Leenie rolled down her window, intending to holler and ask if the guy thought they’d be stuck here much longer, then she heard him say something that made her blood run cold.
“They were putting a gray-haired woman in the ambulance,” he said. “It looked bad. Somebody had T-boned her Saturn on the driver’s side and crushed it in.” He shook his head. “I couldn’t make out much, but there was a baby’s car seat in back.”
Leenie flung open the door, jumped out and ran, leaving the door open, her keys in the ignition and her purse lying on the seat. As she raced past the small crowd, they turned to stare at her, and one person even called out to her. She ignored everyone and everything. By the time she reached the scene of the accident, her breath was labored and her lungs ached. Fear consumed her. When she saw Debra’s blue Saturn, she stopped dead still. While she stood there trembling, gasping for air, the ambulance drove past her. She reached out as if she could grab it and stop it.
Andrew! Debra! Her mind screamed their names.
A policeman approached her. “Ma’am, you need to move out of the way.”
“Please, I have to—you don’t understand.”
“Ma’am are you all right?”
“Andrew and Debra. How badly were they hurt?”
“Do you know Mrs. Schmale?” he asked.
Numbness set in. Leenie nodded. “She’s my nanny.”
“Then you’re Dr. Patton?”
“Yes, I’m Lurleen Patton.”
The uniformed officer put his arm around Leenie’s shoulders and led her out of the street and onto the sidewalk. Without protest, as if in a trance, she went with him.
“Mrs. Schmale is on her way to the hospital,” he explained. “She has cuts, bruises, a broken arm and leg and possible internal bleeding. But she was conscious and able to tell us what happened.”
“And Andrew?” Leenie asked.
When she noted the peculiar look on the policeman’s face, her heart caught in her throat. Was Andrew dead? God, please, no. No! Surely he was all right. Debra always placed him in the regulation seat in the back of her car. And since it had been a driver’s side collision…
“Your son…Andrew…” The officer paused, swallowed as if wishing he didn’t have to deliver bad news, then said, “Mrs. Schmale told us that a white car came out of nowhere, crashed into her car and the driver jumped out and came to help her. Or so she thought. The driver—a woman—had Mrs. Schmale unlock the doors so she could get in on the other side. Before she realized what was happening, the woman got in the back seat and removed the baby from the car seat. Your nanny thought the woman was simply making sure Andrew was all right. But—”
Leenie swayed toward the officer, then grasped his shoulders and said, “Where is Andrew?”
“The woman took him, put him in her car and drove away,” the policeman explained.
“What?”
“We’ve got an all-points bulletin out for the car—an older model white Buick—and the woman—medium height, weight, short brown hair, sunglasses.”
The reality of the situation hit Leenie like a ton of bricks falling on her head. “Andrew was…was…” She couldn’t bring herself to say the word, as if not voicing it aloud kept it from being a reality.
“I’m sorry, Dr. Patton, but your baby has been kidnapped.”
Chapter Two
Leenie couldn’t sit still. She felt as if a hundred-mile-an-hour freight train was surging through her. Nerves. Adrenaline. Fear beyond anything she’d ever experienced. Everyone kept telling her to go lie down, take a nap or just rest. Police Chief Ryan Bibb had suggested calling her doctor for a sedative. She knew the man meant well, but why couldn’t he—and all the other people who had congregated at her house—understand that she didn’t want her senses dulled, that she couldn’t sleep or rest. Her baby had been kidnapped. Stolen from her by only God knew what sort of person. She’d overheard the local police surmising about the general identity of Andrew’s abductor.
“She’s probably some woman who either lost a baby or has a fixation about having a child,” Chief Bibb had said. “And if that’s the case, she’ll take good care of Andrew.”
Leenie supposed that believing the kidnapper was taking good care of her baby should be some comfort. It wasn’t. Anyone capable of stealing a child had mental problems, whatever their reason.
“Why don’t you let me fix you some tea?” Haley Wilson said, as she put her arm around Leenie’s shoulder.
The plump brunette, who’d taken over as the manager of WJMM eleven months ago when Elsa Leone—now Elsa Devlin since she’d married—had moved to Knoxville, was a bubbly, energetic woman in her mid-forties and the mother of two teenage sons. From the minute Leenie and she met, they had bonded. Instant friendship. Haley had been the first person she’d called, the first person who’d come to mind when the police had asked her about a friend or family member to stay with her. Haley had dropped everything and rushed to Maysville Memorial, where Leenie had been waiting for Debra to come out of surgery. Haley stayed with her and they had prayed for Debra and for Andrew. Thankfully, Debra had come through the surgery to stop her internal bleeding with flying colors.
“Mrs. Schmale will be in intensive care for the next twenty-four hours,” Dr. Brenner had explained. “But I expect a full and speedy recovery.”
Knowing that Debra would be all right gave Leenie a great sense of relief. She loved Debra dearly, as a friend and mother figure. The police had said that Debra’s ability to accurately describe the kidnapper and the car she’d been driving would be of immeasurable help in locating Andrew.
“Leenie.” Haley shook her gently. “Come on in the kitchen with me. You can sit down long enough for me to fix you some tea.”
“I don’t want anything to drink.”
“Come in the kitchen with me anyway,” Haley said. “I’m going to prepare fresh coffee for those FBI people who just arrived and since it’s nearly morning, maybe I should offer to make breakfast, too. Why don’t you help me?”
Leenie stared at Haley, understanding what she’d said, but not comprehending.
Haley hugged her. “You can’t keep pacing the floor and you can’t keep going into Andrew’s room every ten minutes. You need something to do.”
“You’re right. Staring at Andrew’s crib in the nursery won’t make him miraculously appear.” Emotion lodged in Leenie’s throat. Don’t cry, she told herself. Crying isn’t going to help. You have to stay strong and in control.
“They’ll find him and bring him home to you.” Haley hugged her again, then grasped her hand and tugged. “Come on. Let’s make us some tea first, then put on fresh coffee for the others. After that I’ll take breakfast orders. And I expect you to eat. Even if it’s just a few bites.”
Leenie followed her friend into the kitchen, thankful that she had someone with her, someone who understood what it meant to be a mother with a baby boy lost. No, not lost—stolen. Suddenly feeling as if they had become glued to the spot, her feet wouldn’t move. The reality of Andrew’s disappearance struck her once again, but harder this time, and she sensed that he was being taken farther and farther away from her.
“Leenie?”
“Oh, God, what if—what if—” Tears streamed down her cheeks.
Haley grabbed her and pulled her into her arms. “Cry, dammit. Cry your eyes out.”
Leenie fell apart. She sobbed until she was spent. Was it seconds? Minutes? Hours? She didn’t know. And all the while Haley held her and stroked her back and murmured soothing, comforting words that Leenie barely heard. As she gulped down the lingering sobs, she lifted her head and looked into Haley’s kind hazel eyes.
Haley grasped her shoulders and offered her a fragile smile. “Go wash your face and when you get back, I’ll have a cup of tea waiting for you.”
Leenie nodded, but before she could turn around, the kitchen door opened and a tall, dark stranger entered. He wasn’t one of the local police and he wasn’t one of the three FBI agents who had arrived less than an hour ago.
“Dr. Patton?” The golden-eyed man looked right at Leenie.
“Yes.”
When he came forward and held out his right hand, she noticed an onyx and diamond ring on his third finger. “I’m Special Agent Dante Moran. I’ll be heading up this case.”
She shook his hand. Warm. Firm.
“Could we sit and talk, Dr. Patton?” he asked.
“I’ve talked to the police and to the other FBI agents,” she told him. “I don’t know what more there is to say.”
“No one has discussed possible scenarios with you, have they? Told you what we might be dealing with in Andrew’s case?”
She shook her head.
He nodded toward the kitchen table. “Want to sit down?”
“No, I—I can’t sit.”
“All right.” He shrugged. “We aren’t sure what we’re dealing with here. It’s possible that whoever took Andrew simply wanted a baby. If that’s—”
“Then she’ll probably take good care of him,” Leenie said sarcastically.
“Yeah, and I realize that doesn’t make you feel any better. But it’s better than the other possibilities.”
“Which are?”
“He was taken for ransom.”
“I’m not rich.”
“Not rich, but wealthy,” Moran said. “And you are a local celebrity.”
“Hell.”
“If Andrew was taken for a ransom, we’ll be hearing from the kidnapper soon.”
“And if he wasn’t taken for a ransom?”
“He could have been stolen by someone who intends to sell him. There’s a profitable market for stolen babies, especially WASP babies. Blond, blueeyed. And then there’s the other possibility.” He looked Leenie square in the eyes. “The worst case scenario is—”
“Dammit, Mr. Moran, do you have to come right out and say it?” Haley practically screamed at the FBI agent.
“Sorry, ma’am.” He glanced from Leenie to Haley and then focused on Leenie again. “Rest assured that we’re going to do everything in our power to find Andrew and bring him home to you safe and sound.”
“Yes, I—I know you will.”
“What about Andrew’s father?” Moran asked. “I understand you two aren’t married, but don’t you think that, under the circumstances, you should contact him to let him know his son has been kidnapped?”
Leenie didn’t respond; she simply stared into Moran’s yellow-brown eyes. After an endless moment, he shrugged. “Why don’t you get some rest, Dr. Patton? We can talk again later. Special Agent Walker explained to you the procedure if the phone rings and that we’ll screen anyone who comes to the door and—”
“He explained,” Haley said.
Moran nodded, then walked out of the kitchen.
Leenie took a deep breath. What about Andrew’s father? That question repeated itself over and over again inside her head. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t already asked herself the same thing several times during the night. She had been wrestling with indecision about whether to tell Frank about Andrew’s existence since the day her baby was born. But now that Andrew had been abducted, it made the decision all the more difficult. What could she do, call Frank and say, “By the way, we have a baby boy and he’s been kidnapped.”
“I know what you’re thinking,” Haley said.
“Yeah, but do you know what I should do?”
“Oh, honey, that’s a toughie. What’s your heart telling you to do?”
Leenie groaned. “It’s telling me that I need Frank, that somehow he can help.”
“And what does your brain tell you?”
“That Frank is a Dundee agent, with the resources of the entire agency at his disposal, that he can do things the law can’t do and that the Dundee Agency has strong ties to the FBI and—”
“Your heart and your mind are telling you to contact Frank Latimer,” Haley said.
She sighed. “How do I tell him about Andrew over the phone?”
“Good question. Is there someone else you could call, someone who could get Frank here under some other pretense so that you can tell him face-to-face?”
“I don’t know—” Leenie paused. “Well there is Elsa. Maybe my old boss at WJMM, Elsa Devlin, could arrange it. Her husband used to be a Dundee agent. And she and I are good friends.”
“So call Elsa.”
“If I do, she’ll come back to Maysville to be with me and she’s pregnant and—No, I’m not going to upset Elsa. There was a female Dundee agent named Kate Malone who worked on Elsa’s case with Frank. Maybe I could contact her.” Agitated and uncertain, Leenie paced the floor. “Oh, hell, maybe I’m complicating this much too much. Maybe I should just call Frank and tell him.”
“Then what are you waiting for?”
“For lightning to strike, I guess. For some sign that calling him is the right thing to do.”
“If you feel you can’t call Frank, call this Kate Malone and ask for her help.”
“If she tells Frank that I have a child, he’ll know or at the very least suspect the baby is his. Maybe it’s better if I don’t involve Frank. I don’t think I can handle telling him. Not now. Not under these circumstances.”
Frank boarded the Dundee jet, Kate Malone at his side. This was a first for him—flying off on an assignment and not knowing where he was going. Kate had come to his apartment this morning and met the lovely flight attendant, Heather Gant, just as Heather was leaving. Although she hadn’t said anything, Kate had lifted a judgmental eyebrow at Frank as the woman passed her in the hall. Ending his months of celibacy was reason for celebration, so he’d been feeling pretty good when Kate showed up.
“Shave and take a shower,” Kate had told him. “We’re off on an assignment as soon as we can get to the airport.”
“No way, I’ve got vacation time coming.”
“It’s been canceled. You’re needed on this job.”
“Can’t another agent handle it? Why me?”
“I’ll fill you in on the plane,” she’d told him. “We have a child kidnapping and the family wants Dundee involved.”
“How does the FBI feel about us interfering?”
“Not thrilled. But our old friend Dante Moran is heading up the case, so he knows we won’t work at cross purposes with his people.”
So, he’d agreed to come along with Kate without putting up too much of a fuss. Although her reasons were apparently personal—and as a general rule none of his fellow agents nosed into other agents’ past lives—everyone at Dundee knew that Kate always took a keen interest in any case involving a kidnapped baby. Shortly before leaving her job as Dundee’s CEO, Ellen Denby had hired Kate, who was a former Atlanta P.D. officer, just as Ellen had been. And rumor was that they had worked together when Kate was a rookie.
Frank munched on a cheese danish, then washed it down with black coffee. If he hadn’t been such a sucker for a sob story—single mother, overwrought with fear, and an abducted two-month-old boy—he’d be on his way to Sawyer’s Hilton Head vacation retreat instead of being midair, flying off on an assignment that was sure to be pure hell on the nerves. Dealing with overwrought mamas wasn’t his speciality. He’d leave coddling the abducted kid’s mommy to Kate.
He swigged on the coffee, then set aside the dark blue mug with the gold Dundee emblem. “Exactly where are we going?”
“South,” Kate replied.
“Could you be more specific?”
“The deep South.”
“Why all the secrecy? It’s just a child abduction case, isn’t it? Nothing hush-hush.”
“Yes.”
An odd sensation hit him in the gut. Kate had rushed him around so much at his apartment, assuring him she’d give him all the info on their plane trip, that he hadn’t actually thought things through. But something didn’t feel right about this whole thing.
“We’re working on the case as partners,” he said. “That means I need to know everything you know.”
“Right.”
“So fill me in.”
“Okay, but I need to tell you things from the beginning. Or at least my beginning.”
He nodded.
“Daisy got in touch with me this morning as soon as she arrived at Dundee. A woman named Haley Wilson had phoned her and asked specifically for me. I returned Ms. Wilson’s call because she had told Daisy that we had a mutual acquaintance whose infant son had been kidnapped.”
“So this is personal for you?”
“In a way, but…”
Kate stared at him with a peculiar look of concern in her eyes, and Frank’s gut tightened painfully. “But what?”
“Ah, hell, Frank, there’s no easy way to say this.”
“So, say it, will you?”
“The mutual acquaintance is Dr. Lurleen Patton.”
Although he’d thought about her, dreamed about her, cursed her for nearly destroying his love life, no one had mentioned her name in eleven months.
“Leenie?”
“Yes, Leenie.”
It took him a full minute to wrap his mind around the idea that Leenie had an infant son. “Leenie has a baby?”
“A little boy.”
“How old?”
“Two months.”
He did the math quickly, but even before adding up eleven months since he’d been with Leenie, he’d known the truth. “The baby’s mine.”
“Yes.”
Then reality sucker punched him. “Leenie’s baby has been kidnapped?”
“Yesterday afternoon. Someone crashed their vehicle into the nanny’s car. The nanny was injured, but she’ll live. The woman who caused the wreck stole the baby from his car seat.”
“It is my baby, right?” How was it possible? he asked himself. Yes, he and Leenie had had sex. Repeatedly. But not once had he forgotten to use a condom.
“The lady who called me, this Haley Wilson, is Leenie’s best friend and she says the baby is definitely yours.”
“Why the hell didn’t she—God, Kate, I’m a father.”
She reached out and put her hand on his shoulder, then squeezed. “Ms. Wilson said that Leenie is trying very hard to be strong and brave, but she’s falling apart. She needs you.”
“She needs me now. What about when she first found out she was pregnant? Or when the baby was born?” Frank growled the questions, outrage bringing his blood to a boil.
“And even now, with our child abducted, she’s not the one who called and asked for me. Damn her!”
Leenie showered and changed clothes around noon, and at Haley’s insistence lay down on the bed. She’d been staring up at the ceiling for the past hour. How could she sleep when she had no idea where Andrew was or what had happened to him? Didn’t anyone understand that she was slowly going out of her mind? Although she’d tried to convince herself that it was only a matter of time before the FBI found her baby and brought him home to her, she hadn’t been able to escape the wide-awake nightmares that plagued her. What if Andrew had been killed, maybe even tortured?
Keening mournfully, Leenie wrapped her arms around herself and rolled over in the bed. Oh, God, please take care of Andrew. Don’t let anyone hurt him. Tears gathered in her eyes. She swallowed hard.
A sharp knock on the bedroom door gained her immediate attention. She sat straight up. “Yes?”
“Leenie, there’s someone here to see you,” Haley said through the closed door.
“I don’t want to see anyone. Please tell whoever it is that—”
The door flew open. Frank Latimer stormed into her bedroom. Frank? Frank! What was he doing here? How had he found out about—?
He marched across the room to the bed, reached down, grabbed her by the arm and yanked her to her feet. They stood there staring at each other. Leenie’s heartbeat accelerated at an alarming speed.
“Why the hell didn’t you let me know I had a son?” he demanded.
Leenie trembled from head to toe, but she kept her gaze locked with his. “How did you—who told you about Andrew?”
“I did.” Haley stepped into the bedroom, Kate Malone directly behind her. “Well, actually, I spoke to Ms. Malone and she told him about Andrew and what had happened.”
“Leenie, we’re here to help,” Kate said. “You have all of Dundee’s resources and manpower at your service. We’re going to work with Moran…with the FBI to find your little boy.” Kate came over and grasped Frank’s arm. “And despite his less than pleasant greeting, Frank is here to help you.” She shook his arm. “Aren’t you, Frank?”
He broke eye contact with Leenie long enough to confront Kate. “How about you two let me talk to Leenie alone, without an audience.”
“Is that all right with you?” Haley asked Leenie. She nodded.
Haley glared at Frank. “I’m the one responsible for your knowing about Andrew. Don’t make me regret what I did.” She hurriedly left the room.
After letting go of his arm, Kate hesitated. “The absolute worst thing that can happen when a child is kidnapped is for her—or his—parents to blame each other and be at each other’s throats. What Leenie needs right now, Frank, is your understanding and your support.”
He didn’t reply, but he released his tenacious hold on Leenie’s arm. Kate gave him a warning glare before leaving them alone. For several minutes the silence between them pulsated throughout the bedroom. A bedroom in which they had made mad, passionate love on more than one occasion. She couldn’t help remembering and her body warmed as those luscious memories encompassed her. Frank’s hard body pressing her into the mattress as he plunged into her. The feel of his strong arms holding her. His moist lips on hers, at her breasts. His fingers caressing, probing, tantalizing. For a millisecond she stopped breathing.
“I spoke to Dante Moran…briefly,” Frank said, his voice tight and controlled. “The local police found the vehicle that crashed into your nanny’s car. It was abandoned outside of town. Naturally there was no sign of the baby. Our baby.”
“His name is Andrew,” Leenie said.
He clenched his jaw, then said, “My middle name.”
She nodded. “Andrew Latimer Patton.”
Frank huffed, then frowned and shifted his shoulders. “Damn, Leenie, why didn’t you tell me?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “Pride maybe. Too proud to ask for your help when I was perfectly capable of taking care of myself and a child without a father. Or maybe I was scared that you’d do the honorable thing and ruin all our lives. I don’t know. We weren’t even a couple, not really. We had a fling. No strings attached. We used protection. You left and never called or—”
“I thought about calling,” he told her.
Had he? she wondered. She wanted to believe him, but it really didn’t matter. He might have thought about it, but he hadn’t called. Not once in nearly a year. “Admit it, Frank, if Haley hadn’t called Kate and you didn’t know about Andrew, you’d never have gotten in touch with me.”
“We can’t know that for sure, can we? Besides, that’s a moot point now anyway.”
“Actually my not telling you about your child is a moot point.” She wanted to touch Frank, to put her arms around him and beg him to hold her. “Until we find Andrew, nothing else matters.”