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Reluctantly Michelle handed the baby back to him. She knew she shouldn’t be getting this involved in something that was essentially not her problem, but she really wished she could stay right here with the two of them, or better yet, take William home with her.
Reminding herself that was not an option, Michelle stood. “He should be good for three hours,” she said.
“Sure you don’t want to stay the night? We could have a slumber party.”
The image of Thad in his pj’s was all she needed to throw her overheated senses into overdrive. She quickened her pace. “Nice try.”
William in his arms, he followed her into the foyer. “What should I do if he starts crying again?”
Michelle paused, her hand on the doorknob. “Generally speaking, if William is unhappy, it’s one of four things—he’s wet, hungry, sleepy or in need of comfort and reassurance. Just go down the list, and if all else fails, just talk to him.”
Thad said, a tender note in his tone, “He likes your voice.”
And I like yours, Michelle thought, realizing how easily she could get used to being around Thad.
She smiled. “He’ll like yours, too, if he hears it often enough.”
“Thanks for coming over.” Thad shot her a look full of gratitude. “For helping. For everything.”
Unwillingly Michelle flashed back to another man, another time, and gratitude that had been mistaken for something else. She hardened her defenses, knowing she had to be careful. “Try to get some sleep.” She opened the door.
“Can I call you in an emergency?” he asked as Michelle swept into the darkness of the cloudy spring night.
She nodded, throwing the words over her shoulder. “But only if it’s an emergency.”
MICHELLE HALF EXPECTED Thad to call her every three hours through the night. He didn’t. Several times she got up and went to the window and looked across the street to his home. At eleven, two and five, the lights were on, and the rest of the time the house was dark. Which probably meant, she thought, that William was sleeping between feedings.
Telling herself that was good—Thad could easily handle parenting William on his own, after all—Michelle forced herself to go back to bed each time and try to get some sleep.
When the alarm went off at six, it was a relief. She skipped her usual morning run and headed for the shower. At seven, Thad and William were at her door.
Soon after, they were off, Michelle and Thad sitting in the front of his BMW SUV, William sleeping contentedly in the middle of the rear seat.
“So how was your night?” Michelle asked, opening up her briefcase. If she was going to protect her heart, she needed to stay in business mode.
“Fine, as soon as William and I reached an understanding.”
Michelle heard the smile in Thad’s voice. “And that was?”
“There was only one place he was going to sleep more than ten minutes.”
She sent him a sidelong glance. “You held him all night?”
Thad nodded, looking as content as she had felt after spending all day holding William. “I slept in the reading chair and ottoman in the study, and he slept on my chest.”
Michelle could imagine that was a very warm and snuggly place to sleep. She cast a look back at William, but couldn’t see a lot, because the infant seat was facing backward. “I’m surprised he’s been content in his car seat for as long as he has.”
“It’s probably the motion,” Thad theorized.
As it turned out, he was probably right. William slept all the way to Big Spring, and continued sleeping as they followed the MapQuest directions to the address listed for Candace Wright.
The surrogate mother lived in a small yellow bungalow with a sparse lawn and overgrown shrubbery. “Think one of us should ring the bell and see if she’s home first?” Michelle asked.
Before Thad could reply, the front door opened and a slightly pudgy young woman stepped out. Arms crossed in front of her, her long dishwater-blond hair whipping around in the spring breeze, she stalked over to the car. Took a glance at the infant seat in back. Sighed. “Let’s not do this on the street,” she said, motioning at the bungalow.
THAD WASN’T SURE what he expected the surrogate mother’s home to be like. Certainly not a wall-to-wall artist’s studio, with beautiful landscapes stacked against every surface, and an easel with a half-finished canvas front and center in the room.
“I’m sorry I had to leave the baby like that,” Candace Wright said as soon as introductions had been made, “but I was afraid you’d be like everyone else in this mess and refuse to take him.”
“You’re sure Brice and Beatrix Johnson don’t want him, either?” Michelle asked.
“Apparently not.” Clearly confused about the situation, Candace shrugged. “I’m as surprised as you are. They were thrilled about the baby until a couple of days before William was born. Then they started acting a little weird, almost like they were having second thoughts.”
“Did you ask them about that?” Thad interrupted.
Candace shook her head. “I told myself they were just nervous about becoming parents. Happens to a lot of people, from what I’ve seen. Anyway, they came to the hospital and were there when William was born. As soon as they held him they seemed really happy again. We signed the papers. They took him home. Everything was great. A day later, Beatrix shows up at my door with the baby, completely distraught, and just hands him to me.”
Thad and Michelle both did a double take, but it was Michelle who asked the question first. “With no explanation?”
Candace lifted her hands in helpless frustration. “Beatrix said a lot of things, but none of it made any sense, she was crying so hard. All I got out of her was that she couldn’t do this right now…and maybe not ever…and that because I was his mom I had to take care of baby William…there was no one else. By then he was crying, too. Beatrix really started sobbing.” Candace sighed and shoved a hand through her hair. “Beatrix mumbled something about her husband needing her, then she ran back to the car, jumped in and drove off, still crying her eyes out. I didn’t know what was going on, so I called the lady lawyer who handled the legal stuff for the surrogate arrangement—”
“Do you have her card?”
Candace nodded and went to retrieve it. “She sounded as stunned as I was when I told her what had just happened, but she wouldn’t do anything, or even talk about the situation with me.”
“She really couldn’t until she had spoken to her clients,” Michelle explained.
“That doesn’t make sense!” Candace complained.
“It’s complicated,” Michelle admitted. “But her first duty, as the Johnsons’ legal counsel, is to them. Whatever is said to her is privileged and can’t be shared with anyone else without their express permission. Otherwise, she could be disbarred.”
“Whatever!” Candace scowled. “Anyway, she said she’d have to investigate and get back to me. I asked her to come and get the baby. She said not until she spoke to her clients. And then she asked me to sit tight and take care of the baby until other arrangements could be made.” The young woman threw up her hands in exasperation. “I’ve got a showing in Houston next month. I’m already way behind in what I need to have ready, and I don’t have time for this! So then I remembered that Russell had said he had a brother who was a doctor in Summit, Texas. I looked you up on the Internet, got your address and dropped William off and ran before you could tell me you didn’t want the responsibility for him, either. Not that any of this was supposed to be my problem, anyway. I only agreed to be a surrogate so I could afford to stay home for a year and concentrate on my art! I never wanted to become a parent. I still
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