Yuletide Baby Bargain Read online

  Sue gave him a look.

  “Just checking.” Judge Stokes looked out at them again. “All right then. I want a thorough investigation where Layla’s parents are concerned. To that end, I’m ordering genetic testing of Layla.” His expression was solemn. “Let’s get it ruled out that someone somewhere else isn’t frantically searching for their child. And—” he eyed Linc “—I’ll allow the comparison to the results you’re submitting. If anything comes of that, then we’ll be meeting here again sooner rather than later.”

  “Thank you, Your Honor,” Tom said.

  The judge nodded briefly. He looked toward Ray. “Meanwhile, baby Layla will require suitable shelter care until a custodian—whether Mr. Swift or another party—is named.”

  Maddie sucked in a quick breath and stood. “I’m suitable.”

  Even across the room she could hear her boss groan. “Maddie Templeton is presently on suspension.”

  The judge sighed a little. “That internal matter, I suppose.”

  “Yes.”

  “If my suspension is an issue, then I’ll quit.” Her voice was husky but it was still clear.

  Linc turned around and looked at her.

  She kept her eyes on the judge. “I’m a qualified foster-care provider, Judge.” A fact that he knew perfectly well. “Whether I’m employed by the department or not.”

  The judge tapped his thumbs together a few times. “What’s the basis for Miss Maddie’s suspension, Ray? She’s always seemed very capable to me.”

  “Ignoring departmental rules.”

  “With regard to what?”

  “Vacation,” Maddie inserted quickly.

  The judge looked pained. “Is that true, Ray?”

  “Well, yes.”

  “Not abuse of power. Not dereliction of duties. Not even using the office copier for her own personal use. Which is something we have all done anyway.”

  “No.” Ray straightened his wrinkled tie. “If anything, Maddie is too far the opposite. She’s determined that every family finds a happy ending and you know how impossible that is. She takes cases to the extreme.”

  “Sort of like taking vacation rules to the extreme?” The judge’s voice turned dry.

  “She took on a case when she shouldn’t have,” Ray maintained doggedly.

  “Your Honor,” Tom interrupted. “Considering my client’s desire to care for this child he believes to be his niece, he could have chosen not to notify anyone at all and none of us would be the wiser. But knowing of her expertise, he chose to reach out to Miss Templeton for assistance.”

  The judge pursed his lips as he looked at Linc, who’d faced forward once again. “Why Maddie?” He lifted his hand. “Cool your jets, Tom. Let your client answer. I just want to know.”

  “She’s an old friend,” Linc said evenly.

  “So you didn’t contact her in an official capacity.”

  “No.” He waited a beat. “She very quickly advised me of her legal obligations, though.”

  The judge smiled slightly. “I’ll bet she did.” He tapped his thumbs together a few more times. “You married, Mr. Swift?”

  “Not anymore.”

  “Too bad. Kids?”

  “No.”

  “Dogs? Cats?” The judge lifted his hand. “Don’t answer that.” He looked toward Ray. “I can’t tell you what to do about your sacred vacation rule, Ray. But seems to me that you’re wound up over a whole lot of nothing.” Then he looked at Maddie. “You’re willing to provide a safe and stable environment for baby Layla? See to all of her needs, physically and otherwise?”

  “Yes, Your Honor.”

  He nodded once. “Good enough. Look sharp, everyone,” he said. “I’m ordering that Layla temporarily remain in the care of Maddie Templeton. And I want an update on the investigation and the baby’s care in one week’s time when I will reassess the matter. Got that, Sue?”

  “Got it, Judge.”

  He slammed his gavel once. “Adjourned.”

  Then he stood up, unzipped his black judge’s robe and disappeared through the back door to his chambers.

  * * *

  “Congratulations.” Tom shook Linc’s hand. “Stay of execution, as it were.”

  “For a week.” Linc looked at Maddie where she was sitting on the bench behind them, hugging Layla to her. Maddie was pale. His chest felt tight. “Only because of her,” he said gruffly.

  Tom shrugged. “It’s still a win in your column for today. Meanwhile, my advice is to find your brother before the authorities do. Get him back here. And stay in touch with me.”

  Linc nodded. “Thanks, Tom.” He shook the lawyer’s hand. “I will.”

  The lawyer moved away. He leaned over, murmuring something to Maddie on his way out of the courtroom.

  Maddie smiled a little, then sobered when her eyes met Linc’s.

  “You wouldn’t really quit your job over this,” he said.

  She rubbed her cheek against Layla’s blond hair. “Fortunately, we don’t have to find out.” She stood.

  The rumpled guy who was obviously her boss stopped next to them. “Maybe suspension is a bit much.”

  She lifted an eyebrow. “You think?”

  “Don’t push it, Templeton.” He studied the baby in her arms. Layla had tucked her thumb in her mouth and was looking drowsy and very comfortable nestled against Maddie’s chest. “Prosecutor’s going to want the note.”

  Maddie looked quickly at Linc. “You still have it, right?”

  He reached in his lapel pocket and withdrew the small piece of paper. “I kept a copy of it for myself.” His lips twisted slightly. “Used the office copier.”

  Maddie bit her lip, looking down at her toes.

  Ray took the note and unfolded it. He shook his head. “I hope for everyone’s sake this doesn’t get messier before it gets better.” He patted the baby’s back gently. “See you here next week.” Then he strode away, too.

  Maddie’s chocolate gaze lifted to Linc’s once more. “My house is freezing,” she said baldly. “And that swing you got for her won’t fit in my car. You’ll have to pick it up.”

  He squelched the leaping sensation inside him. “You’ve come to your senses.”

  “No. I’m pretty sure I’ve lost them.” She started to lower Layla into the stroller but the baby squawked out a protest. “My parents’ house is perfectly well-heated, too.” She dropped her too-full flowered purse into the stroller and grabbed the handle with her free hand, steering it clear of the bench seat. “And my mother loves babies.”

  He covered her hand with his and she went still. “Then why?”

  “Because it’s the right thing to do.”

  “For Layla.”

  Her gaze slid away. Her voice went husky. “And for you.”

  Then she shifted, pulling away from him. She pushed the stroller toward the courtroom doors, but stopped just shy of them. She looked back at him where he still stood, feeling rooted to the ground. “I’ll need a key to your house.” She was back to her usual briskness.

  “I’ll get you whatever you need.”

  Something came and went in her eyes. “Let’s just start with the key.”

  Then she turned and pushed the stroller through the courtroom door.

  Linc slowly sank back down onto the chair. He wasn’t used to feeling like the stuffing had been pulled right out of him. He stared at the courtroom around him. It had emptied entirely after the judge exited.

  She’d been willing to quit her job.

  He rubbed his hand down his face but he couldn’t rub away the shock he’d felt when she’d said it to the judge. Or the way her expression has been so certain.

  The side door opened and Sue, the court clerk, entered. She stopped in surprise when
she spotted him. “Mr. Swift. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were still here. Was there something else you needed?”

  He knew she was married to one of his engineers and wondered how often she had to clerk for some case involving a Swift Oil employee. “No, I was just thinking if these courtroom walls could talk.”

  “They’d know better than to try.” She seemed cheerful enough as she set a stack of files on her desk, clearly getting ready for the next case.

  He pushed to his feet. “I guess I’ll be seeing you next week.”

  She smiled. “Jerry’s always telling me what a decent man you are, Mr. Swift. I wish you good luck with all of this.”

  “Thanks, Sue.”

  “Merry Christmas.”

  He smiled faintly. For the first time in a long time, he actually felt a little anticipation where the holiday was concerned. “Merry Christmas to you, too.”

  * * *

  A loud thump vibrated through the walls, making Maddie jump nervously.

  She looked at Layla, lying on the changing table inside the nursery at Linc’s home. “Sounds like Uncle Linc is back,” she said. Rather than leave the nursery to go and see, though, she finished fastening Layla’s diaper and then tucked her into one of the stretchy knit sleepers that Ali had produced when she’d come home after her shift to find Maddie packing her suitcase. “He’s going to think you’re pretty as a picture in your new clothes.”

  Layla kicked her legs enthusiastically. Her eyes danced as she looked up at Maddie.

  The adoration in the baby’s eyes was almost too much to bear.

  She picked up the baby, cuddling her close. Maddie had given Layla her bath and she smelled like everything that could possibly be right in this world. “Of course,” she whispered, “even without all your new things you’re pretty as a picture.”

  “It’s a picture all right,” Linc said, walking into the nursery. He was still wearing the suit from that morning, but the tie was gone and the top two buttons of his white shirt were undone. “Where do you want this?”

  She quickly looked from the strong column of his throat to the infant swing he was carrying. “That’s a good question.” She glanced around the nursery. It had been perfectly spacious the first time she’d seen it. Now there were boxes of baby items everywhere. While she’d been packing clothes to last her for the coming week, she felt certain he’d sent someone to Shop-World in Weaver to buy out the entire baby department. “Wherever you can find room.”

  He smiled slightly. “It is a little crowded in here now.”

  He had enough gear to outfit half a dozen nurseries. And they didn’t even know what would happen with Layla once the next week passed.

  “A little,” she agreed. With her foot, she nudged a tricycle into the corner. It would be two years before Layla would be ready for the thing. “Here.” Moving the trike had freed up a few spare feet of floor space.

  He deposited the swing in the spot and glanced through the doorway to the adjoining room. “You get yourself settled all right?”

  “Yes. You didn’t have to send over Terry with keys this afternoon, though. We could have just waited until this evening to come here.”

  “She had some other errands to take care of for me, so she was already out and about.” He picked up one of the sleepers from Ali that Maddie had yet to put away in the chest of drawers. “Fitting for the season,” he drawled. The sleeper was fashioned like something Santa’s elves would wear. The one that Layla currently had on was dark blue and covered in white snowflakes. “Looks like someone else has been doing some shopping, too.”

  “Blame Ali. I haven’t had time to take care of anything except the necessities, much less go shopping. It’s a good thing you bought so many diapers the other day. We’re going through them like nobody’s business.” Maddie settled Layla into the seat of the swing. It was surprising how heavy a fifteen-pound baby could be. “The only things we’re still missing are extra bottles and nipples. Pretty much the most basic of basic.” She snapped the safety harness together and turned on the swing. Fortunately, it also ran on batteries, because there was no way the power cord could have reached its spot in virtually the center of the nursery.

  The unicorns, no longer looking scrunched up from being packaged in a box, began slowly revolving above Layla’s head as the seat of the swing started swaying.

  Linc was watching Layla so intently that Maddie felt a stab somewhere in the vicinity of her heart. “Listen.” She snatched up the damp bath towels from the rocker where she’d dumped them. “I left a bit of a mess in the bathroom. If you wouldn’t mind sitting with her for a few, I’ll just get it cleaned up.” There was no earthly reason why she couldn’t have nipped into the adjoining bathroom for a few minutes to take care of tidying up when Layla was so securely contained in the swing, but she didn’t figure he needed to know that. “Here.” She patted the upholstered chair in invitation, and carried the towels out of the room.

  She didn’t wait to see what he would do. Because she knew if she did, he wouldn’t do anything.

  The bathroom was a Jack and Jill, opening to both the nursery and Maddie’s bedroom. She went through the door and turned on the water, making as much noise as she could to prove how necessary her task was. She pushed the door to the nursery partially closed and used one of the towels to mop up the water that she and Layla had splashed onto the cream-colored tile. While she was crawling around on the floor, she peeked around the door to see if any progress had been made in the nursery.

  Linc was sitting on the rocker. He’d discovered the video baby monitor box that she’d yet to unpack. His eyes, however, were trained on the bathroom doorway.

  She flushed and backed out of view.

  “I still see you,” he said.

  She sat up on her knees and caught her reflection in the mirror over the sink. “Still see me what?” she asked innocently. But her cheeks were red. She climbed to her feet and spread the wet towels over the side of the tub and the separate glass shower enclosure. She figured with a little practice, she’d be able to bathe Layla without creating a swamp on the floor, but for now, she was still adjusting.

  The front of her sweater felt damp, but at least it didn’t show. And the damp patches on the front of her jeans that did show would disappear soon enough. She briskly tightened the ponytail at the back of her head and went back into the nursery, propping her hands on her hips. “What were you saying?”

  “What’s going to happen next week in court?”

  She exhaled. She understood his concern, but she hadn’t expected the question quite so soon. “Hasn’t Tom Hook explained everything to you?”

  Linc inclined his head and set aside the plastic-covered box. “I want to hear it in your words.”

  She didn’t know whether to be touched or not.

  She turned around one of the child-size chairs that went with a matching craft table and perched on it. “What happens next week depends on a lot of things. If Layla’s mother returns in the meantime, for one.”

  He snorted softly. “Pardon me if I don’t hold my breath. Not even my mother would have done what she did.”

  Maddie wasn’t touching that with a ten-foot pole. “Also, if the investigation about her yields anything,” she continued. “If you reach Jax or if he returns. If we have the results of both your and Layla’s DNA profiles. I’ll pick up the court order tomorrow for her test and take her back to the hospital to get that done. You’ve seen for yourself that it’s not going to traumatize her for life or anything.” She reached out to slow the swing down a notch.

  “A lot of ifs. I don’t like a lot of ifs.”

  “You’re in the oil business. Aren’t you surrounded by ifs? If this well keeps producing. If it doesn’t.”

  “If I can keep the wolves at bay,” he murmured. “All the more reason not to l
ike them.”

  “What wolves?”

  He shook his head. “Judge Stokes said it was too bad I wasn’t married. Why? It’s not going to even matter when I’m proven to be her uncle.”

  “Okay. Let’s say you are her uncle. That means Jax is her father.” Maddie spread her hands. “If he can satisfy Judge Stokes that he wasn’t a party to the way she was left with you, then there’s no reason I can think of why Layla wouldn’t be awarded to him. If he can’t prove it, then he’ll probably be charged with child endangerment. Neglect at the very least. So will Layla’s mother. Whoever she turns out to be.”

  “Jax wouldn’t endanger a child. Not his or anyone else’s.”

  “Well, I don’t think so, either.” She could see that Layla was nodding off and she turned the setting on the swing even lower. If the baby didn’t have a full bottle before she fell asleep, Maddie was going to be in for a long night. She’d learned that in just the past few days. But she was also loath to interrupt the moment with Linc.

  So she continued. “But, for the sake of argument, let’s suppose that for whatever reason, the judge terminates Jax and Layla’s parent-child relationship. That means someone else—you, for instance as her closest responsible relative—could be made her guardian. But nothing is automatic. Not when Layla is already under the protection of the court.”

  “So even if I’m her uncle, I would have to pass muster.”

  “Essentially.”

  “And even if I’m her uncle, I’d pass muster better if I had a wife.”

  She spread her hands again. “I know it sounds ridiculous, and it shouldn’t matter. But it does. The court is going to want to place Layla in whatever family situation will best provide for her health and her safety. In a contest between a married couple and a single person, particularly a man—sorry, but that is what you are—the married couple usually wins.”

  “Then I need a wife.”

  Maddie couldn’t stop the short laugh that escaped. “I never pegged you for being dramatic.”

  “I’m not being dramatic.”

  Alarm niggled at her insides. “Well, you surely can’t be serious!”