Yuletide Baby Bargain Page 3

  She didn’t bother dialing her brother’s home phone. There was no way he’d be home on a Friday night. Archer was the only person she knew who liked his women more than Jaxon Swift did. Instead, she dialed his cell phone and hoped that he would at least be somewhere that the signal reached. Around their area of the state, such a thing was never guaranteed.

  “Why?”

  She tucked the phone against her shoulder as she bounced the baby and started unwinding her winter scarf. “Just trying to make conversation.”

  “I don’t need conversation. I need results.” He left the foyer.

  She made a face at his departing back and finally freed the scarf. She dropped it on top of her purse and started unbuttoning her coat.

  “This better be good,” Archer’s voice suddenly came on the line. “I was in the middle of something.”

  “Middle of someone more like,” she said. “I need a favor.” She quickly told him the situation. “Do you mind calling the judge for me? See if he’s willing to even consider it?”

  “What’s your boss say about it?”

  She mentally crossed her fingers. “He said it’s my call.” As lies went, it wasn’t the worst she could tell. Under ordinary circumstances, Raymond Marx trusted Maddie’s judgment.

  But she had only had a few days off in the last three years. And he’d been adamant. The rules required a minimum of two continuous weeks off every year. She was well past that. Which meant that in this instance, her boss would say she was on vacation and should hand off anything even remotely approaching a case to one of her associates for the next two weeks. Period. She was supposed to be out living her life. Having a date or two. He’d even set her up with his buddy, Morton. Because, despite being a stickler for the rules, Ray really did care about his people.

  “Are you going to help me or not?”

  “Stay by the phone,” her brother said in answer, and disconnected.

  “Nothing like being surrounded by abrupt men,” she murmured. She managed to shrug out of her coat and the baby finally gave up a hard little burp.

  “Attagirl.” Maddie shifted her hold on Layla and offered the bottle once more. “Pretty much my thinking, too, where they’re concerned.”

  “Where who are concerned?”

  Of course Linc would choose that moment to return.

  She rounded the foyer table, for some reason wanting to keep it between them. “Nothing important. This looks like the same table that your grandmother had when my mother and I were here. My mom used to let me dust the base because I was always begging to help.” Until she’d learned cleaning was really a chore and not a game.

  “It is the same table. No reason to change it.”

  She chewed the inside of her cheek when silence fell and she had no brilliant ideas of how to fill it.

  Fortunately, her cell phone rang just as she could feel a blush starting to rise in her cheeks. “It’s Archer already.” She didn’t expect such a quick response to bode well, and considering the way Linc’s lips thinned, she suspected he had the same feeling.

  She managed to hold both Layla and the bottle with one hand as she pressed a key and held the phone to her ear. “Any luck?”

  “Depends on who’s asking,” Archer said. She could hear music in the background. “Not surprisingly, Stokes isn’t inclined to depart from usual procedure, kiddo. File a report with the sheriff and turn the baby over to the hospital until an emergency placement can be made.”

  She sighed, shaking her head slightly when Linc’s eyes captured hers. “Well, thanks for trying. I’ll get the ball rolling with the sheriff—”

  “No.” Linc’s voice was adamant in her one ear, and Archer’s “Hold on, kiddo,” was cautionary in the other.

  She ignored Linc for her brother. “What?”

  “Being the weekend and all, Stokes suggested that you could personally take the child into protective custody until the hearing can be scheduled about Swift’s petition. If you agree, that is.”

  Linc was standing still, watching her intently. She wished that he’d at least pace. Then he’d be doing something else with all that pent-up frustration besides shooting it all at her from his eyes. And maybe she’d be able to breathe more normally.

  It was galling that even after all these years, just being near him made her...edgy.

  Layla had drained the bottle, so Maddie set it on the table, repositioning the baby once more against her shoulder as she considered Archer’s words. The hearing had to be scheduled within forty-eight hours, excluding the weekend. “At the latest, we’re looking at midweek, then.” At which time the judge would likely order the baby be placed into shelter care while the prosecutor’s office investigated. They’d start by determining whether Layla was already reported as a missing child, and then try to locate her mother.

  But to locate her, they’d need to identify her.

  In the meantime, Linc would get a head start on reaching Jax. And maybe he could succeed before Ray even found out about Maddie’s involvement.

  “Stokes said to call his clerk Monday morning first thing,” Archer told her. “The judge’ll make room earlier in the schedule if it’s humanly possible. It’s that or emergency foster care for the next several days,” he concluded.

  “I’m aware of that.” It wasn’t as if Braden had an overabundance of qualified providers willing to take an infant on a moment’s notice. The last baby she’d had to place in emergency care ended up more than fifty miles away. If a caregiver couldn’t be found, the baby would be assigned to the hospital, which wasn’t ideal, either. For now, Maddie did have time on her hands. And she was perfectly qualified to take care of Layla for a few days, so long as she didn’t have Linc breathing down her neck the whole while.

  “So? What’ll it be, Maddie? He’s waiting for me to call him back to confirm.”

  Layla burped again and then turned her head against Maddie’s throat, letting out a shuddering sigh.

  Maddie sighed, too. She’d always been able to keep an emotional distance when it came to children—at least professionally.

  But none of the children who’d ever passed through her casework had been a relative of a friend.

  Linc finally moved, but only to plant his hands flat on the foyer table while he bowed his head.

  Or a former friend.

  She looked away. When Ray did discover what she was doing, he would just have to understand. She might be on vacation because of him, but what she did on that vacation was entirely up to her. “Tell Judge Stokes that I agree.”

  “You don’t sound too happy about it, kiddo.”

  She didn’t look back at Linc. “It’ll be fine.” The trick would be to maintain her usual professionalism. Forget the past. Forget everything but the baby. “I appreciate the help. Sorry to interrupt your evening.”

  “No harm. I’ll catch you Monday.”

  “Thanks, Archer.” She ended the call.

  “What hearing? What did you agree to?”

  There was a mirror on one wall and she could see in it that Layla’s eyes were at half-mast. She also could see that Linc had lifted his head and his eyes were dark and intense.

  Professionalism. She took a quick breath and turned to him. “The judge is willing to let me take Layla into protective custody. There will be a hearing scheduled by the middle of the week, at the latest, when he’ll probably order her into foster care.”

  “But he could leave her in my care.”

  “She’s not in your care, Linc. She’s in mine. Temporarily. What happens after that depends greatly on Judge Stokes. If he decides that placing Layla with you is in her best interests, then that’s what he’ll do.”

  “But if my DNA proves she’s my niece—”

  She lifted her hand. “That’s going to take at least a week. Maybe more
. Until then, I’m telling you not to put all your eggs in that particular basket. Because it’s beyond unlikely that you’ll be granted temporary custody as a foster-care provider. You’re not qualified, and I know Judge Stokes. He’s never done that before. He’s not likely to do it now just because you want him to.”

  His lips twisted. “You’re enjoying this.”

  She had enough experience under her belt dealing with families in turmoil to keep from losing her patience.

  “There is nothing enjoyable about an abandoned child, I promise you. And maybe none of it will be necessary. Maybe you’ll reach Jax. He’ll come back and offer proof that he knew nothing about this situation at all. He’ll claim her and everyone will be happy.” Maddie turned the car seat around on the table and carefully lowered Layla into it.

  Linc looked alarmed. “Where are you taking her?”

  “Nowhere.” Yet. “She’s falling asleep and the seat is as good a place as any.” She shook out the pink blanket and gently spread it over the baby before picking up her phone again.

  “Now who are you calling?”

  “My uncle.” Because that was one thing she would not neglect.

  “It’s too late.”

  She shook her head, already finished dialing. “He’s had late calls like this before. Uncle David! Hi.” He’d answered on the first ring. “It’s Maddie. Sorry for the late call but I have an abandoned baby—”

  “She’s not abandoned,” Linc interjected.

  She turned her back on him. “I don’t know how long she was left alone outside, but I didn’t see any signs of frostbite or other injury. I’m guessing somewhere between eight and twelve weeks old. But she’s in my care at least through the weekend, and you know how we’ll ultimately need a medical eval for her case—”

  * * *

  Unable to stand listening to Maddie’s one-sided conversation, Linc picked up the baby—car seat and all—and carried her from the foyer.

  He wasn’t thrilled with the decisions being made around him. But he also knew that he didn’t have much of a choice.

  He bypassed the kitchen and carried the baby into his study, where he carefully set the car seat on the floor.

  He sank wearily onto the couch, staring down at the baby’s face. Her eyelids were closed, looking delicate and pink. Her lashes were soft feather fans of pale brown, much darker than the wisps of hair on her round little head.

  He’d never been around babies. Never wanted to be, particularly after his wife got pregnant with someone else’s. Dana had then become his ex-wife. That had been nearly six years ago.

  Layla hitched in an audible breath, which made him hold his. She sucked at her bow-shaped lips and her pink eyelids fluttered.

  But she didn’t wake.

  He exhaled slowly, and slid off the couch to sit on the floor next to the car seat.

  “Linc?”

  “In here.” He didn’t raise his voice. Maddie still must have heard, because a moment later she came into his study. She stopped when she saw him sitting on the floor.

  The leather creaked as she slowly perched on the far cushion of the couch. “Are you all right?”

  “They must pay you to ask.” He was certain she hadn’t asked out of friendly concern.

  She didn’t answer immediately, but slid down to sit next to him on the floor, her back against the couch. The car seat was between them. “Considering I’m on vacation, technically, I’m not really getting paid for this at all.” She sounded carefully neutral.

  He gave her a sideways look. “Vacation?”

  “Another thing even social workers are allowed.” She stretched out her legs and fiddled with the plain watch strapped around her narrow wrist. “My boss scheduled it. Told me he didn’t want to see me in the office for the next two weeks.”

  “Big fan of yours?”

  She shrugged, neither confirming nor denying.

  “If you’re on vacation, what are you doing here?”

  “You didn’t exactly give me a chance to tell you.” She folded back the edge of the pink blanket with her slender fingers. Her fingernails were short, neat and unvarnished. “I work in family services, Linc. Vacation or not, this is what I do.”

  “You could have sent someone else.”

  “You called me. At my home. If I’d known any one of my associates would have done just as well, I’d have been more than happy to send someone else.” Her fingertips grazed the downy blond hair on Layla’s head. “You’re stuck with me now. At least until the hearing next week.” She drew her hands back and went onto her knees, wrapping her fingers around the carrier handle.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Right now, Layla is in my care. Which means where I go, she goes.” She stood, picking up the carrier. “And I’m going home. It’s been a very long day, and my uncle is going to meet me there.”

  “Why not here?”

  “Because we’re not staying here,” she said with exaggerated patience.

  He stood, closing his hand over hers on the handle.

  She froze, her expression tightening. “Linc, don’t even ask me to leave her with you.”

  “I wasn’t going to.”

  Her gaze flicked up to his, then away.

  “You could both stay here.” He realized his hand was still on hers and let go. “You know how big this place is. There’s lots of room.”

  “There’s room at my house, too.”

  She lived in a worn-down Victorian that she shared with her sisters. He’d driven by it more than once. His brother’s bar was nearby.

  “Does it have a nursery?”

  She waved her hand, taking in their surroundings. “The only thing that seems to have changed since the last time I was here is this room, and your grandmother didn’t have a nursery, either.”

  “I’ve changed a few things. And she put in the nursery a few years before she died.”

  Maddie gave him a surprised look, but still shook her head. “A nursery isn’t a necessity.”

  “Maybe not. And there’s nothing in it but furniture, but it’s better than that.” He gestured at the car seat. “Better than that house of yours.”

  “What do you know about my house?”

  “It was on the condemned list when you bought it.”

  “It was not!”

  “Okay. Maybe not.” He waited a beat. “If Jax asked, you’d agree.”

  Her lips compressed. “If Jax were here, presumably he would know who the woman was who left Layla for him and the situation would be entirely different.”

  Linc’s stomach burned, worse than it had when he’d called her for help in the first place. “Please.”

  She rested the car seat on the arm of the couch and her lashes swept down. She exhaled heavily. “Fine. But just because it’s already so late.” But then she sent him a skewering look. “And just for tonight.”

  If he could talk her into one night, he figured his chances were pretty good of talking her into another.

  But all he did was nod. “I’ll show you where the nursery is.”

  Chapter Three

  Maddie jerked awake, staring into the dark for a second before she remembered where she was.

  Under Lincoln Swift’s roof.

  And Layla was crying.

  She pushed the button on her sensible watch and groaned a little when it lit up with the time. It hadn’t even been two hours since her uncle had left.

  Every muscle she possessed wanted her to roll over and curl up against the pillows.

  But she shoved aside the blanket that she’d pulled over herself and climbed off the bed. Aside from removing her boots before lying down, she was still fully dressed.

  The bedroom she was using connected directly to the nursery. L
inc’s warning about furniture being the only thing the room possessed had been accurate.

  The mattress inside the spectacularly beautiful wooden crib had no bedding. The drawers of the matching chest contained nothing but drawer liners. The changing table held no diapers.

  She couldn’t help but wonder if it ever had.

  Only the toy box held anything of note—a stuffed bear easily as big as Layla. It was dressed in overalls and cowboy boots. Even all these years after Maddie had dusted the ornate base of the foyer table, she could remember Ernestine talking about her husband, Gus. He’d died when he was still a relatively young man. No matter what sort of success the wildcatter had found before his death, though, he’d always worn overalls and cowboy boots.

  One thing Maddie was used to doing, though, was improvising. She’d folded a regular bedsheet tightly around the crib mattress and Linc had produced a woven throw to use as a blanket. The pink one Layla had been left with had fallen victim to what Maddie kindly termed a “poopsplosion” while her uncle had been examining Layla. Linc had promptly turned green and produced a trash bag, seeming horrified that Maddie had been prepared to just toss the blanket in the washing machine. Instead, he’d promised to replace the blanket with a half-dozen if need be.

  As for diapers and such, they had only what remained of the meager supply that had been left with Layla—also strongly depleted after the poopsplosion. Which meant Maddie was going to have to resupply. Soon. Because when it came to disposable diapers and formula, there was only so much improvising she was willing to do.

  The second she picked up Layla, the baby stopped crying.

  Her diaper still felt dry when Maddie checked, and she cuddled her close. “You just want a little company, or are you hungry?” She turned the light on in the empty closet, leaving the door nearly closed so a little light seeped through, then sat down on the upholstered rocking chair in the corner and stood Layla on her thighs. The baby pushed down on her feet, bouncing jerkily. “I think it is just company you want. Don’t you know that it’s two in the morning, sweetie?”