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Wanted: Father for Her Baby: Keeping Baby Secret / Five Brothers and a Baby / Expecting Brand's Baby
BEVERLY BARTON
Emilie Rose
Peggy Moreland
Big tough men becoming adoring dads…Keeping Baby Secret Beverly Barton They’d shared a brief affair, and Agent Frank Latimer moved on to his next mission, never knowing that he’d become a father – not until his son was kidnapped! Frank was going to bring his boy home. Then he planned on dealing with independent Leenie!Five Brothers and a Baby Peggy MorelandAce stared at the woman who stood defiantly on his doorstep with a blanket-wrapped bundle in her arms. It seemed he and his brothers had inherited something extra. But what was he supposed to do with a baby girl? Expecting Brand’s Baby Emilie Rose Independent Toni Swenson had to become pregnant to claim her inheritance. Still, after one passionate night with a sexy stranger, the last thing she expected was that he would track her down to deliver a marriage proposal!



Wanted: Father for Her Baby
Is he man enough for the ultimate job?
Wanted: Father For her Baby
Three devastatingly handsome potential daddies from three beloved writers

New York Times bestselling author BEVERLY BARTON
USA Today bestselling author PEGGY MORELAND
EMILIE ROSE


www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk/)

Keeping Baby Secret
By

Beverly Barton
Beverly Barton has been in love with romance since her grandfather gave her an illustrated book of Beauty and the Beast. An avid reader since childhood, Beverly wrote her first book at nine. After marriage to her own “hero” and the births of her daughter and son, Beverly chose to be a full-time homemaker, aka wife, mother, friend and volunteer. This author of over thirty-five books is a member of Romance Writers of America and helped found the Heart of Dixie chapter. She has won numerous awards, and has made several appearances on bestseller lists.
In loving memory of our cocker spaniel, Cole, who was my faithful companion for nearly fifteen years.

Prologue
Leenie checked the refrigerator for the third time. The bottles of milk were there, as she knew they would be. Just where she’d put them. But she simply had to check a final time, had to make sure nothing had been left undone. After all, this was a turning point in her life, a make-or-break night. As she hurried by the computer desk in her kitchen, she glanced at the list of phone numbers posted by the telephone. Emergency numbers, her cell number, her private number at work, as well as the switchboard number.
Rushing out of the kitchen and down the hall, her heartbeat rapid and her stomach painfully knotted, she wondered why this had to be so difficult. It wasn’t as if she was the first woman in the world to go through this painful separation. Millions of women throughout the world had done what she was doing and most of them could probably sympathize with her feelings of guilt and fear.
As she neared the end of the hall, she slowed her pace, took a deep breath and told herself that she could do this. She was a strong woman. An independent woman. When she reached the nursery, she looked from Debra, who smiled compassionately, to Andrew, who lay sleeping peacefully in his bed, totally unaware of the trauma his mother was experiencing.
“Everything will be all right.” Debra draped her arm around Leenie’s shoulders. “You’ll be gone only a few hours and he’ll probably sleep the entire time you’re away.”
“But if he wakes and I’m not here…” Leenie pulled away from her son’s nanny, walked over to Andrew’s bassinet and watched her six-week-old baby as he slept. His little chest rose and fell softly with each tender breath he took. She reached out to touch his rosy cheek.
“If he wakes, I’ll be right here,” Debra assured her. “And if he’s hungry, you left breast milk in the fridge. You aren’t deserting him forever, you’re just going to work.”
“Maybe we should postpone this another week or so.” Leenie couldn’t bear the thought of being separated from Andrew, even for the four hours it would take her to drive to WJMM, do her two-hour midnight talk-show on the radio, set things up for her morning TV show and then drive home.
“No, we won’t postpone it,” Debra said firmly. “We can continue taking Andrew to the station every morning for your daytime show, but he shouldn’t be dragged out of his bed every night.” Debra crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her gaze. “Go to work, Leenie. You do your job and let me do mine.”
Sighing heavily, Leenie admitted her deepest fears. “But one of my jobs is being Andrew’s mother and if you do your job too well, my son will bond with you and not me.”
Huffing loudly, but following up with an understanding smile, Debra patted Leenie’s arm. “Andrew has already bonded with you. He knows you’re his mother. If I do my job well, and I’d like to think I’ve been doing that since the day we brought Andrew home from the hospital, then he’ll think of me as a favorite aunt or as a grandmother.”
“I’m being silly, aren’t I?”
“No, you’re being a good mother.”
“Am I a good mother? I’m not sure what makes a good mother. As you well know, I didn’t have one of my own. No mother at all raised me, good, bad or otherwise.”
“Jerry and I were parents to over fifty foster kids in our thirty years of marriage.” Debra sighed dreamily, as she always did whenever she mentioned her late husband, who had died two years ago at the age of sixty-three from a heart attack. “I’ve seen all kinds of mothers and I know a good one from a bad one.”
“Yes, I imagine you do. You were certainly an excellent role model for me when I lived with you and Jerry. I learned by watching the way you were with all of us foster children what a good mother is.” She had been fifteen when she’d been sent to live with Debra and Jerry Schmale, a young minister and his wife who’d been told they could never have children of their own and had decided they would give their love and time to unwanted, neglected kids of all ages. The three years she’d spent with the Schmales had been the best years of her childhood.
“You, Dr. Lurleen Patton, are a good mother,” Debra said.
“Even though I’m a single parent? Even though I didn’t provide Andrew with a father?”
“You told me that Andrew was the result of a very brief affair with a man you barely knew. A man who showed no interest in settling down. A man who was very careful to use protection each time y’all made love.”
Leenie nodded. “One of those times, that protection failed. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have gotten pregnant. But that wasn’t Frank’s fault.”
“You made the decision not to tell Andrew’s father about his existence because you felt it was the best thing for everyone concerned. Right?”
“Right.”
“Have you changed your mind?”
No, she hadn’t changed her mind. Although, truth be told, sometimes she wished she had called Frank the day she’d found out she was pregnant, called him and told him he was going to be a daddy. But she’d been so shocked herself that it had taken her weeks to figure out what to do. By the time she decided she wanted to keep her baby and raise it herself, she had also decided that the last thing Frank Latimer would want in his life was a child. Their entire relationship had lasted less than two weeks. Love hadn’t been involved. Just a major case of lust.
“No, I haven’t changed my mind. If Frank knew he had a child, it would simply complicate his life and mine, not to mention Andrew’s.”
Debra turned Leenie around, grasped her shoulders and all but shoved her out of the room. “If you don’t leave now, you’ll be late.” Debra walked Leenie into the hallway and all the way to the back door. “Call me every thirty minutes, if that will make you feel better—but go. Now!”
Leenie sighed. “Thanks. I don’t know what I’d do without you. Sometimes I think I need you even more than Andrew does.”
Debra hugged her, then lifted Leenie’s jacket and purse from where they hung on a coatrack near the door, handed them to her and said, “Drive carefully, call as often as you need to, have a great show tonight and I’ll be waiting up for you when you come home.”
Leenie slipped into her coat, draped her purse straps over her shoulder and opened the back door that led into the garage. She unlocked her new GMC Envoy SUV, a vehicle she’d purchased a month before her son’s birth. Of course she’d kept her sports car, but hadn’t used it since Andrew had been born because she never went anywhere without him. Use it tonight, she told herself. Get in your Mustang and fly off down the road.
After locking the SUV, she went over to the Mustang, unlocked it and got in, then revved the motor and hit the remote that opened the garage. Within minutes she was zipping along the highway that led from the suburbs of Maysville, Mississippi, into the downtown area where the studios for both WJMM radio and TV stations were located. She’d been doing a late-night radio talk show and a morning TV show for quite a few years and enjoyed being a local celebrity, a psychiatrist who doled out advice over the airwaves five days and nights a week.
When she’d been younger, she had longed to create a family of her own. Having grown up in a series of foster homes and remembering very little about her own parents, she had always felt so alone. Her mother had died when she was four and her father when she was eight. A skinny, gangly girl, who had talked too much and tried too hard to make others like her, she’d never had a real chance of being adopted. From eight to eighteen, she’d been shifted around from foster home to foster home. She’d felt unloved and unwanted all her life and by the time she hit thirty and Prince Charming hadn’t entered her life, she’d pretty much given up hope for that fantasized happily ever after ending in her life.
Although she’d been around the block a few times, as the old saying went, she wasn’t promiscuous. Each time she’d been in a committed relationship, she’d wanted it to be “the one.” And she’d never had a one-night stand. Not until Frank Latimer entered her life. Or should she say breezed in and out of her life. And technically, he hadn’t really been a one-night stand. More like a ten day mini-affair. She’d taken one look at the big lug and fallen hard and fast. They had set the sheets on fire and what she’d thought would be a one-nighter turned into a very brief, extremely passionate relationship.
Leenie wished it wasn’t late November already so she could put the top down on her car and achieve that wild and free feeling it gave her to ride with the wind. Maybe that’s what she needed—some cold night air to clear away the cobwebs. As hard as she tried to relegate Frank Latimer to the back of her mind, to put him into the past where he belonged, she found it difficult, if not impossible, to do. Although Andrew had her blond hair and blue eyes, he resembled Frank or the way she was sure Frank had looked as a baby. And every time she looked at her son, she saw his father. How could she—a psychiatrist who’d been trained to understand the human psyche—have ever thought she’d be able to forget about the man who had fathered her child? Whether or not he was actually in her life, he’d always be a part of it. Andrew was the living, breathing proof of that.
She’d told Debra that she wasn’t having any second thoughts about contacting Frank to let him know he had a child, but maybe she’d been lying to herself as well as Debra. Maybe she should call Frank, feel him out, see if there was somebody special in his life these days. Or maybe she should just fly to Atlanta and take Andrew with her. No, she couldn’t do that, couldn’t just show up on Frank’s doorstep.
Stop debating the issue, she told herself. You’re not going to call Frank. And she wasn’t going to fly to Atlanta. If he had the slightest interest in renewing his relationship with her, he’d have called by now. After all, it was over ten months since he’d said goodbye and walked out of her life without a backward glance. She had to accept the fact that Frank wasn’t her Prince Charming, accept the fact that there was no such animal. Just because he’d been different from the other men she’d known didn’t mean she was as special to him as he had been to her. What they’d had wasn’t love. It was just sex.

Chapter One
Leenie glanced across the table at Jim Isbell, a goodlooking, likable guy. He had asked her out after their initial meeting last week when he’d appeared on her morning TV show in a segment about group therapy. Jim was a psychologist who worked with families in trouble—drugs, alcohol, infidelity and various other problems that plagued many people in today’s complex modern society. This was their first date—one she’d been looking forward to eagerly. It was a simple workday lunch between friends. No strings attached. Nothing that would put pressure on either of them. Everyone who knew her, including Debra, had encouraged her to start dating again. After all, she hadn’t been out with a man since she’d found out she was pregnant. Now Andrew was nearly two months old and adjusting beautifully to having a working mother. Debra brought him to the studio several days a week, but kept him home in his own bed at night. Although Leenie loved her job, her son was the center of her world.
“So, are you interested?” Jim asked.
“Hmm?”
“Dinner and a movie this weekend,” Jim said.
“Oh, uh…yes. That might be nice.” Nice. Such an odd word, with so many meanings. And often a bland word, one that conveyed very little emotion. Oh, jeez, Leenie, don’t overanalyze your response about the date. You meant the word nice in the…well, in the nicest way. She smiled to herself. You like Jim. Obviously he likes you. You’ve had a pleasant lunch, so why not follow up with a dinner date?
Nice? Pleasant? Why not fantastic or great or fabulous or wonderful? What if Frank Latimer asked her out for a dinner date? You wouldn’t be using such lukewarm adjectives, now would you? An inner voice taunted. Stop it! She shouldn’t compare Jim to Frank. They were apples and oranges. Yeah, sure they were, but Jim was such a boring apple and Frank had been such an incredible orange.
Frank with the sexy gray eyes and hard, lean body. Frank, who had memorized every inch of her with his bedroom eyes, with his big hands and his mouth and tongue. Frank, who always looked like an unmade bed and had a way of curling her toes without even touching her.
“Lurleen?”
“Huh?” Apparently Jim had said something to which he expected a response and since she’d been thinking about another man, she hadn’t heard a word Jim had said.
“You’re a million miles away, aren’t you?”
“Sorry, Jim, it’s just that I—”
“No need to explain. You’re thinking about your son, aren’t you? New mothers tend to obsess about their babies. But you really should work your way through those typical feelings about neglecting and abandoning your child in favor of your career. You’re too smart to believe that you have to be the most important person in his life right now. After all, you have a perfectly capable nanny, don’t you?”
“Yes, a very capable nanny.”
“I understand that you have an extra burden of guilt on your shoulders since you’re a single mother.”
Leenie stared at Jim as he continued talking, giving her his opinion about the correct way to rear children, especially a son without a father figure. Not one to take criticism or advice well, his comments aggravated her. Who was he to be giving her advice? Had she asked him to share his wisdom on the subject of raising children?
“Jim!”
With his mouth open midsentence, he stopped talking and looked quizzically at her. “Yes?”
She’d been about to lambaste him, tell him in no uncertain terms that her relationship with her son was none of his damn business. Instead she said, “Let’s order dessert. Cheesecake.”
He arched his eyebrows in a disapproving manner. “Are you sure you want the extra calories? After all, you probably still have some baby fat you want to lose.”
He smiled at her in his good-natured manner. And she wanted to slap him. Baby fat, indeed! She weighed now precisely what she’d weighed before she’d gotten pregnant, having dropped twenty pounds when Andrew was born and another ten in the past two months. Everyone else she knew had marveled over how quickly she’d gotten back in shape.
“Right. No dessert.” It wasn’t the calories she could do without, it was the company. She gritted her teeth to keep from telling him off in no uncertain terms. “Look, I just remembered that I have a previous engagement this weekend, so I’ll have to forego dinner and a movie.” She shoved back her chair and stood.
Ever the gentleman, Jim stood up. “Perhaps lunch again next week, then?”
“Perhaps.” She picked up her purse.
“I’ll call you.”
“Please do. I hate to run, but—”
“Work awaits,” he said.
“Yes.”
She didn’t bother to contradict him, to tell him she was going home where she’d spend the afternoon and early evening with Andrew. Nodding, she forced a smile, then hurried away from the table, out of the restaurant and to her car. Once inside, she checked her watch. Two-fifteen. She’d go on home and be there in time to help put away groceries. About now Debra and Andrew were at Foodland on their weekly shopping excursion. Usually Leenie joined them for lunch on Fridays and afterward they bought groceries together, but today she’d had a date. A waste of time. Time she could have spent with her son.
Wonder if it’s too late to join them at Foodland? She could buy one of those frozen cheesecakes and indulge at supper tonight. That’s what she’d do. Eat cheesecake and forget about Jim Isbell. Out there somewhere was another guy who wouldn’t bore her to tears. Someone as much fun as Frank. As sexy as Frank. As good in bed as Frank.
All right already. Enough about Frank!
Frank is the past. Jim Isbell was a dud. Think about Andrew. And cheesecake.
Frank Latimer stretched out as best he could in his seat, thankful that he was in first class and not stuck back in coach. Most of the time when he flew, it was on the luxurious Dundee jet, but when his latest job had ended today, the jet was already en route to Key West, taking a crew of Dundee’s best for a top secret assignment. He was set for a week off and planned to do some fishing while he relaxed at Sawyer McNamara’s Hilton Head vacation house. He’d been working practically nonstop for nearly a year now. When he’d left Maysville, Mississippi, eleven months ago, he’d taken a European assignment just to get him out of the country and as far away as was possible from a certain long and lean blonde. If there had been a flight to Mars eleven months ago, he’d have taken it.
“Would you care for another glass of tea, Mr. Latimer?” the attractive brunette flight attendant asked. He’d noticed her immediately, the minute he’d boarded his flight from Chicago to Atlanta. Ms. Gant was petite and slender, with big eyes and big boobs and a come-hither smile.
“No, thank you.”
“Is there anything else I can do for you?”
Oh, yeah, there was something she could do for him all right. He was in bad need of a warm body in his bed. For months after his whirlwind affair with Leenie Patton, he hadn’t touched another woman. Then he’d convinced himself that what he needed to get Leenie out of his system was a woman—actually a lot of women. He’d tried that, but it hadn’t worked. No one had tasted like Leenie or felt like Leenie or sounded like Leenie. So after gorging himself on nameless, faceless bed partners, he’d sworn off women altogether, at least until he could stop wanting one particular lady—a sexy, wild woman he’d called Slim.
“Mr. Latimer?”
“Huh?”
“Are you all right?”
“Yeah, sure. I’m fine.”
No, he wasn’t fine. He was tired. This last job had lasted six weeks and he’d been shot at twice and wound up in three fistfights. He badly needed some major down-time. And Sawyer’s luxurious home in Hilton Head was just the ticket. If he could find a gorgeous, sexy blonde to spend the week with him, he’d have it made. It was time to end his months of celibacy.
The trouble is you don’t want just any gorgeous, sexy blonde. You want Slim. She’s what you want. All you want.
So why not call her up when he landed in Atlanta? And say what? I’ve been thinking about you for eleven months? Every time I slept with somebody else, I wished she was you?
“Hell, no!”
Frank didn’t realize he’d cursed aloud until Ms. Gant said, “Yes, Mr. Latimer, did you say something?”
“Just talking to myself,” he told her. “That happens when you get old.”
She giggled like a teenager and flashed him a brilliant smile. “You’re hardly old.”
“I’m forty,” he admitted, feeling every year of it.
“That’s not old. That’s the prime of life for a man.”
He chuckled. “I thought prime time for a guy was eighteen.”
She moistened her lips. “A man of forty has experience that a younger man doesn’t. I prefer experience.”
She’s putting it out there for you, Latimer, he told himself. All you have to do is take what she’s offering. He was tempted. Damn tempted. Even if she wasn’t a long-legged, willowy blonde.
Leaning down close to his ear, she whispered, “I’ll be in Atlanta overnight.”
“How about dinner?” He’d definitely been celibate long enough. Months of doing without wasn’t his style. It was time he tried sex again. And past time to get Leenie Patton out of his system.
Two blocks from Foodland, Leenie heard the wail of sirens—police and ambulance—and couldn’t help wondering if there had been a bad wreck somewhere nearby. The first thought that flashed through her mind was that Andrew and Debra had been involved in the accident. But she quickly dismissed the idea as nothing more than her tendency to worry much too much about Andrew whenever he was out of her sight. Of course she understood that her worries, concerns and fears were perfectly natural, that almost every new mother experienced these emotions whether she was a working mom or a stay at home mom. Naturally, being a single parent only added to her concerns about motherhood. With each passing day of Andrew’s life, Leenie felt more and more guilty for not having contacted Frank to tell him about their child. She had given herself every reason not to call him, to keep Andrew’s existence a secret from him, but in the end she knew, in her heart of hearts, that Frank had a right to know.
Admit it, she told herself, you’re scared to tell Frank the truth. If she told him and he didn’t want to be a part of Andrew’s life, she’d wonder what kind of man he really was. On the other hand, if he wanted to be a part of his son’s life, but didn’t want her in the bargain, then she’d have to not only share Andrew, but she’d have to accept the fact that she’d never been special to Frank.
As she cruised down the tree-lined street at thirty-five miles an hour, she forced her mind off Frank Latimer and onto cheesecake. Wonder if Foodland has any chocolate cheesecake? she mused.
Suddenly the Lexus in front of her eased to a halt behind a line of other vehicles. Noting that the car’s brake lights had come on, Leenie stopped her SUV and tried to see what lay ahead. Able to make out the whirl of blue flashing lights in the distance, she figured traffic had been stopped at the scene of the accident about a block ahead of her. If the wreck had just occurred, it could take quite a while to clear things up and get traffic moving again. Her lane was stalled and the other lane was empty, as if traffic had been stopped on the other side of the police car up ahead. She sighed. I should have gone home instead of heading to Foodland to meet up with Debra and Andrew, she thought. If she got stuck here for very long, she’d call Debra on her cell phone to let her know why she was delayed.
Tapping her fingers on the steering wheel, she hummed. And waited. Suddenly an ambulance flew by, its siren mournfully eerie. Once again, an odd sensation hit Leenie in the pit of her stomach. Don’t do this to yourself, she cautioned. Stop thinking Debra’s Saturn was involved in the wreck. Debra and Andrew were either still at Foodland or they were stalled on the other side of the accident and were waiting in line, just as she was.
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.”
“You’re right. Finding our son is our only concern. Everything else can be sorted out later, once we bring him home.”
“For what it’s worth…” she paused and looked right at Frank “…I’m glad you’re here.”

Chapter Three
Frank had left Leenie in her bedroom and gone through the house, out the back door and onto the porch. For late November, it was unseasonably warm. Probably somewhere in the high sixties and not a rain cloud in the sky. He’d gotten away from Leenie as fast as he could because he’d sensed that she had wanted him to put his arms around her and hold her. But he hadn’t. He couldn’t. And not just because he was angry with her, that a part of him wanted to wring that long, smooth neck of hers for keeping his son a secret from him. He knew that if he touched her, she’d work that crazy magic spell on him and make him want to stay with her, hold on to her, make love to her and never let her go. When he’d left Maysville eleven months ago after his assignment ended, he’d sworn he’d never look back. The way Leenie turned him inside out had scared the hell out of him. He’d decided a long time ago that no woman was ever again going to do a number on him. No way was he going to let Leenie twist him around her little finger.
Yeah, well, Frank old buddy, maybe Leenie knew exactly how you felt. It wasn’t as if he’d made a big secret of not wanting anything beyond a brief affair. He had told her he was not the type of guy for a committed relationship. Is it any wonder that when she found out she was pregnant, she didn’t pick up the phone and call him? She probably had serious doubts he’d be thrilled to hear he was a father-to-be.
Okay, so maybe he had to accept part of the blame. Maybe he shouldn’t take all his anger out on her.
The last time Frank had allowed anything to tear him apart inside had been twelve years ago when he’d walked in on his wife in bed with another man. They’d been married for two years and he’d been fool enough to think they were happy. He had been happy. Apparently Rita hadn’t been. She’d decided she wanted more than Frank could give her and zeroed in on her married boss, a guy twice her age. Even now, after all these years, Frank could still remember how it felt seeing their naked bodies writhing on the bed. His bed, the one he’d slept in every night with Rita. And he could almost feel the power in the repeated punches he’d inflicted on Rodney Klyce. He’d beaten the hell out of the guy, but Klyce hadn’t pressed charges. He’d wanted the whole thing kept quite because of his wife. But before Frank had packed his bags and left town, he’d called Mrs. Klyce. A bitter, vengeful thing to have done, but he’d never regretted it. He’d later heard she’d divorced Klyce and taken him for half his net worth. He’d also heard that Rita married Klyce, then divorced him a few years later and moved on to greener pastures. By now she’d probably gone through half a dozen husbands, and he could truthfully say he didn’t give a damn.
He’d been a fool about Rita, a brown-eyed beauty with flaming red hair. She’d made him forget all about his solemn vow to never marry, to never repeat his parents’ mistake. Their battle royale divorce when he was twelve should have proven to him how easily love can turn to hate and that eventually hate evolved into apathy. But learning that lesson a second time—firsthand—had seared it into both his conscious and subconscious. Love affairs were okay. Love was not. After Rita, he’d shut himself off from anything other than lust and sex. He’d thought that was all it had been with Leenie. Even when he’d realized he couldn’t get her out of his mind, couldn’t forget her, he’d halfway convinced himself that what he really couldn’t forget was the fantastic sex.
You don’t love her, he told himself. You aren’t capable of love.
But the fact that he’d gotten her pregnant and she’d given birth to his child bonded them forever, marriage or no marriage. He had a son. A two-month-old son.
Frank cursed under his breath, then pounded his fist against the doorframe. He’d never given fatherhood a thought. When he’d sworn off love and marriage, naturally he’d assumed there wouldn’t be any kids in his future and that had been fine with him. He was forty damn years old. Too old to become a first-time father.
The more he thought about the situation, the more he came to realize why Leenie hadn’t told him about Andrew. If he’d been Leenie, he wouldn’t have called him with the news. He was lousy father material. He needed to talk to her, apologize for acting like a jerk. The woman had been traumatized enough by her baby’s kidnapping and all he’d done was add to that trauma.
Just as he reached out to open the back door, Kate and Moran came outside onto the porch. He could tell by their expressions that the news wasn’t good.
“What’s happened?” Frank asked.
“Nothing new,” Kate said. “But Dante has some information he’s willing to share with you, not as Andrew’s father, but as a Dundee agent who has certain government clearances and is deemed totally trustworthy.”
“Cut the crap and lay it on the line,” Frank told her.
“It’s good news and bad news,” she said.
“We’re fairly certain we know who kidnapped your son,” Special Agent Moran said.
“What?” Frank glared at Moran.
“Not the name of a person, but an organization,” Kate said. “The good news is that the FBI is reasonably certain the woman who stole Andrew isn’t some nutcase who’ll kill him or keep him for herself.”
“And just what makes the Feds so certain?” He looked to Moran for the answer.
“We unearthed information about an infant abduction ring several years ago,” Moran said. “We’re not sure how long it’s been in operation, but we suspect at least ten years. We’re on the verge of setting up a sting operation that will lead us right to the top, to the people making big money by stealing Caucasian babies and selling them to unsuspecting couples who’ll gladly pay a hundred thousand or more for a cuddly blue-eyed, blond-haired baby.”
“Hell. Are you telling me that you think Andrew was stolen by this baby abduction ring?”
“The odds are pretty high that he’ll soon be sold to the highest bidder.”
“Son of a bitch.” Frank glowered at Kate. “And this is the good news?”
“At least there’s a good chance they’ll take care of him because he’s worth a great deal of money to them.”
In desperation Frank said, “What if we run an ad in the paper offering more than a hundred grand for Andrew’s safe return?”
“These people aren’t going to take any chances on getting caught,” Moran said. “Selling these kids to adoptive parents is easy money because it’s safe. The people who adopt these babies aren’t going to ask too many questions about where their baby came from, now are they?”
“How close are you guys to nabbing them?”
“You know I can’t tell you the details.” Moran felt in his coat pocket, then patted his shirt pocket before letting his hand fall to his side. “I quit smoking nearly a year ago, but I can’t kick the habit of reaching for one now and again.”
“How close?” Frank repeated.
“Close.”
“I want in on the sting.”
“You know that’s not possible.”
“Who are these people and where do we find them?” Frank caught the sidelong glances Kate and Moran exchanged. “There’s a good chance Andrew will be the next baby up on the auction block, so why not send me and Kate in as prospective parents?”
“We’ve got federal agents who can do that. Besides, you’re the kidnapped boy’s father. You’re too close to this to—”
Frank grabbed Moran by his lapels and hauled him close so that they were eye-to-eye.
“If it were your kid, what would you do?”
Moran, cool as a cucumber, looked directly at Frank and said, “I’d want to go in myself and get my child and then I’d want to kill every bastard involved in the abduction ring…kill them with my bare hands.”
Frank loosened his hold on Moran’s suit, then released the lapels and took a deep breath. “And some stupid federal agent would stop you.”
Moran’s lips twitched with a hint of a smile. “You know it.”
“How much can I tell Leenie?” Frank asked.
“Tell her about the abduction ring and our suspicions that Andrew was stolen by these slimeballs, but that’s it. If and when we make a move, you can tell her afterward, hopefully when we bring her son home to her.”
“She’ll be mad as hell at all of us,” Frank said.
“After the way you treated her in there, I’d say she’s already mad as hell at you,” Kate told him. “Maybe you should go back inside and talk to her, even apologize.”
“Maybe you’re right.”
Kate smiled. “Could be there’s hope for you yet, Latimer.”
Leenie ran a comb through her hair, then opened her jewelry case and removed a pair of gold and diamond earrings. She’d been wearing these the first time she’d seen Frank. He’d come into WJMM as part of the Dundee team sent to Maysville to protect Elsa Leone against death threats nearly a year ago. He and Kate had been the investigative team and they’d set up shop in Elsa’s office in the WJMM studio complex. The minute she’d met Frank, she’d wanted him. And she’d had him in record time. She had thought he’d be her first one-night stand; instead their encounter had turned out to be the first time she’d ever had sex with someone she’d just met, someone little more than a stranger. But with Frank it had seemed right not to wait. The sex had been incredible. They’d set the sheets on fire and sent off skyrockets. And the more they had sex, the more they’d wanted it. They couldn’t get enough of each other.
Leenie slipped the earrings on, then slid her fingers down the side of her neck, remembering the feel of Frank’s big, rough fingers caressing her.
While she stood staring at herself in the mirror, her eyes glazed over with memories, Haley came in and walked up behind her. “You haven’t eaten enough to keep a bird alive. Why don’t you let me make you a sandwich.”
“Food won’t help,” Leenie said. “I feel as if I eat a bite, I’ll throw it up.”
“How did things go with Frank?”
“You don’t want to know.”
“What did he do?”
“He hates me.” Leenie sighed. “And I can’t blame him. He had every right to know about his son. He doesn’t understand why I didn’t tell him I was pregnant.”
A deep male voice said, “Yes, he does understand.”
Leenie gasped when she saw Frank’s reflection in the mirror. Haley turned around and gave him a withering glare as she moved past him toward the door.
Haley paused, glanced over her shoulder and said, “See if you can get her to eat something. And if you say or do anything to upset her, you’ll answer to me.”
The minute Haley closed the door, Frank came up behind Leenie. Her breath caught in her throat. A part of her still wanted his arms around her; another part of her wanted to tell him to go away and leave her alone. She simply stood there, those stupid diamond earrings glimmering in the fading late afternoon sunlight coming through the sheer window curtains. Why had she put on these earrings? Had she thought he’d actually remember her wearing them?
“I’m sorry,” he said.
She looked at his reflection in the mirror and plainly saw the sincerity of his words in the expression on his face. And in his eyes. Those stormy-sea gray eyes that spoke volumes.
Emotion tightened her throat. She couldn’t speak, so she nodded.
He touched her then. Those big, hard hands tenderly clutched her shoulders. Don’t fall apart, she told herself. Don’t crumble and fall into his arms. He’s not here for you. He came because of Andrew.
“I know you had your reasons for not telling me you were pregnant,” he said. “You probably figured I wouldn’t relish the news of impending fatherhood.”
She inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly.
His hands tightened ever so slightly on her shoulders. “After the way we ended things, you had no reason to think I’d want to be a part of Andrew’s life.”
“I should have told you,” she finally managed to say.
“It doesn’t matter now. Finding Andrew and bringing him home is what matters. And I swear to you, Leenie, I’ll move heaven and earth to do that.”
She swallowed the tears choking her. Of its own accord her body swayed backward toward his and the minute it did, he slid his hands downward from her shoulders and wrapped his arms around her. Her back pressed against his chest and for the first time since Andrew had been kidnapped, she felt a sense of hope. Crazy as the notion was, her heart believed that Frank could keep his promise to bring their baby home to her.
“I love him so,” she said. “He’s everything…to…me.” Her shaky voice grew softer with each word as she tried in vain to keep from crying. “At first I couldn’t…cry. Now I—I can’t…seem…to stop…crying.”
Hugging her comfortingly, he lowered his head and pressed his cheek against her temple. “I wish I could cry. God knows I feel like it.”
Startled by his comment, she stiffened in his arms. Frank Latimer crying? She couldn’t imagine it. Was he saying that he cared about Andrew, even loved him? Was it possible that he was actually pleased about having a son? Or was his reaction strictly impersonal, the kind any normal person would have after learning a two-month-old baby had been kidnapped?
“I know what you’re thinking,” he said, his voice husky with emotion. “You’re wondering what kind of man I am, if I’m pleased to be a father or horrified. You’re thinking how dare he care now, after the fact. Why didn’t he call me after he left Maysville nearly a year ago? He’s a day late and a dollar short.”
As the tension drained from her body, she allowed his strength to support her. Instinct told her that despite their past history, Frank was a man she could lean on, a man she could count on when the chips were down. And God knew she needed somebody strong right now, someone who felt what she felt—the panic and terror, the excruciating pain. Only Andrew’s father could even begin to understand the depth of her feelings.
“How do you feel about having a child?” She avoided looking at his reflection in the mirror. She knew that no matter what he said, his true reaction would show on his face. She’d learned that much about him during their brief interlude. Frank Latimer did not have a poker face.
He turned her in his arms. “Look at me, Leenie.”
She lifted her gaze to meet his and saw confusion in his eyes, as well as concern.
“I’m not sure how I feel,” he admitted. “I never thought about being a father. I knew, after my divorce, that I’d never get married again. And I’m just old-fashioned enough to think a guy should get married before he fathers a child. I don’t have unsafe sex. You know that.”
“Condoms aren’t foolproof,” she told him. “And I wasn’t on the pill. Most doctors recommend another form of birth control for women after they turn thirty-five.”
“You don’t have to explain. We thought we were being careful. Responsible. Accident’s happen.”
“Is that how you think of Andrew, as an accident?” Heat suffused her face as her temper rose.
“Don’t put words in my mouth. All I’m saying is that Andrew’s conception was an accident. I just found out today that I’m a father. Give me some time to figure out what I think about having a child. You had nine months of pregnancy and two months with Andrew to figure out how you feel. Did you know immediately when you found out you were pregnant that you wanted the child, that you loved him?”
Well, he had her there. No, of course she hadn’t known immediately that she loved and wanted her baby. When she’d read the home pregnancy test, she’d panicked. And when the doctor had confirmed her condition, she’d stayed in a state of shock for days. She had even considered an abortion. But only for about two minutes.
“You’re right. I was being unfair putting you on the spot that way.”
He cupped her face with his hands. “I do know this—I care about Andrew. And I’ll do whatever it takes to bring our son home to you. Once he’s back in your arms, we’ll figure out where to go from there.”
“Fair enough.” She swallowed fresh tears.
“I realize we’re little more than strangers to each other. We had a whirlwind love affair and we spent most of our time making love, not getting acquainted.”
She nodded.
“I’d like to learn more about Andrew, if you’re willing to talk to me about him. It might help you. Hell, it might help both of us. But if you’d rather not, it’s okay.”
She pulled away from Frank, walked across the room and picked up the most recent photograph of her baby. “This was taken a few weeks ago. It’s a picture of him I took with my digital camera. I enlarged it and framed it.” She held it out to Frank.
He didn’t move for a couple of minutes, as if he were afraid of the picture. Was he wondering how his first glimpse of his son would affect him?
“He’s asleep in this picture, so you can’t see his eyes.” She moved toward Frank, the framed photograph in her hand. “He has blue eyes, like mine. And blond hair. Not much hair, mostly just baby-fine fluff.” He has your mouth, your chin and your hands and feet, she wanted to say, but didn’t. “He’s big for his age. He weighed nine pounds, five ounces, when he was born.”
Frank glanced down at the picture, then reached out and took it. He stared at the photo for what seemed like forever, then smiled and said, “He looks like you. Lucky kid.”
Leenie clenched her teeth to keep from crying.
“I guess he’ll grow up to be tall, huh, since I’m six-three and you’re—what?—five-nine or ten.” Frank looked at her.
She nodded. “He has big hands and big feet. Long toes and long fingers.” She cast her gaze on Frank’s hand holding the frame.
“Like me.” He looked at Andrew’s picture again, then handed it back to Leenie.
She placed the frame on the bedside table and slumped down on the edge of the bed. When she turned back to Frank, she noticed he was headed toward the door. Don’t leave me, she wanted to cry, please don’t leave me.
He glanced back at her. “I need to get my bag out of the rental car. I’m going to stay here with you until we find Andrew, if that’s all right.”
Her heart soared. “Yes. Yes, it’s all right with me.”
He offered her a forced smile, then opened the door.
“Thank you,” she called.
He paused momentarily, but didn’t turn or speak; then he left.
When Frank brought his bag in, Haley Wilson stopped him in the foyer. “Are you planning on staying?”
“Yeah.”
“Good.”
“Look, Ms. Wilson, if you have something to say to me, just say it.”
“All right. Leenie is one of the strongest, most independent women I know. But she’s vulnerable right now. Her whole life is hanging in the balance because Andrew is her life. I don’t know if you can understand that, but as a mother myself, I do. So, no matter what your own feelings are or how you plan to deal with things when y’all get Andrew back, right now, Leenie needs you. She needs your support and your comfort.”
“I agree.”
Haley stared at him, a puzzled expression on her face. “She hasn’t slept since the night before last and she hasn’t eaten since lunch yesterday. I’ve gotten her to drink a little tea, but that’s all. Do you think you could get her to eat?”
“Is there any cheesecake in the house?” Frank asked, remembering how they had devoured cheesecake at dawn, after a marathon lovemaking session.
Haley cocked her head sideways and smiled. “You do know a little something about her, don’t you? As for the cheesecake—I had my husband stop by the bakery and drop one by here a little while ago.”
Frank dumped his bag in the corner of the foyer. “I’ll take her a piece and make sure she eats it.” He looked directly at Leenie’s friend. “I’m going to take care of her. I promise.”
This woman had no way of knowing that Frank Latimer didn’t make promises easily, that when he made one, he kept it.
Five minutes later, Frank entered Leenie’s bedroom. He carried two slices of cheesecake and two cups of hot tea on a tray. Leenie glanced up at him from where she still sat on the edge of the bed. She clutched a damp, wrinkled handkerchief in her hand.
“Snack time.” He walked over, placed the tray on the bed and sat beside her. “Cheesecake and hot tea. Remember?”
“Yes, I remember, but I’m surprised that you do.”
He lifted one plate and fork and handed them to her. “Eat up.”
“Frank, I’m not—”
“Eat.” He picked up the other plate, sliced off a large chunk of cheesecake and slid it into his mouth. After chewing and swallowing, he sighed dramatically. “Nothing better than cheesecake, except—”
“Sex,” she finished his sentence.
Grinning, he took a second bite before placing his plate back on the tray. He eased his hand under her hand to support her plate, then lifted her fork and cut off a piece of the cheesecake and lifted it to her mouth. She parted her lips; he slid the cheesecake into her mouth. As soon as she finished one bite, he gave her another, and then another—slowly, patiently—until three-fourths of her slice was gone.
“I can’t eat anymore,” she told him.
He set her plate on the tray, then handed her the tea. While she sipped the tea, he drank his, watching her all the while. After she drained her cup, he removed the tray from the bed and placed it on the floor.
Leenie was dead on her feet, worn out from lack of sleep and the stress of not knowing where Andrew was or if he was all right. Frank realized she needed more than cheesecake and tea. She needed to rest. He scooted up in her bed until his back hit the headboard, then he reached out, grasped Leenie’s hand and tugged on it urging her to join him. They sat side-byside in her bed, their backs resting against the headboard. Frank put his arm around her shoulders and cuddled her against him.
“Would you believe I had blond hair and blue eyes when I was a baby?” he said.
“What?” Turning her head sideways, she glanced over at him.
“I had blond hair and blue eyes like Andrew. So his eyes could turn gray later on and his hair might not stay blond like yours.”
She laid her head on his shoulder. “I was bald when I was born. Well, actually, I think I had some white fuzz, but it wasn’t much. I have a couple of baby pictures that a distant relative sent me when I contacted her after I grew up and started searching for any family I might have.”
“That’s right. You grew up in foster homes, didn’t you?”
“Uh-huh. After my parents died, I got shuffled from one foster home to another, until I was fifteen and wound up with Debra and Jerry Schmale.”
“Debra? The same Debra who’s Andrew’s nanny?”
“That’s right.” Leenie yawned.
“How’s she doing after her surgery?”
“I spoke to her doctor earlier today and he said she should be able to go into a private room tomorrow. Debra’s a wonderful person, the only real mother-figure I ever had that I can remember. My own mother died when I was four and I can barely remember her.”
“I grew up in a fairly conventional family. Mom, dad and an older sister. Then when I was twelve my parents divorced. Ripped us to shreds. My sister went with Mom and I lived with Dad.”
“It must have been difficult for you.”
“Pure hell. You see, my mother had taken a lover and my father wanted to make her pay for her sins.” Frank glanced at Leenie, her eyes shut, her lips slightly parted, her breathing soft and even.
“Did you hate your mother after that?” Leenie asked, her voice hushed.
“Yeah, I hated her for a long, long time, but that’s all in the past now,” Frank said, looking at the way Leenie’s eyelids closed and realizing what she needed was sleep. He moved on to more mundane topics and Leenie melted against him as she began drifting off to sleep. He kept talking quietly until he knew she was fast asleep, then he eased her down into the bed so that her head rested in his lap. He pulled the folded quilt at the foot of the bed up and over her. While she slept, he watched her. Drank his fill of her.
He admitted to himself that he’d missed Leenie while they’d been apart. He’d missed seeing her, talking to her, having sex with her. She was the first woman since Rita who’d stirred something inside him other than lust.
But you don’t love her, Frank told himself. She’s special. She’s the mother of your child. But you do not love her.
He caressed her hair and the side of her face tenderly. “Get some rest, Slim. I’m here now. You won’t have to go through this alone.”

Chapter Four
Andrew dangled helpless over the deep, dark well, a large hand holding him by the nape of his tiny neck. The hand loosened its grip and released the baby. His frightened cries echoed in the blackness as he fell down, down, down. God, no…no…no! Leenie tried to reach out and grab her son, but her efforts were useless. All she could do was scream in terror.
“Leenie…Leenie…wake up.”
Strong masculine hands grasped her shoulders and shook her gently. She tried to fight him, fear spiraling through her alarmingly.
“Slim, it’s me—Frank. Wake up. You were having a nightmare.”
She opened her eyes suddenly and stared into Frank Latimer’s concerned gray eyes.
“Oh, Frank, it was awful. Someone dropped Andrew into a deep well. He was crying…crying for me.”
Frank pulled her up off the bed and into his arms, his strength enveloping her. She clung to him, her mind and nerves rioting. “It was just a bad dream,” he told her.
“I know.” She burrowed her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes. “But he’s out there—lost.” She lifted her head and stared at Frank. “We have to find him. Please, tell me that we can save him. Make me believe that he’s not lost to me forever.”
Frank brushed loose strands of hair out of her face. His hand lingered, his fingertips caressed. And then he withdrew. She felt the emotional withdrawal as keenly as the physical release. He eased out of bed, his back to her, and said nothing for several awkward minutes.
“Frank?”
“I’ll do everything I can, but…” He turned halfway toward her, his jaw tense, his gaze unfocused as he glared off into nothingness. “I don’t make promises I can’t keep. I’ve already sworn to you that I would move heaven and earth to bring Andrew home, and I meant it. I’ll do everything humanly possible. But the honest truth is that even though I’d do anything to rescue Andrew, I can’t promise you that I can bring him back to you safe and sound.”
Her heart lurched, then sank. This wasn’t what she’d wanted to hear. She had thought he would reinforce his earlier vow to rescue Andrew and had longed to hear him say those comforting words. Even knowing Frank wasn’t a miracle worker, she believed in him. He was her last best hope.
“What time is it?” she asked, needing the mundane to keep her sane, to take her mind out of the horrific abyss that sucked her in and kept repeating terrifying mental images of her baby’s death.
Frank glanced at his wristwatch. “Nearly fourthirty.”
“I slept quite a while.” As she stretched, every muscle in her body cried from the tension that had played havoc on her physically, mentally and emotionally.
“You needed the rest. Your friend Haley said you haven’t slept since Andrew’s abduction.” Frank glanced at the stacked empty dishes on the tray. “You should try to eat some supper later on.”
“You’re beginning to sound like a mother hen—telling me to rest and to eat.”
“It’s the training,” he told her. “Part of the regimen for looking after someone is making sure they take care of themselves. A Dundee agent is an allaround bodyguard. He or she tries to not only protect the client, but see to their well-being.”
“And am I a client? Is that how you think of me now?”
“You’re putting words in my mouth again, Slim.”
“I’m only interpreting what I hear you say.”
“You’re misinterpreting,” he said. “And you’re being argumentative. Why? Are you angry with me for some reason?”
Was she angry with him? Yes. No. Maybe.
Leenie got out of bed, rubbed the back of her sore neck and slipped on her shoes. Had Frank taken her shoes off after she’d fallen asleep? More of his allaround bodyguard duties? Was that it—the reason she suddenly felt so hostile toward him? Because he’d acted as if his kindness to her wasn’t anything personal?
“I’m angry with the world right now,” she admitted. “Besides, I believe that should be my question, not yours. After all, you’re the one who has every right to be angry and upset with me for keeping Andrew’s existence a secret from you.”
He shot her a quick glance, then looked away before he replied, “I told you before that now is not the time for us to be at cross purposes, that once Andrew is safely home will be time enough to—”
“To what? For you to tell me what you really think, how you really feel?”
“I don’t know how I feel. I don’t want to dig too deep right now.” He looked at her. “You’re hurting enough for both of us. I need to stay as detached and as unemotional as possible.”
“Can you do that? Can you be unemotional when it comes to Andrew?”
Could he actually remain detached where his own child was concerned? If so, then he certainly wasn’t the man she’d thought he was. But then again, she didn’t really know Frank Latimer. He was a stranger with whom she’d had a passionate fling. She knew without a doubt that he was an incredible lover. Considerate. Attentive. She knew he liked his coffee black, his whiskey straight and his loving frequent. But beyond the obvious, she knew nothing, except what little he’d told her today. And the same held true for him—he didn’t know who the real Lurleen Patton was.
When the silence between them became more than she could bear, she said, “Can’t you answer me?”
“What do you want me to say? Yes, I care about my son. I’m not a heartless bastard. But for God’s sake, Leenie, I haven’t even seen him or touched him or held him. And I’ve known that I’m a father for only a few hours.”
“I’m sorry. I—”
“No, I’m sorry,” he told her. “Sorry I can’t say whatever it is you need for me to say. But the more unemotional and detached I can be, the clearer my thinking, the more logical I’ll act and react. Don’t you see—”
“I see. I see a man who’s afraid to feel. You don’t want to love Andrew. You don’t want to love anybody because sometimes love hurts.”
Clenching her teeth in an effort not to burst into fresh tears, Leenie rushed toward the door, wanting to get away from Frank. But he caught up with her just as she reached for the doorknob. He grasped her arm. She stopped and glared at him.
“There it is again,” he said. “Anger. You’re angry with me. Want to tell me why? I’ve tried to be honest with you, so how about being honest with me?”
She jerked her arm loose and took a step backward, but she kept her gaze boldly glued to his. “You want honesty? All right. I kept Andrew a secret from you because I didn’t know how you’d react. I was half afraid you’d want to take him away from me and half afraid you’d tell me you didn’t give a damn. But your reaction is somewhere in between and I can’t figure you out. I feel like a fool for having gotten myself pregnant by a man I don’t even know. And a part of me is angry because on some completely stupid female level I needed you to care—really care. Not just about Andrew, but about me. I needed you to not be detached and unemotional.”
They stood there staring at each other for several minutes until the silence stretched tautly and the tension mounted.
A solid, repetitive knock on the door snapped the tension and ended the silence.
“Frank?” Kate Malone called.
Frank opened the door. “Yeah, what is it?”
“Moran wants to talk to you and Dr. Patton.”
“Has something happened?” Leenie asked.
“No bad news,” Kate said. “He just wants to go over some things with y’all.”
Frank held the door open while Leenie walked into the hall and joined Kate, then he followed behind them, down the hall and into the living room. Only Dante Moran occupied the room, which made Leenie wonder where the other FBI agents were and if Haley was still here.
“Come on in,” Moran said. “Please. We need to talk.”
“Is Haley—?”
“Mrs. Wilson went home,” Kate replied. “She said if you need her, to call her. The house was getting a little crowded, what with two Dundee agents and several FBI agents.”
“Where are the other agents?” Leenie asked.
“From here on out, they’ll work in shifts. We have your phone tapped and we’re fully prepared to act at a moment’s notice,” Moran said. “The crucial first twenty-four hours has ended.” When Leenie stared at him quizzically, he continued. “If the kidnapper is going to demand a ransom, the family usually hears something within the first twenty-four hours.”
Kate answered Leenie’s next question before she asked it. “Which means that more than likely Andrew was not kidnapped for ransom money, but for another reason.”
“How will we know if the woman who stole him kept him, that she wanted him for herself?” Wasn’t that the best case scenario for a kidnapping? Leenie wondered.
“We can’t know for sure.” Moran cut a sideways glance at Frank. “Did you tell her about the abduction ring?”
“What abduction ring?” Leenie’s heart skipped a beat.
Frank shook his head. “I didn’t get a chance to tell her.”
“What abduction ring?” Leenie repeated her question.
“The bureau is aware that there is an infant abduction ring operating in the South and it is possible that your baby was taken in order to sell him,” Moran told her.
“Sell him? You mean—”
“Sell him to people who desperately want to adopt a child,” Kate explained. “Unfortunately there is a shortage of white infants and some people are willing to pay an exorbitant amount in order to procure a child through any means necessary.”
“They’re willing to buy a child that’s been stolen from a loving home?” Leenie looked from Kate to Moran, but she couldn’t bring herself to make eye contact with Frank.
“In all fairness, these people are told that the children have been willingly given up by parents who don’t want them and these adoptive parents want a child so much that they kid themselves into believing whatever they need to believe.” Kate put her hand on Leenie’s shoulder. “Don’t give up hope. Don’t ever give up hope.”
Having noted a peculiar tone in Kate’s voice, Leenie studied her for several moments. The two women exchanged silent confidences and unspoken pain. Without truly understanding, Leenie knew that at some time in her life Kate Malone had suffered an intolerable loss, perhaps the loss of a child. She reached up and covered Kate’s hand with her own. “I won’t give up.” She squeezed Kate’s hand, then turned to Frank. “From now on, please don’t keep anything from me. I’m not some weak, trembling female who can’t handle the truth. Yes, I’ve been crying a great deal and I’m scared out of my mind and I’ll gladly lean on anybody who’ll let me. But do not treat me as if I’m a child myself. Do I make myself clear?”
Frank glowered at her for a split second. “Yeah. Crystal clear.” Looking as if she’d slapped him, Frank darted a glance from Moran to Kate, then grumbled, “I need a breath of fresh air.”
“And I need a smoke,” Moran said, “but I’ll settle for some of that cold fresh air outside.”
As soon as the two men disappeared into the kitchen, presumably to go out on the porch or into the backyard, Kate turned to Leenie and offered a comforting smile.
“Cut Frank some slack,” Kate advised. “Basically he’s a good guy. It’s just that discovering he’s a father has thrown him for a loop. You may think Andrew’s kidnapping isn’t as hard on him as it is you, but it probably is. Maybe even more so.”
“How do you figure that?”
“Because he’s thinking that if—just if, mind you—Andrew isn’t rescued, then he’ll never see his son or hold him or get the chance to love him.”
“And I have seen him and held him and loved him.”
“Look, this is none of my business. Not really.” Kate clicked her tongue. “Want some advice from a busybody?”
Leenie wanted to ask Kate the question that hung heavily between them—did you lose a child?—but she didn’t ask. “I’m taking my frustration out on Frank, aren’t I? And I shouldn’t. Isn’t that what you were going to say?”
“Something like that.” Kate nodded. “Frank’s not the enemy.”
“Who is the enemy? Someone who might still call and ask for ransom? Some crazy woman who stole my baby for herself? Some maniac who kills babies? Or the money-hungry abduction ring who steals babies and sells them?”
“We don’t know which. Not yet.”
“When will we know?”
Kate closed her eyes for a millisecond as if she’d suddenly experienced a pain too agonizing to bear, then she took a deep, cleansing breath and replied, “I don’t know the answer to that either. We may find out tomorrow. Or next week. Or maybe never.” She reached out and grabbed Leenie’s shoulders. “But no matter how long it takes, do not give up. Don’t ever let anyone convince you to give up.”
Before Leenie could respond, Kate released her and walked away, mumbling something about needing to go to the bathroom as she disappeared down the hall.
Leenie sank down into the nearest chair, leaned over, propped her elbows on her knees and cupped her face with her open palms. Sitting there alone, the house eerily quiet, she said one more prayer.
Please, dear God, keep Andrew safe and bring him home to me. Home to me and Frank.
Kate handed Moran a cup of coffee, then poured one for herself and sat down across the kitchen table from him. “Where did Frank go?” she asked.
“For a walk down the street. He said to tell you he’d be back in a little while.”
Kate studied Dante Moran, a dark, compellingly handsome man, with danger written all over him. She didn’t think she’d ever met such a cool character and she’d known her share of self-confident, powerful men. Her ex-husband had been rich, powerful and arrogant in a way only someone born and bred into wealth and power can be. Most of the time she managed not to think about Trent Winston. Trenton Bayard Winston IV. But this kidnapping case had brought back all the old and painful memories. It was only natural that she’d think about Trent, wasn’t it, and wonder how he was doing? She hadn’t seen him in nearly eleven years. Not since—
“How’s she holding up?” Moran nodded toward the living room.
“Dr. Patton? She’s doing okay, considering her child is missing and that child’s father is trying to help her and probably saying and doing all the wrong things.”
“Men are like that.” Moran’s lips twitched with a hint of humor.
“Yes, you are. All of you.”
“Including your ex?”
“How’d you know—You didn’t, did you? Not until I reacted. And before you ask, I do not want to talk about him or about it.”
“It?” Moran cocked an inquisitive eyebrow.
“It. The divorce. What about you, Moran—got an ex-wife and a less than pleasant divorce you don’t want to talk about?”
“No marriages. No divorces.”
“Hmm-mmm.”
“And before you ask—”
“Why is a guy who’s decidedly over thirty-five never been married?”
“Yeah, that’s the question I don’t want you to ask.” He actually grinned.
“Being a woman, my guess would be either unrequited love and you’re still hoping to eventually woo and win her…or you loved and lost and—” A flicker of something incomprehensible danced in Moran’s black eyes, coming and going so quickly that she could have imagined it. But she hadn’t. Loved and lost. That was it. Moran’s it that he couldn’t bear to talk about, the way her divorce from Trent was her unbearable it.
Moran sipped on his coffee. Kate did the same.
The phone rang and both of them tensed.
He got up and rushed into the living room. Kate quickly followed. Leenie stood by the phone, allowing it to ring, and looked to Moran for direction the minute she saw him. He nodded and motioned for her to answer the phone.
Although Leenie’s hand trembled as she lifted the receiver, her voice was steady when she said, “This is Dr. Lurleen Patton.” Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. She gasped, then responded, “No, thank you, I’m not interested in a free vacation.” She slammed down the receiver.
Kate released the breath she’d unknowingly been holding. “It’s after five. Why don’t I put together some sandwiches for us?”
“I—I’ll help you,” Leenie offered. “God knows I need something to do. I’m on the verge of losing my mind.”
“Do you need anything from the store?” Kate asked. “If you do, I’ll give Frank a call on his cell phone and tell him to—”
“Is Frank not back yet?” Leenie asked.
“Not yet,” Kate told her.
“Then please call him. I’d like to speak to him.” Leenie motioned for Kate to come with her into the kitchen.
“You two go ahead,” Moran said. “I should check in with headquarters.”
Once they were in the kitchen, Kate dialed Frank’s cell number. He answered on the first ring.
“Latimer.”
“Frank, it’s Kate.”
“What’s up? Anything wrong?”
“Nothing new. But Leenie wants to talk to you.”
“She does?”
“Yes, she does.” Kate held out the phone to Leenie.
She grasped the phone, inhaled and exhaled then said, “Kate and I are going to make sandwiches for supper. They should be ready in about fifteen minutes. Would you please come home and eat with us. Afterward, I want to show you Andrew’s photo album and if you’d like to know more about him, I want to tell you about your son.”
Kate turned her head and willed herself not to cry. It had been ages since she’d shed a tear. At one time she had thought she’d cried herself dry, that there were no more tears left in her. But every once in a while something happened—usually a case involving a kidnapped child—that stirred long dead emotions within her. Years ago when she’d been a rookie cop on the Atlanta P.D., she’d worked with Ellen Denby and marveled at how the woman could keep a cool head and deal with the toughest cases involving children. But as the years went by and she and Ellen had exchanged confidences, she had learned that they shared a similarly tragic experience which enabled them to understand each other in a way no one else could. Just as Kate understood Leenie as only a mother who’d also had a child stolen from her could understand.
Kate offered to clear up the dishes and surprisingly Moran stayed in the kitchen to help her. Leenie felt as if she’d made a new friend in Kate and understood on an unspoken level that perhaps Kate had suffered once just as she suffered now. She realized she could be wrong about Kate, but her feminine intuition—her gut instincts—told her she was right. Sometime in her past, Kate Malone had lost a child.
Frank had been awfully quiet while they ate sandwiches, chips and cheesecake. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten cheesecake twice in one day. Oh yes she did remember—it had been the last time she’d made love with Frank. They’d had cheesecake for breakfast and again for lunch.
Alone together in the living room, Frank and she sat side by side on the sofa while she opened Andrew’s baby book, filled with photographs and memorabilia from her pregnancy and Andrew’s first two months of life. When Frank made no effort to close the gap between their bodies—the two feet that separated them—she took the initiative and scooted up next to him, hip-to-hip. He flinched, then stiffened. What was wrong with him? She wasn’t going to attack him, for pity’s sake. She laid the book in her lap and flipped it open so the other side dropped down on his thigh.
“Here’s a picture of me at my baby shower,” Leenie said. “Elsa came back to Maysville to help Haley host the event.”
Frank glanced at the picture, but said nothing.
“I was big as a barrel there. I gained thirty pounds.”
“Elsa and Rafe knew you were pregnant?”
“Yes, they knew. And before you get all huffy at Rafe, Elsa threatened him with divorce if he called and told you. She tried to talk me into getting in touch with you, but once she realized she couldn’t persuade me, she promised me that neither she nor Rafe would call you because it wasn’t their place to tell you.”
“You’re right. It was your place.”
“I thought we’d already agreed that I made a mistake in not informing you I was pregnant with your child. Do we have to continue beating a dead horse?”
Frank glanced at the photo again. “You look happy.”
“I was happy.” She tried to smile. “Fat and happy.”
“You were beautiful pregnant. Fat and beautiful.” He grinned, but didn’t make eye contact.
“I got even fatter,” she told him. “I was only seven and a half months in that picture.” She flipped through the pages, slowing on each page long enough for him to glance at it. When she reached the page with Andrew’s birth announcement and the first photo of him taken at the hospital, Frank clamped the page open with his big hand.
“Were you alone when he was born or did—”
“Haley was with me.”
“I should have been with you.”
“Yes. And it’s my fault you weren’t.”
“No, it was only partly your fault. And it was partly my own damn fault.”
“Well, at least we can agree on something—that there’s enough blame to share.”
When Leenie heard a phone ring, she tensed. It had to be either Kate’s or Moran’s cell phone since the ringing came from the kitchen and it wasn’t her private line.
“It’s not necessarily bad news,” Frank told her.
“I know. It’s just that I—”
The kitchen door swung open; Kate walked in and looked right at Frank. “Moran wants to see you in the kitchen for a minute.”
“What’s wrong?” Leenie asked. “And don’t tell me it’s nothing. I can sense something has happened.”
“You’re right,” Kate admitted, then called into the kitchen. “We’re telling them both, Moran. Leenie needs to know, too. Right now.”
Oh, God, what was it? What had happened?
Moran came out of the kitchen and stood in the open doorway. He glanced from Frank to Leenie, shuffled his feet and said, “I got a call from Chief Bibb.”
“And?” Frank asked.
Moran hesitated. “They…er…they found a body.”
Leenie gasped. Frank put his arm around her waist and held her.
“A baby?” Frank asked.
“Yes. An infant. A boy. Age estimated at one to three months.”
“Oh, God, no!” Leenie screamed and suddenly everything went black.

Chapter Five
Frank wasn’t the type of man easily affected by a woman’s tears, swooning spells or temper tantrums. He’d seen it all as a kid—watching his mother, who’d been an expert in feminine wiles, manipulate his father time and again. And he’d learned from that very same father how to harden his heart and shut off his emotions. The only time he’d ever let his defenses down had been with Rita. Bad mistake. Not one he’d repeated. But damn it, catching Leenie in his arms when she fainted dead away had stirred up some unwanted emotions inside him. She wasn’t playing him, wasn’t putting on an act in an effort to control him. Her actions were real, brought on by true and honest feelings. All he’d wanted to do at that moment was hold and comfort her, protect her from the ugly truth and reassure her that she wasn’t alone. And here they were an hour later at the police morgue and still all he wanted to do was protect her, take care of her, shield her from more pain. Already this woman—the mother of his child—had somehow managed to sneak past his defenses and make him vulnerable. He hated feeling vulnerable; it was an alien concept to him.
“You shouldn’t have come down here.” Chief Bibb cleared his throat as his gaze dropped from Leenie’s pale face to the tile floor beneath his feet. “We can get an ID on the body without—”
Leenie gasped quietly. When he felt her stiffen, Frank tightened his grip on her waist. “Andrew’s pediatrician or even Haley Wilson could ID the child,” Frank said softly. “Why put yourself through this ordeal when it might not even be Andrew?”
“Either way, I have to do this,” Leenie said.
Frank studied her, noting the tension in her body and the grave expression on her face.
“No, you don’t have to do this.” If Frank had been given the chance to know his son, a chance to have been a father from the moment Andrew was born, then he could have come on his own to ID the infant’s body. He assumed that in most cases such as this, the father was the one who went to the morgue and put himself through hell in order to protect the child’s mother. If only he could do that for Leenie. But he couldn’t.
“Yes, Frank, I do have to do this,” Leenie told him. “If it isn’t Andrew, I need to see that for myself. And if it is…if it is, then I’ll know he’s dead. I won’t spend the rest of my life wondering.”
“But if it is Andrew, you’ll never be able to forget—”
Kate laid her hand on Frank’s back. “Don’t try to stop her. She has to do this.” Kate reached over and patted Leenie’s arm. “I understand how you feel. It’s worse not knowing one way or the other, holding on to hope when everyone tells you there is none, than it is having to face the certainty of your child’s death.”
Leenie clenched her teeth tightly, barely containing her overwrought emotions, then nodded agreement to Kate’s comment.
“We’re ready,” Frank told the coroner, a bald, middle-aged doctor named Huggins.
Securing his arm around her waist, Frank walked with Leenie into the cold, dimly lit room. Dr. Huggins, who had preceded them, walked over to the steel table where a white sheet covered the tiny body. Silence permeated every square inch of the area. Frank heard only his own breathing moments before Leenie sighed aloud. He tightened his grip on her hand. She looked at him, fear and uncertainty in her eyes.
“We’ll do this together,” he told her.
She nodded.
“All right,” Frank said to Dr. Huggins.
The coroner removed the sheet, revealing the small, lifeless body. Frank wanted to pull Leenie back, to rush her out of the room and away from the possible heartache facing her. But she forged ahead, then stopped abruptly to gaze down at the infant’s discolored corpse.
Leenie’s hand flew to her mouth as she gasped loudly. “Oh, God. God!”
Frank’s heart lurched to his throat. His pulse accelerated. No, please, no, he prayed silently, the plea a gut-level reaction. But he couldn’t bring himself to look at the infant.
Leenie gasped for air. “It’s not him. It’s not Andrew.”
Frank had never known such overwhelming relief. It was then—in that unparalleled moment of thankfulness—that he experienced a personal epiphany. Without ever having seen or held his child, he knew he loved Andrew. And he wanted a chance to be a father to his son.
Kate uttered a loud, gasping sigh. Frank blew out a deep breath. Leenie turned to Frank, a bittersweet smile on her face, and flung herself into his open arms. He held her, stroking her back, comforting her, as she clung to him for dear life. She wept. Only for a few moments. Quietly. But her body trembled uncontrollably long after she stopped crying.
Finally Frank managed to turn her around and head her toward the door. “Let’s go home.”
She allowed him to escort her from the room and into the outer office where Chief Bibb and Special Agent Moran waited.
“I’ll get the car and bring it around to the front door,” Kate said as she hurried away.
No one said another word as Frank led Leenie across the room. When they reached the door, she paused and spoke softly to the police chief. “Ryan, when you find out the child’s identity, would you please let us know. I—I want to send my condolences to the family.”
As long as she lived, she would never forget the image of that tiny infant lying on the cold, steel table. Somewhere out there another mother had lost a child. The only difference between that woman and Leenie was that this other woman had no hope. Her baby boy was dead.
Frank probably didn’t understand why she’d pulled away from him the moment they returned to her house or why she’d hurried into the bathroom and locked the door. He had called to her several times, asking her if she was all right and if there was anything he could do for her. But she hadn’t responded. Wouldn’t. Couldn’t. As much as she needed Frank, as desperately as she wanted him close, she had to be alone right now. Alone to cry. Alone to die a thousand deaths in her heart and soul. Alone to work through the wild, mixed emotions she could barely control.
Even before the unknown infant’s body had been found, Leenie had felt as if she were on the verge of losing her mind. Although Frank and Kate and Haley had forced her to go through the motions of living, she really didn’t feel alive. She felt numb one minute and on fire with terror the next. She wanted to crawl into a hole and die. And at the same time she wanted to run and scream and beat her fists against the wall. It was as if she were dead and alive. Numb and oversensitive. Subdued and crazed. All simultaneously.
After closing the lid, Leenie sat down on the commode and crossed her arms over her chest. She sat there and cried. Soft sobs. A steady stream of tears cascaded down her face. There was an ache inside her that hurt so bad she could barely breathe.
“Oh, Andrew…Andrew.”
Frank lifted his hand to knock on the bathroom door again. He’d knocked several times half an hour ago and pleaded with Leenie to answer him, to let him help her. But when she hadn’t responded, he’d finally left her alone. He had talked to Kate for a few minutes, then spent the past twenty minutes alone in his son’s nursery. He had run his fingers over the hand-painted mural on the wall—a Noah’s Ark scene. The walls were a pale blue, the ceiling covered with fluffy clouds and a host of stuffed animals and infant toys lined the floor-to-ceiling shelves. A magic room for a much-loved baby boy.
“Leave her alone.” Kate stood in the doorway to Leenie’s bedroom.
Frank whirled around to face Kate. “What?”
“Leave Leenie alone. She’ll come out when she’s ready. You’ll have plenty of time to comfort her then, when she needs you. Right now, she needs to hide away.”
He didn’t know Kate all that well, but had heard the speculations about her that abounded around the Dundee office. “What makes you the expert?” he asked.
“I’m a woman.”
“Okay, if being a woman makes you an expert on all things female, then tell me this—why is it that Leenie pulls me to her with one hand and pushes me away with the other? She’s blowing hot and cold. I don’t know what she wants.”
“Believe me, you men are just as big a puzzle to us as we are to you.” Kate motioned for him to come toward her. “Let’s wait for Leenie in the living room. Eventually she’ll come out and that’s when you can play knight in shining armor again. Just wait for the signals. A smart man knows when to advance and when to retreat.”
“I’m not smart when it comes to women,” Frank admitted, following Kate down the hall and into the living room. “I’m bad at relationships.”
They sat down on the sofa. Kate curled up sideways, her waist and lower back supported by the sofa arm. Frank pressed his shoulders into the back of the couch, then crossed one leg over the other knee.
“Your personal life is none of my business. But if you care about Leenie, and I think you do, then ask yourself just how serious you are about a relationship with her. Don’t let her believe she can count on you for the long haul if you’re just in this until we find Andrew.”
Good advice. Hell, great advice. “What if I don’t know how I feel or what I want for the future? For now, I want to bring Andrew home. I want to protect Leenie and support her through this ordeal. But…” He shook his head. “I want to be a father to my son.”
Kate looked him right in the eye. “But not a husband to your son’s mother?”
“You’re not one for being subtle, are you?”
“No. I think there’s no use beating around the bush. Right? Let’s call a spade a spade. You no doubt have your reasons for being afraid of love, of committed relationships. And whatever those reasons are, I don’t want or need to know. But Leenie has a right to know why.”
“Maybe Leenie doesn’t care,” Frank said. “You’re assuming she wants something permanent with me. Just because we had a child together and right now she needs me doesn’t mean she wants a future with me.”
“Have you ever thought of just asking her?”
Frank shook his head. “Nope. I’ve found the direct approach seldom works with women.”
Kate made a face, then huffed. “What sort of women have you been dating? Or did one woman do a number on you years ago and now you paint us all with the same brush?”
The truth stung just a tad, but Frank managed to halfway smile at her comment.
Kate opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Frank’s cell phone rang. Grateful for the reprieve—he’d figured Kate was about to dish out some more feminine advice or dig deeper into his past personal life—Frank whipped the phone from his pocket and hit the on button.
“Latimer here.”
“Yeah, this is Special Agent Moran. We’ve got a possible break in the Andrew Patton case.”
Frank went stiff, his body tense, his breathing momentarily halted. “Have you found him?”
“Sorry, no,” Moran replied. “But the abduction ring we’ve infiltrated is putting up a new infant for adoption. In Tennessee. Memphis to be exact. The baby is male. Blond hair. Blue eyes. Approximately two to three months old. We’re making plans now to send in a couple of agents as prospective parents.”
“You can’t nab the kid right then and there can you?”
“You know we can’t. So maybe it’s better if you don’t share this info with Ms. Patton, unless you’re sure she can handle it.”
“I’ll talk things over with Kate before I decide whether or not to tell Leenie,” Frank said. “Keep us posted, will you?”
“Yeah, I will. I know he’s your kid and…well…I’ll keep you updated.”
“Thanks.”
Frank understood that these agents, disguised as hopeful, adoptive parents, would simply go in for a first meeting, but wouldn’t make any arrests or do anything to alert the top bananas in the abduction ring that the feds were on to them. From what Moran had told Frank, the bureau had been building this case for quite some time, working toward the moment when everything fell together just right. They wanted more than the peons in this dirty business—they wanted the kingpins. The only way to shut down the ring permanently was to destroy it from the top.
After returning his cell phone to his pocket, Frank turned to Kate. “Moran says there’s a new infant on the adoption block. Words out from the association the Feds have been investigating that they have a blond-haired, blue-eyed infant ready for adoption.”
Kate sucked in her breath. “And they’re sending in federal agents posing as a couple desperate to adopt a child, right?”
“Right.”
Rubbing the back of his neck, Frank paced around the room. His paternal instincts warred with his logical, trained warrior mind. As a father, he didn’t give a damn about anything but rescuing his son. But the Dundee agent in him, as well as the Army Special Forces training that was such a fundamental part of him, acknowledged that the mission outweighed any personal needs. The FBI’s mission was not only to return Andrew Patton—unharmed—to his parents, but to destroy a malicious infant adoption ring that had been operating in the Southern states for over a decade.
“She won’t understand, will she?” Frank said, his back to Kate.
“No, she won’t understand.”
“Then I shouldn’t tell her. Moran thinks it best not to tell her.”
“Moran doesn’t have anything personal to lose by not telling Leenie.” Kate said. “You do.”
“Do I?”
“You tell me.”
“I’m willing to bet that once Andrew is back in her arms safe and sound, she’ll be willing to forgive me for just about anything.”
“Don’t count on it. If she ever finds out—”
“If I ever find out what?” Leenie’s voice rang out loud and clear from the other side of the room.
Frank snapped around to face her. A wide-eyed Kate glanced from Frank to Leenie and then back to Frank.
“Is it something about Andrew?” Leenie asked, hope in her voice.
Frank grimaced. “Nothing concrete.”
“What does that mean?”
Frank looked at Kate, wanting her to say something—anything—to defuse this ticking time bomb before it exploded. One of them had to give Leenie an explanation. Kate looked at him, her expression telling him that she thought it should be him.
Hell, now what was he supposed to do? “It means that the FBI have a lead in the case, but—”
“What sort of lead?” Leenie entered the living room, her face freshly washed, her eyes slightly swollen.
She’d been crying, Frank realized. And now she was approaching him, all but begging him with every look, every move, every word to give her a thread of hope to cling to. “A blue-eyed, blond infant has been put up for adoption in Memphis. His general description fits Andrew—”
“We have to go to Memphis right now,” Leenie said emphatically. “Where do they have him? Has Special Agent Moran sent someone to get him? Oh, Frank, this is wonderful news. Andrew is safe and—”
Frank grabbed her by the shoulders. She gasped as her startled gaze met his.
“We don’t know that it’s Andrew,” Frank said.
“But it might be.” She offered him a fragile smile. “It has to be.”
“We’ll know soon enough.” He squeezed her shoulders, then eased his hands down her arms, caressing and comforting.
“How soon? Tonight? First thing in the morning? How long do we have to wait?”
“It could be a while.” His gut instincts told him that this was not going to go well. Leenie was in no mood to listen to reason. Hell, who could blame her?
She jerked free of his hold and glared at him. “How long is a while? And why do we have to wait? If it’s Andrew—and I have to believe that it is—why won’t the FBI bring him home to me immediately?”
Frank let out a sigh of relief when Kate injected, “Things are never that simple with the feds. There are procedures to follow, agendas that have to be—”
“No, I don’t want you to explain.” Leenie held up her hand in a stop signal. “I want Frank to tell me why he isn’t moving heaven and earth to get his hands on Andrew and bring him home to me.” Narrowing her eyes to slits, she skewered Frank with her angry glare.
Frank cleared his throat, then took a step toward Leenie. Easing backward, she held both hands in front of her, a gesture that warned him not to come any closer.
“Dammit, Slim, don’t you think I want that baby to be Andrew? Don’t you think I want to drive to Memphis and be the one to go in there and tell those slimeballs that I want to adopt the baby and then get him away from them as quickly as possible?”
“Then why don’t you? Why can’t we pose as the people wanting to adopt Andrew, then—”
“Moran will send in a couple of federal agents,” Frank told her.
Leenie nodded. “All right. And if the baby is Andrew?”
“If these people supposedly representing the birth parents have the baby with them, they’re not going to release him immediately to the adoptive couple. A price will have to be agreed on and a second meeting set up to sign legal documents and exchange cash for the infant.”
“What are you not telling me?”
Frank swallowed. Damn! She wasn’t going to let this go until she knew everything. “It’s complicated. The feds have a major case going on, something they’ve been putting together for quite some time. In order to bring down the ringleaders of the infant abduction ring, they can’t do anything that might tip off these people and that includes grabbing this particular infant before the time is right. The entire procedure could take several days, maybe even several weeks.”
“I see.”
No, she didn’t. She didn’t see, didn’t understand. And she hated him. It was all there in her eyes, in the cold, distant expression.
“Leenie…”
“The FBI has its own agenda and if Andrew gets lost in the shuffle, too bad. He’s just one baby out of hundreds, right? What difference does it make if they lose him as long as they save all the others?”
“That’s not the way it is.” Frank held out his hands to her.
“Yes, it is. You don’t have a problem going along with Special Agent Moran’s plans, do you? You see the big picture, whereas I see only the little picture. Andrew. My son is all that matters to me. Call me selfish and uncaring of other people’s feelings, but all I want is my baby! And if Andrew meant a damn thing to you, he would be all that mattered to you.”
“Leenie, give Frank a break,” Kate said. “His hands are tied. Moran is in charge and no matter how much Frank and I would like to rush in and grab this baby—be he Andrew or not—we can’t. We won’t. If we did, we might not only jeopardize the child’s life, but we would definitely jeopardize the bureau’s operation that is on the verge of—”
“To hell with the bureau’s operation. I want my baby! And I’m going to get him.” She glowered at Frank. “With or without your help.”
Frank glanced at Kate. God help them, Leenie was irrational.
When Leenie ran into her bedroom, Frank turned to Kate. “What do I do now?”
“Be patient and understanding.”
“Should I go in there and—”
“No, leave her alone. Let her calm down. I’ll check on her in a little while.”
Two minutes later Leenie came barreling out of her bedroom. Wearing a black winter coat and carrying her black shoulder bag, she stormed past Kate and Frank on her mad dash to the front door.
“Where are you going?” Frank called to her.
“Where do you think? I’m going to Memphis!”
Frank groaned. Damn it! She’d completely lost it. She wasn’t thinking straight. She had no idea where Moran was or where the meeting tomorrow would take place.
“Leenie, come back,” he told her when she yanked open the front door.
Ignoring him completely, she rushed outside. Frank ran after her, catching up with her on the sidewalk. When he grabbed her arm, she turned on him, a snarl on her lips and maternal rage shining in her eyes.
“Don’t do this,” he said. “Slim, pull yourself together. You have no idea where to go in Memphis. And Moran is not going to tell you or me or Kate. Whether we like it or not, all we can do is wait.”
“No, dammit, no!” She hurled herself at him, her fists pounding against his chest. “I want my baby. I want Andrew.”
He allowed her to vent her anger, frustration and fear by pummeling him repeatedly. When her blows became nothing more than unsteady, weak strikes, he grabbed her and pulled her into his arms. She sank into him. Exhausted. Soul weary. He held her with a fierce protective strength, wanting nothing more in life than to ease her pain.
“We’ll get him back,” Frank said.
Burrowing against him, her head on his shoulder, she clung to him. And after several minutes, she lifted her head just enough to gaze into his eyes. He hadn’t realized he’d gotten emotional until she reached up, caressed the side of his face and then wiped away a lone tear from his cheek.

Chapter Six
Making love should always be this wonderful, this intense. Every fiber of her being felt Frank’s touch. What had begun with soft gentleness quickly progressed to ravaging hunger. She needed him—wanted him—as a woman wants only that one special man. For her, Frank Latimer was that man.
His mouth was hot and demanding. His tongue probed, then plunged. The kiss consumed her, possessed her. Her body surrendered to the pleasure, reveling in the luscious abandonment. How long had she waited to be with him again? It seemed like forever. Frank was special, different from any other man she’d ever known. They fit together so perfectly and had from the first time they’d made love, as if they were old lovers who had long ago memorized every inch of each other’s bodies. He had touched her physically and emotionally on a level she’d never experienced.
He rose up and over her, his big naked body magnificent, his erection projecting outward boldly. As he settled between her thighs, she caressed his sex. He shuddered. She smiled, loving the power she possessed to arouse him unbearably. He allowed her to pet him for a few moments, then eased out of her grasp and probed her body, seeking entrance. Opening herself up to his invasion, she cried out when he entered her, the sensation so satisfying. She loved the feel of him inside her. Big. Hard. Hot.
She looked up at him. He tossed back his head and closed his eyes. Instinctively she lifted herself and wrapped her legs around his hips, bringing him deeper inside her, increasing his pleasure and hers. He groaned. She sighed.
“I can’t get enough of you, Slim.” He whispered the words as he nuzzled her ear.
“I know the feeling.” She kissed his neck.
He withdrew, then plunged deep and hard, burying himself completely inside her. He alternated deep thrusts with heated kisses and damp, demanding forays to her breasts. She tingled from inside out, on fire for him. The tension inside her built gradually, increasing with each earthy, erotic word he spoke. His grunts and moans mingled with an occasional, barely discernable graphic phrase. He told her what he wanted and what he was going to do to her. She responded with incoherent mumbles and escalating desire.
The urges inside her grew in intensity. Not yet, I want it to last longer, a part of her begged, while another part of her demanded, Now, damn it, now. It’s too good to wait.
What was that ringing noise? she wondered. And where was it coming from? Hadn’t she unplugged the phone in her bedroom as she usually did when she and Frank were together? Go away, she wanted to scream. Leave us alone. We’ve waited such a long time to be together again.
The ringing continued.
Leenie’s eyelids popped open. She groaned when she realized she’d been asleep and only dreaming of being with Frank. It had seemed so real, so breathtakingly real.
Suddenly the telephone stopped ringing. Groggy, her mouth dry as cotton, her head filled with cobwebs, she forced herself into a sitting position. She still wore the clothes she’d had on the evening before, including her shoes.
What time was it? How long had she been asleep? Leenie glanced at the lighted digital clock on the bedside table—7:40 a.m.
As she slid her feet off the bed and onto the floor, yesterday’s events flooded her memory. She and Frank had argued about rescuing Andrew. She had been damned and determined to go to Memphis, totally irrational, uncaring that she wouldn’t have known where to go once she arrived there.
She had taken her frustration and rage out on Frank. She had actually hit him. Repeatedly. And he’d just stood there and let her vent, let her pound his chest with her fists. How could she have done such a thing? She’d never been a violent person.
Oh, Frank, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.
She vaguely remembered him lifting her up into his arms and carrying her back into the house and…What had happened next? He had laid her on this bed, then Kate had sat with her, talking softly, assuring her that everything possible would be done to bring Andrew home. And then someone gave her an injection? Who? Had Frank called a doctor? Why couldn’t she remember clearly?
An insistent rapping on the closed door drew Leenie’s attention. “Yes?”
“May I come in?” Kate Malone asked.
“Yes, please.” She needed to ask Kate some questions and find out what had happened to her yesterday evening.
Looking like morning sunshine in her brown dress slacks and gold sweater set, her long blond hair neatly restrained in a loose bun at her neck, Kate entered the bedroom. “How are you feeling this morning?”
“Like I’ve been drugged.”
“You were.”
Leenie lifted a questioning eyebrow.
Kate smiled. “Forgive us?”
“What are you asking forgiveness for?” Leenie asked.
“You were hysterical, then emotionally wiped out. We couldn’t get you to stop crying, so Frank and I agreed that you needed a doctor. We phoned Haley Wilson and she arranged for her physician to make a house call.”
“It was Haley’s doctor who came to the house? I guess that’s the reason I didn’t recognize him.”
“She tried your doctor first, but he was out of town.”
“What did Haley’s doctor give me—an elephant tranquilizer?”
Kate chuckled. “Are you that hungover?”
Leenie rubbed either side of her forehead with her fingertips. “I feel as if I’ve been run down by a Mack truck.”
“Despite that fact, are we forgiven?”
Somehow Leenie managed to get up. When Kate came toward her, she nodded. “You’re forgiven. And I’m okay. I don’t need any help. However, I do need a shower.” She glanced down at herself. “And I need a change of clothes.”
“We thought it best to just let you—”
“We? You and Haley? Or you and Frank?”
“All three of us.”
“Where is Frank?”
“That was him on the phone. I tried to get to it before the ringing woke you, but—”
“Frank isn’t here?”
“No, he left last night, as soon as you went off to sleep.”
“I guess I can’t blame him for leaving. I said some terrible things to him.”
Kate reached out and took Leenie’s hands in hers. “He didn’t leave because of anything you said or did. And he’s coming back later today. He went to Memphis.”
Had she heard Kate right? “Frank went to Memphis?”
“He phoned Moran last night and asked if he promised to stay out of the way, could he just be there in town, at FBI headquarters, and wait around for word on Andrew.”
Emotion tightened Leenie’s throat. She had accused Frank of not caring about Andrew. But he did care, didn’t he? Why else would he have gone to Memphis.
“Do you know what time the meeting is today?” Leenie asked.
“The agents are set to go in posing as adoptive parents at ten o’clock.”
Leenie pulled her hands from Kate’s and hugged herself, determined not to fall apart again. “Why did Frank call? Is there a problem?”
“He called to check on you,” Kate said. “When he left here last night, he was worried sick about you.”
“Was he?”
“Yes, he was. You’ve got to know that despite the emotional barrier Frank has erected to keep the world at bay, that man cares about you. It’s so obvious to anyone watching him when he’s around you that he’s in love.”
“Kate Malone, I do believe you’re a romantic. Otherwise you’d never think Frank was in love with me. I doubt he’s capable of falling in love.”
“He is. He just doesn’t know it yet.” Kate looked Leenie square in the eyes. “You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”
Leenie sighed.
“I know it’s none of my business, but—”
“Yes, I’m in love with the big lug. I’m so in love with him that it hurts.”
Kate smiled. “Why don’t you take a shower while I fix us some breakfast?”
“Sounds like a plan to me.”
Kate turned and headed for the door, then paused, glanced over her shoulder and said, “Frank will call us as soon as he knows anything. If the agents get to see the baby, they should be able to tell if it’s Andrew or not from all the photos the feds have of him.”
“Even if they can’t take him away from those horrible people today, I pray that it is Andrew. At least then, I’ll know he’s safe.”
Frank held his breath, a heartfelt plea repeating in his head, when Special Agents Currie and Rushing returned to the field office on Humphreys Blvd. He waited impatiently while Moran spoke privately to the two agents who had posed as potential adoptive parents. Despite all his training and the lifelong habit of employing logic before emotion, right about now Frank was thinking like a father. A father whose son had been kidnapped.
The office door opened and Moran came out alone to meet Frank. Please, God, please, let that baby be Andrew.
“Sorry it took so long,” Moran said.
“Is he or isn’t he Andrew?”
Moran shook his head. “No.”
Frank felt as if he’d been sucker punched.
“The baby Rushing and Currie was shown is six months old, has reddish blond hair and has a small birthmark on his right arm,” Moran explained. “Definitely not Andrew Patton.”
“Which means Andrew is still out there, his fate unknown. He might not have been kidnapped by this abduction ring y’all are investigating.”
“Just because this baby wasn’t your son doesn’t mean he won’t come up on the auction block in a few days or few weeks.”
“I’m not sure his mother can hold it together for a few more days, let alone a few more weeks.”
“Dr. Patton seems like an amazingly strong woman to me,” Moran said.
“Even the strongest person can break under the kind of pressure Leenie is living with on a daily basis. That baby—our baby—means everything to her. If I can’t give her some kind of hope that I’ll be able to bring him home to her…”
Moran nodded, then glanced down at the floor. “Yeah. Well…yeah.”
Uncomfortable discussing such an emotionally personal issue, Frank changed the subject. “How much time before this operation comes to a head?”
“That’s confidential info.”
“I don’t want specifics. No date, time, place. Just a general idea. I think I’ve got clearance for that much, don’t you?”
“A week. Ten days tops. But possibly sooner.”
“How soon?”
“A few days.”
Frank drew in a deep breath and released it slowly. “Once the operation’s in motion, would you let me know? Just in case Andrew is caught up in things.”
“Are you sure you want to know before it’s all over and done with?”
“I probably don’t want to know, but I’d appreciate a call beforehand anyway.” What Frank didn’t say, but suspected Moran knew anyway was that he needed time to prepare himself in order to be strong for Leenie if the worst happened.
Moran clamped his hand down on Frank’s shoulder. “There’s always a chance we’ll find Andrew. Tell her that. Give her that much hope.”
“False hope?” Frank asked.
“I honestly don’t know.”
Somehow knowing it was Frank, Leenie grabbed the telephone when it rang at two-thirty that afternoon. Her hand trembled as she placed the receiver to her ear.
“Hello.” Her voice quivered.
“Leenie…”
“I’ve been waiting for your call.”
“I know and I’m sorry I didn’t call sooner. I’m on the road, heading back to Maysville. I should be there soon.”
She knew the news was bad; if it had been good, he’d have already told her. “The baby wasn’t Andrew, was he?”
“No, honey, it wasn’t Andrew. I’m sorry.”
“Me, too.” She swallowed. Tears welled up inside her, but did not surface. She was all cried out.
“Moran said that there’s a good chance another baby will come up for adoption soon. Maybe in a few days. The next one could be Andrew.”
“Yes, it could be.”
“Please don’t give up hope.”
She closed her eyes and willed herself to remain totally in control. Crying wouldn’t change anything. Hysterics wouldn’t help Andrew. And blaming Frank only hurt them both.
“I won’t give up hope,” she told him. “You shouldn’t either.”
“You’re right.”
“Frank?”
“Huh?”
“Thank you for going to Memphis to be there when…I’m sorry I was so rough on you yesterday. I couldn’t see beyond my own hurt to—”
“It’s okay, Slim. Honest. I didn’t mind being your whipping boy, if it helped you. God knows I’m not able to do much else to help.”
“That’s not true. Your being here helps.”
He didn’t respond for several minutes.
“Frank?”
“Yeah, I’m here. Just wishing I was already in Maysville with you. I’d really like to hold you in my arms right now.”
“Me, too. I sure could use a hug.”
“Give me about forty-five minutes and I’ll hug the life out of you.”
“Is that a promise?”
“Damn right it is.”
Kate had made herself scarce after telling Leenie she thought she’d go into town for dinner and a movie. “I need a break, if you think you’ll be okay here alone until Frank gets back.” She hadn’t fooled Leenie for a minute. Kate had left so that Leenie and Frank could be alone. But now that she heard Frank’s car pulling up in the driveway, Leenie wasn’t sure she wanted to be alone with him. She was so needy right now, so desperate to be held and comforted. What if Frank’s actions were rooted in his desire to take care of her? She didn’t want him being kind to her. She wanted him to love her.
Bracing her shoulders and willing herself to be calm, she opened the front door and waited for him. The moment she saw him, her stomach did a wicked flip-flop and sexual awareness zinged along her nerve endings. Their gazes met and held for an instant and then Frank was there, grabbing her and pulling her into his arms as he walked her backward into the house. Using his foot, he slammed the door shut. He clutched the back of Leenie’s head, his big fingers spearing into her hair. She gasped half a second before his mouth came down on hers.
He ate at her mouth, his hunger desperately obvious. She wrapped her arms around him and returned his kiss with equal fury. Rational thought ceased to exist. For her. And she suspected for him, too. They wanted each other. Needed each other.
Help me make the world go away was her last coherent thought before she tore at the buttons on Frank’s shirt. He released her only long enough to shrug off his jacket, then he shoved her backward and onto the sofa. She all but ripped off his shirt and buttons flew everywhere. They shared kiss after passionate kiss as he yanked her sweater over her head and hurriedly removed her bra. She gazed up at him when he came down over her. He blocked out the rest of the world. Life itself began and ended with Frank Latimer and with this moment out of time.
When his mouth took hold of her breast to suckle and tease, Leenie bucked up against him. His hands dipped under her to lift her hips so that she felt his pulsating erection pressing into her mound. She slid her hand between them and cupped his sex.
“I wanted to make slow sweet love to you,” he told her in a hungry, whispered rush of words. “But I don’t know if I can wait.”
“I don’t want slow and sweet.” She rubbed herself provocatively against him, naked breasts to hairy naked chest. “I need it fast and dirty.”
Her slacks landed on the floor, followed quickly by his. Her panties flew through the air and perched on a nearby lampshade. His briefs sailed off and onto the coffee table, atop a copy of Psychiatry Today.
His tongue lunged into her mouth just as he hoisted her hips upward to meet his hard, conquering thrust. He hammered into her. She went wild. Blind to everything except Frank. Deaf to everything except the beating of their hearts. Speechless, their only sounds those of grunts and groans and moans of powerful pleasure.
As they went at each other, hot, hungry passion ruling their actions, they toppled off the sofa and onto the floor. Frank rolled her over and placed her on top of him. She rode him at a frenetic pace until she came. Her climax hit her like a tidal wave. Fierce and overwhelming, wiping her out completely. Just as she cried with release, he took the dominant position and with one final stab sent himself over the edge. Growling ferociously, he jetted inside her, not giving a damn that he’d forgotten all about using a condom.
While ripples of the sexual aftermath glided through their bodies, Frank and Leenie lay in the living room floor and held each other. Naked, sated, tension drained from their bodies, he touched her tenderly as she caressed him. Those unbearably sweet moments after the loving prolonged their escape from harsh reality.
Leenie cuddled close. Frank cocooned her in his big, strong arms. She felt safe and protected. And loved.
Please, God, even if he doesn’t love me, let me hold on to that hope for a little while, just as I’m clinging to the precious hope that You will keep Andrew safe.
Frank kissed her temple. “Should we talk?”
“No. Not now. Later.”
He stood, then held out his hand to her. She rose to her feet and together they gathered up their scattered clothing and walked arm-in-arm into Leenie’s bedroom.
“How long did Kate say she’d be gone?” Frank asked.
“Long enough for an early dinner and a movie.”
He tossed his clothes on a nearby chair. She did the same.
Frank led her to the bed. She went with him willingly.
She needed Frank as she’d never needed him before, as she’d never needed another human being. Only he could share her every thought, her every feeling. He offered her solace and sweet moments of forgetfulness. Apart, their fears and worries were more than either could bear. But together, holding on to each other for dear life, they could manage to survive a few more hours…a few more days.

Chapter Seven
Leenie awakened early the next morning and for a few seconds remembered nothing except the pleasure she had experienced with Frank. He hadn’t stayed the night in her bed. After they’d made love for a second time, they had showered together, fixed sandwiches together and talked about Andrew. Being able to share this horrific experience with Andrew’s father somehow comforted her in a way she had never dreamed it could. Although there had been no promises exchanged, no words of love spoken between them, Leenie truly believed that Frank cared about her. And about Andrew. Perhaps Kate had been right. Was it possible that Frank loved her and just didn’t know it?
After slipping into her thick velour robe, Leenie ventured into the hallway. Silence permeated the house at this early hour. Perhaps Kate and Frank were both still asleep, after all it was only half past five and still dark outside. Wintertime dark. As she made her way into the kitchen, a chill racked her body. Was it a sense of foreboding or simply the chilliness of the house? She’d turn up the thermostat after she set the coffeemaker.
If only Frank had stayed in bed with her all night. Even without sex, it would have been such a comfort to have him within arm’s reach, to have been able to reach out and feel his strong presence beside her. How many times had she longed for him during her pregnancy?
Expecting the kitchen to be empty, Leenie gasped when she opened the door and found Frank sitting at the table reading the morning newspaper and drinking a cup of coffee.
“Morning.” He glanced up at her and smiled.
She returned his smile, even if it was somewhat tentative and uncertain. “Good morning.” She had no idea what last night had meant to him. Had it been nothing more than sex? Just a way to relieve the unbearable tension?
“Sleep well?” he asked.
“Yes, as a matter of fact I did.” She looked away from him and toward the coffeemaker on the counter. “Coffee. Wonderful. I could use a shot of caffeine.”
When Frank didn’t respond, she walked past him, lifted a mug from the mug rack and poured a cup of black coffee. “Is Kate still asleep?” she asked, her back to Frank.
“As far as I know. She’s still in her room.” Frank set his coffee mug on the table.
“She stayed out pretty late last night, didn’t she? She probably didn’t get to sleep until well past eleven.”
“Closer to midnight,” Frank said. “She and I stayed up for a while and talked about things.”
“About Andrew?”
“About the feds’ case involving the infant abduction ring. Kate is more than just a little interested in it, maybe even a little obsessed. I’ve never seen her quite so involved in a Dundee assignment. She’s taking your situation personally, almost as if—”
“As if she understands what it’s like to have a child kidnapped?”
Frank closed the newspaper, folded it in half and laid it aside, then looked at Leenie as she pulled out a chair and sat across from him. “Kate is a complex lady. She’s warm and friendly, but she never allows anyone to get too close.” Frank chuckled. “I can’t fault her on that, can I?”
“Maybe her relating to my predicament is nothing more than her having an empathic heart. She seems like a very kind person. I liked her when we first met last winter.” Leenie took a sip of coffee, then placed her mug on the table. “Tell me, Frank, why is it that you won’t allow anyone to get too close to you? I know your marriage ended in divorce, but—”
“I made a fool of myself over Rita.”
A surge of uncontrollable jealousy rose up inside Leenie. She hated Rita, sight unseen. “So Rita hurt you so badly that you decided to never risk being hurt again.”
“You make it sound melodramatic. It wasn’t. Just an old familiar tale. I cared more for her than she did for me. She found someone she liked better. Or should I say she met someone whose money she liked better.”
“You loved her madly, of course.”
“Of course.”
Hearing him admit it so freely stung Leenie terribly, as if he’d stabbed her in the heart with a very sharp knife. “Do you still?”
“Do I still what?”
“Love Rita.”
“Good God, no.”
“But you let what she did to you affect every aspect of your life,” Leenie said. “Even if you don’t love her now, she certainly still has a tremendous in-fluence in your life, doesn’t she?”
Frank glared at Leenie, tension etching the lines around his eyes and across his forehead. “Look, Slim, don’t try to psychoanalyze me. And don’t try to change me. I am what I am. Yeah, in part that’s thanks to Rita. And in part thanks to my mother, who was quite a bit like Rita as a matter of fact. And part of who I am is thanks to my own survival instincts. A guy who makes the same mistake twice is a fool.”
“And Frank Latimer is nobody’s fool.”
Their gazes collided, exploded, then when the metaphorical smoke cleared, he looked down at the newspaper and tapped it with his index finger. “It’s going to rain today. We might even get a little sleet.”
“Kate knows there’s something between us,” Leenie said. “That’s why she left us alone yesterday evening…why she stayed gone so long. You could have spent the night in my bed and she wouldn’t have been surprised.”
“If you’re trying to say something, just say it.” Not making eye contact with her, he picked up his mug, stood and went to the coffeemaker for a refill.
“Why didn’t you stay with me, Frank? We made love. Twice. It’s obvious that you care about me, that you care about our son. What are you so afraid of? Did you think sleeping with me all night would have been some sort of commitment, that I’d take it the wrong way and believe there was more to our relationship than there is?”
Full coffee mug in hand, he turned to face her, a somber expression on his face. “What do you want me to say?”
“Just tell me the truth. I think I deserve that much, don’t I?”
“The truth is—yeah, I care about you. I did last winter. I do now. The last thing I want to do is hurt you and if I allow you to believe we have a future together…I want to be good to you. I want to help you through this ordeal. I want to bring Andrew home to you. And I want a chance to get to know my son.”
Leenie sucked in a deep breath. Even without him saying it, she knew Frank already loved Andrew.
“When Andrew comes home, and he will, you and I will work out an arrangement so that you can be a part of his life.” Her pride in need of bolstering and not wanting Frank to suspect that he’d just broken her heart—again—Leenie forced a smile. “And don’t think that if we have sex again or even if we sleep all night together some night that I’ll start hearing wedding bells and ordering a picket fence to put up around this place. Heck, Frank, I’m the quintessential free spirit who has lost count of the men I’ve been with over the years. I don’t want to be tied down to one man any more than you want to get trapped by some woman.”
God would get her for those lies, Leenie told herself, all the while managing to keep her phony smile in place. She certainly wasn’t a simpering virgin, but she was hardly a good-time girl either. She remembered the names of her former lovers because there actually hadn’t been all that many and each time she’d been in a relationship, she had hoped he would be “the one.” But the biggest lie of all was that she didn’t want marriage. She did. Now more than ever. And not marriage to just anyone. She wanted Frank.
He narrowed his gaze as he studied her closely, as if trying to gauge the truth of her declaration. “Let me give you a little advice about men, Slim. A guy never likes to hear about a woman’s former lovers. And he especially doesn’t like to hear that there have been so many she can’t remember their names.”
Leenie laughed spontaneously. Frank was jealous. But he had no idea that he was. Why would a man be jealous of other men in a woman’s life unless he loved that woman? “Thanks for the advice. I’ll remember not to mention my former lovers to my next boyfriend.”
Frank growled quietly, then cleared his throat.
He was so jealous! It was apparent that he hated the idea of her being with another man. Past. Present. Or future.
Don’t do this to yourself, Leenie’s inner voice cautioned. Even if Frank does love you, he may never be able to admit it to himself, let alone to you.
Coming to an understanding, of sorts, they relaxed around each other. The tension between Frank and her should have eased up, and it had—to a certain extent. Beneath the calm alliance binding them together as Andrew’s parents lay an ever smoldering sexual edginess. Neither could escape a basic truth—they were in lust, if not in love. And lust was a potent motivator, not as enduring as love, but equally as powerful.
The hours passed slowly, turning the day into night and into day again. During the daylight hours, Kate and Frank kept Leenie busy and occasionally, for brief periods of time, she became so absorbed in whatever she was doing that the ache in her heart diminished a fraction. Those were moments when her entire focus was not on Andrew. But those moments were few and far between. The nighttime hours were the worst, when she lay alone in her bed, longing to hold her baby in her arms. And needing Frank at her side. It had been two days and nights since they’d made love and although he was tender and caring, he had not come to her again.
Leenie kept telling herself that he was afraid of her, of the way she made him feel. He didn’t want to love her, didn’t want a future with her, but the passion between them was something he could not ignore.
The waiting was wearing on her nerves. How much longer could she hold it together without falling completely apart again? Special Agent Dante Moran had called and talked to her. He’d told her to be patient, to keep hoping for the best, that it could well be only a matter of time before Andrew surfaced as an adoptive infant. So she clung to that hope because it might well be the only hope she had. If her baby had been taken by some woman wanting a child, she might never see him again. And if some lunatic had kidnapped Andrew, her baby was probably already dead.
Leenie shook her head, an effort to dislodge all morbid thoughts. Andrew was alive. He would come home to her. Frank kept repeating those words to her over and over again, as if he was trying desperately to convince himself as well as her.
“Are you ready to go?” Frank asked.
She nodded. “Yes, I’m ready.”
The first thing on the keep-Leenie-busy schedule for today was a visit to the hospital to see Debra, who was now resting comfortably in a private room. The doctors had said Debra might be released in a week or less. She had recovered remarkably well for a woman of sixty.
“Stay as long as you’d like,” Kate told them as they headed for the front door. “As a matter of fact, why don’t you two go out for lunch after your visit to Mrs. Schmale. I can hold down the fort here and if I get any news, I’ll phone y’all immediately.”
“I’d like to run by the station,” Leenie said. “Haley suggested that I might want to give a statement about Andrew’s abduction and make a personal plea for his return. I simply haven’t been up to doing something like that before now. WJMM has been broadcasting Andrew’s photograph periodically, with the news about his kidnapping, but Haley thinks a message from me might actually influence his abductor to return him.”
“Since Moran has given you the okay to make a public statement, I see no reason why you shouldn’t,” Frank said.
“Just so long as you don’t mention the infant abduction ring,” Kate reminded her. “You don’t want to do anything that might alert them that the feds are on to them.”
Leenie sighed. “God, I hope Andrew was taken by those damn people. It’s the one sure chance we have of getting him back, isn’t it?”
Frank put his arm around Leenie’s shoulders. “Come on, Slim, let’s go see Mrs. Schmale, then I’ll take you out for lunch. I’m in the mood for…a greasy hamburger and fries. And maybe a chocolate milkshake.”
Leenie smiled. “Just thinking about that kind of food has already put five pounds on me, mostly on my hips.”
Frank’s arm slipped down her back and encircled her waist. One hand slid down to cup her hip. “Five pounds won’t hurt you. Hell, ten pounds wouldn’t.”
“Frank Latimer, you know just what to say to a girl to make her happy, don’t you?”
“I try,” he said, sincerity and a touch of sadness in his voice.
Frank liked Debra Schmale and could see why Leenie had hired her as Andrew’s nanny. She possessed a kind disposition and maternal love oozed from her pores. The woman’s hospital room looked like a florist. Floral arrangements of every size and kind filled the small private room and four balloon bouquets floated in the air, held in place by ribbon streamers tied to both chairs in the room and to the knobs on the closet doors.
Leenie hugged Debra, careful not to squeeze too hard and hurt the healing patient. “It’s good to see you looking so well. I’ve been worried about you.”
“I’ll be just fine…once we get Andrew back. I feel so guilty for—”
“Hush that kind of talk,” Leenie said. “You have nothing to feel guilty about.”
“If only I could have stopped that woman from taking Andrew.”
“Mrs. Schmale, you had no way of knowing that the woman had deliberately crashed into your car so that she could kidnap Andrew. You did exactly what anyone would have done,” Frank told her as he walked over and stood directly behind Leenie.
“Please, call me Debra.” She offered him a warm, genuine smile. “I’m so glad that you’re here with Leenie. She needs you, now, more than ever.”
Leenie gasped softly. Frank realized that Mrs. Schmale—Debra—knew he was Andrew’s father, which made him wonder just how much Leenie had told her about him.
“In case you’re wondering, Leenie told me very little about you, not even your name,” Debra said, as if reading his mind. “She didn’t offer the information and I didn’t pry.
“Then how did you know—?” Leenie asked.
“Haley told me about Mr. Latimer. She’s been a frequent visitor. And she is as pleased as I am that Andrew’s father is by your side during this terrible ordeal.”
When Debra looked at Frank, she smiled, but he felt her disapproval and understood she was wondering why he had gotten Leenie pregnant and walked out of her life. Women of Debra Schmale’s generation expected a man to do the right thing, to make an honest woman of his child’s mother.
“You and Haley are a couple of busybodies,” Leenie said jokingly. “And just so you won’t badger Frank, you should know that he plans to be a part of Andrew’s life…once we have him back with us.”
“There’s no news, then?” Debra asked.
Leenie shook her head.
Frank put his arm around Leenie’s waist and pulled her close. “We have every reason to hope that no news is good news, at least for now. The FBI thinks Andrew will be found unharmed. Leenie and I are clinging to that hope.”
Debra eyed Frank’s arm around Leenie.
The telephone on Debra’s bedside table rang. She reached out for it, but Leenie grabbed it to save Debra the effort.
“I’ve gotten a dozen calls already today,” Debra told Frank. “Everyone in Maysville must know I’m out of ICU and in a private room now.”
“Debra Schmale’s room,” Leenie said.
Frank glanced at Leenie, who paled instantly.
Leenie looked at Frank and said, “It’s Kate and she wants to speak to you.”
The muscles in Frank’s belly knotted painfully. He reached out and took the receiver from Leenie.
“Yeah, Kate, what’s up?”
“Moran just called,” Kate said.
“Tell me it’s good news.”
Leenie grasped Frank’s arm.
“It could be,” Kate told him. “Two new infants have come up for adoption. Both fit Andrew’s description.”
“When is he sending in a couple of agents?” Frank asked.
“What is it?” Leenie demanded, tugging on Frank’s arm. “Is it news about Andrew?”
“Everything is set up for tomorrow,” Kate said. “Moran wanted me to tell you something. He made me repeat it twice.”
“What?”
“He said to tell you that it’s sooner rather than later.”
“God!” The FBI operation that had been in the works for several years was coming together. Sooner rather than later. Possibly tomorrow? Was that what Moran was trying to tell him? Was it all going to happen tomorrow, right when Andrew—if he was one of the two infants—would be smack dab in the middle of everything? What if when the feds made their arrests, the two babies were whisked away before being rescued? What if they lost Andrew? What if there was gunplay?
“I’ll bring Leenie home right away,” Frank told Kate. “We’ll skip going to WJMM today.”
“Moran knows you’ll come back to Memphis.”
“Damn straight about that.” Frank replaced the receiver and turned to Leenie, who was squeezing the life out of his arm. “Good news. A couple of infants have been found and it’s possible one of them is Andrew.” He glanced at Debra Schmale and smiled, then gave Leenie a sharp glare, hoping she’d understand why he couldn’t be totally forthcoming with Debra.
“This is wonderful news,” Debra said.
“Keep it to yourself for now, okay?” Frank smiled at her.
“Absolutely.” Debra folded her hands together in a prayerlike gesture.
“We need to go,” Frank told Leenie.
She kissed Debra on the forehead and said her goodbyes, then rushed out of the room with Frank. When they were alone in the elevator, she didn’t wait for him to explain.
“Two more infants have come up for adoption, right?” she asked.
“Right.”
“In Memphis?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re going to Memphis tonight, aren’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“And you want me to stay here in Maysville and wait.”
“Yeah.”
The elevator doors swung open and they emerged on the first floor. Frank grabbed her arm and hurried her outside to the parking lot. She walked quickly to keep up with his long-legged gait. When they reached his rental car, she halted and dug in her heels.
Before she could speak, he grabbed her by the shoulders and said, “Dammit, Slim, stay here in Maysville, will you? Let me be the big, strong man. Let me be your man.”
“You want to be a buffer between me and the big bad world, don’t you?”
“Something like that. After all, I am Andrew’s father. I wasn’t around when you were pregnant or when you gave birth. I should have been. You needed me and I let you down.
“I need to do this for you. Hell, I need to do it for myself. Let me be the one to handle things, and if it is Andrew, I want to be the one to bring him home to you.”
“And if it isn’t Andrew?”
“Then I should be the one to tell you. We’re Andrew’s parents. And if we’ve lost him, we should share that grief together.”
Leenie swallowed, then offered Frank a fragile smile. Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. “You go to Memphis. I’ll wait here in Maysville for you…and Andrew.”
He cupped her face with his hands, then kissed her.

Chapter Eight
Frank had left for Memphis around eight-thirty last night and called after he arrived at the hotel. Leenie and Kate had sat up until after two this morning, watching television, talking, looking through magazines, listening to Leenie’s substitute on WJMM’s late-night talk show. They had done anything they could think of to kill time. At midnight, while listening to the radio, they made fudge and devoured a third of what they’d prepared. As if by silent agreement, they hadn’t mentioned Frank or Andrew. At two, they’d gone to their separate bedrooms and Leenie had tried her best to sleep. She had tossed and turned for hours. Finally giving up hope of getting any rest, she’d flipped on the bedside lamp and searched for a romance novel in her stash of to-be-read paperbacks. As entertaining as the book was, Leenie simply could not concentrate enough to do the story justice, so around four-thirty, she’d taken a shower and put on jeans and a sweatshirt.
As she passed the floor-to-ceiling mirror in the hallway, she caught a glimpse of her image. She looked bleary-eyed and somber. Her damp hair was secured in a loose ponytail. Faded jeans hugged her hips and legs. A comfy green fleece sweatshirt with an enormous sunflower in the center gave her otherwise pale appearance a touch of color. All-in-all, she was a pitiful sight.
She wondered if Frank had gotten any sleep last night. Probably not. If only she’d gone with him, at least they’d be together right now. But Frank had needed to make the trip to Memphis alone. She understood. And deep in her primitive feminine heart, she loved him all the more for wanting to play the role of her protector.
How was it possible that her whole world had become condensed into one event—into what happened this morning in Memphis, at some immoral, moneyhungry lawyer’s office? Two FBI agents would once again pose as prospective parents, but would they get to see the two infants who were available for adoption? Would one of those babies be Andrew? If Andrew hadn’t been kidnapped in order to sell him to the highest bidder, then she might never know his fate. Could she live that way, never knowing?
When Leenie entered the kitchen, she glanced at the wall clock. Five-fifteen. The meeting was set for nine o’clock this morning. Less than four hours from now. But how long would it take the agents to report back to Moran if they did get to see the babies? It was possible that even after the meeting, they still wouldn’t know if Andrew was one of the two infants.
While preparing the coffee machine, she stared at the telephone. She wanted to talk to Frank, to hear his voice. But he might be asleep. She shouldn’t disturb him.
She reached out and jerked the receiver from the wall phone, then glanced at Frank’s cell number, which he’d jotted down on the bulletin board by the telephone. After dialing, she suddenly had second thoughts and started to hang up, but Frank answered on the second ring.
“Latimer here.”
“Frank?”
“Leenie? Honey, are you all right?”
“I’m okay. I didn’t sleep much.”
“You didn’t sleep at all, did you?”
“No, I didn’t,” she admitted. “I’ll bet you didn’t either.”
“I closed my eyes a few times, but…We’ll both sleep once I bring Andrew home.”
“I—I want you to know that if neither baby is Andrew—” Emotion tightened her throat. She swallowed. “It won’t be your fault, so don’t blame yourself.”
“We can’t lose hope, even if neither baby is Andrew. He’s out there somewhere. We’ll keep searching.”
“I’m going to hang up now.” Her voice quivered. “Before I start blubbering.”
“Yeah, we don’t want that, do we? If you start, I might, too. And that would blow my macho image to hell and back.”
“Nothing could destroy your macho image, least of all crying for your lost son.”
“Leenie…I…keep praying, will you?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“I’ll call you as soon as I know anything.”
“Yes…please…”
“Bye, Slim.”
“Bye.”
With the dial tone humming in her ear, Leenie stood there and forced back the tears that ached inside her. These next few hours were going to be the longest of her life.
By the time Leenie downed her second cup of coffee and was munching on a slice of buttered toast, Kate entered the kitchen. Wearing a pair of flame-red sweats, her hair hanging loosely around her shoulders, Kate looked like a teenager, all fresh-faced and glowing with good health.
“How long have you been up?” Kate asked, as she headed for the coffeepot. “Or should I say how long have you been in the kitchen? I figure you’ve been up most of the night.”
“I came in the kitchen about forty-five minutes ago.”
“Hmm-mmm.” Kate poured herself a cup of coffee, then sat across from Leenie.
“I called Frank.”
Kate raised an inquisitive eyebrow.
“He’s going to call back the minute he knows something,” Leenie said.
Kate took a sip of coffee, clutched the mug with both hands and looked right at Leenie.
“I hope and pray one of those baby boys is Andrew. But while you’re hoping for the best, you have to prepare yourself for the worst.”
“I don’t know if I can do that. I don’t want to think about what it’ll mean if—”
“It doesn’t mean you have to give up hope. As long as you don’t have proof that Andrew is dead, then no one can take your hope away from you,” Kate said emphatically.
Leenie stared at Kate, puzzled by the fierceness in her voice, by the resolute certainty of her statement. “What is it that you still hope for, Kate?”
Gripping the mug she held as if it were her anchor in a stormy sea, Kate closed her eyes for a split second, then opened them and looked directly at Leenie again. “I hope that out there somewhere, my little girl is alive and well and somebody is loving her and taking good care of her.”
Rendered speechless by Kate’s honesty, Leenie gaped soundlessly, her heartbeat drumming in her ears. Although she had suspected Kate had lost a child, hearing her admit it tore at Leenie’s heart. “Was your child…your daughter kidnapped?”
“Yes. Mary Kate was barely two months old when it happened.”
Kate inhaled and exhaled slowly. Leenie figured the deep breathing technique was a tool Kate used to keep her emotions in check. Despite her in-control-at-all-times facade, Kate occasionally let her vulnerability show. And Leenie liked her all the more for those tiny lapses.
“Mary Kate was kidnapped eleven years ago,” Kate said. “At the time, we thought she’d been taken for ransom because my husband—my ex-husband now—is a member of a very wealthy and prominent family.”
“But she wasn’t taken for ransom?”
Kate shook her head. “The FBI was brought in, of course, and we waited for the call or the letter to tell us how much money the kidnappers wanted. But there was no call. No letter. Trent hired a private firm to search for our daughter, but they never found her, of course. And after a while, Trent convinced himself that Mary Kate was dead.”
“What made him think she was—”
“Nothing in particular. I believe it was the only way he could cope with what had happened. He loved her as much as I did. We just coped with her loss in different ways.” Kate set the mug on the table and laid her hands flat against the wooden surface on either side of the mug. “We argued about it day and night. I told him he was wrong to give up hope and he told me I was living in a fantasy world if I thought we’d ever find Mary Kate, that she was dead.”
“It’s apparent that you never changed your mind, that you still believe your child is alive. Did your exhusband ever come around to your way of thinking?”
“No. And that, along with his family’s interference and Trent’s feelings of guilt and my feelings of guilt…and the endless arguments, destroyed our marriage. We’ve been divorced ten years now. And I haven’t seen him since the divorce became final.”
“But you still love him, don’t you?”
Kate laughed, the sound mirthless, stilted. “Now who’s the romantic?”
“You’ve never remarried, have you? That means something.”
“It means I’m afraid of being hurt,” Kate admitted. “Besides, most men want children and I know that I could never have another child and risk losing her or him. The pain is too great.” Kate gasped. “Oh, God, Leenie, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—”
Leenie reached across the table and grasped Kate’s hand in hers. “We haven’t lost Andrew. Just as you have somehow managed to keep the faith for eleven years, I’m not giving up hope. Not now, after only a few days. And not ever. If I keep telling myself over and over again that one of those babies the abduction ring is putting up for sale is Andrew, then it will be. It has to be!”
Kate squeezed Leenie’s hand. “Yes, it will be.”
“And someday you’ll find your daughter.”
“I believe Mary Kate is alive. If she weren’t, I’d know it, wouldn’t I? In my mother’s heart. Wouldn’t you know if—Oh, damn, I keep saying all the wrong things.”
“No, you don’t,” Leenie assured her. “I understand what you mean. But I honestly don’t know if my believing Andrew is alive is because I’d know in my heart if he wasn’t, or if it’s because I simply cannot accept the possibility that…” Leenie paused, her emotions so raw she feared bursting into tears. “I can’t even say it.”
“Then don’t say it. Don’t even think it.”
“I wouldn’t want to live in a world without Andrew.” Leenie clenched her teeth tightly, determined not to cry.
Kate squeezed her hand again. They looked at each other, tears misting their eyes, their deepest, darkest fears kept just below the surface.
Frank paced the floor in the Memphis FBI office on Humphreys Blvd. He’d drunk the equivalent of three pots of coffee since he’d arrived this morning and he’d all but worn a hole in the floor. It was nearly three-thirty. Where the hell was Moran? The last word they’d had from the agents involved in the operation was around noon and Frank had been privy to the information only because Moran had personally okayed it. All Frank knew was that the two male infants had been taken into FBI custody and were being checked by a local pediatrician. From overhearing snippets of conversation that the office personnel didn’t share with him, Frank had figured out that arrests were being made, the ringleaders of the abduction ring gathered up, along with the lawyers involved in the illegal adoptions.
As much as Frank appreciated the importance of the bureau’s great victory in this case, what mattered most to him was finding out if one of those babies was his son. Leenie’s son. If only there was some way to find out, if only there was something he could do. But all he could do was wait. And hope. And pray. He’d done more praying these past few days than he’d done all his life. But he supposed when things seemed hopeless was the time a man was most likely to turn to prayer. Frank had known hopelessness before, but not helplessness.
He knew that the feds weren’t deliberately keeping any pertinent information about his son from him. During this case, Moran had shared more confidential info than was probably legal and Frank appreciated that fact. And he believed that Moran would let him know something about the babies just as soon as either could be identified as Andrew, or both could be ruled out as his and Leenie’s son. The federal agents had regulations and procedures they had to follow and even though Moran had bent a few rules lately, he couldn’t give Frank information he didn’t have. Not yet. But soon. It was only a matter of waiting on a definite ID for both baby boys.
A flurry of activity occurred outside Moran’s office where Frank had been waiting impatiently. Doors slammed, voices rose and suddenly Moran came barreling into his office, a wide smile on his face.
“We got ‘em,” Moran said. “Every slimy, fat-cat, freaking bastard. We took them down from the top. We arrested twenty people, including the four masterminds and three of their lawyers.” He slapped Frank on the back. “By God, it’s over. And now we’ve got ourselves one hell of a mess.”
“Where are the babies?” Frank asked. “Is one of them—”
“We’ve got nearly twelve years of adoption records. Confiscated. Records of children who were probably all abducted from their parents and sold to adoptive families. Do you have any idea what that means? Biological parents and adoptive parents and hundreds of children caught in the middle. It’s not only a legal nightmare, but a moral dilemma for everyone involved.”
Frank grabbed Moran’s shoulder. “Damn it, I’m interested in one child. My son. Where the hell are those babies? Is one of them Andrew?”
“Dr. Tomlin’s office hasn’t called?” Moran asked as he eased out from under Frank’s tenacious grasp.
“Who’s—is he the pediatrician in charge of the babies? If so, then no, he hasn’t called. Or if he has no one has bothered to tell me.”
“The agents who went into this morning’s meeting as adoptive parents weren’t able to positively ID either child they were shown, but one of the babies fit Andrew’s description to a tee.” Moran walked over to his desk and picked up the telephone. “I’ll make arrangements to take you to Dr. Tomlin’s office. Both babies are being kept there for the time being. If one of them is positively identified as Andrew, I’ll see to it that you can take him home to his mother this evening.”
“What the hell are you waiting for? Make the call. Now!”
The telephone rang. Kate and Leenie jumped simultaneously. They exchanged quick glances, then Kate shot up off the sofa and grabbed the receiver. Before she could even say hello, Frank spoke.
“I’ve got him,” Frank said. “All fourteen pounds of him. Can you hear him squalling. He’s not sure whether or not he likes his old man.”
Kate smiled. She’d never heard Frank Latimer enthusiastic about anything, never heard such pure joy in his voice. “Calm down and tell me what’s going on.”
“Is it Frank?” Leenie asked as she came toward Kate.
Kate nodded and mouthed the word yes.
“Look, I’ve got to change his diaper and I’m not sure I even know how. Just tell Leenie that I’m bringing Andrew home to her tonight. And tell her he’s fine.”
“Wait!” Kate barely had the word out of her mouth when the dial tone buzzed.
“Does he have Andrew?” Leenie asked.
“He said to tell you that he has Andrew and—”
“Oh, God!” Leenie grabbed Kate, who still held the telephone in her hand. “Thank you, God.”
Kate eased the phone back on the hook and wrapped her arms around Leenie. “Frank said that Andrew is fine. He’s bringing your son home to you tonight.”
“I wanted to talk to him, to ask him a dozen questions. Why did he hang up so quickly?”
“I believe Andrew needed an immediate diaper change and Frank was feeling a little overwhelmed by the daunting task. I don’t think he’s ever changed a diaper before.”
Leenie’s joyous laughter was contagious and within seconds she and Kate were giggling and hugging and dancing around the room like a couple of adolescents. And when they’d exhausted themselves, they fell onto the sofa, all smiles and giddiness.
“I’ll never ask for anything again as long as I live,” Leenie said. “All my prayers have been answered.”
“You’re very lucky,” Kate told her. “You’re getting your son back and I have a feeling it’s only a matter of time before Frank realizes that he wants to spend the rest of his life with you and Andrew. You should have heard him on the phone. The guy was delirious with fatherly pride.”
Leenie sighed. “Loving Andrew and loving me are two different things. I can’t expect Frank to want me on a permanent basis just because he wants to be a father to Andrew.”
“Ready for some more unsolicited advice?”
“Sure. Advise away.”
“Don’t put any pressure on Frank. Let him do things his way, in his own time. When he brings Andrew home, just enjoy the time y’all have together and don’t worry too much about the future.”
“Kate, I wish…well, I know you must be thinking about Mary Kate and wondering why I’m getting my son back so quickly and your little girl has been missing for eleven years.”
Kate shrugged. “Life’s a mystery. Why I haven’t found Mary Kate after over a decade of searching and why your Andrew is being returned to you only days after losing him is one of those mysteries.” Kate patted Leenie’s hand. “Somehow, someway, someday, I’ll find out what happened to my daughter. But for now, for tonight, you just concentrate on celebrating Andrew’s return.”
Frank hadn’t had a clue that he’d go ga-ga over a two-month-old kid. But the minute Dr. Tomlin’s nurse put Andrew in his arms, Frank had melted like ice in the July sun. His little boy had looked at him with Leenie’s big blue eyes and he’d been a goner on the spot.
“Is this Andrew Patton?” Dante Moran had asked, pointing to the child Dr. Tomlin’s nurse held.
“We’ve matched his footprint to Andrew Patton’s footprint taken at birth and they’re a perfect match,” Dr. Tomlin had said. “This young man is definitely Andrew.”
Yes, he certainly was. Andrew. His son. Frank had inspected the kid from top to bottom and seen himself or Leenie in every feature. Odd how he loved the child instantly, and not just because Andrew was his, but because Andrew was Leenie’s.
Glancing in the rearview mirror of the rental car he was driving, Frank caught a shadowy glimpse of his son asleep in the carseat Dr. Tomlin had provided. Poor little guy, Frank thought. He’d worn himself out bellowing. Apparently Andrew hadn’t inherited Leenie’s sunny disposition. Of course, Andrew had been through a traumatic experience, being snatched away from the security of his mother’s arms and the loving care of Debra Schmale.
“It’s okay, kid,” Frank said to the sleeping child, “I’m taking you home to your mama. We should be there in a few minutes. And as for your inheriting my grumpy disposition, don’t worry about it. Women seem to go for surly, brooding men.”
When Leenie’s house came into view, Frank’s gut tightened. Because of the bad weather—rain mixed with sleet—he’d driven much slower than his usual speed, so it had taken longer than it should have to make the drive from Memphis to Maysville. But he didn’t want to take any chances with Andrew onboard. From now on, his top priority was going to be keeping his son safe. He didn’t want Leenie to ever again have to endure the anguish she’d suffered these past few days.
The minute he pulled into the driveway, the front door flew open and Leenie ran outside, off the porch and into the yard. By the time he stopped the car, she was yanking on the back door handle. Frank unlocked the doors, undid his seat belt and got out, but before he could even say hello, Leenie was removing a sleeping Andrew from the carseat. She wrapped him in the blanket she’d brought with her and took him out of the car. She turned to Frank then and smiled as tears streamed down her cheeks. He put his hand on the small of her back and together they hurried into the house. Kate stood just inside the foyer, a warm smile on her face.
Suddenly Andrew let out a loud yowl. Leenie flung the damp blanket to the floor and crushed her baby to her chest. That one yowl turned into a screaming fit. Leenie held him away from her and looked at him, then spoke to him softly, a mother’s tender rambling words to soothe her fretful child. Andrew didn’t respond immediately, but Leenie kept talking to him and caressing him. Within minutes his crying diminished and soon stopped altogether. He focused his big blue eyes on his mother.
“Hello, my darling,” Leenie said, then covered his little face with kisses.
Andrew whimpered, then cooed.
Frank thought he’d lose it right then and there. Hell, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d cried. After his father’s funeral? Yeah, that had been the last time. When he’d been alone. But seeing his son safe in Leenie’s arms was enough to bring a grown man to his knees. She had a magic touch, the ability to soothe Andrew’s surly Latimer disposition. Why should that surprise him? Hadn’t she been able to work that same magic on him?
“I’m so happy that everything turned out this way,” Kate said. “I’m going to make myself scarce so y’all can have this time alone with your son.”
Cuddling Andrew close, Leenie said, “No, Kate, you don’t have to—”
“This is family time—mother, father and baby time.” Kate headed toward the guest bedroom. “I’ll see y’all in the morning.”
Frank followed Leenie into the living room and sat down beside her on the sofa. He lifted his arm and put it around her shoulders, encompassing her in his embrace as she did Andrew. They sat there together, the three of them, Andrew secure in his mother’s arms. Frank couldn’t remember ever feeling so good.
“You brought him home to me, just the way you said you would.” Leenie kissed the top of Andrew’s head. The baby’s eyelids drooped.
“He’s a beautiful child,” Frank told her. “Just perfect. And that’s amazing considering I’m his father.”
Leenie laughed. And dear God, how strongly her laughter affected him. He’d never heard a sweeter sound.
“Has he been fed? Did you give him a bottle or—”
“I’ve changed his diaper twice and given him a bottle. Dr. Tomlin, the pediatrician the FBI used in Memphis, gave me three bottles of formula.”
“I breast-fed him, you know. I’d just weaned him onto a bottle when the wreck happened and he was taken…” Leenie gulped down a sob.
Frank hugged her closer. “He’s home. He’s safe. The nightmare is over.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever let him out of my sight again as long as I live.”
Frank chuckled. “Yeah, I know the feeling, but I think Andrew will object when you start going out on his dates with him.”
“He’s not even three months old and you’re already talking about him dating.”
“Hey, if he takes after his old man, he’ll have a girlfriend in kindergarten. Actually, he’ll have half a dozen girlfriends.”
“I will not allow my son to be a ladies’ man.” Leenie tore her gaze away from Andrew to look at Frank. “But I won’t mind if he takes after you in other ways. You, Frank Latimer, are quite a man and I’m glad you’re my son’s father.”
An embarrassing flush warmed Frank’s face. No one had ever told him anything that affected him so strongly. His masculine pride doubled instantly. He leaned over and kissed Leenie, a gentle, fleeting kiss. “He’s the luckiest kid in the world having you for a mother.”

Chapter Nine
Frank locked up and set the security alarm after Leenie went to her bedroom, a fast-asleep Andrew cradled in her arms. These past few days had been the longest, most grueling days of his life, and he knew they’d been even worse for Leenie. He loved watching her with Andrew, the way she touched their child, the way the sound of her voice soothed him. For all her sexy, sophisticated, career-woman exterior, Leenie was a mother at heart. Of course, one was not exclusive of the other. He figured Dr. Lurleen Patton was what people might call a multifaceted woman. And he sure as hell had never known anyone like her. She wasn’t anything like his mother, who’d never done a selfless thing in her life, who had put her own needs above her son’s and daughter’s needs time and again. And Leenie bore no resemblance to his former wife. What had he ever seen in Rita, beyond her flashy good looks?
Listen to yourself, Latimer, you sound like a man in love. No way! Even if he did like Leenie, even care about her deeply, he wasn’t fool enough to fall in love. Never again. Once had been one time too many. Okay, so Leenie was as different from Rita as night is from day. It didn’t matter. Love was no guarantee of happiness. And what could start out as a wonderful relationship—like he’d thought his marriage to Rita was—could turn out to be very wrong. There were too many unknowns between two people. He had seen a lot of promising relationships end up in the gutter, a couple battling it out in the divorce courts. He and Leenie were too smart to make forever promises, to risk not only messing up their lives, but Andrew’s too. Wasn’t the kid better off with two parents who liked and respected each other and shared the responsibilities of raising him than parents who’d been madly in love and ended up fighting over who was going to get custody of him when they split?
Frank turned out all the lights, except the one lamp in the corner of the living room. He removed his cell phone from his pocket and dialed Sawyer Mac-Namara’s private number. He could easily wait until morning to call his boss, but now that he’d made his decision to keep things friendly but not committed between Leenie and him, he wanted to forge ahead with his plans to become acquainted with his son. He needed some time off, some time to spend with Andrew. And during that time, he and Leenie could figure out how they wanted to handle their joint parenthood. Right now, with Andrew a baby, he probably needed Leenie more than he needed Frank. But as he grew older, he might need Frank more. He could suggest to Leenie that they take things a year at a time and see how things worked out as their son matured.
Sawyer answered his phone on the third ring. “Mc-Namara here.”
“Yeah, it’s Frank Latimer.”
“I spoke to Moran earlier and then to Kate. I’m glad to know everything worked out and you were able to take the baby home to his mother. Kate tells me that the child is well.”
“Andrew is fine, now that he’s with his mother.” Frank paused for a moment, then made his request. “I need some time off. A week, maybe ten days. Leenie…Dr. Patton and I have some things to work out about Andrew. And I’d like a chance to get to know my son before I head back to Atlanta and go out on another case.”
“A week, even two, can be arranged,” Sawyer said. “And if you need more time—”
“Ten days, tops.”
“Good thing I hired Geoff Monday. He can pick up some of the slack and fill in for you and Kate until you’re both back on the job.”
“Kate’s taking time off, too? Why? I thought she’d be flying back to Atlanta tomorrow.”
“She asked for a leave of absence for personal reasons. I figured she might have told you what those reasons were.”
“She hasn’t said a word to me.”
“Okay. So, we’ll see you back at the office in a couple of weeks.”
“A week to ten days,” Frank corrected.
“Fine. A week to ten days. Good luck, Frank. I hope you and Dr. Patton can come to an amicable agreement about your son.”
“Thanks. I see no reason why we can’t. Leenie is a reasonable woman. And being a psychiatrist, she knows how important it is for a child to have two parents who have an amicable relationship.”
“Sounds like you’ve got it all worked out, at least from your point of view.”
“Yeah. I do.”
After he finished talking to Sawyer, doubts started creeping into his mind. Maybe Leenie wouldn’t be cooperative, maybe she wouldn’t like the idea of sharing Andrew. After all, she hadn’t let him know she was pregnant, hadn’t informed him after Andrew was born that he had a son. If Andrew hadn’t been kidnapped, would she have ever told him about his child’s existence?
Rubbing the back of his neck as he stretched, Frank groaned. He was tired and sleepy. And confused. He needed a good night’s sleep. Then in the morning, he’d be able to think straight.
As he walked down the hall, he noticed Leenie’s bedroom door stood open. He couldn’t resist peeking in on her and Andrew. He stopped in the doorway. His gut clenched when he saw Leenie, in her pink silk gown, lying in bed, her long hair fanned out on her pillow, and Andrew, in his blue terrycloth pajamas, cuddled against Leenie’s chest. Mother and child.
His son.
His woman!
Damn, why couldn’t he stop thinking of Leenie as his. These past few days he’d become much too possessive of her. How could they build separate lives if he kept laying claim to her?
Face the facts, he told himself. Eventually Leenie was going to start dating again. There would be other men in her life. Other men in Andrew’s life, whether he liked it or not. No! He didn’t want other men parading in and out of his son’s life. But who was to say that Leenie wouldn’t find one special guy and get married. It could happen. And then Andrew would have a stepfather.
He had to stop doing this to himself. Don’t start making decisions based on what ifs, he told himself.
As he watched Leenie and Andrew sleeping, he was so drawn to them that he couldn’t resist the temptation to be near them. It wasn’t as if he was invading her privacy. She’d left the door open, hadn’t she? She’d probably expected him to check on them before he turned in for the night. Leaving the door open the way she had was an invitation, wasn’t it?
Frank walked quietly into the room, not stopping until he reached the bed. What would it hurt if he stayed here with them? Just for tonight. After all, it was Andrew’s homecoming. But if he lay down beside them, he might waken Leenie and God knew she needed her rest after all she’d been through. But he could not bring himself to leave. Glancing around the semidark room, he noticed the comfy overstuffed chair in the corner. He could rest comfortably there without disturbing Leenie and Andrew and at the same time, he could be with them, keep watch over them.
Frank made his way to the chair, sat, adjusted his body until he was fairly comfortable, then dragged the knitted lavender afghan from the back of the chair and spread it out over him. A tad short for his long frame, it covered him from shoulders to knees.
For quite a while he sat there, his gaze glued to the woman and infant in the bed. But finally exhaustion overcame him and his eyelids drooped. He yawned, then closed his eyes and gave in to sleep.
Andrew was crying.
It’s all right, baby. Mother’s here. You’re safe.
Leenie woke with a start. When she found Andrew wriggling against her, his little nose and mouth rooting at her breast, she sighed contentedly. Thank you, God. Thank you for keeping my baby safe and bringing him home to me.
“Hush, my darling,” Leenie whispered. “Mommy will get you a bottle. It won’t take a minute.”
She got out of bed, then reached down and lifted a whimpering Andrew up and into her arms. Just as she turned around, she noticed Frank in the chair in the corner. She gasped. When had he come into her bedroom? He roused groggily from sleep and stood.
“Is he all right?” Frank asked, his voice husky.
Leenie had left the door to her room open, hoping Frank would come to her—come to her and Andrew and be a part of Andrew’s homecoming. Apparently she’d fallen asleep before he’d joined them.
“He’s fine. Just hungry.” How was it that a man who needed a haircut and a shave and whose clothes always looked as if he slept in them could be so damned attractive? she wondered. And in the middle of the night, no less. “I have several bottles in the refrigerator. I’m taking Andrew with me to get one and warm it in the microwave.”
“You stay here,” Frank told her. “Let me get Andrew’s bottle.”
“All right. Thank you.” Leenie began walking the floor with her whiny little boy. “But hurry, will you? Your son won’t be patient for long. He wants what he wants when he wants it.”
“Not unlike his father.” Frank grinned. “By the way, how long do I heat the bottle in the microwave?”
“About forty-five seconds, then test it on the inside of your wrist. It should be warm, but not hot.”
When Frank disappeared out into the hall, Leenie paced the floor, crooning to Andrew. How wonderful to hold him again. She kissed his little head. Ah, she loved his sweet smell.
By the time Frank returned—in three minutes flat—Andrew’s whimpers had grown louder.
Her son had a big appetite and little patience.
“Here you go.” Frank held out the bottle to her.
“Would you like to feed him?”
“Me?”
“You’ve already fed him once, right? You’re an old pro now.”
“Yeah, sure. I—”
“Sit back down in the chair and I’ll hand him to you.”
Frank did as she’d instructed. Then she placed Andrew in his arms. At first Andrew cried, apparently not happy about leaving his mother’s arms. But when Frank stuck the nipple in his mouth, Andrew latched on and began sucking. Frank looked up at Leenie and smiled triumphantly.
“You’re a natural,” she told him.
“Am I?”
Her heart did a crazy rat-a-tat-tat. She wanted to wrap her arms around Frank and hug the life out of him. Didn’t he have any idea how wonderful he was? Couldn’t the big lug figure out that he was meant to be a family man? He was gentle, kind, loving and had so much to give to a woman and child. If only he wasn’t so scarred from bad experiences with a selfish mother and an unfaithful wife. If only the two most important women in his life hadn’t crippled him emotionally.
“The way you are with Andrew, a person would think you had vast experience with babies,” Leenie said.
“I have zero experience with babies. It’s Andrew. The way I feel about him makes it so easy to just—” Frank lifted his gaze from his son to Leenie. “I want to be a part of his life from now on.”
She nodded. Emotion welled up inside her. Why hadn’t she called Frank and told him the minute she found out she was pregnant?
“I called my boss at Dundee and asked for some time off. A week. I thought…that is if it’s okay with you, I’d like to stay and get to know my son.”
“Of course it’s okay with me. I want you to be a part of Andrew’s life.”
“You won’t have to put up with me permanently. Just for the next week or so.” Frank looked down at Andrew. “I know a baby needs his mother, but when I’m between assignments, I’d like to come for visits. And maybe when Andrew is older, you might let him visit me in Atlanta.”
Leenie clenched her teeth, then forced a smile, even though her heart was breaking. What had she expected? Not some confession of undying love. Not from Frank Latimer. He might love his son, but by God, he wasn’t going to ever trust his heart to another woman, not even his son’s mother. Not even to a woman who loved him so damn much that she could hardly stand it.
Smiling like an idiot, Leenie nodded and willed herself not to cry. She swallowed hard, then said, “Absolutely. You’ll be welcome here any time. I want you to be a father to Andrew.”
“Thanks, Slim.” With Andrew nestled against him, Frank held the bottle securely in place while he leaned down and kissed his son’s forehead.
Kate answered her cell phone on the first ring. She’d been waiting all night for this call.
“Hello.”
“Kate?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to get back to you, but I’ve had a lot going on here in Memphis. I guess Frank told you something about—”
“Frank doesn’t really care about the FBI’s great success,” Kate said. “Andrew is all that matters to him.”
“Yes, of course. That’s understandable.” Dante Moran hesitated for several moments. “I’m afraid I’m puzzled as to why you left me a message to call you. Is there some information Dundee needs in order to close out the case?”
“This wasn’t an official Dundee case. This was a personal matter for Frank. Sawyer McNamara sent me along because…well, to be honest with you, Sawyer thought I might have a special interest in Andrew Patton’s kidnapping.”
“You’ve lost me. I don’t understand why—”
“Eleven years ago my daughter was kidnapped and to this day I don’t know what happened to her. I’ve searched for her for over a decade without any success. What I want to know is this—did y’all confiscate any files on the abducted children? Things like where they were born. State? Town? And dates. Dates of births? Dates they were adopted? Who adopted them?”
“You’re asking me to divulge official FBI business,” Moran said.
“All you have to say is yes or no.”
“Yes.”
Kate sucked in her breath. “How far back do those files go?”
“Rephrase that so I can give you a yes or no reply.”
“Do they go back eleven years?”
“Yes.”
Kate’s heart lurched to her throat and for a moment she couldn’t breathe. “Is there any way I can get a look at those files?”
“No.”
“What if Sawyer McNamara—”
“No.”
“You don’t understand.” Kate didn’t mind begging. She’d gladly get down on her hands and knees and plead with him if she thought it would get her what she wanted. “Please. If there’s even the slightest chance that my daughter was taken by the same abduction ring that stole Andrew—”
“I can’t promise you anything. But I’ll pull the files from ten years ago and take a look. I can’t give you permission to see the files, but if you’ll give me all the information on your daughter—”
“Mary Kate Winston. She was two months old. Blonde. Brown-eyed. Kidnapped from Prospect, Alabama. I can fax you all the details.”
“You do that.”
“How long—?”
“It could take days to find something…if there’s anything to find.”
“I’m coming to Memphis,” Kate told him. “I’ll give you the details of Mary Kate’s abduction when I get there.”
“I’ll be expecting you.”
“Moran?”
“Huh?”
“Thanks.”
“Don’t thank me. I haven’t done anything.”
“Oh yes you have. You’ve given me just a tiny bit of hope. I’m not sure why you’re doing this for me. I don’t think it’s because you’re such a nice guy, is it?”
“Hell no. Anybody who knows me will tell you I’m a real hard-ass.”
“Then why?”
“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”
“I’ll leave for Memphis as soon as I can get packed.”
Leenie and Frank stood in the doorway, Andrew in Leenie’s arms, and waved goodbye to Kate as she walked toward Frank’s rental car parked in the driveway.
“Be careful driving in this rain,” Leenie cautioned. “The roads are probably still slippery from last night’s sleet.”
“I’ll be very careful,” Kate called back as she opened the car door.
“Call us when you get to Memphis,” Frank said.
“Becoming a father has certainly turned you into the paternal type, hasn’t it,” Kate said jokingly, then slammed the door and started the car.
As soon as Kate backed out of the drive, Frank closed the door and turned to Leenie. “She’ll be all right. I’m sure the roads are mostly clear by now. It’s nearly ten o’clock.”
“I’m not as concerned about her arriving safely to Memphis as I am about what she’ll find out while she’s there. If there is no information about her daughter in those files the FBI confiscated, she’ll be heartbroken. She’s been searching for her little girl for eleven years.”
Frank slipped his arm around Leenie’s shoulder, then tickled Andrew under his chin. “Everybody at Dundee knew there was something tragic in her past and some even speculated it had to do with a child, but none of us knew exactly what had happened.”
“I can’t imagine how she’s stayed sane all these years,” Leenie said. “And not only stayed sane, but actually functioned, kept a job, lived a fairly normal life and all. If I’d lost Andrew that way—”
“You didn’t. He’s right here, safe in your arms.” Frank hugged her and their son to him. She slipped her free arm around Frank, trapping Andrew between them.
When Frank leaned over and kissed her on the mouth and then kissed Andrew on the top of his head, Andrew fussed loudly.
“I think we’re crowding him,” Frank said, a wide grin on his face. “So, Mama, what’s the next thing on the agenda for today? Andrew’s had his morning bottle and a diaper change, so what’s next?”
“A bath. Want to give Andrew his bath?”
“Me?”
“Yes, you.”
“Sure. No problem. How hard can it be to give a two-month-old a bath?”
Leenie smiled. Frank had a great deal to learn about babies.

Chapter Ten
Leenie prepared Andrew’s bath, placing everything Frank would need in easy reach. Then she handed her son over to his father. Frank grinned confidently and laid Andrew on the changing table in the corner of the bathroom. Although Andrew whined softly, Frank managed to remove his son’s sleeper and diaper before Andrew bellowed loudly.
Frank lifted Andrew in his arms, the baby’s fat little naked body wriggling. “What’s the matter big boy? Did Daddy not do it right? Is Mommy better at this than I am?”
When Andrew yelled even louder, his face turning red and tears pooling in his eyes, Frank turned to Leenie, who stood in the bathroom doorway. “Maybe you’d better—”
“No way.” Leenie shook her head. “You can’t change your mind at the last minute just because this is turning out to be a bit more difficult than you’d anticipated.” When Frank frowned at her, she smiled. “Remember, you’re going to be around for only a week, so you need to cram a lot of experiences with Andrew into the time you’ll have with him.”
Leenie was proud of herself for being able to joke with Frank about him leaving soon. Her pride demanded that he not know how much she wanted him to stay. If he didn’t love her, she would be better off without him, wouldn’t she? And she certainly wasn’t going to use Andrew to hang on to a man who didn’t want her.
Frank nodded. “You’re right.” He carried a less-than-happy Andrew over to the bathroom sink filled with lukewarm bathwater, then shifted his son around in his arms several times. Once again he looked at Leenie. “Maybe you’d better show me how to do this.”
Not budging an inch, Leenie said, “Use your arm to support him, then ease him down into the water. The liquid soap and washcloth are right there on the vanity. And so is the shampoo. I usually wash his hair first, but if you prefer to leave that until last, it’s okay.”
“No, we’ll do this the way you always do it.”
Going by Leenie’s instructions, Frank eased his son into the sink. Andrew quieted, but continued sniffing tiny sobs while Frank talked to him. Nonsensical words. Baby talk. It was all Leenie could do not to burst out laughing. If only the other Dundee agents could see him now, trying to support a baby in his bathwater with one arm while struggling with his other hand to open a bottle of shampoo. Finally after several attempts Frank managed to squirt a generous amount of shampoo into his hand.
“You know a guy needs at least four hands to do this.” Frank wiped half the shampoo off on the vanity counter, then rubbed the rest into Andrew’s hair.
Leenie watched while Frank scrubbed Andrew from top to bottom. And he was doing a pretty good job, too. Andrew cooperated fully, enjoying his bath—until Frank started to rinse the shampoo from his hair. The minute several drops of soapy water trickled down on his face, Andrew started screaming and thrashing. Water splashed everywhere. All over the vanity. Across the mirror behind the sink. And onto Frank, drenching his shirt and dampening his jeans.
“Help!” Frank called out. “I need reinforcements.”
Chuckling softly, Leenie rushed in to assist him. “Here, let me take over.”
The minute Leenie eased her arm around Andrew, Frank pulled back and moved out of her way. “Mommy to the rescue,” Frank said to his son. “It’s a good thing we’ve got her, isn’t it?”
With practiced ease, Leenie soothed Andrew, then rinsed his hair and body thoroughly before lifting him up and out of the sink. Holding him with one hand, she picked up the hooded towel and wrapped him in it, covering his head with the hood. She turned to show Frank how easily the job had been accomplished, but instead stopped dead still and sucked in her breath.
Oh, jeez! Frank had stripped out of his shirt, leaving him bare to the waist. It just wasn’t fair that he looked so damned appealing. Some men looked better with their clothes on. Not Frank Latimer. He definitely looked better without clothes. As a matter of fact, he was downright irresistible.
When he caught her ogling his muscular chest, he grinned. An electrified awareness passed between them. Leenie forced her gaze from his chest to his face.
“He’s probably gotten you wet to the skin, too,” Frank said, pointedly staring at her shirt, his gaze quickly zeroing in on the exposed right side of the damp cloth sticking to her breast. Andrew lay pressed to the left side, effectively concealing the other breast.
She swallowed. Her nipples tightened. “Why don’t you put on a dry shirt while I get Andrew dressed.” That said, she hurried out of the bathroom and straight to Andrew’s nursery.
Escape! her mind screamed. Get the hell away from Frank before he figures out how much you want him. It was ridiculous the way her body reacted to him, to nothing more than him staring at her breast. If she gave in to her desires, she’d jump Frank the minute Andrew went down for a nap.
So, would that be so bad? she asked herself. Yes, the logical part of her brain responded, you’d be a fool to fall into the sack with him. The guy’s leaving in a week, running off to God knows where on his next assignment. If she was smart, she’d keep Frank out of her bed and find a way to rip him out of her heart. When he left Maysville, he’d return to his life back in Atlanta. And that meant he’d be dating other women.
Gritting her teeth, Leenie growled inwardly, with only a murmured whine audible. She hugged her baby before laying him in the middle of his crib.
By the time Frank joined them in their son’s room a few minutes later, she had dressed Andrew for the day in navy blue corduroy overalls and a light blue cotton knit shirt. Just as she pulled on his light blue socks and white booties, Frank came up behind her and looked over her shoulder. She felt the heat from his body as he stood there so very close, his chest brushing against her back. When she glanced over her shoulder to speak to him, she gasped when she realized he’d lowered his head so that they were nose to nose, only inches separating them. She sucked in her breath. They stared at each other, both momentarily transfixed. And then he gave her a quick kiss, a kiss that was over before she had a chance to react. Frank slipped his arm around her waist, then looked down in the crib at Andrew. Using his free hand, he reached out and tickled Andrew’s belly.

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BEVERLY BARTON и Emilie Rose

Тип: электронная книга

Жанр: Современная зарубежная литература

Язык: на английском языке

Издательство: HarperCollins

Дата публикации: 16.04.2024

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О книге: Big tough men becoming adoring dads…Keeping Baby Secret Beverly Barton They’d shared a brief affair, and Agent Frank Latimer moved on to his next mission, never knowing that he’d become a father – not until his son was kidnapped! Frank was going to bring his boy home. Then he planned on dealing with independent Leenie!Five Brothers and a Baby Peggy MorelandAce stared at the woman who stood defiantly on his doorstep with a blanket-wrapped bundle in her arms. It seemed he and his brothers had inherited something extra. But what was he supposed to do with a baby girl? Expecting Brand’s Baby Emilie Rose Independent Toni Swenson had to become pregnant to claim her inheritance. Still, after one passionate night with a sexy stranger, the last thing she expected was that he would track her down to deliver a marriage proposal!

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