Wanted: Father for Her Baby: Keeping Baby Secret / Five Brothers and a Baby / Expecting Brand's Baby

“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.”