The Baby Barter

Before he could get the question out, Thea spoke. “I’m sorry I snapped at you like that.” She gave him a watery smile. “It’s just...with finding out about Eileen, and well, everything, it’s been a lot to deal with this last week.”

Mack felt himself weaken. Poor woman. No doubt this was not quite the homecoming she’d hoped for. This situation with Eileen’s baby couldn’t be easy for her, either. “It’s understandable. This whole thing with Sarah has got me walking around on pins and needles. I’m as grouchy as an old black bear.”

“Well, maybe not that bad.” Her lips twitched into a slight grin. “But almost.”

He snorted out a short chuckle. That’s one thing he could say for the woman. She always knew how to stop him from taking himself so seriously. But this was a serious situation. All his hopes for the future, a future that included raising Sarah, were at stake. “I love that little girl, you know.”

“I know. You feel like she’s your daughter.”

Mack drew in a deep breath and waited. Surely she’d remind him that Sarah might be her niece and Thea intended to raise her as her own. But Thea remained quiet, as if acknowledging his love for the baby had taken what little energy she had left. He shouldn’t be surprised. Thea had always been sensitive to everyone’s feelings, especially her family’s.

And now to his feelings, it seemed. It was a pity she couldn’t have been bothered to show more care eight years ago, when he really could have used a friend. He watched her as she fidgeted with the clasp on her purse. The dark blue suit dress she wore gave her an air of dependability and professionalism while the black velvet hat turned her skin a luminous pink that matched the tiny pearls at her ears. Her brownish-blond hair had been pulled back into a loose knot at her nape, tiny tendrils caressed the smooth skin of her neck making his fingertips tingle. Would the silky strands feel as soft they looked?

Mack shook off the feeling. This was Thea, his old friend, the girl who’d robbed him of his future, and who had run away without a single glance back to the people who might need her. The woman who planned to steal his daughter.

“Why did you come back?”

Clutching tight to her purse, Thea lifted her head. “Excuse me?”

Mack took a step toward her, then stopped. He’d get no answers out of her if he intimidated her. “You’ve been gone for eight years, Thea. In all that time, you never came home, not once. So why now? What brought you back here after all this time?”

She gave a quick glance at her wristwatch as she bit her lower lip, pushed a tiny strand of hair behind her ear. Signs he took to mean Thea was nervous. She stood. “I must have misunderstood the head nurse about my appointment time. Or maybe she wanted to meet me in her office. That would make more sense.”

The woman was going to make a run for it. How typical. Mack blocked her path to the exit. “Why is it so difficult for you to answer my question?”

“Why is it so important that you know?”

Why was it so important to him? For the sake of the baby, of course, but he knew that wasn’t the entire reason he’d pushed her for an answer. Maybe if he opened up a little, Thea would feel comfortable enough to answer in return. “You left without a word to anyone except for maybe Eileen, and if she knew where you’d gone she didn’t stick around long enough to tell anyone. I was surprised not to hear from you. I guess I thought we were friends back then.”

He’d said too much, but once he’d started, the words had seemed to flow out of him before he could call a stop to them. What would Thea do now? Turn and walk away, or was she brave enough to answer his honesty with her own?

“I missed my family.”

“After eight years?” All right, so that had been kind of mean, throwing that fact out there, but if Thea had wanted to see her family, why had she waited all this time to come back home? “You could have come to Marietta anytime.”

“No, I couldn’t,” she snapped, then she jerked back as if the words had stung her. “I didn’t mean...”

The guilt in her expression tugged at him. What had he expected? Even puppies snarl when you back them into a corner. But her answer had intrigued him. What was this great sin she had committed that made her think she wouldn’t be welcomed back home?

The door behind Mack opened. “Miss, have you seen...” The man paused. “There you are, Mack. I’ve been looking all over for you.”

Beau. Sparring with Thea had made Mack forget all about his lunch plans. “You must not have been looking too hard.”

The man had the decency to smile at the good-humored ribbing. Beau turned to Thea. “I’m sorry about that, Miss. Mack here is a great sheriff but he’s no Bob Hope.”

“I don’t know.” Thea lifted her chin a notch higher, their gazes tangling as her eyes met his. “He can certainly hold your attention when he wants to.”

The breathlessness in her response made Mack’s palms sweat. This Thea was wiser, more confident. Yet, there was still a vulnerability about her that made him want to protect her, be her shelter in the storms that raged around her.

“You seem to know our sheriff rather well.” Beau gave him a sly grin. “You ashamed of your old friends or did you want to keep your beautiful lady all to yourself?”

Mack rolled his eyes. Of course Beau would jump to conclusions. The man knew Mack had been searching for a wife, had even considered courting Edie Michaels until Beau had made it plain he wanted Edie for himself. But this woman? Mack had to set the record straight. “Thea is just a friend.”

“Thea Miller?” Beau turned to study the woman in question with a more in-depth look. “Oh, my, it is you.”

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