A Baby to Cherish

Home from the war, army nurse Thea Miller is determined to adopt her late sister’s baby and begin a new life. But someone else has the same intentions—the town sheriff and Thea’s old friend, Mack Worthington. Now, in order to keep her niece in the family, Thea must reach an agreement with him.

Mack isn’t sure Thea—whose actions once hurt him badly—is committed to baby Sarah. And a judge may never approve a single-parent adoption for either of them. But what if they got married? It would be a marriage in name only. Yet the more time Mack spends with Thea, the more he begins to believe their pretend family can become the real one they’ve both been longing for.

“I’m adopting her.”

“What about the baby’s family? Shouldn’t they have a say?”

Mack blinked at the unexpected question. “Sarah’s mother gave her up.”

Thea leveled pleading blue eyes at him. “Maybe she thought she didn’t have a choice.”

Mack straightened and crossed his arms over his chest. “Why have you been nosing around Ms. Aurora’s the last two days?”

“It has to do with my sister—when she came back to Marietta last spring.”

Eileen Miller was in Marietta last spring? Not possible. “The night of the accident was the first time I’d seen her in years.”

“Eileen probably kept out of sight due to her condition.”

Mack turned sharply to stare at her. “She was pregnant? Where’s the baby?”

“That’s just it, Mack. Momma says the baby has been stolen.”

“That’s why you’ve been spying on Aurora’s place.” The pieces began to fall into place. “You think Sarah is Eileen’s baby?”

“Sarah’s the spitting image of Eileen.” Sorrow along with another emotion—determination?—stared back at him. “That child you want to adopt is my niece, Mack. And I want to take her home.”

PATTY SMITH HALL has been making up stories since she was knee-high to a grasshopper. Now she’s thrilled to share her love of history and her storytelling skills with everyone, including her hero of thirty-one years, Danny, two beautiful daughters and a wonderful future son-in-law. She resides in northeast Georgia. Patty loves to hear from her readers! You can contact her at pattysmithhall.com.

The Baby Barter

Patty Smith Hall

www.millsandboon.co.uk

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

—Romans 8:28

To Rose Smith. Your humble spirit and servant heart make you a rare beauty in today’s world,

sweet sister. You are a rare jewel indeed!

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

About the Author

Title Page

Bible Verse

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Epilogue

Dear Reader

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

Marietta, Georgia

Fall, 1945

Sheriff Mack Worthington made it his business to notice people.

And the woman standing in the shadows of the massive oak tree at the edge of Merrilee Davenport’s backyard had sent his senses on high alert. Not that he could see her all that well. The brim of her felt hat covered most of her face, leaving him at a distinct disadvantage.

But it was the little things that made him question her reasons for being there. In the tan skirt and white blouse she wore, she looked more prepared for a trip to the market than attendance at a wedding. And why did her fingers unconsciously dig into the sides of her purse as if she were holding on to it for dear life? Tension held her ramrod straight, reminding him of a soldier ready for battle.

What fight did this woman expect to face here?

“What’s got you twisting around in your chair like a kite in a tornado?”

Mack glanced at the older lady to his right and felt the knots in his stomach relax. Ms. Aurora’s tone had just the right combination of chastisement and concern that came from years of caring for other people’s children. He straightened in his seat. “Nothing, Ms. Aurora.”

She studied him a long moment until he felt himself start to squirm again. “It don’t look like nothing to me.”

Billy Warner, the oldest of Aurora’s current batch of foster children at twelve years old, pushed himself out of his chair, his cane anchored against his side as he stretched up to get a better look down the rows of chairs that lined the makeshift aisle. “Is Claire up to something? I knew she’d get bored with all this wishy-washy romantic stuff.”

Mack’s lips twitched as he put his free hand on the boy’s shoulder and gently pushed him back into his seat. “Claire is on her best behavior today. That girl’s been looking forward to seeing her parents get remarried since her daddy showed up back in town.” John and Merrilee had a troubled past—filled with misunderstandings and manipulations by her family meant to keep them apart. But they’d triumphed over it all, as this wedding proved. And their twelve-year-old daughter couldn’t be happier.

“Maybe.” Billy blew out a snort. “But the ceremony’s been over for a good five minutes, and we’re still sitting here when we could be eating some of that spread Miss Merrilee has been cooking for the last week. I’m starving.”

Mack shook his head. The boy had a lot to learn about the female of the species over the next few years, particularly when it came to things like romance and marriage. Not that Mack was any kind of expert. His few attempts at romance had been shot down in flames. Maybe women and the workings of their hearts were the only mystery he wouldn’t ever solve.

A faint whimper drew his gaze, and Mack found himself staring into a pair of pale blue eyes wide with just a slight hint of irritation, plump baby fingers reaching for him, her tiny body squirming in Ms. Aurora’s arms. Technically, little Sarah was in Ms. Aurora’s care until the adoption was approved, but both Mack and the baby knew the truth—he was the one who had been there for her, loving her since she was dropped into his arms on the day she was born. He was her father in every way that mattered. If only he could push Judge Wakefield to make it legal.

Ms. Aurora shifted the child in her arms and held her out to Mack. “Looks like someone wants to see her daddy.”

“Come here, doodlebug.” Mack scooped up the baby, her warm little body instantly nestling against his chest. She reached up and Mack caught the tips of her fingers between his lips, nibbling gently, enjoying this new game Sarah had discovered in the past day or two. Her lips turned up in a gaping smile, the jagged pink line just under her nose the only evidence of her most recent surgery to fix the cleft palate she’d been born with. A wave of love like nothing he’d ever known speared through him.

“Really, Sheriff,” Ms. Aurora whispered as she caught the baby’s hands and wiped her tiny fingers dry with a billowy cotton cloth. “You need to teach her to keep her hands to herself.”

“It’s just a game we play.” Mack held out a finger to the baby, who eyed it for a moment before grasping it between her palms and drawing it to her gaping mouth. “Besides, I think she’s teething. At least, that’s what it sounds like from all the books I’ve read.”

The elderly woman shook her head as she extracted his finger from the little girl’s grip. “You’re spoiling her silly, Mack.”

“I can’t help it.” He lifted her up, brushed a quick kiss against Sarah’s silky hair, then smiled. “And what girl doesn’t deserve a little bit of spoiling?”

“Not every moment of every day,” the older woman scolded.

Mack silently disagreed. They’d almost lost Sarah during her last surgery to correct the disfigurement to her mouth and nose, and there was still one more surgery to come. It would be a hard trial for anyone to face, particularly a baby who had already faced too much pain and rejection in her short life.

She’d been abandoned by her young mother just hours after she’d been born. Mack had gotten the call to pick up the baby that day—Victory in Europe Day—and deliver her to the only place that would take a child with such severe anomalies. In the short half-hour drive to Ms. Aurora’s, Mack had found his attention riveted to the tiny infant lying swaddled in a ragged blanket in a cardboard box fashioned into a makeshift crib. By the time they’d turned into the dirt driveway leading to the older woman’s home, he’d known he wanted to adopt this child and raise her as his own daughter.

As if she had a window into his worries, Ms. Aurora laid a comforting hand on his arm. “You heard anything from Judge Wakefield about when you can finally take Sarah home?”

Mack shook his head. “Not yet.”

“That’s Ethan for you. Taking his ever-loving sweet time about things.” The older woman gave a little huff. “I swear that man is as slow as molasses in the dead of winter.”

Mack couldn’t argue with her there. Judge Wakefield was known in town for his persnickety approach to his duties, but Mack had an inkling this situation was related more to the man’s personal dislike of him.

“Well, what’s Red doing to get the adoption finalized? I figured with all the money you’re paying that boy, he would have closed this case by now.”

Mack’s lips twitched. Red had never grown up from being “that boy” to Ms. Aurora, not since he’d filled up the town fountain with laundry soap when he was just ten years old. She didn’t seem to realize that he had become one of the leading attorneys in the state.

But Aurora did have a point. Red should have gotten everything resolved by now. Since taking this case, one thing after another had gotten in the way of finalizing the adoption. “He’s supposed to be here today. I thought I’d corner him with a piece of Merrilee’s juicy chocolate cake and see what the holdup is.”

“The way things are going, Sarah will be a woman fully grown before you take her home.” Ms. Aurora gently patted the baby’s back.

Billy turned to them, his finger pressed against his lips. “Claire’s giving us the eye.”

Mack glanced up to where the wedding party had gathered. Claire stood beside her mother, her lips drawn into a stern line. Boy, John and Merrilee would have their hands full with that one, especially when the boys began to come courting.

Mack leaned back in his chair, a smile threatening along the corners of his mouth. What would Sarah be like at that age? Full of sass and determination? A tomboy more interested in Atlanta Crackers baseball games than school dances? Or would she love frills and lace and girly stuff Mack didn’t know a thing about?

Mack’s gaze fell to the bundle of ribbons and bows perched on his lap. Was he being selfish, wanting to raise Sarah without the benefit of a mother, no feminine hand to lead her through those challenging years of becoming a woman? He shifted in his seat. It wasn’t that he hadn’t tried to find a wife. A number of nice women had moved into town since the bomber plant had opened. He’d even dated one or two, but things never seemed to work out.

He touched the scar just under the hairline next to his left ear. Probably for the best. If God wanted him to have a wife, He would have sent someone who could look beyond his limitations, one who would love him just as he was, deaf ear and all. Until then, he and Sarah would do just fine on their own.

A slight pressure against his right side jarred him away from his thought, and he turned to see Ms. Aurora’s worried expression. Her pale eyes darkened into stormy gray as she stole a glance over her shoulder, her body rigid.

Mack lifted Sarah and nestled her against his shoulder. “What is it, Ms. Aurora?”

“I’m probably just imagining things.”

Mack doubted it. Aurora Adair was one of the most sensible and down-to-earth people he knew. If she felt something was amiss, nine times out of ten she was right. “Let me be the judge of that.”

She pressed her lips together as if deciding whether to tell him or not. “Remember a couple of days ago when I told you I felt like someone was watching the house?”

His heart rate kicked up a notch. “Yes.”

“I didn’t worry much about it. I like to think some of the families of the children who were left with me might try to get a glimpse of them, just to make sure they’re all right. But this one...” The viselike grip she had on his arm put all Mack’s instincts on alert. “She’s been watching the house for the last two days, and now, she’s here.”

“Point her out to me.”

Ms. Aurora gave him an annoyed look. “I can’t do that. That’s just plain rude.”

“Then how am I—”

“She’s toward the back, underneath that big old oak tree one of the children got stuck in last July. Remember?”

Yes, he remembered. Took him two hours to get that little firecracker Ellie off that high-hanging branch. “There’s a crowd over there, Ms. Aurora. Which lady are you talking about?”

“The girl in the plain tan skirt with a white blouse and a brown felt hat. Doesn’t look like she knew there was going to be a wedding today.”

Knots began to form in the pit of Mack’s stomach. He’d known the woman was trouble but just who was she? Mack shifted sideways to get a good long look at her. The brim of her hat still flopped over most of her face, but now he caught a glimpse of golden-brown curls clinging to the nape of her neck. She tilted her head back, casting a nervous glance at the crowd before her gaze fell on him. A dull ache settled in Mack’s left jaw, and he reached for the jagged scar once again.

Thea Miller had come home.

* * *

Thea’s palms grew moist inside her bleached cotton gloves, her gaze fixed on the impossibly handsome man glaring back at her. She immediately recognized Mack Worthington, football team captain, all-around good guy. And the only boy in high school she would have given a second glance. Or a third. Her heart hammered against her ribs just thinking about the crush she’d nursed for him her junior and senior years.

She didn’t have time to reminisce about the good old days, not with the trouble she’d found when she’d returned home from England three days ago. Thea drew in a slow breath, then released it, her heart settling back into a normal rhythm. That silly girl with a shameful family and a hopeless crush had made something of herself, serving her country as a nurse on the front lines in Europe. If she could face those dangers, then facing down a boy she used to like should be the least of her worries.

But maybe he could help her. Someone in town had mentioned Mack had taken Sheriff Clay’s place after the older man had enlisted. The news had shocked Thea at first. Knowing how protective Mack could be, she’d thought he’d enlist the day after Pearl Harbor was bombed. What had kept him in Marietta rather than serving his country overseas?

Thea shook her head. What did it matter? Mack was the town’s sheriff. Maybe it was time to get the police involved if Momma’s allegations were true.

Aurora Adair stole your sister’s baby.

Momma’s words twisted the knots in her stomach as tight as a tourniquet. The scenario sounded eerily familiar—her kid sister, Eileen, pregnant and unmarried, the child missing soon after birth, the frantic search that turned up nothing, a promise from Thea to find the baby and return it home. Her chest tightened. A promise she’d never been able to keep. Of course, she’d been little more than a child herself, barely seventeen. Eight unbearable years she’d waited to come home, thwarting the promise she’d made to her sister and had been unable to keep.

Not this time.

Besides, this was a completely different situation. Eight years ago, it had been their mother who had made the decision to give away Eileen’s baby, her pride unable to handle the prospect of the town discovering that her unwed, teenage daughter had become a mother. But this time, her mother said that she’d wanted the baby—that she’d helped Eileen prepare. And Thea herself had seen the evidence: tiny sweaters and booties recently knitted, a cupboard full of washed and sterilized baby bottles and all the makings for homemade formula.

This time, they could have made things work, truly pulled together as a family in a way they hadn’t done in years. But Eileen had died not long after, in a car accident. The baby had been taken from them. And Thea had returned home to find nothing left of her family but her mother—and even she was sadly changed.

All Thea could hope for now was to find her sister’s baby, take her home and raise the child herself. Have a real family again.

Which might be more difficult than she’d first thought. Aurora Adair hadn’t left her house once in the two days since Thea had started monitoring her movements, hoping for a chance to meet her on the street. She refused to knock on the woman’s front door to deliver her accusation. It had been an answer to prayer when she’d learned Ms. Adair would be at the Daniels’s place today. A public venue might give Thea her only opportunity to get this mess straightened out. She wanted badly to believe that this had all been some kind of misunderstanding, and that Ms. Aurora would be happy to return the baby to her loving family. Hopefully a quick conversation would be all it would take.

But crashing a wedding had never been part of the plan.

Thea stole back into the cool shadows of the tree and waited until the wedding guests made their way toward the house. The festive atmosphere didn’t really agree with her. Not when she was still caught up in mourning for Eileen. It had been weeks since the fatal car accident, but Thea had only learned about it a few days before.

A fresh wave of sadness caught her by surprise, punching her in the midsection like a fist. It still didn’t seem real, her baby sister gone. Guilt warred with grief inside Thea’s heart. Maybe if she’d returned home, instead of staying away out of guilt over her broken promise, she could have kept an eye on Eileen. Maybe then she wouldn’t have jumped into that car with Eddie Huffman, wouldn’t have been killed when Eddie lost control.

An ache settled in the pit of Thea’s stomach. She might have let Eileen down but she’d make up for it, raise her sister’s baby as her own. Which meant getting the baby back.

Thea pushed away from the tree and scanned the Daniels’s front yard as people lingered along the makeshift aisle, following the path the newly remarried couple had taken just moments ago. She wobbled forward and instantly yearned for the sturdy comfort of her army boots, the new heels she’d bought this morning shifting on the unlevel ground. Omaha Beach hadn’t given her as much trouble as these silly shoes.

“Thea Miller?”

Thea felt her shoulders stiffen. Any hope of getting through the day unnoticed vanished. It had been a foolish hope, anyway. Nothing ever stayed hidden in Marietta. Her mother and sister had taught her that. Thea turned, her skirts whispering softly around her legs, making her long for the confidence she’d always felt in her army greens or nursing whites. An auburn-haired woman waddled toward her, the loose pleats of her dress floating over her swollen belly as she slowly moved down the row.

Thea’s mouth turned up in an unexpected smile. “Maggie Daniels?”

“I thought that was you! How are you?” Maggie smiled as if she was truly happy to see her. “It’s Maggie Hicks now.” She caressed a loving hand against the swell of her stomach. “This here’s Peanut.”

“Family name?”

Maggie’s smile widened. “On my husband’s side.”

The soft chuckles that rasped against her throat startled Thea. How long had it been since she’d truly laughed? Not since before the war, maybe even longer. “Congratulations, Maggie.”

“Thank you, but what about you? Last time I talked to your mother, you were in nursing school in Memphis.”

Thea nodded. So her mother hadn’t told anyone in town she’d joined the Army Nurse Corps. At least she’d read Thea’s letters and knew where her daughter had gone. She’d never written back, so Thea had wondered if the letters had been thrown away, her mother still holding a grudge about the way Thea had left home. Though, what had her mother expected after what she’d done, giving Eileen’s first baby to a total stranger? “I joined the Army Nurse Corps a year after graduation.”

“Where were you stationed?”

“Stateside at first, then I was sent to Sheffield, England.”

“Really?” Her friend’s green eyes warmed. “My husband’s grandfather owned an airfield outside York for many years but he’s been in the States for a while now.”

“It must have been lovely then.” Before the army barracks and field hospitals had filled the lush green fields surrounding the quaint buildings that formed the town’s center. Thea closed her eyes. So much damage to that lovely land and the people who lived there. So many families torn apart, extinguished, never to be together again in this life. The need to see her own family had driven her these last few weeks, across the Atlantic then down the East Coast.

But where was home now, and who could she count as family since her baby sister was gone and her mother seemed to be a shell of herself? But then look at what Momma had lost in the past few months, her daughter and grandchild. Who could blame her for being quiet and withdrawn?

“I was so sorry to hear about Eileen.”

Thea swallowed against the lump in her throat. Condolences weren’t easy to hear. “Me, too.”

“I didn’t even know she was in town until I heard about the accident.”

That little piece of news surprised Thea. “Where else would she be?”

Maggie frowned in confusion. “Didn’t you know? She left for Atlanta right about the time you took off for school. This past summer was the first time she’d been back since then.”

What had Eileen been doing in Atlanta? Why had she come back here to have her baby? “She must have been visiting Momma.”

“Your momma must treasure that time now.”

Thea drew in a deep sigh. “She doesn’t talk about it much.”

“I couldn’t imagine, losing my child like that. It must be hard to talk about it with the pain still fresh.” Maggie rubbed her hand over her swollen middle as if holding her unborn child close.

“Maybe.” Or maybe not. Momma had never shown much emotion or warmth toward either her or her sister, especially after their father had died in a farming accident when she’d been only four and Eileen no more than three. Thea had taken over mothering Eileen then, rocking her back to sleep when she woke up from a bad dream, making sure Eileen was fed before she’d head off to school in the morning. As she grew older, Eileen and their mother had started to fight. When Eileen’s wild ways blossomed in her early teens and proved to be embarrassing, the arguments had grown worse. Thea could only imagine how bad things had gotten after Momma had given Eileen’s baby away. Maybe it wasn’t that surprising that Eileen had decided to leave town. Why had she come home to deliver her second baby? Maybe she and Momma had made things right between them.

“They’re ready to cut the cake!”

Both women turned to where a boy of about twelve stood on the porch at the top of the stairs, a wooden cane bearing the weight of his lean frame. Scowling, he fidgeted with his tie, leaving it slightly off center. His dark coat sat precariously on his shoulders, as if the boy hadn’t decided whether to fling it off or not.

“He looks happy to be here,” Thea commented.

Maggie’s warm laughter coaxed another rare smile from her. “Billy’s not quite sure about this wedding stuff, but give him a plate of Aunt Merrilee’s cooking and he’s happier than a puppy with two tails.”

Thea relaxed a bit. She’d always liked Maggie, liked her plain talk and friendly way of treating everyone the same, no matter their social status. “Please tell your aunt congratulations from me.”

“You can tell her yourself.” Before Thea had a chance to respond, Maggie tucked her hand into Thea’s arm and pulled her out of the shadows.

Thea glanced around, praying no one else would notice her. “I’m not exactly dressed for a wedding.”

“You look fine, and I refuse to let a woman who served our boys overseas get away without a piece of Merrilee’s wedding cake. It’s the first time she’s baked anything since they stopped rationing sugar and eggs.”

The thought of such a sweet delight after four long years was almost too much for Thea to bear. But staying for the reception felt too awkward. She’d approach Ms. Aurora another time, maybe get up the nerve to go to her door and ask about Eileen’s baby. She may not know the woman personally, but she’d heard enough about her kindness and generosity to the children she’d taken in to her home, disabled children who’d been abandoned, to hope that this had all been a simple misunderstanding. One they could resolve easily...after which, she’d be able to bring Eileen’s baby home.

A screen door slapped shut in front of her, and she found herself staring into the dark wool of a man’s suit coat. She lifted her gaze and admired the taut muscles of the man’s broad shoulders, his tanned neck, the thick mop of dark hair that reminded Thea of walnuts ready to be shaken from the tree. He turned slightly, and a soft gasp rose in her throat, just as it had when she’d caught sight of Mack early today. The young boy she’d admired as a teenager had grown into an amazingly handsome man.

Who was more than likely married, Thea reminded herself. A faint sense of disappointment settled over her. Best if she kept her distance. No sense giving folks around here any more reason to talk about the Miller girls if she could help it.

A soft sound, something between a coo and a whimper, drew her attention to a tiny bundle of pale pink ribbons and ivory lace squirming in his arms. A baby? Well, of course, he’d have a child if he were married. Even in high school he’d talked of settling down and having a large family. But wait, she’d seen this child before—recognized the ribbons and lace of her outfit. Yet it hadn’t been Mack holding the little girl when Thea had seen her before. She was certain of that. So who had it been?

There was something distinctly familiar about this child, about the sunny blond curls that hugged her head like a Sunday bonnet. Mack lifted the baby to his shoulder and the little girl staring out at the small crowd, her piercing blue eyes watchful, absorbing everything around her. Recognition caused Thea’s lungs to constrict in her chest, a joy so overwhelming, it threatened to shoot out of her fingertips and her toes.

She recognized the outfit from seeing that precious baby with Aurora Adair. The baby in Mack’s arms was the mirror imagine of her sister, Eileen.

Chapter Two

“Look who I found wondering around the yard.”

Mack turned at Maggie’s exclamation, his heart picking up tempo as he raked a glance over Thea, startled to find blue eyes the color of a summer storm staring back at him, causing the muscles in his shoulders to bunch and tighten. An uneasiness gathered in the pit of his stomach. Why was Thea here?

And why had she been nosing around Ms. Aurora’s place?

“Can you believe it, Mack? Thea’s finally come home!” Maggie pulled Thea closer. Had the two of them been good friends in school? He couldn’t remember. Thea had pretty much kept to herself between classes. He’d only gotten to know her during her junior year when they’d both worked at the movie house in town.

Maggie was right. No one, especially not him, had ever expected Thea to come back to Marietta. What had brought her back home now? Settling his hand against the baby’s back, he took a step back to put some breathing room between them. “Theodora.”

Thea stiffened, her delicate chin lifting at a stubborn angle. “Sheriff Worthington.”

He didn’t know why but the sound of his professional title on her lips felt like more of a dig than a proper show of respect. Maybe she’d done it because he’d used her proper name rather than the nickname she preferred. He’d have to tread lightly, then. No sense starting a war with the woman, not until he had some idea as to why she’d been snooping around Aurora’s. Mack forced what he hoped was a relaxed smile against his lips. “Welcome home.”

She gave him a curt nod that reminded him of the pretty teacher he’d had a crush on back in fourth grade. “Thank you. I just wish I was here under better circumstances.”

“That’s an odd statement seeing how we’re at a wedding.”

Her fingers clamped down on her purse like a vise. “I mean...”

Thea still had that same little habit of nibbling at her lower lip when she was uncertain about how to act or what to say. Whatever had brought her here made her uncomfortable.

“Always suspicious, aren’t you, Mack?” Maggie tilted her head slightly toward Thea as if to share a well-kept secret. “I guess that’s a good trait for a sheriff to have. Probably why the town council hired him in the first place.”

That, and the fact he’d been about the only man left after Pearl Harbor was bombed and men shipped out to serve in the war. Mack turned to Thea. “Sorry about that. Occupational hazard.”

She nodded, then turned her attention to Sarah, the tension he’d noted in her earlier softening as the little girl reached out for the slender finger Thea held up for her. “How old is she?”

Mack studied her for a long second. Most people chose to ignore Sarah, or worse, asked questions about the bright pink scar that had connected her nose to her mouth. Why hadn’t Thea fallen into that pattern? “Five months. She was born on Victory in Europe Day.”

A gentle smile bloomed across Thea’s face as the baby grasped her finger and gave a playful squeal. “She’s so beautiful.”

“Thank you.” Mack narrowed his gaze. Sarah had been called many things in her short life, but never anything close to beautiful—at least, not by anyone but him.

“We were just talking about what happened to Eileen,” Maggie said, patting the baby’s back. “Maybe you could answer some of her questions about that night.”

“You were there?”

“Yes.” Mack’s gut tightened at the note of sadness in Thea’s voice. As the top law enforcement agent in the county, he’d seen his share of car accidents, most fender benders, others deadly. But the scene he came upon the night Eileen died had haunted him for weeks after the accident. Two people just a couple of years younger than he lost in the blink of an eye, so close to the happiness they both spent most of their lives in search of, only to lose it in one unthinkable instant.

Of all the losses the town had suffered during the war, watching Eileen Miller die was the one that had driven him to his knees.

“Why don’t I take Sarah while you two talk?” Maggie slipped her hands beneath the baby’s arms and lifted her away from Mack’s shoulder. “I need the practice, anyway.”

They stood in awkward silence as Maggie shifted the child. Oddly enough, Thea seemed to drink in even the slightest movement Sarah made until the child was nestled against Maggie’s shoulder.

“Goodbye, sweet pea. See you again soon,” Thea whispered as Maggie carried Sarah down the stairs and out into the yard. Soft strands of blond curls fell against Thea’s shoulders as she tilted her head back to meet his gaze. “So you’re a...daddy?”

The words brought a smile to Mack’s face despite himself. “Not yet, but I will be soon.”

A tiny line of confusion creased the smooth area between Thea’s brows. “How...?”

“I’m adopting her.”

Thea’s pleasant chuckle felt good to his ears. “You make it sound like your wife doesn’t have anything to say about it.”

Was she fishing to find out if he was married? The thought sparked a warmth in his chest that he immediately tamped down. It had been years since he was a smitten teenager who cared what Thea Miller thought of him—he wouldn’t make that mistake again. “Considering I don’t have one, she doesn’t.”

Thea stared wide-eyed at him as if she were searching for answers and coming up short. How could he have forgotten the soft silver sparks that rimmed the deepest blue around her irises, turning the color from indigo to violet? He found himself noticing the tiny dimple in her right cheek, the different facets of pink that colored her bottom lip, the pale scar high on her forehead.

“What about the baby’s family? Shouldn’t they have a say in the matter?”

Mack blinked at the unexpected questions. Most people had wondered why he wanted to take on the responsibility of raising a child, especially a baby with special needs, not worried about the family who’d abandoned her before she’d barely taken her first breath. “Sarah’s mother gave her up when she was just a few minutes old.”

The mouth he’d been fascinated with just seconds before went taut. “Poor woman. Probably didn’t know what to think after what she’d gone through.”

Mack’s throat tightened. Was Thea implying the woman had been coerced into letting the baby go? “Sarah’s mother could have kept her.”

Thea leveled pleading blue eyes at him. “Maybe she thought she didn’t have a choice.”

Oh, people had choices. Mack saw it in his work all the time. And when they got caught making the wrong one, they had to face the consequences. Thea had never understood that, especially where her wayward sister was concerned. Mack straightened and crossed his arms over his chest, his suit coat pulled uncomfortably tight. “Why have you been nosing around Ms. Aurora’s the last two days?”

Her brows drew together slightly. “How did you know about that?”

At least she had the good sense not to deny it. “It’s my business to know what’s going on in this county.”

“Ms. Adair reported me.”

If he hadn’t been so annoyed, he would have laughed. Thea had always been quick to call things as they were, except in the case of her sister. “You still haven’t answered the question.”

She closed her eyes, her fingers tightening around the straps of her purse. Her words were a soft whisper, as if in prayer. “Lord, I don’t know where to begin.”

Unease knotted in Mack’s stomach. Thea had never been one to cry uncle, not even when the burdens her family placed on her fragile shoulders seemed to be too much to carry. What could have happened that would shake her this badly? Lord, give me the wisdom to handle this situation with Thea. Help me treat her fairly no matter what happened in the past. Mack rested a hand against the small of her back and gently pushed her toward a row of empty chairs. “Why don’t we go over here and sit down?”

Faint color gathered in her cheeks as he held out a chair for her then took the place beside her. “The bad guys don’t stand a chance with you, do they, Sheriff?”

A stall tactic, but he remained quiet, ready to listen. Thea would open up about whatever was bothering her when she was ready.

She cleared her throat. “It has to do with what was going on with my sister the last few months of her life.”

“You mean the accident?”

Golden curls shimmered against the pale skin of her neck as she shook her head. “No, I mean...before the accident. When she came back to Marietta last spring.”

Eileen Miller was in Marietta last spring? Not possible. Mack would have noticed. The woman had always been the type to stand out, draw attention—so different from her sister. “The night of the accident was the first time I’d seen her in years.”

She drew in a deep breath as if to snap at him, then must have thought better of it. “But she was here in town last spring. In particular, around May eighth.”

Sarah’s birthday. The best day Mack had had in years, falling head over heels with the abandoned baby who had been placed in his arms—and deciding to adopt her. While everyone else celebrated the end of the conflict in Europe, Mack celebrated the beginning of his new role, that of Sarah’s father. “Eileen had a way of making her presence felt. If she was here, Thea, I would have noticed it.”

“I know she was here, Mack. She wrote in a journal she kept that she was out at the farm with Momma on VE Day.”

Mack blinked. That wasn’t possible. How had Eileen snuck back into town without him being aware of it? Granted, last spring had felt like a roller-coaster ride with President Roosevelt’s unexpected death, then the war ending in Europe, not to mention the Bell Bomber Plant laying off some of the women workers. What else had happened right under his nose that he’d been unaware of?

“Don’t beat yourself up over it, Mack. Eileen probably kept out of sight due to her condition.”

Mack turned sharply to stare at her. “She was pregnant?”

The news wasn’t truly a surprise. Eileen had been trouble since the moment she started powdering her nose and wearing high heels. Mrs. Miller had always been very stiff, very proper. She wasn’t a warm person, not even with her daughters, but she’d been tolerably friendly, participating in community events and active in the church until the gossip surrounding her younger daughter’s antics had begun. After that, she’d rarely come to town. Whenever Eileen got into trouble, it was always her big sister who came to bail her out.

But it seemed odd he hadn’t heard about Eileen coming back in the spring or having a baby. Odder still that the few times he’d been called out to tend to Mrs. Miller, who had grown increasingly rattled and confused as age set in, never once had the woman mentioned a child. Mack scrubbed his jaw. “Where’s the baby then?”

“That’s just it, Mack. Momma says the baby has been stolen, and I need to go and bring her home.”

Another mess for Thea to clean up. Hadn’t that always been the way with Mrs. Miller and Eileen? Well, this was one problem he could help her clear up. Mack shoved his hand into his coat pocket and pulled out the small notebook and stubby pencil he kept on him for moments like this. “Do you know the name of the baby’s father? I could check with him, see if he or his family have the child.”

“No, but...” She hesitated, what color she had in her cheeks fading, though her chin still arched at a determined angle. Whatever she was about to say, Mack knew he wouldn’t like it. “Momma knows who has the baby.”

“Who?”

“Ms. Adair.”

“Aurora?”

Thea gave him a certain nod. “Momma said she knew it the first time she saw Ms. Adair in town after the baby was born.”

“That’s why you’ve been spying on Aurora’s place.” The pieces began to fall into place for Mack. “You think Sarah is Eileen’s baby?”

“It makes sense. Sarah looks to be about the right age, and she’s the spitting image of Eileen when she was a baby. Momma said it would be like Ms. Adair to take her.” Sorrow along with another emotion—determination?—stared back at him. “That child you want to adopt is my niece, Mack. And I want to take her home.”

* * *

For a moment Mack’s eyes went wide with shock, and he didn’t seem to be breathing. Then he huffed a laugh and shook his head.

Surprise shot through Thea. He thought her claim was so ridiculous that he was laughing at her? Not very gallant for the boy who’d protected her from the ugly whispers her sister’s behavior had generated around their high school campus, who’d listened as she’d poured out her heart over her mother’s indifference, who’d been more than her friend.

He was the only one who ever seemed to understand her—and he knew how much her family meant to her. Eileen was gone, but her sweet baby was here, and all Thea wanted was to give that darling girl a home with her family. Why was that so difficult to understand? Shouldn’t Mack be happy that someone from Sarah’s birth family wanted to claim her now? Instead, he seemed to find the very idea laughable. “Maggie would have your hide if she heard you laughing at me like that.”

“Maybe,” Mack replied, giving her an unrepentant smile that made her heart trip over itself. “But she’d have to catch me first.”

A smile tugged at the corner of Thea’s mouth, but she caught herself before she made a complete idiot out of herself and smiled back. What on earth was she doing, almost flirting with the man! She had to make him understand the situation. Otherwise, Eileen’s baby would be adopted by him, and the opportunity to raise her sister’s child would be forever lost to her. “I don’t think what I said was that funny.”

“It wasn’t.” A weak grin tugged at his lips. “It’s just that Ms. Aurora has a hard enough time providing the necessaries for the children left in her care without going out and stealing more of them to spread her resources even thinner.”

“Maybe there was a misunderstanding,” Thea argued. “Maybe Eileen was upset, or overwhelmed, and considered giving up her baby. But Momma says she changed her mind. She just didn’t get a chance to take her back before the car accident. This isn’t an abandoned baby anymore—this is a little girl whose family wants her. Momma and I are entitled to have her.”

Thea glanced into blue eyes studying her intensely as if he were staring straight into the very heart of her soul. She swallowed. No wonder the people of Marietta trusted Mack to watch over their town. He could probably drum a confession out of the most hardened criminal, let alone a young girl still haunted by the cries of her sister, years ago, longing for the first child she’d borne—a child she had held only once before the baby was whisked away in the night, never to be returned. Thea had left town to find that baby...and she had failed. This was her chance to make things right, and she wasn’t going to let it go. How could she make Mack at least listen to what she had to say? “Have you ever known me to lie, Mack?”

He glanced down at her, the lines in his face taut. This was killing him. Thea knew it, but wasn’t it better to learn the truth now than after the adoption had gone through? “What kind of proof do you have to back up your allegations that Sarah is Eileen’s child?” Mack asked. “A birth certificate? An entry in the family Bible?”

“I haven’t checked with the courthouse about a birth certificate yet.” She’d never seen a family Bible around the house but that didn’t mean her mother didn’t have one stashed somewhere. “But I do have Eileen’s journal. She wrote about delivering a little girl, just as everyone was celebrating the end of the war.”

“Which will only prove she had a baby around VE Day.” Mack leaned close enough so that only she could hear him. “Until you have some kind of proof that Sarah is that baby, I’d suggest you keep your claims to yourself.”

“Then will you promise to hold off on the adoption until we’ve figured out this situation?” she countered.

A muscle in Mack’s jaw jerked slightly, then he relaxed. “I’m not sure there is anything to figure out, Miss Miller. According to the courts, Sarah has been abandoned and can legally be adopted.”

“Miss Miller,” was she? So, he’d dug in his heels. Well, she could be just as stubborn. Thea crushed her fingers into the leather sides of her purse. She’d need a new one after the punishment this one had taken today. “You can’t think I’m just going to let you adopt my niece without putting up a fight.”

“We still haven’t established Sarah is Eileen’s child.”

“It’s like I told you. Sarah’s the right age, and she has the same sandy-blond hair and blue eyes that Eileen did when she was a baby.”

“That’s all circumstantial evidence, Thea. You’re going to have to do better than that.”

She knew that, but the more she thought about the situation, the more convinced she was that the little girl Mack aimed to adopt was her niece, especially considering what her mother had told her of the baby’s abnormalities. “According to Momma, she was born on May eighth. I’m sure the birth certificate will back that up, once I locate it.”

“She probably wasn’t the only kid born that day,” Mack replied, though his cheeks had gone slightly pale beneath his tanned complexion, as if the news had hit a sore spot. Clearly, that was Sarah’s birthdate, as well. “And finding the official record might not be as easy as you think. It can take months for a birth certificate to be filed, and I happened to know Mrs. Williams left to stay with her sick sister up in Tennessee not two days after Sarah was born.”

“The preacher’s wife delivered Sarah?”

Mack nodded. “Placed that precious girl in my arms no more than an hour after she was born.”

It felt as if the air had been sucked out of her lungs. “You were there?”

“Mrs. Williams called me at the station. Said the girl and her family didn’t want anything to do with the baby so could I come by her house and take the baby to the hospital until Dr. Adams could get someone from the state to take over her care.”

Thea’s world tilted slightly, a dark mist settling over her eyes. “Why didn’t you do something? Did you try to talk Eileen out of giving her baby up? Or at least convince her to wait a day or two before she made such a huge decision?”

Thea didn’t realize she was shaking until Mack rested his hands on her shoulders. “First—” he spoke to her in that calm way of his that had always made her feel so safe “—why would I have any reason to believe Eileen was the one giving up Sarah? I didn’t even know she was back in town. I certainly didn’t go back into the delivery room to see the mother—that wouldn’t have been appropriate. And secondly, Mrs. Williams takes her position as midwife very seriously. She wouldn’t turn a child over to the authorities without being absolutely certain the mother understood exactly what she was doing.”

Mack had a very real point. The protocol Mrs. Williams had followed was the same they used in the hospital. Still, she couldn’t help her suspicions, especially after what she’d seen years ago, in her dealings with Miss Tann. Maybe Mack could answer a few questions she still had about the night Sarah was born. “How did the baby end up with Ms. Adair instead of at the hospital with Dr. Adams?”

Mack’s lips flatlined. “I took her there.”

“Why?”

“Because once he heard about her condition, Dr. Adams wanted to send her away.” Mack glanced around. Some of the guests had begun drifting out of the house and back into the yard. Thea wondered what tales about her and the sheriff would be making the rounds about town tomorrow.

Well, if they wanted something to talk about, she’d sure enough give it to them. “He wanted to put her in an institution because she had a cleft palate.”

His stony gaze sent a chill up her spine. Being on the wrong side of the law would be a hazardous business with this man in charge. “What did you say?” he asked, his voice low and dangerous.

“Whoever did her first surgery did a good job, but from the sounds she was making, I suspect she’ll need more. Momma’s been so worried about how the baby would survive with...a defect so severe. There are new procedures that could give Sarah a normal life.”

“I know. There will be time for those later.”

Thea blinked. Why was he waiting? Hadn’t the surgeon explained to him that the risk of complications rose as the baby grew and the bones of the head and face fused? Did he not have the authority to arrange for the surgery since the adoption had not yet gone through?

“I think you need to go,” Mack said.

She had hit a tender nerve. “I’m not just going to go away. We need to discuss this.”

“Maybe, but not with all these people around.” Mack thought for a moment. “I’ll look at my calendar back at the office and figure out a good time to sit down together.”

Sounded like a stall tactic to her. Thea would have to stand her ground. “I’m open any day this week. But I’m not giving up. I fully intend to gain custody of my niece and raise her as my own.”

His steely blue-gray gaze bored into her, and Thea’s heart tumbled into the pit of her stomach. “Not if I have anything to say about it.”

Chapter Three

The walk home took longer than Thea remembered, though whether it was the unusual warmth of the late-October day or the heavy weight on her heart that slowed her steps, she wasn’t sure. A ride might have been nice, but there wasn’t money for even bus fare right now, at least, not until she secured a job. Even then she’d have to be careful. Raising a child cost money, and her mother’s income barely covered her own expenses.

Just another mess Eileen had left for her to clean up.

Thea shook the thought away. She shouldn’t feel that way, but she did. It was one of the reasons she’d stayed away for eight long years. There had been a degree of peace in knowing she could go back to her quarters without some kind of family catastrophe waiting for her when she got home. But then, there had been no one to come home to, no one to call family, no one to reminisce with over the old days.

Mack’s image flashed through her mind. Her childhood friend had grown up to be every bit the man she’d expected him to be while they were in high school. Eyes and ears peeled for any trouble, he’d always carried the responsibility of protecting those around him. She was a little surprised that he’d ended up as sheriff—going to law school had always been his dream, and he’d been full of grand plans as to how he could help people with his law degree. But it was clear to see how well his current job suited him. It was as if he had been born to the job of being sheriff, an ease about him generated confidence from the community he served, the same trust he’d earned from his classmates in high school. It was one of the qualities that had attracted Thea to him in the first place.

If only he wasn’t so closed-minded where Sarah was concerned. Thea sighed. At least he’d been willing to talk to her. Most folks wouldn’t have given her the time of day, not when the topic was her wayward sister. If only folks could have known Eileen as she had, confused and scared, questioning why the father she’d adored had been taken away, why her mother was never warm or affectionate the way other people’s mothers were. Seeking that affection from others, especially from boys, had led to a worsening reputation and more heartache—the misery, the anger her sister had felt toward herself each time she’d fallen for another man’s lies when all she’d ever wanted was to be loved.

Had she found love, at last, with Sarah’s father? Thea couldn’t know for sure. All she could do now was love and care for her sister’s baby—the only piece she had left of Eileen.

Thea drew in a deep breath and sighed. This was not what she’d expected when she’d decided to come back to Marietta. Though what she had expected, she couldn’t say. Her sister to be alive, for certain. Momma, the same as she’d always been, maybe more mellowed with age. Not butting heads with Mack Worthington. He’d had always been reasonable, even if it meant being proved wrong. But he was a man now, with a man’s pride and the law on his side. Would he accept the truth if it meant giving up a child he obviously loved?

Thea’s heart tumbled over in her chest. No matter what happened, someone was going to get hurt. Lord, haven’t I lost enough without giving up what little family I have left?

Just ahead in the bend in the path, the familiar gables of Momma’s house came into view. Thea left the dirt road and climbed the steep embankment. Dandelions whispered softly against her ankles, their cottony seeds sticking to the hem of her skirt. If only she had a wish for each one she’d sent floating across the yard over the years. Then Eileen would be dancing alongside her as she use to do as a girl, her baby in her arms, cooing at the spectacle her mother and aunt were making. Momma would be happy and loving, and Thea would have the family she’d always wanted.

A screen door slammed shut in the distance, and her stomach sank as the reality of the situation set in again. Eileen’s death, Momma’s sorrow and the way the years seemed to weigh on her these days. This was what her life consisted of now, her family. And that included Sarah. She’d prove that the baby Ms. Adair was caring for was her niece. It was the least she owed Eileen after failing her so miserably all those years ago.

The wooden planks squawked beneath her feet as she climbed the three steps to the porch and pulled open the screen door. “Momma?”

The sound of hurried footsteps from the back of the house clipped through the paper-thin walls until finally Mildred Miller burst out of the kitchen into the hallway, wiping her hands on her blue-and-white checkered apron. “Where have you been? You were supposed to be home hours ago.”

Thea tugged at the worn fingertips of her gloves and folded them over the top of her purse. No hello or how have you been. Then, Momma had never been one for social pleasantries at home. No, those were reserved for Sunday-morning church service or a meeting of one of her ladies’ clubs in town. But wouldn’t it be nice if Momma greeted her with a welcoming hello, as if she were truly glad to see her? “I went to see Ms. Adair about Eileen’s baby. Remember?”

“Eileen’s baby?” Dull gray eyes met Thea’s in the oval hall mirror, faded blond eyebrows bunched together in confusion, a common expression on her mother’s face these days. Long moments passed before Momma’s face finally relaxed a bit. “Oh, yes. Your sister. She had a baby.”

Thea swallowed down the slight unease she felt at her mother’s behavior. True, Momma hadn’t been at her best since Thea had returned to town, but that was hardly surprising. How could she expect her mother to go on unaffected after all the losses she’d suffered, first Daddy then Eileen? Did losing her daughter bring on this forgetfulness that seemed to have settled like a thick fog over her memories? Or maybe forgetting the past had made it easier for Momma to live in the present. “I’m meeting with Sheriff Worthington sometime this week to discuss it more.”

“Mack Worthington?”

Her mother’s response surprised her. Momma had never had much time for Thea or Eileen’s friends. “You remember Mack?”

“Of course, I do, silly child. The two of you have gone to school together since you were just a little bit of a girl.” Momma studied her over the rim of her glasses, a slight smile lifting the corners of her mouth. “He’s that nice boy you have a little crush on.”

What in the world had caused her mother to remember that particular piece of the past? And why did she talk as if Thea was still in saddle shoes and knee socks? A cold chill skated up Thea’s spine. “That was a long time ago, Momma. Back before I left home to go off to nursing school, remember?”

“Oh, yes, that’s right.” She buried her hands in her apron pockets, her eyes fixed on a point just over Thea’s shoulder, as if she’d found something more interesting to look at than her daughter. “So what did you find out about the baby?”

“Ms. Adair does have a baby girl who is the same age Eileen’s baby would be.”

“Then you’ll be bringing her home soon?”

If only it were that easy. “There are some complications, Momma.”

“What kind of complications?” Her mother pressed her lips together in that annoyed way Thea remembered well.

She’d never please her mother, would she? The muscles in Thea’s shoulders bunched together, a heavy weight pressing her down into the scarred oak floors. “Well, Mack would like to see the baby’s birth certificate to prove that Sarah is Eileen’s child before he drags Ms. Adair into the matter.”

“But that baby is ours!” Momma stepped closer to Thea. “You told him that, didn’t you?”

“Yes, Momma, but a birth certificate would go a long way to proving that the baby belongs with us.” Thea rested her hands on her mother’s shoulders and stared into her eyes. “Do you know if Eileen filed the baby’s birth certificate with the county?”

“Your sister was too busy to spend a day down at the courthouse.” Momma fidgeted with the long strings of her apron. “She was always too busy for anything useful or important.”

Thea ignored the implication. “What about Mrs. Williams? She delivered the baby, right? Would she have filed the paperwork?”

“I doubt it, but then again, I didn’t ask her to. I figured we’d eventually get around to taking care of it ourselves.”

Which meant the baby’s birth certificate likely hadn’t been filed. Thea turned and leaned back against the table, gripping the edges in her hands. How could she prove that Sarah was her niece if the only witness of her birth had left town for who knew how long? Where else would Eileen record the birth of her child? “Did Eileen have a Bible? Something she might have made a note in about the baby’s birth?”

Momma shook her head. “Not that I know of, but you know how sneaky your sister was. Always hiding things away in her room. Secrets, she said.” Her mother’s thin lips flattened. “All she’s ever brought home is trouble. Maybe if your father had lived...”

Thea nodded. If only Daddy had lived, Eileen wouldn’t have turned wild. Thea wouldn’t have been put in the middle of the violent arguments between her mother and sister. Maybe if Daddy had lived, Eileen wouldn’t have had that child all those years ago, and there would have been no reason for Thea to leave home at age seventeen. Maybe she would have married some local boy, had a baby or two of her own. Thea shut her eyes on those thoughts. Daddy was gone, and wondering what might have been was just a waste of time.

This was her life. Mother, herself. Sarah. She’d best get busy living it. “I have an appointment at the hospital first thing in the morning to check on my job application but if you’d like to go, I thought maybe we could stop by the courthouse and look through some of their records just on the off chance Eileen filed a birth certificate.”

“No!” Momma shook her head so hard, Thea worried she’d get whiplash. “I mean, that’s all right. I’ve got so much to do around here, getting Eileen’s old room ready for the baby and all.” She gave Thea an uncertain smile. “You’ve always been so good at taking care of things, I’d rather leave the birth certificate up to you.”

At least that hadn’t changed. Momma and Eileen always left their messes for her to clean up. But her mother had never turned down a trip into town, not when the shops were open and ready for business.

“Are you sure? You haven’t been out of this house since I got home. Wouldn’t you like to at least go into town with me? I heard Mr. Hice has some new material just perfect for the baby clothes you’ve talked about making.”

Momma wrinkled her nose as if the thought of a trip into town disgusted her. “The square is just so crowded with all those people from over at the bomber plant wandering around.” She shook her head again. “No, I think I’d rather stay here. That’s all right with you, isn’t it?”

Thea blinked. Momma never asked her permission for anything, had always been too busy passing out orders or barking out commands. “That’s fine, but I might be gone for most of the day. I’m going to try to catch up with Mack at his office after I spend some time looking through the county records.”

“You should have been here to take care of your sister.” Momma turned away from Thea and started down the hall. She’d almost reached the kitchen when she turned around and gave Thea a forced smile. “If you had been here, you would have talked Eileen out of going with that boy. But you weren’t, and now your sister’s dead.”

Thea closed her eyes, her muscles weighed down with the fatigue of the past few days as well as an equally heavy dose of guilt. The events of the afternoon had finally caught up with her, stripped her of all her energy. The practical part of Thea knew she shouldn’t take anything her mother said personally. Momma always lashed out when she was upset. She mourned the child she’d lost, the grandchild she’d never held. Her mother was grieving, that was all. Her fingers tightened around the edges of the scarred hall table until she thought they would break. Lord, please let it be nothing more than that. Don’t take Momma away from me just yet.

Maybe losing Eileen had been too much for her mother to handle, maybe the presence of a little one in the house was what Momma needed to find some joy in living again. Recovering her sister’s baby was the answer. Then Momma would have a reason to fight, and it would give Thea a chance to right a terrible wrong. To bring her sister’s baby back home.

This time.

* * *

Mack usually used his morning walks before the town came to life to meditate on the Scriptures or pray for the men and women who would soon be filling the streets of Marietta for another day on the job. He’d pray that no harm would come to them and that they would make wise choices. For the folks who visited their city, he prayed that they would have peaceful spirits and that he would handle those bent on making trouble with respect and honesty.

But this morning the peaceful spirit he needed in order to meditate or pray was out of his reach. His thoughts were scattered like the crimson-and-gold leaves gathered up by the harsh wind that had blown in late last night, yet his mind never strayed far from his conversation with Thea Miller yesterday. The bookish girl he’d known in high school had certainly changed. The way she’d stood her ground against him, her refusal to back down from her claim that Sarah was her niece and her plans to raise the child didn’t make him happy but he had to respect the woman’s grit. His uniform made it difficult for some folks to question his authority, but not Thea, not when it came to her family.

Was it possible Sarah was Eileen Miller’s baby?

Mack absently shook his head. A juicy secret like that would be too much for someone even as close-mouthed as Mrs. Williams to resist. Surely she’d have spread the word about delivering Eileen’s baby...wouldn’t she? The thin letter in his shirt pocket he’d spent half the night crafting felt like a heavy weight against his chest. He’d drop it in the mailbox on his way into the office this morning. Mrs. Williams could answer any questions about Sarah’s mother once and for all.

With that settled, Mack found himself thinking about Thea herself. Why had she come home after all this time? She’d missed Eileen’s funeral, though to be fair, she might not have heard the news until it was too late for her to get leave. Her mother had never had much to do with her, with either of her daughters, really. It seemed odd to him, but then he’d always been close to both his parents, particularly his father. The loss of Neil Worthington four years before had been the catalyst for Mack to settle down and attempt to find a wife. Someone he could build a life with, have the kind of marriage his parents had had, raise a family.

But all his attempts at courtship had failed, and the only female who had touched his heart was baby Sarah. Now Thea threatened to steal his hopes for the future away from him. Just like she did when she left town eight years ago.

“You must be praying mighty hard this morning, my friend.”

Mack glanced up to see Beau Daniels, his white doctor’s jacket draped over his arm, walking toward him. “Maybe I’m thinking on a certain passage of scripture. I do that sometimes.”

“A far cry from the boy who used to say his favorite verse was ‘Jesus wept.’” Beau gave him a crooked smile.

Mack couldn’t help but notice the dark circles under Beau’s eyes. “Put in the late shift last night?”

Beau nodded, stretching from one side to the other. “I want to be home when Edie wakes up. She’s been having a terrible time with morning sickness.”

“I hate to hear that.” Edie and Beau, along with the rest of the Daniels clan, had become like family over the past few years. “Is there anything you can do?”

“Her doctor has suggested a couple of medications but everything I’ve read on them just makes me more worried.” Beau stretched his back. “Sometimes, I think it would be better to live in ignorance than to know everything that could possibly go wrong.”

“Yes,” Mack agreed, his thoughts wandering toward Thea and the baby again. “Sometimes ignorance is bliss.”

“I heard about your discussion with Thea Miller. Maggie told me she dropped in on the wedding yesterday.”

Like most of the Daniels family, Beau was never one to beat around the bush, a quality Mack appreciated. “She claims that Sarah is Eileen’s baby.”

“I didn’t even know Eileen was back in town until she was killed in that wreck out on Drag Strip Road.” Beau thought for a moment. “Wasn’t that just a couple of weeks after Sarah was born?”

“I’ll have to go back and look at the accident report but I thought it was maybe a week or ten days later.” Which meant Eileen could have been home when Sarah was born. The thought made his heart tremble. “I didn’t even put the two together.”

“Well, you still don’t know if they’re related yet. It could just be a coincidence.”

Mack wasn’t buying that, not when the Miller girls, particularly Thea, had caused him so much trouble. “I’d already be Sarah’s father if Judge Wakefield hadn’t dragged out the whole adoption process. I wouldn’t have to worry about any of Thea Miller’s claims then.”

“You’d still worry, because you’re a decent man. If you thought for a moment there might be a chance what Thea is saying is true, you’d do everything you could to set the record straight.”

He might be decent, but that didn’t stop him from wanting go to Ms. Aurora’s and steal his daughter away. Hopefully Mrs. Williams would respond to his letter quickly and lay this matter to rest.

Beau glanced up at the pale blue sky. “I’d better get moving. Edie will be up soon.”

“Tell her I hope she gets to feeling better.”

“I will.” Beau clapped Mack on his back as he walked by. “You want to meet for lunch later? Maybe over at Smith’s Diner around one?”

“That works for me.” Mack watched his friend walk to the corner, then with one last wave, head toward the parking lot. Beau had turned out to be a good man, despite his father. Though Mack had heard James Daniels had changed his ways while in prison and turned to the Lord, much to his family’s delight. Beau had even visited his dad a time or two, and Mack got a sense that the hard feelings between the two had softened. Beau had a bright future in the career he loved, a beautiful wife and a baby on the way—everything Mack had wanted for himself before Thea and the accident had robbed him of his dreams.

He may not have a wife or the law degree he’d always hoped for, but he could make a home, have a family with Sarah as his daughter.

Mack walked down Cherokee Street, past the courthouse, until he came to a row of quaint little homes just outside the main town square. Brilliant violet-and-gold pansies glistened with early-morning dew as they stretched to sun themselves, and the grass was still an emerald green, even in mid-October. A bird twittered his wake-up song overhead, drawing a reluctant smile from Mack.

He’d longed for a home in this neighborhood for as far back as he could remember. The idea of adopting Sarah had finally pushed him into putting a down payment on the small three-bedroom cottage at the end of the street. Nothing fancy, just a yard big enough for a swing set and a room where she could play with her stuffed animals and dolls in the years to come. A home where they could put down roots, where Mack could give Sarah the kind of childhood his parents had given him.

But not if Thea took her away.

He wouldn’t let her, not without a fight. Sarah was his daughter, had been since the moment Mrs. Williams had placed the squirming little newborn in his arms all those months ago. One look into Sarah’s inquisitive sapphire-blue eyes and he’d lost his heart.

Blue eyes, now that he thought about it, that looked very much like Thea’s.

Lots of babies had blue eyes, he reminded himself. Mack shook off the thought as he turned up a side street toward his attorney’s office. Maybe Red would have some good news about the adoption for him.

His footsteps echoed against the brick-paved walkway that led up to Redmond McIntyre’s ranch-style home. Mack raised his fist, then hesitated. The sun had barely risen. Would Red be up yet? Well, if Mack came across as rude, so be it. The situation warranted it. His knuckles rapped against the wooden door.

A heavy bolt slid seconds before the door flew open. Red stood framed in the doorway, a coffee cup in one hand, his tie hanging loose around his unbuttoned collar. “Mack, how are you doing this morning? You don’t have one of my clients waiting down at the jail, do you?”

“I’m not here on official business.” Mack whipped his hat off and held it between clenched fingers. “I was hoping I could talk to you about Sarah for a moment.”

“Sure, come on in,” Red replied, pulling the door open wider as he stepped back. “Would you like a cup of coffee?”

Mack shook his head. Truth be told, he couldn’t stomach anything right now, especially not some of Red’s strong brew. He followed the man into a small sitting room just off the hallway and settled onto one side of the sofa while Red retrieved his file from his office.

“Are you sure I can’t get you something? A glass of sweet tea, maybe?” Red strolled back into the room, a thick three-ringed folder neatly tucked under his arm.

“Nothing, thanks.” Mack settled his elbows on the chair’s arms and leaned forward. “I was hoping to talk to you yesterday at Merrliee’s wedding but I never saw you.”

“I had to go to Atlanta for a client at the last minute and didn’t make it back in time. Did I miss anything exciting?”

Nothing Mack was ready to talk about, at least not until he did some research into Thea’s claims. He shook his head. “I just want to see where we are with Judge Wakefield.”

“Pretty much the same spot we’ve been for the last month.” Red sat across from Mack, dropped the file on the coffee table and flipped it open. “As far as I’ve searched, there’s no precedent in the State of Georgia for allowing a single person to adopt a minor child.”

Red wasn’t telling him anything he hadn’t already heard, but Mack refused give up, not where Sarah was concerned. “But those cases didn’t involve a child with the kind of health issues Sarah has.”

“No, but that’s because those children are usually committed to an institution.”

“Or on the streets,” Mack bit out. His stomach roiled at the thought of his daughter, or for that matter, any of Ms. Aurora’s kids, left on the curb to fend for themselves. Who would do that to any child, flesh and blood or not? It made Mack wonder how many more children were out there on their own right now, hungry, cold and afraid. “Those kids deserve a family and a place to call home just like any other kid, Red.”

Red lifted his hands up in mock surrender. “You don’t have to convince me. And it appears from my discussions with Judge Wakefield that he sides with you on that point.”

Mack nodded. The judge had never hidden his feelings about the need for adoptive parents for all children, even those with physical and mental disabilities, but he held fast to the notion that a child needed both a mother and a father. Mack could see his point, but no family would adopt a child with the type of medical issues Sarah had. Wasn’t one loving parent better than no one at all?

“You’ve got a more pressing problem at the moment.”

Mack settled back into the cushions. Had Red heard about Thea’s claim, that Sarah was Eileen’s child? “What might that be?”

Red shifted forward, resting his forearms on his thighs. “Ben Holbrook cornered me at the courthouse after I got back from Atlanta yesterday afternoon. It appears the city council is bent on restructuring the police department.”

“Why haven’t I heard about this?”

Red shrugged. “They just voted on it. With all these folks from the bomber factory making Marietta their home, the council wants to add more men to the force, maybe even devote entire departments to specific crimes. And there was some mention of adding more experienced men to the sheriff’s department.”

“What you mean is now that the boys are coming home, they want law enforcement jobs to give them.” Not a bad idea. Able-bodied men with battlefield experience on the force were just what a growing town needed. “We have had an increase in petty crimes recently, mostly kids bored and getting into trouble. It would be good to have some additional help.”

Red sat back, his lips mashed into a straight line. “From what I understand, they might be evaluating your work as sheriff.”

Mack’s world shifted beneath him. “Why? Are they thinking about firing me?”

“I don’t think it’s that dire—yet.”

Mack rubbed his fingers against the raised scar high on his left cheek. “Did anybody mention where I might fit into all this restructured force?”

Red shook his head. “Not yet. I’m sure they’ll take your exceptional service to the community into consideration when the decision is made.”

Mack stretched out his legs and studied his old high school friend. “That sounds like lawyer talk for you’ve already put that information out there for them, but they didn’t bother giving you an answer.”

“Always looking out for my friends.”

For that, Mack was grateful. “How does this affect the adoption?”

Red’s smile dimmed. “With this hanging over your head, Judge Wakefield isn’t likely to budge on the adoption anytime soon.”

“What’s the man waiting on? Does he want me to jump through hoops or something?” Mack snapped, raking his fingers through his hair.

“I don’t know about him, but I’d pay good money to see you do that trick.”

Mack snorted out a chuckle. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bite your head off like that.”

“It’s understandable. You love that little girl, and you’re afraid you’re going to lose her.”

Another obvious statement but the gut-wrenching truth. Mack wouldn’t give up. He couldn’t. “So what do we do now?”

Red slid back in his chair. “Well, we’re still going to need Sarah’s birth certificate. Have you heard anything from Mrs. Williams? I figured she would have gotten back with you before now.”

Mack shook his head. “From what I understand, her family lives deep in the mountains north of Knoxville. I don’t think mail service is all that reliable out there. It could take some time to hear back from her.” He patted his shirt pocket. “I’m sending her another letter just in case the first one was lost.”

“If it were any other judge, I’d ask for the adoption to be pushed through without a record of the birth, but Judge Wakefield is a stickler about those things.”

Mack nodded. How was he going to get his next question by the lawyer without raising his suspicions? “Will Sarah’s parents be listed on the birth certificate?”

“Yes, but that information will be sealed by the court once the adoption is finalized. Then a new birth certificate with your name listed as Sarah’s father will be registered with the state.” Red studied him for a long moment. “Why do you ask?”

No sense alerting the lawyer to another possible roadblock, at least not until he had more information. “Just thought I’d ask.”

“Well, if you’re planning on asking Flossie Williams who Sarah’s parents are, good luck with that,” Red chuckled. “That woman can be as tightlipped as a Mason jar during canning season.”

Mack waited for the relief Red’s answer should have given him, but felt vaguely disappointed instead. “I wonder if Mrs. Williams would respond quicker if I sent her a telegram.”

“Does Western Union even deliver to the backwoods of Eastern Tennessee?”

Were lawyers paid to be killjoys, or was that just part of their nature? Maybe it was a good thing he never went to college and became an attorney as he’d planned. “It’s worth looking into.”

“Even if they don’t, this lull gives you time to get your job situation worked out.” Red hesitated, tipping the three-ringed folder shut. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

Red took a long sip of his coffee, as if to steel himself. “How far are you willing to go to adopt this child?”

An odd question, especially from a lawyer. “What do you mean?”

The distant song of birds waking up the neighborhood filled the seconds before Red answered. “There is another way to ensure the adoption goes through as planned.”

Mack knew what the man was going to say. “I’ve told you marriage is not a possibility at the moment.”

“Hear me out before you dismiss the idea, okay?”

Mack glared at the man but kept his seat. What other option did he have short of walking out on his friend and possibly the only lawyer in Marietta willing to take his case? “Go on.”

“If you’re so bound and determined to raise this baby, you need to consider finding a wife. It would solve the immediate problem with the judge.”

“And who would I marry, Red?”

“You’ve got to know a woman who’d love the chance to help you raise Sarah. Someone who would love that baby as much as you do.”

The image of Thea, her deep blue eyes staring up at him, drifted through his thoughts. No doubt Thea was in love with the idea of raising the baby right now, but what would happen when she learned Sarah wasn’t Eileen’s daughter? Would she up and leave town without a backward glance the way she’d done before? Mack couldn’t risk his daughter losing her heart to the woman. Or maybe it was his own heart he was worried about getting stomped on again.

“It’s just not possible, Red.”

“Well, think about it,” Red answered before he grabbed the folder and stood. “Because getting married might be your only hope of getting Judge Wakefield to budge on Sarah’s adoption.”

Chapter Four

Thea closed her eyes and relaxed into a cushioned chair in the hospital waiting room, her mind drifting aimlessly as fatigue settled into her bones. Sleep had been elusive these past few nights. She’d been on edge, too worried by thoughts of Eileen, of losing her last link with her sister, to find any rest. It didn’t help that Momma had taken to pacing the halls at night. Each morning Thea got up with the same questions. Would this be the day she’d finally bring Eileen’s baby home? Or would she and her mother be coping with another loss soon?

She drew a deep breath in through her nose, her body relaxing even further. Once she brought Eileen’s baby home, everything would get better. Her mother would become alert and engaged again. Guilt would ease its weight off of Thea’s shoulders. They’d all be happy. At least, that’s what she hoped. How in the world would she take care of Sarah and work an eight-hour-a-day shift if her mother didn’t snap out of this fog of sadness and confusion?

Thea forced her eyes open and glanced around the hospital’s waiting area. Maybe she could work part-time for a little while, at least until they figured out a routine at home. Maybe they’d be able to hire in a teenage girl to help when Thea couldn’t be at home. There might not be any extra money for a lawyer if she needed one, but she’d figure that out when it came down to it.

She would manage. She didn’t have much choice. Thea’s eyes slid closed again. Just a few more minutes, a cat nap, and she could face her interview with the head nurse alert and fresh.

“Thea?”

She snuggled deeper into the chair, the rumbled whisper settling over her like a comfortable blanket. What was it about this deeply masculine voice that set her mind at ease? Familiar, with warm undertones, deep, almost dreamlike. She’d clung to the thought of that dark, manly voice throughout the long nights of the war, let it lull her as bombs burst in the distance. She hadn’t been able to place it at first, but then she remembered the boy who’d once been her friend. Thea drew in a deep breath, felt a smile form on her lips.

Mack.

“Do you usually take naps in the hospital waiting room?”

There was a gentle sternness to his voice that caused her eyelids to flutter open to find the man standing in front of her. Tall and broad-shouldered, this Mack was the quintessential lawman, though she’d confess she’d never met an officer quite so handsome. “What happened?”

The cockeyed grin he gave her as he pushed back his hat had her sitting up in her chair. “You fell asleep.”

Thea drew in a deep breath and blew it out, her fuzzy world coming into focus. “Old habits, I guess.” At his confused look, she explained. “When you work the mobile surgical unit, you either learn to grab a nap anywhere you can or never sleep. Standing up in the corner. Sitting in mess hall.” She smiled. “One of the girls in my unit got caught napping in the latrine.”

“That must have been...interesting.” Mack’s voice deepened with mirth, his lips curved up into a slight smile. Then, as if he remembered who she was, he straightened, any evidence of a smile gone. “What are you doing here?”

Needing something to do with her hands, Thea opened her purse and pulled out her compact. “Interviewing for a position.”

“A job?”

For some odd reason, the way he said it irritated her. She opened the lid and studied her reflection in the tiny mirror. Anything to keep from looking at him. “I have to put food on our table and keep a roof over our heads. Momma’s income is really only enough for one person.”

The space between them suddenly grew smaller as he pulled off his hat and sat down next to her. “And what about Sarah?”

“What about her?”

The clean tang of his aftershave swirled around her, making her head spin in a pleasant sort of way as he leaned closer. “How do you plan on taking care of Sarah if you’re working?”

She leaned back and drew in a cleansing breath. It wasn’t any of his business how she handled Sarah’s care. “If I’m given custody of Eileen’s baby, I’ll work something out.”

“Sarah is going to need special care, at least until she’s old enough to have her second corrective surgery.” He crossed his arms over his broad chest, glaring at Thea, looking every inch the protective father, the kind of daddy any girl would have been blessed to have.

Just not Sarah’s daddy. Didn’t he understand the little girl was the only link she had to the sister she’d lost? Mack could make gaining custody of the child difficult, there was no doubt about it. Well, she’d lived through one war. If Mack wanted to battle it out, she was ready. “What about you?”

He blinked. “Me?”

Ah, she’d caught him by surprise. Well, good! “You have a job. How do you plan to care for Sarah while you’re off catching the bad guys?”

His blue eyes pierced her all the way to the depths of her soul. “Ms. Aurora has volunteered to take care of her during the day, but I’ll have her at night. Plus, I’m turning one of the rooms in my house into an office so I can do most of my paperwork at home.”

“So it’s okay for you to have someone care for Sarah while you’re at work, but not me.” She slammed her compact shut and cocked her head to the side. “Why is that?”

Mack glared at her for a long moment, then much to her surprise, he gave a regretful chuckle. “Stuck my foot in it, didn’t I?”

Thea’s heart did a sudden flip at his crooked smile. Mack had always been a charmer. It would be best if she remembered that. “I’d say so.”

“Sorry.” He leaned back, leaving Thea suddenly bereft of his warmth. “Just had a rotten morning.”

“Please say it’s not the baby. She’s not sick or something, is she?”

He shook his head, twirled his hat between nervous fingers. “Doodlebug is doing fine.”

Now it was her turn to gawk. “You call her doodlebug?”

He cocked an eyebrow at her. “Is something wrong with that?”

No, quite the opposite. It was endearing, the sort of sweet name a man would give his baby girl. Thea shook her head. “It suits her.”

He seemed glad she agreed with him, at least on his pet name for Sarah. “The first couple of days after I took her to Ms. Aurora, the kids fought over what to call her.”

“I thought she’d always been Sarah.”

He shook his head, the ghost of a memory playing along his smile. “That was Merrilee’s idea. Ms. Aurora generally lets the kids decide what to call any new additions to their family.”

The older woman let the children name the baby? “Isn’t that like the prisoners running the jailhouse?”

Her heart fluttered when he turned the full effect of his smile on her. “Ms. Aurora wants them to feel like they have a say in their family. She gave them a few suggestions, and they voted for the baby to be named Sarah, though Ellie wasn’t too happy about the choice.”

Was Ellie one of Ms. Aurora’s children? Or had Mack adopted other children? “Ellie?”

“A little six-year-old spitfire who has lived with Ms. Aurora since she was barely two weeks old.” He sat down beside Thea then leaned toward her as if to whisper a secret. “They’d just gone to see a matinee of The Wizard of Oz and Ellie wanted the baby to be named after one of the characters.”

“But Dorothy is a nice—”

He shook his head again. “Scarecrow.”

Thea choked back a giggle. “You’re serious.”

“I had to bribe her with a day at the park to get her to agree to the name Sarah.”

Oh, dear. If Mack succeeded in his adoption plans, little Sarah would have him wrapped around her pinky finger. Lucky kid. “The sheriff bribing small children. Isn’t there a law against that?”

“Not yet. Besides, I like pushing the kids on the swing set in the park. Takes my mind off of work.”

Thea studied him as he stared out over the empty room. This was the Mack she remembered, the guy who loved being outdoors, who found joy in simple pleasures like helping his neighbor or pushing a little girl on a swing. She was glad that growing up hadn’t taken that away from him. But what about all his plans for adulthood? Why hadn’t he followed through on his dream of playing football in college, becoming a lawyer like his father? Why had he never left Marietta?

She swallowed the questions burning on the tip of her tongue. It would only complicate the situation more if she learned who Mack had become, what had driven him to stay here, to abandon his dreams. For some unknown reason, she felt disappointed at the loss. “I never intended to hurt you, you know.”

He stiffened, the pleasure of the last few minutes fading. “What do you mean by that?”

“It’s just...” She hesitated, not sure how much to reveal. Maybe if she could make him understand, make him realize how important it was to her to raise Eileen’s baby, it would be easier for him to let Sarah go. “I know you love Sarah, but I love her, too.”

“You don’t even know her.”

“She’s a part of Eileen. She’s my family, Mack.”

“You don’t know that for certain,” Mack said, her words obviously falling on deaf ears. “You’re going to have to produce some proof to get a judge to listen to your claim.”

Thea figured as much. She’d searched through Eileen’s room, through her personal mail, even the journal she kept, but had found nothing except a brief entry a few days after her baby was born. Nothing to prove Thea’s claim to Sarah. “I’d planned on visiting the courthouse after I finished my interview today.”

“No sense wasting your time.”

She glanced up at him. “Why would you say that?”

“Because if Mrs. Williams delivered Eileen’s baby like you say, it wouldn’t have been filed with the county and state yet.” A look of frustration clouded his expression. “As I told you before, Mrs. Williams went up to Tennessee to take care of her sister shortly after Sarah was born. Sarah’s birth certificate still hasn’t been filed. If you’re able to find a certificate on record for Eileen’s baby, then that would be proof that she’s not Sarah.”

That wasn’t the news Thea had expected to hear. She’d need a birth certificate to petition the court to stop the adoption. But if she needed one to prove Sarah’s parentage, wouldn’t Mack need one to get final approval for her adoption? “You can’t adopt Sarah without a certificate, can you?”

His jaw tightened, and for a brief moment, Thea thought she’d have to pull an answer out of him. Then just as quickly, he relaxed—though only a bit. “No,” he agreed, “I can’t.”

So he knew her frustration. “Have you been in touch with Mrs. Williams?”

He shrugged. “I’ve tried. I sent a letter when I learned she hadn’t filed Sarah’s birth certificate but she’s a ways outside of the city limits so I figured it would take a while before I heard from her. I checked on sending her a telegram this morning but they don’t deliver that far up into those mountains.”

“I take it her sister doesn’t have a phone.” Thea didn’t wait for an answer. She was thinking again what it must have been like for Eileen, delivering her baby all those months ago. “Do you think Mrs. Williams tried to talk any of those girls who gave up their children into keeping them?”

She felt his gaze shift to her. Could he see the pain that had consumed her in the days since she’d returned home, the fear that her only chance at a real family had died with Eileen? Or was he too centered on what losing Sarah would mean for him? His answer was to cover her hand with his, warmth to her cool skin, and she relaxed. “This thing with Eileen has really thrown you for a loop.”

“I just...” She leaned her head back against the wall, her fingers threading automatically through his as if hanging on to him for dear life. “I don’t understand why my sister would do such a thing. We weren’t in touch for these past few years, but I’ve read her journal. She talked about how much she wanted a yard full of kids, babies she could love on.” And who would love Eileen back, Thea suspected. “I can’t see her giving her baby away.”

“Maybe she realized she wasn’t ready for that kind of responsibility. Maybe she did it out of love.” Mack gently squeezed her hand.

She’d like to think her sister was that unselfish, but Eileen had spent her short life desperate for the affection she never got from their mother. Thea’s love had never been enough for her—she had wanted more. Giving up her baby, a child who would grow to love her unconditionally, wasn’t something Thea could see her sister doing. “She could have left the baby with Momma. I could have asked for an emergency discharge and come home...”

“And cleaned up the mess your sister made just like you always did?” Mack pulled his hand away as if he’d touched his fingers to a hot furnace.

“You don’t understand.” How could he? Mack had always had parents who loved him, who thought the sun and the stars rose in his every movement. How could he begin to fathom what she and Eileen had endured, living with a mother who always found fault, who only made time for them when it was convenient for her? “I’m not saying Eileen didn’t make mistakes. I know she did, but I did, too, and when I messed up, Eileen tried to be there for me. Sisters help each other out.”

“You were too easy on her. Eileen took advantage of your sweet nature. She always did.”

Thea grimaced. Yes, she probably had. But she had let Eileen down, too, at the time when her sister needed her the most. “You don’t understand.”

“I understand more than you think, Thea.” Mack leaned a hair closer to her, just enough to see his blue eyes darken to a stormy indigo, pinning her in place.

Thea shook her head then caught herself. How could she explain her sister’s behavior without Mack learning the whole truth, that this baby was not Eileen’s first? That her own mother had been in cahoots with the likes of Georgia Tann, a woman who had browbeaten and threatened countless scores of women into give up their babies so that she, under the front of a charitable institution, could go on to sell those babies to the highest bidder.

To admit what her mother had done, and the circumstances leading to it, would betray the little good that was left of her sister’s memory while revealing Thea’s own failures. She shouldn’t have taken the extra shift at work that night eight years ago, but she’d wanted to see Mack, work with him one more time before she quit to leave for college. If she had stayed home, she could have stopped her mother from ever going to the train station, before the exchange had been made with Georgia Tann.

Instead, she’d made a promise to her sister that she’d bring the baby home. And then the only option Thea’d had was to jump on that train and follow Miss Tann to the ends of the earth if need be. But it had been for nothing, and Eileen had lost whatever hope she’d held on to with the disappearance of her son, a baby boy their mother had sold to keep scandal away from their doorstep. The baby boy Thea had failed to retrieve, breaking her promise to her sister for the first time in her life—leaving her too ashamed to come home for eight long years.

Thea pushed away the awful memory. No. No matter how much Mack thought he understood her family’s situation, he couldn’t.

Not in a million years.

* * *

Finding Thea here at the hospital hadn’t been what Mack had expected when he’d agreed to meet Beau for lunch. But these few moments he’d spent with her had given him time to get a read on her, to try to figure out what had brought her home after an eight-year absence. Only her reaction to his questions had confused him more. The woman held secrets close to the chest but her blue eyes revealed a storm of emotions that unsettled him, made him want to protect her from the pain and regret he’d found hidden in their depths. Why he felt this way, after the mess she’d left behind when she’d hopped that train out of town, after the damage she’d caused him, the loss of everything he’d ever hoped for, he couldn’t explain.

No, she wasn’t directly responsible for the car accident that had had such devastating consequences in his life. But he wouldn’t have been out in his car that night—driving too fast to get home after dropping her off at the train station, trying to beat the curfew the coach insisted on so he’d be able to play in that weekend’s big game—if she hadn’t come to him, desperate, needing a ride.

If it hadn’t been for her, he’d have been safely at home rather than out on the road. He’d have played in the big game instead of spending that weekend in the hospital. He’d have gone on to college, instead of losing his scholarship after the doctors said the partial deafness in one ear was permanent. He’d have lived the life he’d always planned instead of giving up his dreams.

He’d lost everything, all because he’d chosen to do a favor for a girl he’d thought was his friend. But what kind of friend would have left him behind so completely? He hadn’t heard from her the entire time she was gone, even though she must have known about his accident. Not one call, or card, or even apology in eight years. Those years of silence should have been more than long enough for him to harden his heart against her.

But he couldn’t deny that he still had a soft spot for Thea, maybe because he knew how tough she’d always had it at home. Probably just being overprotective, the same way he felt when he’d sworn to protect the citizens of Marietta.

And maybe President Truman plans to dance a jig in Marietta Square!

Mack stood and paced to the opposite side of the waiting room, needing to put some distance between them. Hadn’t Thea taken enough from him? He touched the puckered skin just under the hairline at his ear. Nobody wanted a man who could barely hear, not even the armed services during the war, and they’d been desperate.

And now Thea was back, and this time she might cost him his child. The woman owed him a straight answer as to why she’d come home, and this time she couldn’t run away.

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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