The Baby Barter

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.