Somebody's Baby

“His bottle isn’t in here,” the woman beside her muttered. “I don’t know what could have happened to it. Mrs. Baldwin must have taken it out, though for the life of me—” She turned with a teething ring and handed it to Nina. “Here, let’s try this.”

Nina did as she was told, but the baby promptly shoved the useless plastic away. “You’re hungry, aren’t you?” she murmured.

The woman sighed. “I’m afraid he’ll just have to wait until his mother gets here.”

She reached for the baby, but Nina said quickly, “Oh, may I please hold him for a little longer? I think he’s starting to quiet.”

The woman looked doubtful. “I’ve imposed on you long enough.”

“It’s no imposition. Please. Just a minute more.” There was a desperate note in Nina’s voice she didn’t recognize. Why was it so important she hold on to this child? He was a stranger and she was acting as if—”You’ve been very kind.” The woman’s tone grew insistent. “But I’ll take the baby now.”

“Please—”

“Give me the child!”

The fear in the woman’s eyes startled Nina. What on earth was she doing? She’d frightened the poor woman half to death, and all because she’d wanted to hold the baby in her arms a little longer. Wanted to pretend a little longer.

“I—I’m sorry,” she stammered. Just as she was about to hand the child back, she saw a man striding toward them. He was tall and broad shouldered with thick black hair and—Nina saw when he drew closer—gray eyes that were very dark and very piercing.

The woman beside her looked enormously relieved when she spotted him. She jumped up from the bench and grabbed his arm. “Mr. Chambers! I’m so glad to see you!”

His dark gaze went from the woman to Nina, and then to the baby she still held on her lap. His eyes narrowed. “What’s going on?” he demanded, in a voice every bit as dark and deep as his eyes.

As if also affected by the man’s sudden appearance, the baby on Nina’s lap grew still, staring up at the stranger with rapt attention.

“She won’t give the baby back to me!” the woman said in a shrill voice. “She insisted on holding him while I looked for his bottle, and then she wouldn’t give him back to me.”

Nina winced. “No, please, it wasn’t like that. I can explain—”

The man walked over and took the baby from her with such authority, Nina shrank away from him. He swung the child up into his arms, and John David laughed delightedly, momentarily forgetting his hunger pains.

With the flair of a magician, the man produced a bottle from his jacket pocket. “I thought you might be needing this,” he said to the woman beside him. “Vanessa left it in my office.”

“Oh, thank heavens,” she exclaimed, taking both baby and bottle from the man. “You’re a lifesaver, Mr. Chambers.” She settled the baby in the stroller and gave him his bottle. The baby instantly quieted. The woman straightened and glared at Nina. “Should we call the police?”

The man nodded toward the parking lot. “Why don’t you take John David back to my car? Vanessa should be here soon.”

“Yes, sir.” With one last look at Nina, the woman turned and headed across the park.

Nina tore her gaze from the departing stroller and glanced up at the stranger. He towered over her, looking dark and grim and more formidable that she would have ever thought possible.

He was very handsome in a tough and arrogant sort of way. The casualness of his apparel—jeans, boots and a lightweight leather jacket—didn’t fool her. He had the look and demeanor of a man who had power and money and knew how to use both to his advantage.

He reminded her of the Fairchilds, and Nina felt a sudden stab of resentment. Who was he to judge her? He didn’t know her. He didn’t know anything about her.

“I wasn’t going to hurt your baby,” she said. “I would never do that. I…just wanted to hold him.”

He said sharply, “Who are you?”

“I’m no one. I didn’t mean any harm. I’ll go quietly away, and you’ll never see me again.”

He caught her arm when she stood. A thrill of fear shot through her as his gaze probed her face. “Why do I get the feeling I know you from somewhere?”

“You don’t.” Nina forced her tone to remain even. “I’ve never seen you before. I wanted to hold your baby because I—” She started to explain about Dustin, then broke off. “It doesn’t matter why. I’m sorry.”

Was it her imagination or had his features softened? He was still gazing down at her with a quizzical look in his eyes. “No harm done, I guess.” His hand fell away from her arm. “But I would be careful from now on if I were you. People are very protective when it comes to their children. Someone might get the wrong idea, and you could find yourself in some pretty serious trouble.”

Without waiting for a response, he turned and strode away. Nina waited for a few minutes, then took a circuitous route to the parking lot, hoping he would be gone by the time she arrived at her car. But as she reached to unlock her door, she saw him.

He was standing beside a silver BMW, bending slightly to talk to the blond woman inside. The other woman—the nanny, Nina presumed—was busy fastening the baby into his car seat. Then she climbed into the back with him while the man stored the stroller in the trunk. He said another quick word to the blonde, then she started the engine and backed out of the parking slot.

Nina hurriedly climbed into her own car, hoping she wouldn’t be detected. But as the silver BMW approached Nina’s parking space, the blonde slowed the car, waiting for a truck that had backed out in front of her. Her window was still down, and as she drew even with Nina’s car, she glanced over, then away, then back again. Their gazes locked.

It was one of those life-defining moments. One of those impossible coincidences. It couldn’t really be happening, and yet there she was.

Nina’s breath left her in a painful rush as she stared at the woman behind the wheel. The hair color was different, as was her expression and demeanor. But her eyes…something about her eyes…

For one split second, both women seemed frozen in time. Then the blonde whipped her head around, and the car shot forward. But the shock on her face mirrored Nina’s. She’d recognized Nina, too, and for one very good reason.

The woman in the silver BMW was Karen Smith.

Chapter Three

“Sergeant Farrell, please.” Nina tried to catch her breath while she waited for the detective to answer his phone. She still couldn’t believe it had happened. How many times had she gone to that park since Dustin had disappeared, hoping to find him, hoping to see Karen Smith?

When the car first sped away, Nina had tried her best to follow, but once they’d left the park, traffic thickened on Memorial. The best she could do was keep the silver car in sight, but eventually even that proved fruitless. The BMW was much faster than Nina’s compact. Without warning, it had shot up an on-ramp to the freeway and was soon lost in the steady stream of traffic heading toward downtown while Nina sat on the feeder lane, stuck behind two 18-wheelers.

Dustin had been so close. So close! She’d actually held him in her arms!

Nina swallowed a sob. Her baby was alive! He’d appeared healthy and unharmed, and…dear God, she’d held him in her arms.

“Sergeant Farrell.”

Nina gulped air, trying to calm her racing heart. “It’s Nina. You won’t believe what just happened.”

“Nina.” His sigh was audible. “Haven’t we already spoken today?”

“Yes, but something wonderful has happened. A miracle.” She paused for another breath. “I saw Dustin. I saw my baby! I held him! All we have to do now is go get him. You’ll help me, won’t you? You have to—”

“Nina, slow down. What do you mean, you saw Dustin?”

“At Mirror Lake Park. I go there every day. A part of me has always hoped I’d find him, but today it happened. It really happened.” Nina gripped the phone so tightly her knuckles hurt. Soon her baby would be back in her arms. Soon Dustin would be home where he belonged. She pictured the yellow-and-white nursery, awaiting his return.

“You saw him in Mirror Lake Park.” Something in Farrell’s tone pierced the cloud of excitement surrounding Nina. She gripped the phone even tighter.

“That’s what I said. He was there with a woman, his nanny, I think, and she let me hold him. She called him John David. His last name is Baldwin, or Chambers, I’m not really sure which, but it doesn’t matter, because his real name is Dustin Fairchild. You believe me, don’t you?”

There was the briefest hesitation before Farrell said slowly, “You saw a woman in the park with a baby. What makes you think that baby was Dustin?”