Found: One Baby

This he knew. He pointed to a lower cabinet.

Michelle handed William to Thad and knelt to see what was there. Plenty, as it turned out, although again, everything there was at least thirty years old. She took out a saucepan, carried it to the sink and filled it with very warm tap water. She set the bottle in the pan, so the water covered the contents.

Thad leaned in, over her shoulder. “And now?”

“We wait.”

Thad edged closer, smiling down at the baby. “How will we know when the bottle’s the right temperature?” he asked as he and the baby made goo-goo eyes at each other.

“We’ll keep testing it. It should only take a few minutes.”

“Hear that, William?” Thad gently caressed the little one’s cheek. “Your dinner will be ready shortly.”

Three minutes later, the formula was the right temperature. They returned to the living room.

Thad sat down to give William his bottle. William made a face and pushed the nipple right back out.

“Now what’s wrong?” Thad asked.

Michelle could only guess. “Maybe William senses you’re uncertain.”

Thad didn’t deny that could be the problem. “Maybe you should give it a try again,” he said.

Figuring the little one had waited long enough for his feeding, Michelle sat down next to Thad on the sofa. He handed the baby to her. She shifted William so he was in a semi-upright position, resting in the crook of her arm. “We know you’re hungry,” she said, putting the nipple to his lips. William just stared at her, still refusing to drink. “You’re not going to be able to go back to sleep until you take this bottle,” Michelle said softly, gently rubbing the nipple back and forth across his lips. “So give it a try, little guy.”

Still watching her, William opened his mouth, took the nipple and began to suck. Twenty minutes and two burps later, William had downed all three ounces.

“I guess he was hungry,” Thad mused.

Reluctantly Michelle handed the baby back to him. She knew she shouldn’t be getting this involved in something that was essentially not her problem, but she really wished she could stay right here with the two of them, or better yet, take William home with her.

Reminding herself that was not an option, Michelle stood. “He should be good for three hours,” she said.

“Sure you don’t want to stay the night? We could have a slumber party.”

The image of Thad in his pj’s was all she needed to throw her overheated senses into overdrive. She quickened her pace. “Nice try.”

William in his arms, he followed her into the foyer. “What should I do if he starts crying again?”

Michelle paused, her hand on the doorknob. “Generally speaking, if William is unhappy, it’s one of four things—he’s wet, hungry, sleepy or in need of comfort and reassurance. Just go down the list, and if all else fails, just talk to him.”

Thad said, a tender note in his tone, “He likes your voice.”

And I like yours, Michelle thought, realizing how easily she could get used to being around Thad.

She smiled. “He’ll like yours, too, if he hears it often enough.”

“Thanks for coming over.” Thad shot her a look full of gratitude. “For helping. For everything.”

Unwillingly Michelle flashed back to another man, another time, and gratitude that had been mistaken for something else. She hardened her defenses, knowing she had to be careful. “Try to get some sleep.” She opened the door.

“Can I call you in an emergency?” he asked as Michelle swept into the darkness of the cloudy spring night.

She nodded, throwing the words over her shoulder. “But only if it’s an emergency.”

MICHELLE HALF EXPECTED Thad to call her every three hours through the night. He didn’t. Several times she got up and went to the window and looked across the street to his home. At eleven, two and five, the lights were on, and the rest of the time the house was dark. Which probably meant, she thought, that William was sleeping between feedings.

Telling herself that was good—Thad could easily handle parenting William on his own, after all—Michelle forced herself to go back to bed each time and try to get some sleep.

When the alarm went off at six, it was a relief. She skipped her usual morning run and headed for the shower. At seven, Thad and William were at her door.

Soon after, they were off, Michelle and Thad sitting in the front of his BMW SUV, William sleeping contentedly in the middle of the rear seat.

“So how was your night?” Michelle asked, opening up her briefcase. If she was going to protect her heart, she needed to stay in business mode.

“Fine, as soon as William and I reached an understanding.”

Michelle heard the smile in Thad’s voice. “And that was?”

“There was only one place he was going to sleep more than ten minutes.”

She sent him a sidelong glance. “You held him all night?”

Thad nodded, looking as content as she had felt after spending all day holding William. “I slept in the reading chair and ottoman in the study, and he slept on my chest.”

Michelle could imagine that was a very warm and snuggly place to sleep. She cast a look back at William, but couldn’t see a lot, because the infant seat was facing backward. “I’m surprised he’s been content in his car seat for as long as he has.”

“It’s probably the motion,” Thad theorized.

As it turned out, he was probably right. William slept all the way to Big Spring, and continued sleeping as they followed the MapQuest directions to the address listed for Candace Wright.

The surrogate mother lived in a small yellow bungalow with a sparse lawn and overgrown shrubbery. “Think one of us should ring the bell and see if she’s home first?” Michelle asked.

Before Thad could reply, the front door opened and a slightly pudgy young woman stepped out. Arms crossed in front of her, her long dishwater-blond hair whipping around in the spring breeze, she stalked over to the car. Took a glance at the infant seat in back. Sighed. “Let’s not do this on the street,” she said, motioning at the bungalow.

THAD WASN’T SURE what he expected the surrogate mother’s home to be like. Certainly not a wall-to-wall artist’s studio, with beautiful landscapes stacked against every surface, and an easel with a half-finished canvas front and center in the room.

“I’m sorry I had to leave the baby like that,” Candace Wright said as soon as introductions had been made, “but I was afraid you’d be like everyone else in this mess and refuse to take him.”

“You’re sure Brice and Beatrix Johnson don’t want him, either?” Michelle asked.

“Apparently not.” Clearly confused about the situation, Candace shrugged. “I’m as surprised as you are. They were thrilled about the baby until a couple of days before William was born. Then they started acting a little weird, almost like they were having second thoughts.”

“Did you ask them about that?” Thad interrupted.

Candace shook her head. “I told myself they were just nervous about becoming parents. Happens to a lot of people, from what I’ve seen. Anyway, they came to the hospital and were there when William was born. As soon as they held him they seemed really happy again. We signed the papers. They took him home. Everything was great. A day later, Beatrix shows up at my door with the baby, completely distraught, and just hands him to me.”

Thad and Michelle both did a double take, but it was Michelle who asked the question first. “With no explanation?”