Surprise Package

“And she never called you to tell you she was pregnant?”

“Not a word.”

“It doesn’t make sense. Even if she didn’t tell you when she had the baby, why wouldn’t she have come to you when she was in trouble instead of just dropping the baby at your door?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. I like women. I never claimed to understand them.” He didn’t wait for more questions. Tessa Ortiz was the one with the answers. More to the point, she had the answers if this baby was his. He still didn’t believe that she was.

But then he’d been wrong before.

* * *

LILY GARRETT BISHOP moved to the back of the elevator as two men stepped inside after her. They turned and let their gaze settle on her bulging stomach. Both of them nodded and smiled. It was always interesting to watch strange men’s reactions to her condition.

Some looked away, as if anything associated with the birds and bees embarrassed them. Others smiled or started talking about their own kids, treating the fact that she was pregnant like the miracle of life it was. She felt much more comfortable around the latter.

The younger man was at least six feet tall and close to two hundred pounds, most of it muscle, judging from the way he filled out his jeans and the arms that protruded from the rolled sleeves of his plaid shirt. Dark hair, piercing blue eyes, probably in his mid to late thirties. Slight limp. Handsome but not a pretty boy. More of a man’s man. Could be a construction worker, a truck driver, maybe a cop.

She smiled as the elevator stopped on the fourth floor and the two men stepped off. Before starting Finders Keepers with her brother Dylan, she’d worked in forensics for the FBI, and she prided herself on her observation skills. Very little ever got by her. Another floor or two and she’d have had the guy’s facial features down, maybe even some of his expressions. Little things were all important when you were searching for missing persons. That and the ability to get leads from thin air.

When the elevator jiggled to a stop on the eighth floor, she stepped out and headed to Ashley’s apartment. She’d planned to spend the day writing thank-you notes for the baby gifts she’d already received, but nothing short of labor pains would have kept her from coming into San Antonio today.

The reality of her career-minded little sister tending to and fretting over a baby that belonged to her amorous neighbor was too good to miss. She’d always suspected Ashley had the hots for the man. Once she saw them together, she’d know for sure.

She knocked on the door and waited. Ashley opened it with a finger to her lips. “Shhh. The baby just fell asleep.”

Lily stepped inside and gave Ashley a quick hug. “So where is this mystery baby?”

“I made a pallet for her in my bedroom. That way she won’t roll onto the floor if I don’t hear her the minute she wakes up. You can take a peek, but don’t wake her. I’m already exhausted and it’s not even 9:00 a.m. But then I was up past midnight with her and back up before daybreak this morning.”

Lily patted her stomach. “And this is the life I can’t wait to start. Do you think I’m crazy?”

“No. You’re very lucky. You have a wonderful husband who loves you. I, on the other hand, am playing nursemaid to the baby of a man who drives me to distraction.”

“So why are you doing it?”

“Go ahead and peek into the bedroom. You’ll see.”

Lily did as she was instructed. The baby was lying on her side, sucking her right thumb for all she was worth. Cute as a bug—what baby wasn’t—but still she couldn’t imagine that Ashley had actually missed a day of work to baby-sit.

“Would you like some coffee?” Ashley asked when she joined her in the kitchen.

“No, I’ve already had my one cup limit. Too much caffeine isn’t good for the baby. I’ll take a glass of milk if you have one.”

Ashley opened the refrigerator door and stared at the meager contents while Lily peered over her shoulder. “No milk. I have Diet Coke.”

Lily walked to the cabinet and pulled out a glass. “Water’s good for me.” She filled the glass with cool bottled water and took a seat at the breakfast nook. “I think your assessment of the baby’s age is probably accurate.” She sipped her water. “Did you tell Kyle that I recommended immediate testing to determine if he’s the father?”

“I did.” Ashley took the seat opposite Lily. “He wants to try to locate Tessa Ortiz first. He seems sure that if he’s the father, Tessa is the mother.”

“Are you sure he’s not just putting off the inevitable, trying to delay finding out the truth about whether or not he’s the father?”

“I’m not sure of anything.”

“But you’re getting involved all the same.”

“No way. I offered to help out this one day, watch the baby while he tries to track down Tessa. Tomorrow I’m back on the job. The world needs beef, and it’s my job to convince them of the fact.”

“Well, if your hunky neighbor is going to keep this baby, he’ll have to find someone to watch her. Four-month-old babies require constant care.”

“Do me a favor. Never mention the word hunk in front of him. He takes it to heart.”

“I’ll watch my tongue.” Only she wasn’t going to watch it about everything. She’d driven all the way into town. She might as well say her piece. “Even if he only keeps the baby a few days, she’ll need clothes, toys, food, a crib. Babies don’t just camp out.”

“He plans to buy those things today.”

“He’s also taking a risk. If something happens to the baby while she’s in his care, and she’s not his baby, he could face a lawsuit or worse.”

“He’ll be over here in a minute. You can tell him all of that to his face, and I hope you get further than I did.” The phone rang and Ashley jumped from her chair. “That’s probably him now.”

Lily watched as Ashley spoke a series of hellos into the phone, then slammed the receiver down. She stood staring into space, her lips pulled tight.

“What was that about?”

“I’m not sure. I thought it was a crank call at first, but just before I hung up, a man with a deep-set voice warned me to stay away from Kyle Blackstone. He said the man couldn’t be trusted. Before I could ask what he meant, he hung up.”

Lily stood, walked over and put a reassuring arm about Ashley’s shoulders, though she didn’t feel particularly calm herself. “Did you check the caller ID?”

“It said unable to identify.”

“Has this happened before?”

“Never.”

Lily grew uneasy. She didn’t want to frighten Ashley, but this whole situation was sounding fishier by the minute. Ashley was proficient, intelligent and ambitious, but she was still a bit naive when it came to the ways of the world. Lily was probably partly responsible for that. She and her brother Dylan had both been overly protective where their little sister was concerned.

“What do you really know about Kyle Blackstone?” she asked, other than the fact that he frequents the same health club you do and lives across the hall?”

“Not all that much. He’s an attorney with Bragg, Cotton and Lerner. He works out two or three evenings a week and he has women out the kazoo.” Ashley dropped to a chair. “You think that call might be on the up and up, don’t you? That someone actually thinks I need to be warned about Kyle.”

“I just think you need to be careful. Don’t rush into any kind of relationship with him. I know how easy that would be if the two of you start tending to this baby together.”

“I’m not getting involved with him at all. I’ve made that clear to him.”

“Then you have nothing to worry about.”

She’d probably said too much, made Ashley uneasy when it was unlikely there was anything dangerous going on. It was just that searching for missing persons had exposed her to some pretty ugly situations, taught her that a lot of people were not what they seemed.

“I wouldn’t worry, Ashley. Just be careful and keep your eyes and ears—” Before she could finish, the front door burst open and a man stepped inside. Though Lily had never met Kyle Blackstone before, she immediately recognized him from her sister’s descriptions. The only difference was that the man was even better looking than Ashley had admitted, even in his present state. Right now he looked like a little boy who’d just lost his ice-cream money.