A Match Made by Baby

“You weren’t, either, but you had worn one at one time. The skin on that finger was lighter. It had been a wide gold band.”

Kaitlyn suddenly pushed her dish away. “I think we should stop with the questions now. If you want to get the crib put together, now’s probably a good time. I can watch Erica if she wakes up.”

“You’re running again,” he said.

“And you’re being too nosy. Just because I came to help you, doesn’t mean—”

“It doesn’t mean that you’ll kiss me,” Adam filled in, with a twinkle in his eye. Then he pushed his plate away, too. “You’re right. I’d better take advantage of the quiet time and get that crib put together. We can only hope that someone with a Ph.D. can figure it out.”

Thirty minutes later, the crib was assembled. Adam had seemed skilled at putting it together even though he’d never done it before. Kaitlyn helped by fitting the sheet onto the mattress. Then Adam laid Erica on it.

“Are we sure she’s okay?” Adam asked her.

“She’s just as worn-out as you are.”

“If she sleeps this much now, she’s going to be awake at midnight, isn’t she?”

Kaitlyn gave a small laugh. “Now you’re catching on.”

“I’m a quick study. I’ll have to make sure I set more than one alarm at intervals so I wake up to check on her. Maybe I should buy one of those baby monitors the next time I go shopping.”

“Are you going to wheel her into the bedroom?”

They both looked in that direction and then at each other.

“Would you like to see how I don’t have it decorated?” he asked, with his brows lifting and lowering.

She laughed. “Not unless you need help pushing the crib in.”

He shook his head. “No, I’ll crash on the sofa tonight. I want to be near the bottles and formula, the diapers and anything else she’ll need.”

He was putting the baby’s comfort before his, and Kaitlyn admired that. She thought again about her responsibilities with The Mommy Club—her responsibility to make sure Erica got the care she needed, and Adam got the help he needed. That his sister did, too, for that matter. Families were what The Mommy Club was all about.

She had office hours tomorrow morning and a meeting at the hospital in the afternoon. She’d already be in Sacramento. The question was—did she want to get more involved or didn’t she? Adam could still have a rough night with the baby and that wouldn’t make tomorrow any easier for him.

“I’m going to try to call Tina again,” he said. “It’s almost nine. Maybe she’ll pick up.”

“You think her guard will be down because it’s later in the day?”

“Maybe.” He took his phone from his belt and left another message for his sister.

That call, and the expression on Adam’s face—as if bracing for a storm—had Kaitlyn say, “If you’d like, I’ll go with you to Tina’s apartment tomorrow.”

He came around the side of the crib to where she was standing. “You want to see where Tina lives in case she comes back?”

“That’s partly my reason.”

He was closer now, towering above her, sex appeal oozing from him. “What’s the other part?”

“It’s not as if you’re a complete stranger, Adam. I care about what happens to you.”

“Well, that’s an admission. Did you think about me this past year?”

Oh, no. She wasn’t going to admit that. “I really should be going, and you should catch a nap if you can while Erica is still sleeping. You might need it later.”

He narrowed his eyes and studied her. “You know, when Jase first introduced me to you, you seemed cool and hid behind a polite reserve. But once we started talking and laughing and joking, Kaitlyn, I saw what was underneath it, and you know I did.”

“You’re not what you seem to be, either, Adam. I looked you up on Google. I found photos of you with beautiful women on your arm at community and charity functions. I knew about that track scholarship to UC Davis. But I also discovered you were in an accident when you were in college and you were charged with reckless driving. The girl in the car with you was pretty seriously hurt. The custom-made suit and the boy-next-door flirting hid all that.”

She thought Adam might defend himself, that he might tell her what had happened because she knew as well as anyone there was never just one side. But he didn’t. His jaw tightened, the nerve in it worked and he stayed silent.

Finally, he broke the stalemate. “So that’s why you don’t think I’m fit to take care of Erica.”

“I want to make sure your care is the right care.”

“And if you don’t think it is, you’ll call in someone more official.”

She was a doctor. She’d have no choice.

“Fine,” he snapped. “Do you want to meet me there or do you want me to pick you up?”

She retrieved her purse. “I have office hours in the morning and a meeting at the hospital in Sacramento in the afternoon, so I can meet you at your sister’s apartment around three if you give me the address.”

Without a comment, he went to the table by the sofa where a cordless phone sat along with a pad of paper. He jotted down an address and tore the paper from the pad with a swift jerking movement that told Kaitlyn he was angry. He handed it to her.

Kaitlyn went to the door but he didn’t follow her. He stood at Erica’s crib looking down at her.

Kaitlyn let herself out.

Chapter Four (#ulink_48dcca97-ce58-5a44-8742-b9320409d192)

The tension between Adam and Kaitlyn was obvious as he carried Erica’s car seat into Tina’s apartment in Sacramento and Kaitlyn followed. He didn’t know why her opinion of him mattered, but it did. Glancing at her, he thought about their conversation before she’d left last night. He’d almost explained exactly what had happened that night when he’d been twenty-one, stupid and in love. However, he considered the possibility that Kaitlyn might not even believe him.

He’d shaken off the bad-boy rep after one of his science profs had truly captured his attention. He’d become interested in earning a graduate degree in something that mattered and a life that could take him away from Fawn Grove, from a broken family, from an accident that had changed his life more than his girlfriend’s. Sherry hadn’t hesitated one instant when he’d stepped up and said he’d been driving. A career in law had been her sole goal. That’s why he’d accepted the blame. So she wouldn’t lose her dream.

Adam had paid a fine, done community service and worked hard to make sure every hospital bill was paid, missing a semester of college. His father had made sure Sherry had received the best care. She’d come out of the whole thing without a spleen, with a broken leg and the aftereffects of a concussion.

Before the police and paramedics arrived, she’d promised Adam she’d never drink and drive again. He knew he’d never let anyone drink and drive again if he could help it. But the whole true story had never come out. He’d taken the blame. His reputation hadn’t been a big deal. Hers had.

But telling all that to Kaitlyn...

It just seemed a waste.

He set Erica’s carrier on the kitchen table in Tina’s cramped apartment as they looked around. This apartment didn’t look much different than his condo had yesterday. There was a pile of laundry on the sofa that looked clean, one next to it that looked dirty. Dishes and mugs were strewn about as well as a few baby bottles. There was one bedroom and he and Kaitlyn both peeked into it, their shoulders brushing.

Kaitlyn’s gaze met his, and he thought he saw regret there. Regret that she’d told him she knew his background?

He moved back toward his niece.