The Baby Arrangement

“Don’t even think about it,” the man said, taking a step closer. “I’ve come for my son. I’m taking him home with me, and I’d advise you not to try to stop me,” he added, and dropped into a crouched position in front of the stroller.

“But you can’t...” Faith protested, looking around in the hope a police car might happen to be cruising the area.

“Just watch me,” he replied.

“Please, you don’t understand. I’m not...” Faith tried anew to explain, but the words dissolved in her throat when she saw the harsh angry lines on his face vanish, replaced by an expression of awe.

“He’s beautiful....” The words were a mere whisper of sound as Jared stared in wonderment at the tiny but perfect infant asleep in the stroller. Not even seeing the grainy pictures of his unborn son on the hospital sonogram had prepared him for this heart-stopping moment.

Gazing for the very first time at his own flesh and blood, his own son, an avalanche of emotions more powerful than anything he’d ever felt before gripped him, squeezing his heart and bringing tears to his eyes.

The intensity of his feelings caught him completely off guard, and so too did the sudden and urgent need to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. Reaching out, he gently touched his son’s smooth cheek.

At the contact Jared felt a tightening in his chest. As his glance drifted over the baby’s angelic face, he noted with some pride the shock of jet black hair peeking out from beneath a knitted blue bonnet.

Inhaling deeply, he caught the sweet scent of baby powder mixed with milky formula. He silently acknowledged that nothing in his thirty-seven years had prepared him for such a profound moment.

Jared released the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. As he withdrew his hand he made a promise to his son, to be a loving, caring father—the kind of father he himself had longed for as a child.

Faith watched the array of emotions flitting across the stranger’s face and felt as if her heart were being torn from her body. Stifling a moan, she began to push the stroller toward the house.

“Hey! Just a minute.” Jared stretched to his full height and came marching after her. He grabbed the handle of the stroller, halting her progress. “You’re not running out on me again.”

He watched as tears pooled in her eyes.

“And you can cut the tearful act, Paula,” Jared continued, his tone scathing. “After what you’ve put me through these past two weeks, I’m not going to fall for that old trick. I’m here for one reason, and one reason only—to take my son home.”

Faith bravely met his fierce glare. That the stranger had mistaken her for her identical twin sister, Paula, was obvious, and from the description Paula had given her, he in turn could only be Jared McAndrew, the baby’s father. But why hadn’t Paula bothered to mention she’d been running away from the man?

“If you’d just let me finish...” Faith tried again, but this time her attempts to explain were suddenly drowned out by a baby’s cry.

Startled, they both stared at the source of the sound. The volume of the cries increased, and Faith quickly took control. Bending, she lifted the infant into her arms, hugging him to her. Rocking him gently, she crooned words of comfort.

Over the baby’s shoulder she met the stranger’s piercing gaze, daring him to challenge her. But when she glimpsed the anxiety shimmering in the depths of his blue eyes, her heart contracted.

“He’s hungry,” she told him. “And he doesn’t like to be kept waiting,” she added, moving past him toward the front door.

Faith dug in to her jacket pocket and located her keys. Opening the door, she threw a quick glance over her shoulder. It came as no surprise to see Jared McAndrew following her, bringing the baby stroller with him.

Once inside, Faith headed for the kitchen. Earlier that morning, before Nicky had awakened, she’d made up several bottles for him. Retrieving one from the fridge, she crossed to the sink.

“You’re not breast-feeding. Good. That will simplify matters,” the baby’s father said, standing in the doorway.

Faith fought down the bubble of hysterical laughter threatening to break free. “No, I’m not breast-feeding,” she responded, filling the bowl in the sink with hot water from the tap. Dropping the baby’s bottle into it, she turned to face the man hovering behind her like a vulture.

“He needs to be changed, then fed,” Faith said assertively. “When I’m finished feeding him, we’ll get this sorted out.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” he replied. “Besides, what’s there to sort out? I thought I’d made myself perfectly clear. Once you’ve finished feeding my son, I’m taking him home with me.”

A variety of emotions ranging from fear to frustration tugged at Faith, but she kept them in check. This wasn’t the time to argue, not when she had a hungry baby in her arms.

She strode down the hall and into her bedroom. After Paula had left for the airport last night, Faith had transported her dressing table into a makeshift change table by placing a thick bath towel on top of it.

Not for the first time since her twin had appeared on her doorstep twelve hours ago, Faith wondered what kind of mess her sister had gotten herself into.

Precocious and outgoing as a youngster, Paula had been the favorite child. Their parents had indulged her and encouraged her in her goal to become an actress. Faith, shyer and more introverted, had sat in the shadows, quietly developing her artistic talent, a talent that had led her to a career illustrating children’s books.

Throughout their teenage years Paula had landed herself in more scrapes than Faith cared to recall. She’d delighted in pulling reckless and sometimes dangerous stunts with no thought to the consequences.

Faith, a scant ten minutes older than her twin, had often been left to soothe ruffled feathers, pacify angry neighbors, or take the blame for things her sister had done.

After graduating from high school, Paula had moved to Los Angeles, where she’d worked as a waitress before landing a small part in a movie. From there she’d moved to New York to work in an off-Broadway show.

Faith in turn had won a scholarship to attend an artists’ college in Seattle. Living on opposite sides of the country, they’d drifted apart. Paula hadn’t been able to attend Faith’s small wedding. The last time Faith had seen her twin had been almost two years ago, at Erica’s funeral. After a brief stay Paula had returned to the East Coast, still chasing her dream of stardom.

But while Paula’s arrival yesterday had surprised her, it was nothing compared to the shock of having her twin thrust a baby into her arms and beg for her help. At the time, Faith had wondered if by some quirk of fate she’d stepped into a nightmare.

Suddenly Nicky’s cries grew more urgent, effectively bringing her thoughts back to the present. With quick, accomplished movements she changed his diaper all the while speaking softly to him till his cries subsided. As she gazed down at his cherublike face she noticed for the first time the faint cleft in his chin—a tiny replica of his father’s.

Snapping the sleeper back into place, Faith lifted Nicky from the dresser, carefully supporting his neck and head. The powdery scent of baby wrapped around her, filling her senses and storming her defenses. Suddenly a barrage of memories, memories of another baby—her daughter, Erica—washed over her. Erica had been born prematurely with a multitude of medical problems, problems that after only five days had resulted in her death.

Faith bit down on the inner softness of her mouth to stop the moan of pain and sadness threatening to escape. Blinking back tears, she firmly closed the door on the past, a past too painful to revisit.

Turning, she came to an abrupt halt when she found Jared McAndrew’s tall frame blocking the doorway.

“Excuse me,” she said, careful to avoid his gaze, unwilling to let him see her distress.

“I’m impressed, Paula,” he said moving aside. “You looked like you knew what you were doing. Did you take a crash course in child care?” he asked, cynicism in his voice.

Faith made no reply as she headed for the kitchen.

“So tell me, who owns the house?” Jared asked as he followed her down the hall. “Is it one of your actor friends...or an old lover, perhaps?”

Faith ignored him. Grabbing a tea towel off the counter, she retrieved the bottle of formula from the sink. Continuing into the tiny living room, she sat down in front of the bay window in the rocking chair she’d bought during her own pregnancy.

With practiced ease she tested the temperature of the milk on the inside of her wrist Nicky was growing increasingly fretful, squirming in earnest now, undoubtedly aware nourishment was close at hand. Faith nestled the baby firmly against her breast, and in a matter of seconds his eager mouth found the bottle’s nipple.

Closing her eyes, Faith drew a steadying breath. As she gently rocked back and forth she listened to the soft sucking sound Nicky made, a noise she’d never thought to hear again, and one that made her heart ache anew.

After a few moments Faith ventured to open her eyes. The baby’s father had followed her into the living room and was slumped in the big old armchair opposite, eyes closed and a look of exhaustion on his face.

She let her gaze travel over his arresting features; the wide intelligent forehead, the straight nose, the mouth that was full and sensual, hair as black as ebony and the attractive cleft in his chin that Paula had mentioned.

Dropping her gaze to the sleeping child once more, Faith let her thoughts drift back to the events of the previous night. Why hadn’t Paula warned her to expect the baby’s father?

“I’ve made such a mess of things,” Paula had said, carrying the stroller and diaper bag inside. “I didn’t know where else to go.”

Faith had swallowed the hard lump of emotion clogging her throat. “The baby’s yours?” She’d felt foolish posing the question, but she hadn’t even known her twin was pregnant.