Rookie Cop

“None that I could see, either,” Megan agreed.

“We’ll have to stop by the hospital with him and let one of the staff pediatricians give him a thorough checkup just to be sure. Then we can stop by my office, fill out the necessary paperwork, and he’s yours.”

Alice held the baby out to Megan and she took him without hesitation. When the social worker’s last words sank in, however, she stared at the woman, unable to hide her dismay.

“Mine?” she asked, her voice high and tight.

“You’re fully qualified to foster young Matthew,” Alice assured her, waving a dismissive hand.

Megan wasn’t heartened in the least by the social worker’s statement. Granted, she had gone through the foster parenting program offered by the county, but only so she could provide a home for older children, especially siblings who might be separated otherwise. A home similar to the one where she’d been placed in Serenity after her parents had been killed.

She hadn’t expected to be asked to care for a baby, mainly because they were so much easier to place within the foster care system. She also had a full-time job teaching history at the high school. Caring for older, school-age children made more sense since her schedule would coincide with theirs, allowing her to be at home when they were.

But school was out for the summer, and if Alice really needed her…

“Surely there’s someone available who’s much more experienced than I am,” Megan insisted, trying, unsuccessfully, to ignore the all-too-familiar way the baby snuggled against her shoulder.

It was hard enough for her to accept the fact that Matthew wasn’t her baby to keep now. But after days, perhaps even weeks, of looking after him, the pain of letting him go would be unbearable.

“Once you’ve completed our program, you’re qualified to care for children of any age. And right now we’re woefully shorthanded. We need you, Megan. Matthew needs you.”

Oh, great, just what she needed, Megan thought to herself. A little none-too-subtle yet oh-so-gentle coercion from one of the few people in town she truly liked.

“Unless, of course, you foresee having a serious problem with him,” Alice added, pinning her with a questioning look.

“Not at all,” Megan assured her, aware that she’d just sealed her own fate. But why argue any longer against something she wanted so much?

In the doorway, Jake shifted, drawing her attention. A frown still creasing his forehead, he looked none too happy at the sudden turn of events. Megan couldn’t even begin to imagine what must have been going through his head as he’d listened to her verbal exchange with Alice.

Of course, his thoughts shouldn’t really matter to her. He wasn’t a part of her life anymore. Her agreement to care for Matthew had nothing to do with him. His job began and ended with finding the baby’s mother.

“Good.” Alice nodded once, then added briskly, “You’ll need a crib for him. We have a Portacrib at the office you can use. And I already have a car seat for him out in my van.”

“Actually, I have a crib at the house,” Megan said, then immediately regretted the admission as she saw Jake straighten in the doorway, a puzzled look on his face.

During one of his rare breaks from the case he’d been working on after Will’s death, he had come home to find that the room they’d used as the baby’s nursery was standing empty. He hadn’t said a word when she told him she’d donated all of Will’s things to charity. The following day, he’d left again, and a few days after that, she had headed back to Serenity.

“Emma left it there,” she explained, glancing at Jake. “It belonged to Jane Hamilton originally. I meant to have one of the local charities come and get it, but I never got around to it.”

In the two years I’ve lived in the house hung unspoken between them.

“Well, now that you’re part of our foster care program that crib is going to come in handy, isn’t it?” Alice interjected smoothly, her smile laced with satisfaction. “I knew we were lucky to have you sign on, Meg. Now I realize what a godsend you’re truly going to be.” Alice retrieved her briefcase from Jake’s desk, then latched a hand onto one of the stroller’s handles. “So, hospital first, if you’re ready.”

“I think I’d better change his diaper before we go,” Megan advised, wrinkling her nose a bit to make her point.

“By all means.” Alice grinned. “I’ve got a couple of calls to make. Mind if I use one of your phones, Jake?”

“Not at all.” Jake backed out of the doorway so Alice could pass by, then walked with her to Darcy’s desk.

Alone with the baby in the station’s rest room, Megan lowered the back of the stroller’s seat so Matthew could lie flat on it. He squirmed and kicked his legs, looking as if he was getting ready to cry.

“Just give me a minute and I’ll get rid of that poopy old diaper for you,” she murmured, taking a fresh disposable from the diaper bag along with the container of wet wipes.

Matthew quieted immediately as Megan tended to him, once again watching her with his big blue eyes. Megan smiled at him, then hesitated, cocking her head to one side as she heard voices coming from just outside the rest room door.

“His ex-wife…” Darcy said. “He followed her back to Serenity almost a year ago. Quit the FBI and had his father pull all kinds of strings to get him on as chief of police.”

“He quit the FBI to come back here?”

The masculine voice must belong to one of the young officers she had seen when she first arrived at the police station, Megan thought as she listened guiltily to a conversation that certainly wasn’t meant for her ears.

“Yeah, and all for nothing,” Darcy replied. “They haven’t gotten together, and probably never will. So he’s thinking about going back to the FBI. Some guy named Bobby Fuentes, Special Agent Bobby Fuentes, has been calling him at least once a week for a couple of months now—”

“Hey, I think the chief wants me,” the officer interrupted. “Thanks for filling me in, though.”

“No problem.”

In the sudden silence, Megan slowly secured the tabs on Matthew’s diaper. Her mind racing, she quickly washed her hands at the sink. Then she raised the stroller seat and strapped the baby into place for the walk out to Alice’s car.

So, Jake had been talking to his former boss, Bobby Fuentes, about going back to the bureau. Only the fact that he had waited so long caused her surprise. He had lasted at least six months longer than she’d expected as Serenity’s chief of police.

What Megan wasn’t prepared for, however, was the utter sense of dismay that had grabbed at her gut when she’d realized his departure could be imminent. There was regret, too, though she couldn’t say why. She had made it clear that she wanted nothing more to do with him almost a year ago. He had betrayed her love and trust once. She had no intention of giving him a chance to do it again.

But his presence in Serenity had given her a feeling of security. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she had known, for almost twelve months now, that she could go to him in an emergency, just as she had today, and he would help her in any way he could. As long as he didn’t have to get too close to anything that might cause him pain…

Reminded of the very reason why she had left Jake in the first place, Megan slung the diaper bag over her shoulder and wheeled the stroller out of the rest room. She leveled her gaze at Alice Radford, waiting for her at the station doorway, and forced herself to smile with confidence she didn’t really feel.

“All ready if you are,” she said.

“Perfect timing. My van is parked out front.” Alice nodded to Jake, standing off to one side. “Nice to see you again, Chief Cahill.”

“Alice.” He nodded, too.

Megan risked a quick glance at him and saw that he was watching her, his expression unreadable. Again she found herself wondering what he was thinking, and again she reminded herself that it didn’t matter.

“Thanks for your help, Jake,” she said, smiling at him, as well, though she didn’t meet his gaze.

“You’re welcome, Megan,” he replied, then added much too smoothly for her peace of mind, “I’ll stop by your house later and let you know what I find out about the baby’s mother.”

“Fine.”

She sailed past him without a backward glance, pushing the stroller ahead of her. She could only hope she’d hidden the flash of panic she’d felt when he’d mentioned seeing her later. She didn’t want him stopping by her house tonight or any night. But telling him so, especially under the circumstances, would have been downright boorish.

Pausing on the sidewalk next to Alice’s van a few moments later, Megan drew a steadying breath, then bent to unfasten the straps holding Matthew in place. She was going to have to work with Jake to find Matthew’s mother, no two ways about it. She might as well get used to the idea, and the sooner, the better.

When Megan straightened again, holding him in her arms, she caught Alice eyeing her quizzically.

“What?” she asked uncertainly.