Whose Baby?. Delores Fossen
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bald guy gave her another glance. “Out loud, sir? With her in the room?”
“Read it,” Lattimer insisted, the impatience straining his voice.
Those repeated two words and the stark edginess were apparently enough for the man to spring into action. “Her name is Kelly Baker Manning. I confirmed it with the photo on file at the Department of Motor Vehicles. Age twenty-eight. No criminal record. Self-employed as a photographer—she does mainly weddings and birthday parties. Widowed. Spouse was Louis Manning, vice detective, San Antonio PD. Killed in the line of duty. She has a thirteen-month-old son, Joseph Louis Manning. I also have her address and phone number.”
All the information was correct. Kelly checked her watch. Less than ten minutes, it’d taken him to get her life story. Well, most of it anyway. In this case, the bare facts didn’t really tell what she’d been through.
Or what she was no doubt facing.
“She didn’t lie on her job application to the caterer,” Cooper went on. “Not that I can tell anyway. I’ll keep digging though.”
No surprise there. By morning, she’d be an open book to them. Which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Maybe then Lattimer would believe some of what she’d told him and allow the DNA test.
Of course, maybe he’d have her arrested for trespassing.
“She asked the nanny about the baby and the location of the nursery,” Cooper explained further.
“I know,” Lattimer informed him. “And the nanny purposely gave her false information and then alerted me as she’d been instructed to do.”
That’s how Lattimer had known she was there in the fake nursery. So much for her plan. She’d underestimated him right from the start.
Cooper aimed a scowl at her. “Should I call the authorities or escort her off the ranch?”
“No. I’ll take care of the situation.” There was an unspoken adios and get-lost at the end of Lattimer’s remark, and Cooper obeyed without so much as batting an eyelash.
“Satisfied that I’m not some criminal?” she asked Lattimer the moment Cooper shut the door.
“No.”
Mercy. It was like banging her head against a wall.
Just when Kelly thought that things couldn’t possibly get any more frustrating, she felt the phone vibrate in her pocket.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
Only then did she realize that Nick Lattimer was looking at her. And not just looking, either. Staring at her. The way he’d done when they first laid eyes on each other.
“That’ll be from my sitter.” She took out the phone just long enough to glance at the text message to verify that’s indeed who it was. “I told her to text me if Joseph woke up in the night. He did. He’s not used to me being gone, and I didn’t want him to be frightened.”
He stayed quiet a moment. “Do you need to go to him?”
“Not really. He’s not crying or anything, or she would have said. He should be all right.”
A muscle flickered in his sleek jaw. “Still, there’s no reason we have to work out all of this tonight. You should go home to him. I’ll have someone drive you.”
“That’s not necessary. My car is already here. Besides, I don’t want to be brushed off. I want to know—”
“I’ll consider your request for another DNA test for William, and I’ll inform you of my decision as soon as I’ve made one.”
The abrupt about-face along with her tangled nerves nearly caused Kelly’s legs to give way. “Why the change of heart?”
“Because you’ve caught my attention. Hopefully, you haven’t caught anyone else’s.” He didn’t add more regarding that ominous comment. “If I do consent to the test, I’d prefer to have a complete picture. Or as you so cleverly put—a start. That means you’ll allow me to have your son’s DNA tested, as well.”
It made her ache to think of someone, some stranger, out there who might have a legal claim on Joseph. However, she understood his request all too well, since she felt the same need to find out the truth about William. Blood wasn’t necessarily thicker than water, but she couldn’t deny the pull it had on her.
“Do you happen to know who Joseph’s biological father is?” Kelly asked, dreading the answer, but knowing that she needed it.
The muscles went to work again in his jaw. “No.”
She was either paranoid, or that was a lie. “Meredith and I talked a few times. She didn’t mention him, other than to say he wasn’t in the picture.”
“She didn’t talk about him to me, either,” he insisted, his voice tight.
So, unless the father was dead, he was out there somewhere. But what Kelly had going for her was that he hadn’t tried to claim William so far, and that meant he probably wouldn’t try to claim Joseph, either.
She prayed.
And that was one of the reasons she hadn’t wanted this baby switch in the hands of the police. Or the press. Newspapers tended to pick up that kind of story, and while she couldn’t keep Joseph’s biological father from seeing him, she truly hoped Meredith was right—that he wasn’t in the picture.
This way, Kelly could proceed with her plan. First, verify that William was her son. Then petition the court for custody of both boys.
Well, she could after she got past one more obstacle.
“You said you had no plans to adopt William.” She paused, and mentally wrestled with how she should say this. “Is that because you don’t want children?”
Nick Lattimer turned, faced her. Behind him, the rain and the wind assaulted the window. There was even a dramatic slash of lightning across the night sky. He stood in the center of the glass. Calm. Except for one thing. His right hand had clenched into a fist.
“You honestly don’t know about my brother?” he questioned.
Confused, she shook her head, not sure where this was leading. “I know you have one,” she said. Kelly tried to recall her research notes. She’d read a mention or two of his brother, but that was it. She couldn’t imagine what he had to do with any of this.
“Among other things, Eric is possessive,” he explained. He shoved his hands back into his pockets. “With things, not people. He inherited the bulk of the family estate, which, according to the terms of my mother’s will, he doesn’t have to share with me.”
Oh. She got it. Kelly quickly filled in the blanks. “But Eric would have to share with your heirs?”
He nodded. “Except he wouldn’t share. My brother is a violent, dangerous man.”
That sank in quickly, too. Kelly flattened her hand over her chest and dropped back a step. “Are you saying he would hurt a child of yours?”
Nick Lattimer walked closer, his footsteps punctuated with a roll of thunder. “Not hurt. Eric would eliminate the child.”
That sent her heart to her knees and stole her breath. “I’m sorry. So sorry. Now, I understand why you were concerned. You thought your brother sent me here to get the DNA sample.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time. But I thought that after three tests, one of which I let his personal physician perform, that Eric’s fears would be put to rest.”
It was a chilling revelation, but Kelly couldn’t help but think this would fuel her case to get custody of her son. Nick Lattimer might even welcome having William away from his brother’s paranoid watchful eye.
Kelly knew she would welcome it.
She