Wanted: Father for Her Baby: Keeping Baby Secret / Five Brothers and a Baby / Expecting Brand's Baby. BEVERLY BARTON
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crooning to Andrew. How wonderful to hold him again. She kissed his little head. Ah, she loved his sweet smell.
By the time Frank returned—in three minutes flat—Andrew’s whimpers had grown louder.
Her son had a big appetite and little patience.
“Here you go.” Frank held out the bottle to her.
“Would you like to feed him?”
“Me?”
“You’ve already fed him once, right? You’re an old pro now.”
“Yeah, sure. I—”
“Sit back down in the chair and I’ll hand him to you.”
Frank did as she’d instructed. Then she placed Andrew in his arms. At first Andrew cried, apparently not happy about leaving his mother’s arms. But when Frank stuck the nipple in his mouth, Andrew latched on and began sucking. Frank looked up at Leenie and smiled triumphantly.
“You’re a natural,” she told him.
“Am I?”
Her heart did a crazy rat-a-tat-tat. She wanted to wrap her arms around Frank and hug the life out of him. Didn’t he have any idea how wonderful he was? Couldn’t the big lug figure out that he was meant to be a family man? He was gentle, kind, loving and had so much to give to a woman and child. If only he wasn’t so scarred from bad experiences with a selfish mother and an unfaithful wife. If only the two most important women in his life hadn’t crippled him emotionally.
“The way you are with Andrew, a person would think you had vast experience with babies,” Leenie said.
“I have zero experience with babies. It’s Andrew. The way I feel about him makes it so easy to just—” Frank lifted his gaze from his son to Leenie. “I want to be a part of his life from now on.”
She nodded. Emotion welled up inside her. Why hadn’t she called Frank and told him the minute she found out she was pregnant?
“I called my boss at Dundee and asked for some time off. A week. I thought…that is if it’s okay with you, I’d like to stay and get to know my son.”
“Of course it’s okay with me. I want you to be a part of Andrew’s life.”
“You won’t have to put up with me permanently. Just for the next week or so.” Frank looked down at Andrew. “I know a baby needs his mother, but when I’m between assignments, I’d like to come for visits. And maybe when Andrew is older, you might let him visit me in Atlanta.”
Leenie clenched her teeth, then forced a smile, even though her heart was breaking. What had she expected? Not some confession of undying love. Not from Frank Latimer. He might love his son, but by God, he wasn’t going to ever trust his heart to another woman, not even his son’s mother. Not even to a woman who loved him so damn much that she could hardly stand it.
Smiling like an idiot, Leenie nodded and willed herself not to cry. She swallowed hard, then said, “Absolutely. You’ll be welcome here any time. I want you to be a father to Andrew.”
“Thanks, Slim.” With Andrew nestled against him, Frank held the bottle securely in place while he leaned down and kissed his son’s forehead.
Kate answered her cell phone on the first ring. She’d been waiting all night for this call.
“Hello.”
“Kate?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to get back to you, but I’ve had a lot going on here in Memphis. I guess Frank told you something about—”
“Frank doesn’t really care about the FBI’s great success,” Kate said. “Andrew is all that matters to him.”
“Yes, of course. That’s understandable.” Dante Moran hesitated for several moments. “I’m afraid I’m puzzled as to why you left me a message to call you. Is there some information Dundee needs in order to close out the case?”
“This wasn’t an official Dundee case. This was a personal matter for Frank. Sawyer McNamara sent me along because…well, to be honest with you, Sawyer thought I might have a special interest in Andrew Patton’s kidnapping.”
“You’ve lost me. I don’t understand why—”
“Eleven years ago my daughter was kidnapped and to this day I don’t know what happened to her. I’ve searched for her for over a decade without any success. What I want to know is this—did y’all confiscate any files on the abducted children? Things like where they were born. State? Town? And dates. Dates of births? Dates they were adopted? Who adopted them?”
“You’re asking me to divulge official FBI business,” Moran said.
“All you have to say is yes or no.”
“Yes.”
Kate sucked in her breath. “How far back do those files go?”
“Rephrase that so I can give you a yes or no reply.”
“Do they go back eleven years?”
“Yes.”
Kate’s heart lurched to her throat and for a moment she couldn’t breathe. “Is there any way I can get a look at those files?”
“No.”
“What if Sawyer McNamara—”
“No.”
“You don’t understand.” Kate didn’t mind begging. She’d gladly get down on her hands and knees and plead with him if she thought it would get her what she wanted. “Please. If there’s even the slightest chance that my daughter was taken by the same abduction ring that stole Andrew—”
“I can’t promise you anything. But I’ll pull the files from ten years ago and take a look. I can’t give you permission to see the files, but if you’ll give me all the information on your daughter—”
“Mary Kate Winston. She was two months old. Blonde. Brown-eyed. Kidnapped from Prospect, Alabama. I can fax you all the details.”
“You do that.”
“How long—?”
“It could take days to find something…if there’s anything to find.”
“I’m coming to Memphis,” Kate told him. “I’ll give you the details of Mary Kate’s abduction when I get there.”
“I’ll be expecting you.”
“Moran?”
“Huh?”
“Thanks.”
“Don’t thank me. I haven’t done anything.”
“Oh yes you have. You’ve given me just a tiny bit of hope. I’m not sure why you’re doing this for me. I don’t think it’s because you’re such a nice guy, is it?”
“Hell no. Anybody who knows me will tell you I’m a real hard-ass.”
“Then why?”
“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”
“I’ll leave for Memphis as soon as I can get packed.”
Leenie and Frank stood in the doorway, Andrew in Leenie’s arms, and waved goodbye to Kate as she walked toward Frank’s rental car parked in the driveway.
“Be careful driving in this rain,” Leenie cautioned. “The roads are probably still slippery from last night’s sleet.”
“I’ll be very careful,” Kate called back as she opened the car door.
“Call us when you get to Memphis,” Frank said.
“Becoming