Wanted: Father for Her Baby: Keeping Baby Secret / Five Brothers and a Baby / Expecting Brand's Baby

“Is this Andrew Patton?” Dante Moran had asked, pointing to the child Dr. Tomlin’s nurse held.

“We’ve matched his footprint to Andrew Patton’s footprint taken at birth and they’re a perfect match,” Dr. Tomlin had said. “This young man is definitely Andrew.”

Yes, he certainly was. Andrew. His son. Frank had inspected the kid from top to bottom and seen himself or Leenie in every feature. Odd how he loved the child instantly, and not just because Andrew was his, but because Andrew was Leenie’s.

Glancing in the rearview mirror of the rental car he was driving, Frank caught a shadowy glimpse of his son asleep in the carseat Dr. Tomlin had provided. Poor little guy, Frank thought. He’d worn himself out bellowing. Apparently Andrew hadn’t inherited Leenie’s sunny disposition. Of course, Andrew had been through a traumatic experience, being snatched away from the security of his mother’s arms and the loving care of Debra Schmale.

“It’s okay, kid,” Frank said to the sleeping child, “I’m taking you home to your mama. We should be there in a few minutes. And as for your inheriting my grumpy disposition, don’t worry about it. Women seem to go for surly, brooding men.”

When Leenie’s house came into view, Frank’s gut tightened. Because of the bad weather—rain mixed with sleet—he’d driven much slower than his usual speed, so it had taken longer than it should have to make the drive from Memphis to Maysville. But he didn’t want to take any chances with Andrew onboard. From now on, his top priority was going to be keeping his son safe. He didn’t want Leenie to ever again have to endure the anguish she’d suffered these past few days.

The minute he pulled into the driveway, the front door flew open and Leenie ran outside, off the porch and into the yard. By the time he stopped the car, she was yanking on the back door handle. Frank unlocked the doors, undid his seat belt and got out, but before he could even say hello, Leenie was removing a sleeping Andrew from the carseat. She wrapped him in the blanket she’d brought with her and took him out of the car. She turned to Frank then and smiled as tears streamed down her cheeks. He put his hand on the small of her back and together they hurried into the house. Kate stood just inside the foyer, a warm smile on her face.

Suddenly Andrew let out a loud yowl. Leenie flung the damp blanket to the floor and crushed her baby to her chest. That one yowl turned into a screaming fit. Leenie held him away from her and looked at him, then spoke to him softly, a mother’s tender rambling words to soothe her fretful child. Andrew didn’t respond immediately, but Leenie kept talking to him and caressing him. Within minutes his crying diminished and soon stopped altogether. He focused his big blue eyes on his mother.

“Hello, my darling,” Leenie said, then covered his little face with kisses.

Andrew whimpered, then cooed.

Frank thought he’d lose it right then and there. Hell, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d cried. After his father’s funeral? Yeah, that had been the last time. When he’d been alone. But seeing his son safe in Leenie’s arms was enough to bring a grown man to his knees. She had a magic touch, the ability to soothe Andrew’s surly Latimer disposition. Why should that surprise him? Hadn’t she been able to work that same magic on him?

“I’m so happy that everything turned out this way,” Kate said. “I’m going to make myself scarce so y’all can have this time alone with your son.”

Cuddling Andrew close, Leenie said, “No, Kate, you don’t have to—”

“This is family time—mother, father and baby time.” Kate headed toward the guest bedroom. “I’ll see y’all in the morning.”

Frank followed Leenie into the living room and sat down beside her on the sofa. He lifted his arm and put it around her shoulders, encompassing her in his embrace as she did Andrew. They sat there together, the three of them, Andrew secure in his mother’s arms. Frank couldn’t remember ever feeling so good.

“You brought him home to me, just the way you said you would.” Leenie kissed the top of Andrew’s head. The baby’s eyelids drooped.

“He’s a beautiful child,” Frank told her. “Just perfect. And that’s amazing considering I’m his father.”

Leenie laughed. And dear God, how strongly her laughter affected him. He’d never heard a sweeter sound.

“Has he been fed? Did you give him a bottle or—”

“I’ve changed his diaper twice and given him a bottle. Dr. Tomlin, the pediatrician the FBI used in Memphis, gave me three bottles of formula.”

“I breast-fed him, you know. I’d just weaned him onto a bottle when the wreck happened and he was taken…” Leenie gulped down a sob.

Frank hugged her closer. “He’s home. He’s safe. The nightmare is over.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever let him out of my sight again as long as I live.”

Frank chuckled. “Yeah, I know the feeling, but I think Andrew will object when you start going out on his dates with him.”

“He’s not even three months old and you’re already talking about him dating.”

“Hey, if he takes after his old man, he’ll have a girlfriend in kindergarten. Actually, he’ll have half a dozen girlfriends.”

“I will not allow my son to be a ladies’ man.” Leenie tore her gaze away from Andrew to look at Frank. “But I won’t mind if he takes after you in other ways. You, Frank Latimer, are quite a man and I’m glad you’re my son’s father.”

An embarrassing flush warmed Frank’s face. No one had ever told him anything that affected him so strongly. His masculine pride doubled instantly. He leaned over and kissed Leenie, a gentle, fleeting kiss. “He’s the luckiest kid in the world having you for a mother.”

Chapter Nine

Frank locked up and set the security alarm after Leenie went to her bedroom, a fast-asleep Andrew cradled in her arms. These past few days had been the longest, most grueling days of his life, and he knew they’d been even worse for Leenie. He loved watching her with Andrew, the way she touched their child, the way the sound of her voice soothed him. For all her sexy, sophisticated, career-woman exterior, Leenie was a mother at heart. Of course, one was not exclusive of the other. He figured Dr. Lurleen Patton was what people might call a multifaceted woman. And he sure as hell had never known anyone like her. She wasn’t anything like his mother, who’d never done a selfless thing in her life, who had put her own needs above her son’s and daughter’s needs time and again. And Leenie bore no resemblance to his former wife. What had he ever seen in Rita, beyond her flashy good looks?

Listen to yourself, Latimer, you sound like a man in love. No way! Even if he did like Leenie, even care about her deeply, he wasn’t fool enough to fall in love. Never again. Once had been one time too many. Okay, so Leenie was as different from Rita as night is from day. It didn’t matter. Love was no guarantee of happiness. And what could start out as a wonderful relationship—like he’d thought his marriage to Rita was—could turn out to be very wrong. There were too many unknowns between two people. He had seen a lot of promising relationships end up in the gutter, a couple battling it out in the divorce courts. He and Leenie were too smart to make forever promises, to risk not only messing up their lives, but Andrew’s too. Wasn’t the kid better off with two parents who liked and respected each other and shared the responsibilities of raising him than parents who’d been madly in love and ended up fighting over who was going to get custody of him when they split?

Frank turned out all the lights, except the one lamp in the corner of the living room. He removed his cell phone from his pocket and dialed Sawyer Mac-Namara’s private number. He could easily wait until morning to call his boss, but now that he’d made his decision to keep things friendly but not committed between Leenie and him, he wanted to forge ahead with his plans to become acquainted with his son. He needed some time off, some time to spend with Andrew. And during that time, he and Leenie could figure out how they wanted to handle their joint parenthood. Right now, with Andrew a baby, he probably needed Leenie more than he needed Frank. But as he grew older, he might need Frank more. He could suggest to Leenie that they take things a year at a time and see how things worked out as their son matured.

Sawyer answered his phone on the third ring. “Mc-Namara here.”

“Yeah, it’s Frank Latimer.”

“I spoke to Moran earlier and then to Kate. I’m glad to know everything worked out and you were able to take the baby home to his mother. Kate tells me that the child is well.”

“Andrew is fine, now that he’s with his mother.” Frank paused for a moment, then made his request. “I need some time off. A week, maybe ten days. Leenie…Dr. Patton and I have some things to work out about Andrew. And I’d like a chance to get to know my son before I head back to Atlanta and go out on another case.”

“A week, even two, can be arranged,” Sawyer said. “And if you need more time—”

“Ten days, tops.”

“Good thing I hired Geoff Monday. He can pick up some of the slack and fill in for you and Kate until you’re both back on the job.”

“Kate’s taking time off, too? Why? I thought she’d be flying back to Atlanta tomorrow.”

“She asked for a leave of absence for personal reasons. I figured she might have told you what those reasons were.”

“She hasn’t said a word to me.”

“Okay. So, we’ll see you back at the office in a couple of weeks.”

“A week to ten days,” Frank corrected.

“Fine. A week to ten days. Good luck, Frank. I hope you and Dr. Patton can come to an amicable agreement about your son.”

“Thanks. I see no reason why we can’t. Leenie is a reasonable woman. And being a psychiatrist, she knows how important it is for a child to have two parents who have an amicable relationship.”

“Sounds like you’ve got it all worked out, at least from your point of view.”

“Yeah. I do.”

After he finished talking to Sawyer, doubts started creeping into his mind. Maybe Leenie wouldn’t be cooperative, maybe she wouldn’t like the idea of sharing Andrew. After all, she hadn’t let him know she was pregnant, hadn’t informed him after Andrew was born that he had a son. If Andrew hadn’t been kidnapped, would she have ever told him about his child’s existence?

Rubbing the back of his neck as he stretched, Frank groaned. He was tired and sleepy. And confused. He needed a good night’s sleep. Then in the morning, he’d be able to think straight.