A Secret Colton Baby
“Why? What’s going on? Is she all right?”
“Yes.” Flint exhaled. “But more people are ill. And it’s not the flu. The CDC is involved. It’s some kind of virus, a strain no one recognizes.” He started to say something more, but someone else spoke to Flint, interrupting him. “I’ve got to go,” he said to Theo. “Call Gemma. She can fill you in.”
Immediately after hanging up, Theo dialed his sister’s cell. Sounding harried and stressed, she answered, clearly keeping her voice pitched low and speaking quietly so no one else could hear.
“Is this a bad time?” he asked.
“Right now any time is a bad time. We’ve got old Mr. Thomas here, sick with the same type of thing that Mimi Rand had. His family is freaking out, worried he’s going to die. And two children just came in.” She took a deep breath. “The waiting room is packed and the phones have been ringing off the hook. People are getting paranoid. It’s bad, Theo. Really bad.”
“Flint said something about the CDC.”
“Yes. Dr. Rand is working with them right now, despite being pretty broken up about losing his ex-wife. I think he still cared for her.”
“Yeah.” Theo scratched his chin. “I need to talk to him about that. You know she claims this baby is mine.”
“So I’ve heard. Theo, everyone in town was talking about that before people started getting sick. Apparently she told more than one person.”
“I barely knew her,” he began.
Gemma cut him off. “I don’t have time right now,” she said. “You and anyone who came in contact with Mimi Rand need to get checked out. And you especially need to get that baby examined. Something like this would be deadly to an infant.”
“I will,” he said, but she’d already ended the call.
Pushing himself up out of bed, he felt a flutter of worry in his chest. But he’d never been one to look for problems before they arose. Damned if he’d start now.
Twenty minutes later, having showered and dressed, he made his way down the hall toward Ellie’s room. Halfway there, he heard the sound of the baby—Amelia, he reminded himself—wailing.
He increased his speed. Two steps in and the sound stopped. Did babies do that? Frowning, he pushed the bedroom door open, only to see Ellie gently rocking Amelia back and forth.
“Morning.” She flashed a tired smile. “She’s been kind of restless. She had a bottle an hour ago, but I’ve used the last can of formula that her mother had in the diaper bag she left, and we’re almost out of diapers.”
“I’ll drive to the store,” he promised. With a nod, she turned her attention back to the baby. Even with dark circles under her eyes and her hair a mess, she managed to still look beautiful.
“Have you had breakfast?”
She bit her lip. “No. Neither has anyone else. I overslept and I haven’t had time to make it into the kitchen and cook anything, so you probably have a bunch of hungry ranch hands.”
He realized he’d need to find either a new cook or a nanny, at least until this thing was resolved. “I’m sure they understand,” he lied. “I’ll get in there and take care of their morning meal. Heck, I’ll tell them it’s brunch, since it’s nearly lunchtime. They’ll survive. And I want you to make sure to get yourself a plate.”
A shadow crossed her blue eyes. “I’m sorry. It’s just with everything that happened and taking care of the baby—”
“No need to apologize. After I fix breakfast, I’m going into town to talk to Mimi’s ex-husband, Dr. Rand. If you’ll write down for me what kind I need, I’ll be sure to pick up formula and diapers while I’m there.”
She nodded, gazing at the tiny infant in her arms. “What do you think is going to happen to her?”
At her question, he dragged his hand across his mouth. “That’s what I want to talk to Lucas Rand about.”
The rest of the morning flew by swiftly. Still carrying Amelia, Ellie followed him down to the kitchen and directed him in the nuances of preparing the morning meal for six hungry cowboys. She couldn’t help but wonder how he managed to look rugged and sexy, even in this setting.
He used two dozen eggs, an entire loaf of bread and two huge slabs of thick-cut bacon. A jug of milk, a huge carafe of fresh, hot coffee and another jug of orange juice completed the setup.
“I usually make them biscuits and gravy, too.” She sounded apologetic again.
“They’ll just have to make do,” he said, shaking his head. “Extraordinary circumstances.”
Nodding, she crossed to the exterior door and pulled the bell cord, sending the brass bell that hung outside chiming.
Almost immediately after, Theo’s hands began filing into the kitchen. A few of them appeared surprised to see their boss there, but once they spotted the food set out on the long wooden table in the adjoining room, they shrugged, grabbed a plate and dug in. If they wondered why the food was so late in coming, no one said anything.
Theo had saved back some of the eggs, bacon and bread and made Ellie and himself a plate. He indicated one of the chairs at the smaller kitchen table and slid her breakfast over to her.
She climbed up, carefully holding Amelia, and once settled, eyed the plate, making no move to pick up a fork.
With a flush of embarrassment, he realized she didn’t know how to eat while holding the baby.
“Here. Put her in the bassinette while you eat.”
“No.” She angled the baby away from him, her chin up, her blue eyes flashing. “You eat first, and when you’re finished, you can hold her and I’ll have my turn.”
For a second, he froze, dumbfounded at the idea of holding such a miniscule little girl in front of everyone. He could do this, he told himself. Surely a man unafraid to climb on the backs of wildest horses wouldn’t be undone by an infant. Plus, he’d already held her the night before, though he’d acted solely on instinct.
“Sure,” he said, trying for easily.
Ellie rewarded him with a smile that sent his pulse racing. Stunned, he wondered if she knew how adorable she looked. Since she seemed determined, he didn’t argue, even though he still felt seriously uncomfortable holding an infant. Instead he started shoveling the food into his mouth, barely pausing for air.
Once he’d cleared his plate, he drained his glass of juice, took a quick gulp of coffee and then held out his arms for the baby, hoping he appeared nonchalant. “Your turn.”
One corner of her mouth quirked as she stared at him. “Even they—” indicating the men at the table behind them, who were all intently chowing down “—don’t eat that fast.”
“I was hungry,” he replied, grinning. “Now hand me that baby and eat your food before it gets cold.”
Shaking her head, she handed Amelia over, transferring her gently. “Make sure you support her head.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Once he had her, he gazed down into her tiny sleeping face. She smelled good, like baby powder and milk, and appeared healthy, at least to him. Though fragile. Which made him sort of afraid to move.
“That reminds me,” he told Ellie. “There are more people sick with whatever Mimi had. We need to get Amelia checked out.”
Fork in midair, Ellie froze. “I didn’t think of that.” Expression dismayed, she put down her fork. “I don’t want her going to the clinic if there are other sick people there. You said Mimi’s ex is a doctor. Do you think he’d be willing to check her out here?”
Pleased her concern was for the baby rather than herself, he nodded. “I’ll bring that up when I talk to him today. If not, my sister is a nurse and can do it.”
He took a deep breath, hating what he had to say next, but knowing it was necessary. “Listen, Ellie, don’t go getting too attached. There’s a possibility Amelia might not be here too long.”
Her eyes widened. Her voice rose. “What do you mean? You can’t be considering giving up your own flesh and blood.”
The men at the other table stopped talking and turned to stare at them from the other room. Theo grimaced. “There’s a very real possibility she’s not mine,” he said gently. “Mimi was... Well, let’s say she wasn’t exclusive.”
Her downcast look told him she didn’t like what she was hearing. “She has your eyes,” she said.
“Yes, but green eyes aren’t proof of anything.”
“I understand,” she replied, clearly lying. “Let me have Amelia back, please.”
“You haven’t eaten yet.”
Taking the baby from him, she nodded. “I’ve lost my appetite.”
No one spoke as she marched out of the room.
Once she was gone, Theo’s hands all looked at him. Even from the other room, he could feel their disapproval.
He shrugged. “Come on, guys.” Giving their empty plates a look, he pointed toward the door. “Time to get back to work.”
Though not a single man argued with him, he could tell from a few of their expressions—belligerent, questioning and yes, disappointed—that they wanted to. He hated that they thought he was acting like a jerk—honestly, he wasn’t. But this was his life, and it wasn’t up for debate.
If baby Amelia belonged to him, Theo would move heaven and earth to ensure that she wanted for nothing. However, if Lucas Rand was actually her father, then Amelia needed to be with her daddy. He didn’t need to explain that to anyone.
Chapter 2
The drive into town felt as if it took longer than usual. He figured he’d pick up the diapers and formula after he had a word with Dr. Rand.
Dead River looked like a ghost town. Probably because it was Sunday, and most folks were either at church or home with their families. Main Street, usually pretty busy about this time of day while the stores were open, had tons of empty parking spots and only a few people on the sidewalks. But when he turned the corner onto Third and spotted the clinic’s overflowing parking lot, he couldn’t believe it. Usually, the clinic was closed on Sundays, except for emergencies.
Gemma hadn’t been exaggerating. He ended up parking in the street.
As he approached the glass front door of the one-story, white cinder block building, he nearly stopped short as he saw the mass of people milling around in the waiting area. Surely not all of these people had come down with the virus.
Pushing inside, he stopped, checking everything out. No one looked feverish, or was coughing, sneezing or exhibiting any other flu-like symptoms. As far as he could tell, none of these people actually appeared sick.
His suspicion was confirmed when Cathleen Walker, who worked the intake desk, grabbed his arm. As usual, her clothes looked a bit rumpled, as though she hadn’t had time to press them. “Theo, are you okay?”
He nodded. “What’s up with them?”
“They want a shot.” She grimaced, slipping one foot out of the high heels she continually wore to work and stretching it, before sliding it back into her shoe. “Not a flu shot either—most everybody has already had that. I don’t know why, but someone heard we had received an inoculation against whatever killed Mimi Rand and got the others sick.”
“And you don’t even know what it was, do you?”
“No. But none of these people will leave.” She heaved a frustrated sigh. “More and more keep showing up. I’ve told them, Dr. Moore has told them and even Dr. Granger.”
“What about Dr. Rand?”
Her expression changed, softening. “He’s in the back, writing up a report on the latest people to fall ill. The poor man is grief-stricken over losing Mimi. He acts like it’s his fault he couldn’t save her.”
“I need to talk to him.” Again he glanced at the packed waiting room. “People,” he said, raising his voice. “If you’re sick, please raise your hand.”
Not one hand went up. Exactly as he’d suspected. “Everyone else, go on home. You don’t want to risk being exposed to whatever this virus is.” He glanced around, picking out individuals among the crowd and meeting their eyes. “Do you understand what I’m saying? If you’re healthy, not only are you using resources that could better be directed toward helping those that are sick, but just being here puts you in very serious danger of becoming infected.”
At his words people began exchanging glances, some chastised, others suspicious, a few even hostile. One or two hurried toward the door, and then a couple more followed. Pretty soon, it became apparent the place was going to rapidly empty out.
“Oh, thank you.” Cathleen sagged against her desk, clearly relieved. “Dr. Granger has been saying if too many more get sick, we’re going to have to set up an isolation area and keep the virus victims separated from everyone else.”
Which made sense, since the clinic was the main place for medical care in Dead River.
“Come on,” Cathleen said, giving him a tired smile and finger-combing her slightly mussed blond hair. “I’ll take you back to see Dr. Rand.”
He followed behind, her high heels clicking on the linoleum. They went past the reception area to where the older patient-records were stored in manila folders. For years, Gemma had claimed Dead River Clinic wanted to go entirely electronic. Apparently they had not yet completed the task of doing so.
“Here we are.” Once again all professional, Cathleen stopped and pointed toward one of the offices. A brown and gold nameplate on the door stated it belonged to Dr. Lucas Rand.
“Thanks.” He lightly squeezed her shoulder, making her blush, which sort of surprised him since they’d known each other from the fifth grade.
Moving forward, he peered into the small office. Dr. Rand spoke into a handheld dictation device. His usually perfect dark hair looked as if he’d been dragging his fingers repeatedly through it.
Theo knocked lightly on the door.
The doctor looked up, his dark eyes full of pain. He clicked off his machine and stood, holding out his hand. “Theo.”
Theo shook his hand, trying to figure out the best way to word what he had to say. Finally, he decided the hell with it. He’d talk to Dr. Rand man-to-man.
“About Mimi,” he began.
“I can’t believe she’s dead.”
“Me, either.” Theo dug his hands down into his pockets and resisted the urge to shift from foot to foot. “I’m guessing you know she had a baby?”
The other man nodded. “Of course. When she first got pregnant, I wrote her script for prenatal vitamins.” He choked up, averting his face and swallowing hard as he tried to get himself under control. “I can’t believe she’s gone.”
“I’m sorry.”
Dr. Rand sighed. “I tried my best to save her. I couldn’t. I let her down. And now her newborn child is motherless.”
“About that.” Theo tried to figure out the best way to say it, and then decided to just blurt it out. “Is the baby—Amelia—yours?”
Dr. Rand stared at him, his expression a mix of surprise and horror. “Good Lord, no. Mimi and I haven’t been together like that in at least a year.” He blinked and peered at Theo the same way a scientist might inspect a particularly interesting petri dish full of bacteria. “Um, Theo? I don’t know what you’re getting at, but it’s my understanding that Amelia is your daughter.” He flushed and looked away. “At least that’s what Mimi told me. And she had no reason to lie.”
Mine. For a split second, it seemed to Theo everything tilted sideways. The room suddenly felt too warm. Treading carefully, as it was common knowledge that Dr. Rand had still cared for his ex-wife, Theo cleared his throat.
“Look, Dr. Rand—”
“Call me Lucas.”
Theo nodded. “Okay. Lucas. This is awkward, but Mimi never contacted me about being pregnant. I would have helped her.”
“I took care of that. I’ve been paying spousal support anyway, so I just added to it. I don’t think she ever intended you to find out, at first. Clearly, she changed her mind.”
“That doesn’t make sense.” Frowning, Theo couldn’t make sense of any of this. “Besides, she and I were only together a couple of times. I sincerely doubt that I could be Amelia’s father.”
Some dark emotion flashed across Lucas’s face, before he looked down. When he raised his head to meet Theo’s gaze, he expression was calm. “One time is all it takes. You know that.”
Theo found himself at a loss for words.
“Look, Theo.” Lucas gripped his shoulder. “I’ve always thought you were a good guy. And little Amelia is a Colton. You should be raising her. Obviously, since Mimi came to you when she realized she was ill, that was her last wish for her baby girl. Amelia needs to be with her family. I work all the time, here at the clinic. I have nothing to offer her, while you...you have a rich heritage, a large family and plenty of support.”
Put that way, Theo knew Lucas was right. But how could Theo be a father? He had no idea how. His own father had been an abusive drunk, who’d only shown up when he needed something and stayed just long enough to break his young children’s hearts.
His father’s mother—Grandma Dottie—had raised all three of them, and Flint, Theo and Gemma worshipped the ground she walked on. Maybe she could help, Theo thought. Or at the very least, explain to him how a good father should act.
Still rattled, he nodded and turned to go. Lucas tightened his grip on Theo’s shoulder, stopping him.
“Theo, I swear I will find the medicine to treat this thing,” Lucas vowed. “Or a cure, if it comes to that. In the meantime, have Gemma check you out. I want you to bring Amelia by immediately if she starts showing any flu-like symptoms. Same with you or anyone in your house. We need to treat early, before symptoms become life-threatening.”
The other man’s choice of words worried Theo. “You talk like this is some new kind of disease.”
“It might be.” Lucas appeared to be choosing what he said carefully. “I’m doing everything I can to figure it out.”
“You’re a good man, Dr. Lucas Rand.” Theo moved away. “I’ll go have a word with Gemma now.”
“She’s in the back with the sick children.” Lucas frowned. “I don’t want you going back there. It’s not safe.”
“Then why is my sister there?” Theo asked sharply.
“She’s taking the proper precautions—she has on a mask and gloves. Let me page her and see if she has time to come out.”
Theo waited while Lucas did that. After a moment, Lucas’s cell phone rang. He answered, spoke a few words and hung up.
“She said she’ll call you later, once her shift is over.” A sudden weariness appeared to settle over the doctor. “Thanks for stopping by, Theo. You know the way out, right? I need to get back to work.”
Summarily dismissed, Theo took his leave. When he reached the front desk, he saw the waiting room had once again begun to fill up.
This time, he simply made his way to the door. He had a lot to think about, but most important, he needed to pick up formula and diapers.
Once that was done, he headed home.
On the drive there, he called his grandmother Dottie. If he remembered her schedule right, she should be home from church by now. Though she was seventy-five years old, she played canasta with several other widowed women once a week. She’d never remarried, but she kept busy. She ate lunch out with her church friends on Wednesday, and then went to Bible study that night. Church on Sunday, a reading group on another day—he couldn’t keep up with her schedule.
The phone rang six times before she picked up. “You’re there,” he said, relieved. “I thought I missed you and was about to disconnect the call. How are you, Gram?”
“Not too good,” she answered, surprising him. “I think I might be coming down with something.”
He felt a flash of alarm. “Promise me you’ll go to the clinic and get it checked out.”
“It’ll probably pass.” She didn’t sound too worried. “If not, I’ll have Gemma check me out. If she thinks I need to see a doctor, I will.”
Relieved, he asked her if she was sitting down.
She laughed, or attempted to. Instead she made a sound that turned into a hacking cough.
Instantly alarmed, Theo felt his stomach twist as he remembered what Gemma had told him earlier. He told Gram she needed to go to the clinic immediately and get checked out.
“Don’t be silly,” she replied, after she regained her voice. Even over the phone, Theo could tell she wasn’t well. “It’s just a cold,” she continued. “Nothing to stress about.”
“Gram, please. I’ve got enough on my plate. Don’t add having to worry about you to my list.” He knew making it be about him was the only way she’d consider doing something for herself. That was his gram Dottie. Always doing for others.
“What do you have on your plate?” she asked, instantly concerned. Of course. He chastised himself. She’d immediately pick up on that.
“A woman named Mimi Rand showed up on my doorstep yesterday morning with an infant. She claimed the baby girl is mine. And then she collapsed.” He swallowed hard, almost afraid to tell her the rest. “She was rushed to Dead River Clinic, but she passed away last night. She had a virus. That’s why I’m so worried about you. It starts out a lot like the flu. Fever, chills, body aches. A cough, sore throat, maybe even vomiting or diarrhea. Do you have any of those?”
“No.”
“I still want you to get checked out. I love you too much to lose you.”
“Fine.” She sounded grumpy, though touched, too. She knew Theo as well as he knew her. “I’ll try to go tomorrow. If I start feeling worse, I’ll call Gemma and ask her to stop by and check on me.”
“Perfect.”
“Now, Theo, tell me the truth. I know—knew—Mimi Rand. She was well dressed and well mannered and acted as if she was used to the finer things in life. Probably because she was Dr. Rand’s ex-wife. I can’t imagine...” She took a deep breath. “Dead?”
“Yes. And Gemma says no one knows what it is exactly that killed her.”
Silence while she digested this. Then she cleared her throat and spoke. “Theo, tell me the truth. Is this baby really yours?” She sounded deeply disappointed, which still had the power to crush him.
“I don’t know.” He told her the truth. “But after talking to Dr. Rand today, it’s appearing likely.”
“Well, then.” Disappointment gave way to her normal, brisk, take-charge attitude. “I’ll do whatever I can to help. I wouldn’t mind having a young’un to cuddle again. Once I get over this cold, I’ll come by and meet...what is her name?”
“Amelia. She’s really tiny.”
“Amelia. I like it.” She coughed again. “I can’t wait to meet her.”
He hung up, smiling although her cough still worried him. But she was a tough old lady and he figured she knew if she was seriously sick or not.
* * *
Ellie had always avoided cocky men who were full of themselves. A lot of cowboys were like that. But from what she’d seen of Theo Colton in the short time she’d been here at the ranch, while he had swagger, and the same rough-and-tumble sex appeal, he wasn’t conceited or arrogant. There was a fine line between self-assurance and smug self-importance, and she thought Theo was merely confident and comfortable in his own body. She believed this despite the stories she’d heard the one night she ventured into town to have a drink at the Dead River Bar.
But this morning, hearing how he’d spoken of this precious little innocent baby—his baby—at that moment, she’d wondered if she’d been wrong about him after all.
Once he’d left to go to town, she realized he must be terrified. He’d been a big-time rodeo cowboy, a bareback bronc riding champion. She’d spent enough time around horses in her hometown of Boulder to know rodeo cowboys were footloose and fancy-free. They had to be, since they made their living driving from town to town, rodeo to rodeo.
She also knew women of all kinds flocked to them, the way groupies hung on to musicians. All kinds of women. Mimi Rand was proof of that, may she rest in peace.
Now Theo was dealing with the fallout. For him, just knowing that his injuries had cost him all that, everything he’d ever known, must have been bad enough. Now this—finding out he was a father. By a woman who, from what he’d said, he’d barely known.
Gazing at Amelia while she slept in the car seat she’d been brought here in that converted to a portable bassinette, Ellie thought she’d never seen a more darling baby. Wisps of curly dark hair framed her chubby-cheeked face. As she’d done several times over the past hour, Ellie lightly touched the infant’s forehead, checking to make sure there were no signs of fever.
