Read Online The Unclaimed Baby by Sherryl Woods - Free Book Online Page B

“I know. Believe me, I know.”
    He glanced down at the baby and saw that she had finally fallen asleep. He lowered his voice to a whisper. “I’ll put her down for the night. Do you want her on your bed again?”
    â€œI think the portable crib tonight. You can set it up in my room, next to the bed. I’ll get a blanket to put in the bottom.”
    She followed him down the hall, then held the baby while he set up the portable crib they’d brought with them from Dolan’s. Cord caught a glimpse of her face for just an instant before she realized he was looking. There was a raw yearning there every bit as deep as his own. Gently he took the baby and placed her in the crib, then reached out to brush a stray curl from Sharon Lynn’s cheek. She trembled at his touch, then gazed at him with an anguished expression.
    This time he was the one who whispered, “Don’t. Don’t look ahead. She’s with us now.”
    She gave him a wavery smile. “Yes, she is. She’s with us now.”
    When they returned to the kitchen and dinner was on the table, neither of them seemed to have much of an appetite. Though it was the last thing in theworld he wanted, Cord drew in a deep breath and said, “Maybe your family is right. Maybe this isn’t such a good thing.”
    She stared at him with obvious shock. “What are you saying?”
    â€œThere are professionals, people who deal with this kind of case all the time.”
    â€œShe’s not a case, ” Sharon Lynn protested vehemently. “She’s a baby. She needs me.”
    â€œAnd you need her,” he suggested cautiously, recognizing that his own needs ran just as deep and were just as troubling. “That’s the real danger, isn’t it?”
    â€œOkay, yes,” she said, her eyes glittering with defiance “But she’s all that matters. Until we know more, she’s staying with me and that’s final.”
    â€œI just don’t want to see you hurt.”
    â€œPeople get hurt all the time. They live with it,” she said flatly.
    â€œSome pain can be avoided, though.”
    â€œShe’s staying, Cord. If it turns out there’s family to take her, somebody who can care for her properly, give her the love she deserves, I’ll deal with it.”
    She said it with the strength and conviction of someone who’d survived other losses. Cord wondered if he could say it as readily. He’d spent even less time with the baby—Ashley—and already he was ready to fight to hold on to her. It was a totally irrational response, one based on emotions, not logic, but that was pretty much how he’d lived his life. His gut instincts hadn’t steered him wrong yet.
    â€œWe’ll wait and see, then,” he said finally.
    â€œ We? I’m the one responsible for her,” Sharon Lynn protested. “When did you get a say in what happens?”
    Cord’s jaw tightened at the attempt to dismiss him. “Friday night, when I found her in the snow.”
    â€œIf you hadn’t been there, I would have heard the thump. I would have found her.”
    â€œBut I was there,” he reminded her quietly. “If there’s a decision to be made, we talk it over, understood? We’re in this together, darlin’. Get used to it.”
    Â 
    Sharon Lynn didn’t know what to make of a man like Cord Branson. How many men would assume responsibility for an abandoned baby? How many would insist on being a part of any decisions that were made? The men in her family would have, even worrywort, by-the-book Justin, but Adams men were a breed apart. She hadn’t met many others like them.
    Of course, as a practical matter, Cord was at White Pines. The baby was here in town with her. She was responsible for the day-to-day care, the middle-of-the-night feedings, the diaper changes, juggling the baby and work. How often was Cord likely to pop in for a