The Baby Arrangement. Moyra Tarling

we should get home sometime late tonight,” he told her.

      “Then I really think Nicky should be in a proper car seat.”

      “Fine. If the store you mentioned does in fact exist, we’ll stop and buy one.”

      “Thank you.” Faith said, relieved at his response. “The baby’s stroller and my knapsack are by the front door,” she told him, having already packed some clothes and her sketch pad, charcoal and pencils for the trip. “I still have to make up a few bottles and pack Nicky’s diaper bag.” Spinning away. she headed for the kitchen.

      It was almost ten, and if Paula kept her promise, she would be calling very soon.

      When Faith heard the front door being opened she sighed with relief. Peeking out of the kitchen window, she watched Nicky’s father carry the stroller and knapsack to his car.

      Suddenly the silence was shattered by the telephone ringing. Faith quickly grabbed for the receiver, her pulse thundering loudly in her ears.

      “Hello!”

      “Faith? Hi! It’s me.”

      “Paula! Oh...I’m so glad you called.”

      “Is something wrong?”

      “Nicky’s father’s here,” Faith said, her heart hammering wildly. “At least, he says he’s Nicky’s father. He arrived out of the blue this morning.” She stretched the phone cord to enable her to look outside.

      “Jared’s there? You have to be joking!” Paula responded, shock in her voice.

      “It’s no joke, believe me.”

      “Yes...but, how—?” Paula broke off, then hurried on. “Describe him.”

      “Describe him?” Faith threw a panicked glance at Jared standing at the trunk of his car. “He’s just like you said,” she replied, and then briefly described him.

      “That’s Jared, all right,” Paula said, her voice echoing over the wire.

      “He says he’s come to take Nicky home with him.” Faith hurried on, all the while keeping an eye on Jared. “He’s rude and arrogant, and he said something about you two having a deal. What kind of deal? What does he mean?”

      “What did you tell him?” Paula asked, ignoring her question.

      “I told him Nicky wasn’t going anywhere without me. He keeps calling me Paula. Doesn’t he know you have a twin sister?”

      Paula was silent for a moment, and Faith could almost hear the wheels spinning in her sister’s head as she plotted out a strategy. “Are you saying he thinks you’re me?” Paula finally asked.

      “Yes. I tried to set him straight, but he wouldn’t listen.” She watched as Jared closed the trunk and moved to the driver’s door. “Maybe you should talk to him, tell him I’m only looking after Nicky until you get back.”

      “No...that’s not a good idea.”

      “But surely you don’t want me to just hand Nicky over to him, do you?” she went on, at a loss to understand her sister’s lack of concern for her baby.

      Her question was met with silence.

      “Paula! Are you still there?”

      “I’m still here.”

      “What’s going on? There’s something you’re not telling me. Did you run away from this man? Was he physically abusing you?” she asked, as this possible explanation for her sister’s strange behavior jumped into her mind.

      “No! No...it’s nothing like that,” Paula assured her. “But he is very controlling. He told me I’d better forget about my acting career, and if I insisted on pursuing it, he’d fight me for sole custody of the baby, and do everything in his power to stop me from ever seeing Nicky again.”

      Faith drew a startled breath. “Oh, how awful!” she responded, angered by Jared’s arrogance and his dictatorial attitude. “What do you want me to do?”

      “It would really help if I knew you were looking after Nicky. Will you do that for me?”

      “I’ll stay with him, I promise.”

      “And if you could play along with Jared—”

      “Play along? But why?”

      “If you tell him who you are, chances are he’ll throw you out. Couldn’t you just do it for a little while? For Nicky’s sake. Just until I can talk to a lawyer and get some advice on how I should proceed,” Paula pleaded.

      “Oh...all right,” Faith reluctantly agreed.

      “Thanks sis. It really means a lot to me. Ah...listen, I’ve got to go. I’ll be in touch. I know where to find you.”

      “Wait...” Faith began, but her sister had already hung up.

      Faith slowly replaced the receiver. There had been something in her sister’s voice, something Faith found infinitely disturbing.

      “Who were you talking to?” Jared’s appearance startled her. His question cut through her wayward thoughts, sending a guilty flush to her cheeks.

      “No one...it was a wrong number.” Faith managed to keep her voice even. “By the way, if we are stopping at the baby store, we should pick up a few tins of formula and another package of diapers,” she added, in the hope of diverting his attention from the call.

      “Aren’t you carrying this doting-mother act a bit too far?” Jared commented.

      “I don’t know what you mean.”

      “All right, Paula, we’ll play it your way,” he said, with more than a hint of impatience. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

      Faith closed the flap on the diaper bag and held it out to him. “I’ll get Nicky.”

      As she handed Jared the bag, his fingers brushed against hers, sending a ripple of sensation scampering up her arm. Faith’s gaze flew to meet his, but his stare was icy and unreadable, giving nothing away.

      Faith turned away and headed down the hall to her bedroom, where Nicky lay on her bed, contentedly asleep. Gently gathering the baby into her arms and wrapping him in his baby blanket, Faith grabbed her keys from the dresser and left the room.

      “Your friend is trusting indeed to give you your own set of keys,” Jared commented after she’d finished locking the door.

      Faith made no response as they crossed to the car. Jared opened the passenger door for her, and with great care she settled herself and her precious cargo into the leather bucket seat.

      Reaching behind her for the strap of the seat belt, she suddenly found herself staring into a pair of dazzling blue eyes.

      “Let me do that,” Jared said and, pulling the seat belt, he leaned across to secure it.

      Her breath locked in her throat as she shrank back against the upholstery. The faint smell of pine mingling with a darker, earthier scent that was decidedly male assailed her, and she felt her heart stumble against her ribs in response.

      The instant Jared withdrew and closed the car door, Faith released the breath she was holding, and waited for her heart to find its usual rhythm, silently admonishing herself for reacting.

      “Which way is the store?” Jared asked a few moments later as he eased the car out of the driveway.

      “Take the first street on the left, and you’ll see the parking lot in about three blocks,” Faith answered, keeping her gaze firmly focused on the road ahead.

      

      Half an hour later Nicky was safely ensconced in his brand-new car seat. Faith glanced at the clock on the dashboard, calculating that it would probably be another hour before Nicky would need changing and feeding.