The Baby Barter. Patty Smith Hall

Sarah?”

      Mack nodded. “Placed that precious girl in my arms no more than an hour after she was born.”

      It felt as if the air had been sucked out of her lungs. “You were there?”

      “Mrs. Williams called me at the station. Said the girl and her family didn’t want anything to do with the baby so could I come by her house and take the baby to the hospital until Dr. Adams could get someone from the state to take over her care.”

      Thea’s world tilted slightly, a dark mist settling over her eyes. “Why didn’t you do something? Did you try to talk Eileen out of giving her baby up? Or at least convince her to wait a day or two before she made such a huge decision?”

      Thea didn’t realize she was shaking until Mack rested his hands on her shoulders. “First—” he spoke to her in that calm way of his that had always made her feel so safe “—why would I have any reason to believe Eileen was the one giving up Sarah? I didn’t even know she was back in town. I certainly didn’t go back into the delivery room to see the mother—that wouldn’t have been appropriate. And secondly, Mrs. Williams takes her position as midwife very seriously. She wouldn’t turn a child over to the authorities without being absolutely certain the mother understood exactly what she was doing.”

      Mack had a very real point. The protocol Mrs. Williams had followed was the same they used in the hospital. Still, she couldn’t help her suspicions, especially after what she’d seen years ago, in her dealings with Miss Tann. Maybe Mack could answer a few questions she still had about the night Sarah was born. “How did the baby end up with Ms. Adair instead of at the hospital with Dr. Adams?”

      Mack’s lips flatlined. “I took her there.”

      “Why?”

      “Because once he heard about her condition, Dr. Adams wanted to send her away.” Mack glanced around. Some of the guests had begun drifting out of the house and back into the yard. Thea wondered what tales about her and the sheriff would be making the rounds about town tomorrow.

      Well, if they wanted something to talk about, she’d sure enough give it to them. “He wanted to put her in an institution because she had a cleft palate.”

      His stony gaze sent a chill up her spine. Being on the wrong side of the law would be a hazardous business with this man in charge. “What did you say?” he asked, his voice low and dangerous.

      “Whoever did her first surgery did a good job, but from the sounds she was making, I suspect she’ll need more. Momma’s been so worried about how the baby would survive with...a defect so severe. There are new procedures that could give Sarah a normal life.”

      “I know. There will be time for those later.”

      Thea blinked. Why was he waiting? Hadn’t the surgeon explained to him that the risk of complications rose as the baby grew and the bones of the head and face fused? Did he not have the authority to arrange for the surgery since the adoption had not yet gone through?

      “I think you need to go,” Mack said.

      She had hit a tender nerve. “I’m not just going to go away. We need to discuss this.”

      “Maybe, but not with all these people around.” Mack thought for a moment. “I’ll look at my calendar back at the office and figure out a good time to sit down together.”

      Sounded like a stall tactic to her. Thea would have to stand her ground. “I’m open any day this week. But I’m not giving up. I fully intend to gain custody of my niece and raise her as my own.”

      His steely blue-gray gaze bored into her, and Thea’s heart tumbled into the pit of her stomach. “Not if I have anything to say about it.”

Chapter Three

      The walk home took longer than Thea remembered, though whether it was the unusual warmth of the late-October day or the heavy weight on her heart that slowed her steps, she wasn’t sure. A ride might have been nice, but there wasn’t money for even bus fare right now, at least, not until she secured a job. Even then she’d have to be careful. Raising a child cost money, and her mother’s income barely covered her own expenses.

      Just another mess Eileen had left for her to clean up.

      Thea shook the thought away. She shouldn’t feel that way, but she did. It was one of the reasons she’d stayed away for eight long years. There had been a degree of peace in knowing she could go back to her quarters without some kind of family catastrophe waiting for her when she got home. But then, there had been no one to come home to, no one to call family, no one to reminisce with over the old days.

      Mack’s image flashed through her mind. Her childhood friend had grown up to be every bit the man she’d expected him to be while they were in high school. Eyes and ears peeled for any trouble, he’d always carried the responsibility of protecting those around him. She was a little surprised that he’d ended up as sheriff—going to law school had always been his dream, and he’d been full of grand plans as to how he could help people with his law degree. But it was clear to see how well his current job suited him. It was as if he had been born to the job of being sheriff, an ease about him generated confidence from the community he served, the same trust he’d earned from his classmates in high school. It was one of the qualities that had attracted Thea to him in the first place.

      If only he wasn’t so closed-minded where Sarah was concerned. Thea sighed. At least he’d been willing to talk to her. Most folks wouldn’t have given her the time of day, not when the topic was her wayward sister. If only folks could have known Eileen as she had, confused and scared, questioning why the father she’d adored had been taken away, why her mother was never warm or affectionate the way other people’s mothers were. Seeking that affection from others, especially from boys, had led to a worsening reputation and more heartache—the misery, the anger her sister had felt toward herself each time she’d fallen for another man’s lies when all she’d ever wanted was to be loved.

      Had she found love, at last, with Sarah’s father? Thea couldn’t know for sure. All she could do now was love and care for her sister’s baby—the only piece she had left of Eileen.

      Thea drew in a deep breath and sighed. This was not what she’d expected when she’d decided to come back to Marietta. Though what she had expected, she couldn’t say. Her sister to be alive, for certain. Momma, the same as she’d always been, maybe more mellowed with age. Not butting heads with Mack Worthington. He’d had always been reasonable, even if it meant being proved wrong. But he was a man now, with a man’s pride and the law on his side. Would he accept the truth if it meant giving up a child he obviously loved?

      Thea’s heart tumbled over in her chest. No matter what happened, someone was going to get hurt. Lord, haven’t I lost enough without giving up what little family I have left?

      Just ahead in the bend in the path, the familiar gables of Momma’s house came into view. Thea left the dirt road and climbed the steep embankment. Dandelions whispered softly against her ankles, their cottony seeds sticking to the hem of her skirt. If only she had a wish for each one she’d sent floating across the yard over the years. Then Eileen would be dancing alongside her as she use to do as a girl, her baby in her arms, cooing at the spectacle her mother and aunt were making. Momma would be happy and loving, and Thea would have the family she’d always wanted.

      A screen door slammed shut in the distance, and her stomach sank as the reality of the situation set in again. Eileen’s death, Momma’s sorrow and the way the years seemed to weigh on her these days. This was what her life consisted of now, her family. And that included Sarah. She’d prove that the baby Ms. Adair was caring for was her niece. It was the least she owed Eileen after failing her so miserably all those years ago.

      The wooden planks squawked beneath her feet as she climbed the three steps to the porch and pulled open the screen door. “Momma?”

      The sound of hurried footsteps from the back of the