The Baby Barter. Patty Smith Hall

handle those bent on making trouble with respect and honesty.

      But this morning the peaceful spirit he needed in order to meditate or pray was out of his reach. His thoughts were scattered like the crimson-and-gold leaves gathered up by the harsh wind that had blown in late last night, yet his mind never strayed far from his conversation with Thea Miller yesterday. The bookish girl he’d known in high school had certainly changed. The way she’d stood her ground against him, her refusal to back down from her claim that Sarah was her niece and her plans to raise the child didn’t make him happy but he had to respect the woman’s grit. His uniform made it difficult for some folks to question his authority, but not Thea, not when it came to her family.

      Was it possible Sarah was Eileen Miller’s baby?

      Mack absently shook his head. A juicy secret like that would be too much for someone even as close-mouthed as Mrs. Williams to resist. Surely she’d have spread the word about delivering Eileen’s baby...wouldn’t she? The thin letter in his shirt pocket he’d spent half the night crafting felt like a heavy weight against his chest. He’d drop it in the mailbox on his way into the office this morning. Mrs. Williams could answer any questions about Sarah’s mother once and for all.

      With that settled, Mack found himself thinking about Thea herself. Why had she come home after all this time? She’d missed Eileen’s funeral, though to be fair, she might not have heard the news until it was too late for her to get leave. Her mother had never had much to do with her, with either of her daughters, really. It seemed odd to him, but then he’d always been close to both his parents, particularly his father. The loss of Neil Worthington four years before had been the catalyst for Mack to settle down and attempt to find a wife. Someone he could build a life with, have the kind of marriage his parents had had, raise a family.

      But all his attempts at courtship had failed, and the only female who had touched his heart was baby Sarah. Now Thea threatened to steal his hopes for the future away from him. Just like she did when she left town eight years ago.

      “You must be praying mighty hard this morning, my friend.”

      Mack glanced up to see Beau Daniels, his white doctor’s jacket draped over his arm, walking toward him. “Maybe I’m thinking on a certain passage of scripture. I do that sometimes.”

      “A far cry from the boy who used to say his favorite verse was ‘Jesus wept.’” Beau gave him a crooked smile.

      Mack couldn’t help but notice the dark circles under Beau’s eyes. “Put in the late shift last night?”

      Beau nodded, stretching from one side to the other. “I want to be home when Edie wakes up. She’s been having a terrible time with morning sickness.”

      “I hate to hear that.” Edie and Beau, along with the rest of the Daniels clan, had become like family over the past few years. “Is there anything you can do?”

      “Her doctor has suggested a couple of medications but everything I’ve read on them just makes me more worried.” Beau stretched his back. “Sometimes, I think it would be better to live in ignorance than to know everything that could possibly go wrong.”

      “Yes,” Mack agreed, his thoughts wandering toward Thea and the baby again. “Sometimes ignorance is bliss.”

      “I heard about your discussion with Thea Miller. Maggie told me she dropped in on the wedding yesterday.”

      Like most of the Daniels family, Beau was never one to beat around the bush, a quality Mack appreciated. “She claims that Sarah is Eileen’s baby.”

      “I didn’t even know Eileen was back in town until she was killed in that wreck out on Drag Strip Road.” Beau thought for a moment. “Wasn’t that just a couple of weeks after Sarah was born?”

      “I’ll have to go back and look at the accident report but I thought it was maybe a week or ten days later.” Which meant Eileen could have been home when Sarah was born. The thought made his heart tremble. “I didn’t even put the two together.”

      “Well, you still don’t know if they’re related yet. It could just be a coincidence.”

      Mack wasn’t buying that, not when the Miller girls, particularly Thea, had caused him so much trouble. “I’d already be Sarah’s father if Judge Wakefield hadn’t dragged out the whole adoption process. I wouldn’t have to worry about any of Thea Miller’s claims then.”

      “You’d still worry, because you’re a decent man. If you thought for a moment there might be a chance what Thea is saying is true, you’d do everything you could to set the record straight.”

      He might be decent, but that didn’t stop him from wanting go to Ms. Aurora’s and steal his daughter away. Hopefully Mrs. Williams would respond to his letter quickly and lay this matter to rest.

      Beau glanced up at the pale blue sky. “I’d better get moving. Edie will be up soon.”

      “Tell her I hope she gets to feeling better.”

      “I will.” Beau clapped Mack on his back as he walked by. “You want to meet for lunch later? Maybe over at Smith’s Diner around one?”

      “That works for me.” Mack watched his friend walk to the corner, then with one last wave, head toward the parking lot. Beau had turned out to be a good man, despite his father. Though Mack had heard James Daniels had changed his ways while in prison and turned to the Lord, much to his family’s delight. Beau had even visited his dad a time or two, and Mack got a sense that the hard feelings between the two had softened. Beau had a bright future in the career he loved, a beautiful wife and a baby on the way—everything Mack had wanted for himself before Thea and the accident had robbed him of his dreams.

      He may not have a wife or the law degree he’d always hoped for, but he could make a home, have a family with Sarah as his daughter.

      Mack walked down Cherokee Street, past the courthouse, until he came to a row of quaint little homes just outside the main town square. Brilliant violet-and-gold pansies glistened with early-morning dew as they stretched to sun themselves, and the grass was still an emerald green, even in mid-October. A bird twittered his wake-up song overhead, drawing a reluctant smile from Mack.

      He’d longed for a home in this neighborhood for as far back as he could remember. The idea of adopting Sarah had finally pushed him into putting a down payment on the small three-bedroom cottage at the end of the street. Nothing fancy, just a yard big enough for a swing set and a room where she could play with her stuffed animals and dolls in the years to come. A home where they could put down roots, where Mack could give Sarah the kind of childhood his parents had given him.

      But not if Thea took her away.

      He wouldn’t let her, not without a fight. Sarah was his daughter, had been since the moment Mrs. Williams had placed the squirming little newborn in his arms all those months ago. One look into Sarah’s inquisitive sapphire-blue eyes and he’d lost his heart.

      Blue eyes, now that he thought about it, that looked very much like Thea’s.

      Lots of babies had blue eyes, he reminded himself. Mack shook off the thought as he turned up a side street toward his attorney’s office. Maybe Red would have some good news about the adoption for him.

      His footsteps echoed against the brick-paved walkway that led up to Redmond McIntyre’s ranch-style home. Mack raised his fist, then hesitated. The sun had barely risen. Would Red be up yet? Well, if Mack came across as rude, so be it. The situation warranted it. His knuckles rapped against the wooden door.

      A heavy bolt slid seconds before the door flew open. Red stood framed in the doorway, a coffee cup in one hand, his tie hanging loose around his unbuttoned collar. “Mack, how are you doing this morning? You don’t have one of my clients waiting down at the jail, do you?”

      “I’m not here on official business.” Mack whipped his hat off and held it between clenched fingers. “I was hoping I could talk to you about Sarah for a moment.”

      “Sure,