She walked to the crib and gazed at the beautiful baby. She already looked like Briana. The shape of her face and her large eyes were Bri’s, although their color was dark brown, like her father’s. The wisps of hair that covered her small head were blond. Again like her father. A father who wasn’t going to be around.
“I wanted so much for you, sweetie,” she whispered, emotion lacing her voice. “But it looks like it’s just you and me, Erin Marie. I promise I won’t let you down.” She took hold of Erin’s tiny finger just like she had so many times with Bri. “I double pinky swear. We’ll be a family.”
There was a soft knock on the door. Wiping away any traces of tears, Tara checked the peephole. Her pulse started to race when she saw Matt Landers. He’d come. She said a quick little prayer and opened the door.
“Can we talk?” he asked.
Tara swallowed. “That depends on what you have to say.”
“I believe it’s obvious what we have to talk about. The baby. We need to come to a decision that will be the best for all of us.”
“You mean that will be best for you,” she murmured.
After a few seconds, Tara stepped aside and Matt walked into the small room. He glanced around the standard chain motel surroundings. The double bed with the colorful bedspread. The desk with the menu and coupons from the local restaurant. Then he turned his attention to the baby crib in the corner, and a protective feeling tugged at him.
“Do my accommodations meet with your approval?”
Matt turned to Tara. Faded jeans covered her long, slender legs and accented her narrow waist. A short white T-shirt draped her delicate shoulders and nicely rounded breasts. Her short rust-colored hair was pulled behind her ears. He raised his gaze to her weary green eyes.
“I’m not concerned with your accommodations, Ms. McNeal, just your accusations.”
His lawyer, Ed Podesta, had told him he’d handle everything and advised his client to stay away from Tara McNeal and the baby. Even though Matt knew he couldn’t possibly be Erin’s father, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her. Her sweet face, her pink cheeks and rosebud mouth. He tended children daily. Many were infants. But he’d never been called a father before. That made little Erin different.
The baby was the innocent one in all this. But was Tara McNeal innocent? “I’m here because there’s a child involved. She’s the one we have to worry about. Needless to say, you caught me off guard when you came to the office today.”
He watched Tara cross her arms.
“I don’t want to be the enemy here,” Matt continued. “There are some steps we need to take.”
“Just what steps are those, Dr. Landers?”
“A blood test.”
Early the next day, Tara carried Erin across the medical laboratory parking lot. Matthew Landers was there waiting for her.
The man looked far too good first thing in the morning. He wore a snowy white shirt with dove-gray pleated slacks and expensive black loafers. His hair was perfect, not a strand out of place. Tara found she wanted to mess it up. She quickly pushed away the crazy thought.
He pulled off his dark glasses and squinted into the summer sun. “Good morning, Ms. McNeal,” he said.
Tara absently brushed her hair behind her ears, wishing she’d taken time to apply a little makeup. No easy task when she had a baby to care for. “Morning, doctor,” she answered.
“Okay, this is a simple test. It could have been done in my office, but…”
Tara straightened. “I know, you want to keep this quiet.” She glanced at the small medical building.
She was right, Matt was worried about the gossip that might arise from the test. He didn’t want Harry Douglas finding out about this. The hospital grapevine had already built him an impressive reputation as a playboy even though he’d been extremely careful to have kept his personal life private.
“Yes, I’m concerned. I want this matter cleared up. Quickly.”
“Why, are you married?”
Matt was surprised by her question. “No, I’m not. But I am a respected doctor in this community.” He wouldn’t be for long if her accusation became public. He could lose everything he’d worked for. “Are you?”
“Am I what?”
“Married.”
“No, but I plan to be someday.” She smiled at the baby. “And I’ll give Erin brothers and sisters.” Matt held open the door to the small medical building, and Tara stepped inside.
Matt wasn’t surprised by her answer. Most women, even those with active careers, wanted a family. Something he couldn’t offer a wife. “This way,” he said, directing her down the hall and into the elevator.
They were alone in the small space. He pressed the button for the second floor. As much as he tried not to, he couldn’t help but look at the baby. She was awake and alert. Little Erin’s arms were waving in the air as her big dark eyes took in her new surroundings. He smiled. She hadn’t asked for all this trouble.
He stole a glance at Ms. McNeal. She, on the other hand, was asking for a lot of trouble. If she thought she could come here and bat those big emerald eyes at him… Well, he wasn’t going to let her get to him. No matter how soft and touchable her auburn hair looked. He inhaled her soft fragrance, and his stomach tightened.
A chime sounded and the doors opened. He allowed her out first, then directed her down another hall to the lab. Jerry, a golfing buddy and a trusted confidant, was working the early shift and knew they would be coming in. With luck this could be done quickly and privately. In a few hours they’d have the results, and Matt could go on with his life.
He opened the door and stepped aside so Tara could enter, then walked to the deserted counter and rang the bell. The glass window opened, and a middle-aged man with brown hair and a ready smile appeared. “Hey, Matt, nice to see you.”
They shook hands. “Jerry. This is Tara McNeal and Erin.”
“Come back to the office,” Jerry directed. “We’ll do this as quickly as possible.”
Matt stood aside as Tara passed through another door, then paused.
“So how long have you and Jerry been friends?” she asked.
Matt bit back his anger. “If you’re insinuating that I’m trying to falsify the blood test, you can forget it. I have a sterling reputation. Or I had, until some bastard stole everything. I want to clear this up more than you know, Ms. McNeal. You have no idea what it’s like to have lost this kind of control of your life. I know Erin is not my child, but I’m determined to convince you.”
She looked at him for a long moment, then nodded. “Let’s do the test.”
Two hours later, Tara was in Matt Landers’s office, changing Erin’s diaper. Crooning to her niece, she was soon rewarded with a smile.
“You were such a good girl,” Tara whispered, then placed a kiss on the baby’s soft cheek as she managed to get her kicking legs into the stretch suit. Tara took the recently warmed bottle, lifted Erin in her arms, found a spot on the sofa and began feeding her.
She hated hanging around, but the results of the test weren’t supposed to take very long. And waiting here was as good as anywhere else. Dr. Landers had given up his office, saying he had a busy schedule of hospital rounds. The receptionist, Judy Shaw, had gone out of her way to be kind, making sure Tara and Erin were comfortable.
All Tara had to do was wait for the test results. Then what? What if Matt Landers had been telling