The Baby Beneath the Mistletoe Read online

  Tony took her to his house so she could pick up her car, then followed her back to her house. Strictly to have her give him pointers on wrapping the gifts.

  Although he saw it as even more a waste of time than shopping had been.

  “Don’t see why it matters who wraps it. I paid for it.” He set Justin, car seat and all, down on the floor. The boy was sound asleep.

  “Spoken like a true Scrooge.” She led Tony over to the kitchen table and cleared away the place mats. “Don’t you want to feel the true spirit of Christmas?”

  “I figure that’ll happen once the credit card statements start coming in.”

  Mikky shook her head. “I refuse to believe you’re as cynical, as hopeless, as you try to pretend.”

  “I’m not pretending.”

  Apparently she knew better than he did, Mikky thought. She stopped setting up and looked him straight in the eye. “If you weren’t pretending, my friend, that baby over there would have spent his first night with social services three weeks ago.”

  Justin was another matter. Tony was still waiting for his mother to come. And hoping that she wouldn’t. What harm would it do if he retained custody of the boy? If he was there for him when he needed someone? “There’re exceptions to every rule.”

  “You’re trying too hard.”

  “Apparently—” he looked at her pointedly “—not hard enough.”

  She faced him squarely. “You couldn’t scare me away the first day, Marino, and I’m not running for cover now. There’s a warm, tender man in there. All he needs is to figure out how to find his way toward the light again.”

  He raised his brows. “You being the light?”

  The grin took over most of her, starting at her toes. “No, but that’s a nice thought, thank you.”

  He scowled. Why couldn’t she just back off? Why did she have to keep picking at him and picking at him, until he didn’t know which end was up? “I wasn’t trying to give you a compliment.”

  “Too late,” she said cheerfully. “I take what I can.” He tried to give her a dark look and succeeded only marginally. “I noticed.”

  “Good. Now let’s get down to business, shall we?” He looked at her blankly. She held up one of the rolls of wrapping paper they’d bought. “Wrapping. Otherwise, Christmas will be over, and you’ll still be staring at these naked boxes.”

  “God forbid I should give naked boxes.” Tony didn’t see what the fuss was about, anyway. It was the gift inside that ultimately counted. Newspaper wrapping on the outside would do equally as well. “This is just a conspiracy by the greeting card companies to get people to spend money, you know that, don’t you?”

  “And maybe Christmas is just a conspiracy by God to get people to be just a little friendlier for a few days out of the year,” she countered. “Concentrate on that for a while, okay?”

  Grudgingly he muttered, “Okay.”

  He was coming along, Mikky thought. She had the presence of mind to hide her smile as she went to get the transparent tape and scissors. She left him muttering something to himself. Mikky knew better than to ask him to speak up.

  Chapter Eleven

  The security guard waved to her as Mikky drove past his station and onto the lot. Absently she noticed that the old man had taken to staying on the lot longer these last few weeks. Certainly past the time when he was legally obligated to remain.

  As everyone else did, he liked Justin, often coming by to play with him. She supposed there was not much for a man like Pete Reynolds to do. In one of the conversations they’d had, he’d told her he was retired and lived alone. Being a guard gave him a purpose and helped him make ends meet.

  Obviously lonely, Pete liked to talk, and Mikky didn’t mind listening. But this morning she didn’t feel very sociable. Not with what was on her mind. Thad had called her last night, right after she’d come home from another dinner at Bridgette’s. The sense of contentment she’d had from spending the day with Tony’s family had dissipated quickly after her brother had told her why he was calling. Though she hated what he had to tell her, she knew it hadn’t been easy for him. Because she’d brought him into it, Thad had no choice.

  Tony was right. She should have kept her mouth shut But she’d done it for the best of reasons, and now there was no real way to undo this, even though she wanted to. What was done was done.

  “Mik, I’m going to have to report this,” Thad had told her glumly after asking if she had come up with anything on her end. For his part, there had been no information, no reports, no leads. “It’s been three weeks since that baby was abandoned and nobody’s come forward. He has to be put into the system.”

  There was a long pause on the other end. “I can pretend to keep my eyes closed to this until after Christmas, but then, that’s it If this isn’t resolved...”

  He didn’t have to finish his sentence. She knew. Mikky had sighed, regret gnawing at her. “I’m sorry I told you about the baby, Thad.”

  “Off the record, yeah, me too.”

  Mikky hadn’t slept last night. She’d spent it tossing and turning, searching for the right words to tell Tony that the fragile life he was enjoying was going to be over soon. The coward’s way would have been to keep quiet, to allow him to enjoy Christmas, basking in ignorance. But then reality would be too sharp, too sudden. Too cruel. She wanted him to be prepared.

  Though he was probably going to kill the messenger, that didn’t change the fact that it was cruelly deceptive not to tell Tony that he only had until the day after Christmas.

  She didn’t want secrets between them.

  There wasn’t going to be anything between them once Justin was gone. At least, not on Tony’s part. He was going to blame her for this latest loss in his life. And he’d be right.

  Damn it, when was she going to learn not to interfere?

  Parking the car, Mikky sighed and sat there for a moment Everything within her felt as if a lead coating had been poured over it.

  She felt like crying. Crying for Tony, for Justin and maybe for herself.

  But tears weren’t going to do anything. A miracle or two was needed, not tears. As far as she knew, the world was fresh out of miracles.

  “You okay, Ms. R?”

  Startled, she realized that the guard had come up to her. Even his dog, so fierce looking when she’d driven onto the lot, was now looking into the car, his paws on the door, his hot breath fogging up the top of her window where she had it cracked open. The dog was making a low, soft noise that sounded oddly sympathetic.

  Funny how animals could sense when things were wrong, she thought. Too bad people didn’t come equipped with the same gift.

  She shook her head in answer to the guard’s question. “No, not really.”

  Pete backed up, tugging on Max’s leash as Mikky opened her door. “Lot of that flu going round. Maybe you shouldn’t be around the baby when he comes.”

  She smiled sadly. Justin was the highlight of everyone’s day. Why couldn’t there be a way out of this? There had to be something she could do....

  She reminded herself that it was her doing that had gotten them to this impasse in the first place. “The baby’s why I feel this way.”

  Concern etched itself onto the moonlike face. He peered at her as he walked with her to her trailer. Max strained at his leash. “Something wrong with the baby?”

  “No, but...” Mikky hesitated. Maybe if she practiced telling Pete, she could tell Tony. She turned to face him. “My brother’s a police detective, and he knows about Justin. He told me last night that if the baby’s mother doesn’t come forward soon, he’s going to have to take Justin right after Christmas.”

  Pete took the news harder than she’d anticipated. “Take him? Take him where?”

  He sounded almost defensive, Mikky thought. A preview of what was to come once she told Tony. “Social services. They’ll find foster parents for him.”

  “But he’s got Mr. Marino. And you.” By his bewildered tone, it was obviou
s that Pete didn’t understand why any of this had to happen. In her heart neither did Mikky.

  This was going to be harder than she thought. A lot harder. If she couldn’t make the harsh reality of the situation acceptable to the guard, how was she ever going to make Tony understand—and not hate her? “He needs parents.”

  That still didn’t answer anything for Pete. “Maybe you or Mr. Marino could adopt him. Or both of you.” With each word, his voice went up, building in intensity. Max began to prance, obviously anticipating that something was about to happen.

  Mikky knew Pete was only worried about Justin. They all were. “It’s not that simple. As long as Justin’s parents are out there somewhere...” Mikky paused, doubting if the guard could understand all the ramifications that came into play. Or think them fair. Not that she blamed him. They weren’t fair, not in this instance.

  So much for a dry run, she thought, giving up. “Well, it’s not that simple, that’s all.”

  “What if...” Pete looked at her, stumbling over the words in his mouth. “What if his mother was dead, and nobody knew who the father was?”

  Mikky shrugged. “Well, I suppose...” Something in his voice caught her attention. She looked at him, scrutinizing the expression on his face. “Pete, what do you know about Justin?”

  He took a step back nervously, shaking his head. Max yelped as Pete narrowly missed the dog’s paw. “Nothing, I—”

  Mikky caught him by his arm. He knew something, something he wasn’t telling. Suddenly hopeful, she tried to get the man to talk. “Pete, this is important. Did you see who dropped Justin off at Mr. Marino’s trailer that night?”

  “No.” And then, making his decision, Pete straightened and squared his shoulders. “But I know who did.”

  All this time and he’d known all along. “Who?” she demanded, stunned by the confession.

  Pete hesitated for a moment longer and then blurted out, “I did.”

  Tony’s cheeks felt as if they were tingling as he hurried from the car to his trailer. Normally the cold weather invigorated him. It was one of the things he liked best about living in Colorado. The winters were picturesque. But now the cold weather was a source of concern for him. He worried that it was too cold for the boy he had pressed against his chest.

  Making it into the trailer, Tony sighed with relief as he closed the door behind him. This was the last day he’d have to come to the site until after the holidays. It was a relief to look forward to Christmas instead of anticipating it with dread.

  Justin had done that for him. Justin and Mikky.

  Tony was walking a tightrope, and he knew it. But for the time being he was determined to pretend that he was on solid ground.

  Tony set the seat he’d brought in with him on the floor and rested Justin’s well-padded behind on his desk. “Let’s get you out of that, partner.”

  Justin gurgled his agreement. Very carefully Tony took off the heavy jacket Mikky had bought for the baby during the infamous shopping venture on Saturday. Remembering the grueling hours he’d followed her around brought a curve to his mouth before he dismissed the memory.

  Just as he tossed the jacket onto his chair, the door to his trailer flew open without the usual knock. A gust of cold air came in with it. It seemed appropriate, he thought. She reminded him of a barely contained northern twister.

  “Make yourself at home, Mikky,” he told her before he turned around.

  “Tony, we have to talk.”

  Unable to read her tone, he still didn’t like the sound of that. Holding Justin in his arms, he turned around and saw that she wasn’t alone.

  Why was she in here with the watchman?

  Tony looked from the man to Mikky, not sure what to make of the situation. Had someone been stealing supplies? “What’s up?”

  Pete swept his hat from his head. He was bald, except for a fringe of gray hair. He was also exceedingly uncomfortable, Tony noted. He waited, not knowing exactly what it was that he was waiting for. Stalling, Pete chucked Justin under the chin. The baby’s eyes lit as he cooed and grabbed Pete’s finger.

  “Do you want to hold Justin?” Maybe that would make the guard feel more at ease, Tony thought.

  But Pete shook his head. The words came fast, like a flash flood, engulfing its audience. “His name isn’t Justin, it’s Pete. Like mine. I thought maybe if you thought he had the same name as your son, you’d take to him faster.”

  Stunned, Tony wasn’t sure he was following what the man was trying to tell him. Or that he wanted to. “What do you mean, take to him faster?”

  “Justin is Pete’s grandson,” Mikky interjected.

  Tony’s brows narrowed as he fixed his gaze on the old man. “Explain.”

  Clearly upset, Pete began. “Lita was such a good girl when she was young, but she was always trying too hard, trying to get people to like her—”

  Tony looked at Mikky for a translation. “Lita was his daughter,” she told him.

  Tony’s arm tightened around the baby he held, his mind embracing the single word that made any sense in the disjointed narrative. Was.

  Haplessly, the guard forged ahead. “She got in with the wrong crowd, did some things...” Because it was too hurtful to recount, Pete let his voice trail off. “When she found out she was pregnant, she tried very hard to stay clean. And she did,” Pete told them enthusiastically. He’d been so proud of Lita, so hopeful. With a sad smile, he touched Justin’s downy head. “He didn’t have any addictions or anything when he was born. I really thought he’d be a turnaround for her.” As he spoke, Pete’s face seemed to fall. “But she was never very strong, and she started hanging out with the same people again. Doing the same things again.”

  His throat choked with emotion, Pete stared down at his shoes. “I found her when I came home one morning. She’d taken too much and um...” When he looked up at Tony, there were tears in his eyes. He couldn’t say the words, couldn’t tell them that when he’d come home to his daughter, she’d already been dead several hours. Lita was beyond pain now. He had to try and remember that. “I love that boy, but I’m too old to do this on my own. There is nobody else now.” He looked at Mikky, silently appealing to her for help. “I’d heard that Mr. Marino had lost his own boy. I thought that maybe, you know, they could help each other.”

  “So you abandoned him here?” Tony accused him incredulously.

  “Oh, no, sir, I wasn’t abandoning Pete. I was just trying to make things right for everyone. Him. You.” Frightened, bewildered and contrite all at the same time, the guard chewed on his lower lip. He twisted his cap completely out of shape. “I’m sorry.”

  Moved, only able to guess at what the man had had to go through, Mikky slipped her arm around the guard’s shoulders. “It’s okay.”

  But it was to Tony that Pete directed his question and fears. “What happens now? Am I going to go to jail?”

  “No,” Mikky said firmly. “Not if my brother wants to live out the week.” The smile on her lips was meant to encourage the old man. “Now that you’ve come forward and told your story, Thad doesn’t have to file that report.” The full impact of her words dawned on her and she looked at Tony. Tony wasn’t going to have to give Justin up. She hadn’t ruined everything for him. “There are mitigating circumstances.” She looked at the guard. “Have you changed your mind about Jus—Pete? Do you want him back?”

  Warmth and affection filled his eyes as he looked at his grandson. “With all my heart—but nothing’s changed.” He shook his head. “I’m too old. The doctor says my heart’s pretty bad.” He shrugged philosophically. He’d lived a long life. Leaving his grandson alone had been his only concern. “There’s no telling how much time I have left. I want Justin—” he looked at her significantly, using the boy’s new name “—to have a good home. I still think it would be, with Mr. Marino.”

  If he’d had any doubts about the future, they were gone now. Listening to Pete, Tony had made up his mind. “I’ll take good care of him,
Pete. And you can come to see him as often as you’d like.”

  “I’d like that very much.” He drew closer to the boy. “Hear that, Justin? You’re going to have a good home. Better than I could ever give you.” He raised his eyes to Tony. “I don’t have much, but it’s yours.”

  Tony shook his head. “You’ve already given me the most precious thing you have, Pete. I’m the one in your debt, not the other way around.”

  If Mikky had ever doubted that Tony had a heart, she had her proof now. She hated the fact that she had to be the devil’s advocate in this. “Justin’s still going to have to go through the system—”

  Tony frowned. The system meant complications. And that meant he could still lose Justin. “How about a private adoption?”

  She’d done some research on the subject. “You’re a single man.”

  “Widower,” Tony corrected. It was the first time since the accident he’d ever used the word. The pain he expected wasn’t quite as harsh.

  Tony looked at her as if she were the one who was trying to take Justin away from him instead of just the opposite. “Still, that might not make a difference.”

  He knew she meant well, but he couldn’t help the note of annoyance that came into his voice. “Since when did you become the voice of reason?”

  “Since one of us has to be.” Did he think she enjoyed this? She just wanted to make sure that nothing occurred to trip him up. “You can’t just float along with your eyes shut.”

  Right about now, it sounded like a plan to him. But she was right, and he knew it. “I’ll talk to Dottie. She once told me she has some connections in social services.”

  Pete’s hat was almost unwearable by this point. “Then it’s going to be all right?” he asked them eagerly.

  Mikky nodded. “It’s going to be all right.” Mentally she crossed her fingers. At least, it would turn out all right for Tony and Justin.

  She told herself that was all that mattered.

  Sitting in her living room, Dottie listened patiently as she tried to glean what her cousin and Mikky were saying to her in what seemed to be two very different frequencies. Both Mikky and Tony seemed determined to be the first to explain the situation to her.