The Baby Bargain (10 page)

She flipped through the people in her life and came up blank. Who, other than Nathan,
would hate her so much?

Chapter Twelve

Adam sat on his bed with Ellie stretched out beside him. Sienna’s image was on his
laptop screen.

“Okay, got enough info on Megan’s three employees to start background checks. Who
else?”

“Hayden Sullivan.” Adam gave her the info he’d gotten out of Megan’s files.

“Her mother’s husband?” Sienna frowned at him.

He ignored that. Hayden lived next door and had a lot of access to Megan’s house.
That man was, and would be, around Adam’s son. Before Adam left, he had to make sure
Cole and Megan were safe. “Dr. Lawrence Hamilton. He owns the Raven’s Cove Animal
Hospital, but I don’t have his social or birth date.” Yet. He would find them.

“What’s his connection to Megan?”

He wanted to sleep with her. It pissed Adam off in a gut-burning, slam-his-fist-into-the-guy’s-too-white-teeth
kind of way. He didn’t like this feeling. “He was a mentor to Megan, and she worked
for him before opening her own practice.”

“Has he dated Megan?”

“She says no.”

“You don’t believe her. Understandable, she’s proved herself to be a liar.”

Adam glared at the screen. “Don’t. That’s the mother of my son you’re talking about.
She’s not a liar.”

Sienna smiled. “My mistake.” She made some quick notes and picked up her coffee cup.

Adam knew he’d been played. “How about you do the job I pay you for and stay out of
my personal life?”

“Yeah, that’s so not going to happen. You not only hired a crack assistant, but you
got the bonus of a friend. You’ll have to find a way to live with that.”

He looked up at the ceiling. “Why me?”

Sienna yanked off her glasses and stared at him. “Because you pulled my ass out of
a bottle, cleaned me up, and gave me a reason to live again after Trace’s death. All
you guys, I care about you. And you, Adam, you deserve happiness, a chance to heal,
damn it, and find love.”

He blinked. Shocked. Sienna hadn’t been a drunk, she’d been grieving. She drank to
numb the pain. “What you and Trace had, that’s rare, Sienna. I’m not Trace.” Not even
close. “Work makes me happy. So let’s stick to that.”

She put her glasses on. “I’ll see what I can find on Dr. Lawrence, the mentor.” She
sipped some coffee. “Nathan McCray has been involved in a sexual harassment lawsuit
that was settled, and two divorces. Nothing else has popped out on him.”

“Same as I found in the original background we ran before I took the job.” Adam still
didn’t believe it was him. He was capable of it, sure, but he believed he’d done the
simpler thing to combat his ex-wife and Megan—getting Megan’s mentor to give a deposition
in his favor. That was going to carry serious weight. “That’s good enough for now.
Back to the golf—”

His bedroom door burst open.

Ellie yelped in surprise and tried to crawl into his lap.

Megan stormed into his room. “Have you seen this?” she demanded, waving something
in her hand.

He put his hand on Ellie’s neck, but his gaze was locked on Megan. Her skin was flushed,
her eyes bright, and she looked so damned beautiful.

She paused when she saw Ellie cowering and dropped to her knees by the bed. “Ellie,
poor baby. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

The dog stretched out her nose, nuzzling her hand.

“Good girl,” Megan told her, gently rubbing the dog’s ears. In seconds, Ellie inched
closer, her body relaxing.

Lucky dog. He’d love to have Megan’s hands on him. But she’d set the rules. He reached
out and took the newspaper she’d been waving around.
Raven’s Cove Press
, the local paper. He was surprised they still even published it. Unfolding it, he
winced at the front page.

A full-color shot of Megan in handcuffs being led to a patrol car. The headline read,
“Local Veterinarian Arrested!” In a bold-faced caption, it said, “Accused of stealing
show dog embroiled in a custody dispute.”

Adam scanned the story. It did say that no charges were filed yet, but stated the
dog was found in her office. He looked up at Megan.

“My mom brought the paper over to show me. It’s on the paper’s website, too.” Standing
up, she said, “How are my clients going to trust me with their animals?”

Adam turned back to the computer. “Sienna, I’ve got to go.”

“Later, boss.”

He cut the connection and set his laptop aside. Ellie jumped off the bed and he stood
up. “I think I need to have a chat with this reporter.” He glanced down at the byline.
“Derek Hahn.”

Megan rose too. “Why?”

“How did the reporter know to be there? The police didn’t tip him off. Who did?”

“I hadn’t thought of that. What about the police scanner?”

Adam looked her over. She was wearing jeans today, with a button-down, copper-colored
top cinched in at her waist. Her scent, pears and sunshine, enticed him. “They don’t
announce they’re serving a search warrant. And whoever tipped him off is likely the
same person who called in the anonymous tip suggesting you take bribes in exchange
for expert testimony.”

“Right.” She hadn’t thought of that, either, but she was a veterinarian, not an investigator.
Maybe it was a lead that could help them solve this once and for all. “Well…” She
looked around, a new flush sliding up her neck. “I should have knocked before just
storming in here. Sorry. But come eat some breakfast. Mom’s pissed, so she’s cooking.”

Adam wasn’t going to turn that down. He followed Megan out to the kitchen where a
slew of new scents made his mouth water. “Morning, Catherine.” He walked over to the
stove, where she was dishing up pancakes and sausage. “That smells delicious.”

“Blueberry pancakes. Megan wouldn’t let me make them with chocolate chips.”

“Mom. It’s bad enough having all this for breakfast on a weekday.” She turned to Adam.
“Can you round up Cole and Hayden? They’re in the back with Max. I’ll feed Ellie.”

He headed out the sliding glass door. He stopped on the patio. Hayden, a fit man in
his late fifties, was down on one knee in the grass with his arm around Cole. “Just
keep looking at the ball. Take a step, then kick.”

Cole looked up at the man and grinned.

Hayden ruffled the boy’s hair, got up, and positioned the ball in front of Cole. He
backed up. Max sat next to Hayden, watching.

At this angle, Adam could only see Cole’s back, but the boy followed directions, took
a step, and kicked his foot into the ball.

Hayden beamed. “Cole! Good job!”

Max barked once and raced around the two of them in a circle. Cole ran right at Hayden.

The older man caught Cole and swung him up into his arms.

Adam stood there, his chest growing tight. Another man was teaching his son to kick
a ball. The tightness spread to his stomach, making his gut twist. He didn’t like
it, not one damned bit.
But who was going to teach Cole?
a voice in his head asked. He planned to go back to Los Angeles and figure out a way
to visit. Or something. He couldn’t teach Cole to play ball with once-in-a-while visits.

Hayden caught sight of him and strode toward the sliding glass doors.

Adam knew the man had made a lot of money as a contractor and now was semi-retired.
He was glad he had Sienna running a deeper background. He needed to know more about
the man who had so much access to his son and Megan.

Max raced past him and into the house.

“Adam,” Hayden said.

“Adam,” Cole repeated.

Hearing his name from the boy jolted him. Adam didn’t want Cole calling him by his
first name. He sucked in a breath. “Hey there, C-Man.” He lifted his gaze. “Hayden.
I’m told it’s time for breakfast.”

Hayden barely nodded at Adam. “Come on, Cole, time to wash up and eat Grandma’s pancakes.”

Adam stood there, feeling like an outsider as he watched the man walk off carrying
his son. He hadn’t missed Hayden’s cold attitude toward him. Didn’t the man realize
that Adam hadn’t known about Cole? He didn’t like the mix of feelings broiling in
his stomach, followed by the familiar feeling of the walls closing in on him.

Adam glanced at the front door. He could just leave. He had things to do, both to
prepare for the golf tournament and to investigate the mess Megan was in. Stepping
away from the door, he paused when he heard Megan say, “It’ll be worse if I’m there.
I’m not going.”

“Megan Lynn, you most certainly are going. The barbecue at the pond tomorrow is about
families, and how much I want to do in this town to support family life. You’re my
family.”

Adam walked into the kitchen to see the two women squared off. Megan shook her head.
“No. It’ll be more damaging to your campaign. If I’m not there, then people will focus
on you, not on my legal drama.”

Catherine set the towering plate of pancakes down in the center of the table. “Are
you going to hide? Is that it? Not go to work, just stay in the house? Did I raise
my daughter to hide?”

Megan rolled her eyes.

“I saw that,” Catherine said mildly.

“I’m not hiding. And of course I’m going to work. It’ll be…uncomfortable. Some clients
will leave, others will stare or ask questions. That I can handle. But I cannot harm
your chances to win this race, Mom. You’ve worked so hard to get this far.” She set
the plate of sausages on the table and filled the coffee cups.

Hayden quietly put Cole in his highchair, then he took the coffee pot from Megan and
went back into the kitchen.

Catherine touched her daughter’s arm. “I’m proud of you, of everything you’ve accomplished.
I know you didn’t steal that dog. I will not turn my back on you for anything. You’re
going, Megan. Hayden and I will show the entire town that we love and support you.”

“Your mother’s right,” Hayden said, pausing to kiss the top of her head, then setting
a plastic cup with a lid on Cole’s high chair. “Milk to wash down Grandma’s pancakes.”

“Why do I bother arguing?” Megan asked. “Even in my own house, I lose.”

Adam was frozen to the spot. That was an argument? In his house, it had either been
frigid silences or drunken shouting. He saw Cole wasn’t the least bit bothered. He
was busy chewing a pancake and drinking his milk.

The boy was happy here. He belonged, felt safe.

It was Adam who didn’t belong.

…

Adam couldn’t find him! He dove and dove until his lungs burned viciously and his
eyes blurred from the sting of the seawater.

He had to be here! Blindly, he felt with his hands and arms.

Panic squeezed his heart. Where was Brady? He had to find him!

There. He spotted his brother’s dark hair and frantic eyes. But wait, the eyes were
wrong. Not brown…they were blue. And he was too little.

Oh Christ, it was Cole. He was drowning.

“You’d let your son die too?” Brady screamed at him, his bloated face hanging in shreds.

“Adam, wake up.” A cool hand was on his shoulder.

He woke up instantly, but disoriented. Sweat coated his body, and his heart pounded
brutally. Sucking in air, he sat up. Then he realized he had hold of Meg’s arm.

Full awareness slammed into him. It was the middle of the night, and light from the
hallway spilled into his room. Megan stood there, wearing just a tank top and panties.
He looked down at his white knuckled fingers wrapped around her forearm.
He was hurting her! Let go!
He wrenched his hand off her arm.

“You were having a nightmare,” she said softly.

Her eyes were full of concern, and her hair flowed around her. That tank and panties
barely covered her. He desperately wanted to tug her into bed, roll her beneath him,
and lose himself in Megan. Her scent, the feel of her skin, her sweet sighs when she
came, and the feel of her body spasming around him, wet and tight. Megan would chase
out the horrors in his head.

For a few minutes he’d be free. He’d forget.

He drew his gaze past her shoulders, seeing her nipples hard against the thin top,
down to the blue panties that he knew would grow wet for him if he kissed her, touched
her.

Then he saw the red marks on her arm.

Marks he put on her.

Rage exploded inside him. “Get out, Megan.”

She blanched. “You cried out. I just… I was trying to help.”

He shook his head, hating himself. Hating that he was so screwed up, he had hurt a
woman. And not just any woman, because that would be bad enough. But Megan.

She had to leave. Get away from him. “You can’t help, not unless you want to strip
and get into this bed with me. Only sex helps.”

She stood there, frozen.

His dick ached for her. His mind ached for her. Even his chest ached. But he couldn’t
give her what she needed. He’d hurt her in his sleep.

He reached out and caught her wrist, this time being careful. Holding her arm up,
he looked at the marks from his fingers. “Is this what you want? A man who lashes
out in his sleep? So fucked up he doesn’t even know he’s hurting you?” He dropped
her hand. “Get out, Meg. Go back to bed.”

He laid down, turning his back on her. Waited.

A minute ticked by.

Finally he heard the door close.

He was alone. Even Ellie had decided to sleep in Cole’s room with Max.

…

It was still early, before seven a.m., when Megan checked on Cole and found him sound
asleep. Both dogs followed her out to the kitchen.

Adam’s room was empty.

Her stomach twisted. Hearing him cry out had torn something inside her. The deep agony
in his voice had drawn her to him. But he had refused to talk to her. Refused to let
her in.

The kitchen floor was cool on her bare feet. She’d pulled on her shorts when she got
up, but no socks or slippers. She busied herself making coffee, feeding the dogs…

The front door opened. Her heart shot up into her throat. Her pulsed jumped and raced.
She knew who it was.

Both dogs raced out of the kitchen.

She put her hands on the granite counter, and stared down at the dark stone as the
coffeemaker gurgled. Determination not to chase Adam to his room and beg for what
he couldn’t give her kept her rooted to the spot. There were parts of him he would
never share with her.