The Unclaimed Baby by Sherryl Woods Page A

Jenny, but she got her start as a kid in New York. Bloomingdale’s was her idea of a corner market. That was before she and her mom moved here and Janet married Grandpa Harlan. Jenny could keep up with you. I can’t.”
    â€œNext time, maybe I’ll invite her.”
    He sounded serious enough that Sharon Lynn felt a sharp pang of jealousy, before reminding herself that Jenny was happily married and therefore completely unavailable for anything more than shopping with Cord Branson. She glanced over to find Cord grinning broadly as if he’d read her mind.
    â€œDon’t even go there,” she muttered.
    â€œGo where?” he inquired innocently. “I thought we were going to the food court.”
    She weighed another sharp retort, then wiselyswallowed it. Cord followed along as she steered the stroller to the cluster of fast-food outlets where she collapsed into the first available chair. Cord deposited the packages beside her.
    â€œOkay, sweetheart, what can I get you to put some color back in your cheeks and wipe that scowl off your face?”
    â€œA transfusion, maybe.”
    â€œSorry, this place is a little short on those. How about a burger, fries and a soda?”
    â€œSounds too much like what I could fix for myself at Dolan’s. I think maybe a dozen tacos, some guacamole, the hottest salsa they have and a chocolate milk shake.”
    Cord stared at her and shuddered. “Mexican food and a milk shake?”
    â€œI don’t see why not.”
    â€œIt’s your call. You serious about that dozen tacos?”
    She considered the question, then said, “I suppose two would do for a start. We’ll see how I feel after that.”
    When he was gone, she glanced into the stroller and grinned at the baby, who was wearing her new frilly pink bonnet that was about as practical on a cold winter day as sandals would be. Her little fists clutched the brim as if she couldn’t quite decide whether to tug it on tighter or rip it off.
    Every single passerby gazed into the stroller and grinned at the sight. More than a few stopped to comment on her beautiful baby girl. Rather than correctthem, Sharon Lynn merely murmured her thanks, but her reaction was worrisome. She felt a maternal stirring of pride, along with a deepening of the wistfulness that was constantly with her these days.
    When Cord came back with the food, he studied her intently. “Something wrong? I mean something other than low blood sugar?”
    â€œNo, not really.”
    Just then another woman bent down to smile at Ashley, then turned to Cord. “Your daughter is just precious. My granddaughter’s just about the same age. She’s in Oklahoma. Oh, how I miss her.”
    Cord flashed a sympathetic look of understanding at Sharon Lynn, then smiled at the woman. “I can just imagine.”
    â€œYou two count your lucky stars. You’ve been given one of God’s greatest blessings,” the woman said, then turned and walked on.
    Cord sighed as she left. “That happen a lot while I was gone?”
    Sharon Lynn nodded.
    He reached over and took her hand in his. “I know it’s hard, darlin’, but she is our blessing for now.”
    â€œBut what happens when…” She couldn’t even say the words.
    â€œWhen she has to go?” Cord finished for her. “We’ll get by. We’ll have to.”
    Sharon Lynn didn’t think that was going to be nearly as easy as he was pretending. Not for either one of them. One thing was clear to her now, Cord was every bit as caught up in this world of makebelieve parenting as she was. She might not totally understand his motives, but she knew they were as deep and sincere as her own.
    She reached for a taco and bit into it, but her appetite had vanished. She put it back on the tray and gazed bleakly at Cord.
    â€œI’m ready to go if you are.”
    â€œNot yet. Finish your food. You’ll feel better.