Charlotte Douglas - Verdict - Daddy

Her eyes narrowed. “You’re sure this baby isn’t yours?”

“Of course I’m sure!”

He had to stop confessing that his love life was nonexistent. It wasn’t that he hadn’t been interested in having a relationship. With his business taking off, he’d been either too busy or too tired the past several years for any kind of social life, other than zoning out with the guys on a weekend afternoon to watch a Bucs game or a DVD of the latest action film.

Suspicion sharpened her features but didn’t affect her prettiness. “No former girlfriend left in the lurch the past year or so?”

“If this baby was mine, I’d step up to the plate and take responsibility.”

“And you’re sure she isn’t?” she asked again.

Her tone of voice and steely-eyed gaze made him feel like a bug skewered on a pin. She’d earned her reputation for ruthless cross-examination. “I’m sure.”

She studied him carefully, as if watching for some subtle sign that he might not be telling the truth. Then, apparently satisfied, she nodded. “But I don’t understand why you’ve come to me. You should be talking to a family law attorney. Or someone at the Department of Children and Family Services.”

“Already have. Vienna Pitts—”

Marissa’s mouth twisted with apparent disgust. “Is that old bat still alive? I remember how she used to scream at us not to play on the sidewalk in front of her house.”

“Alive and well,” Blake said with a grimace, “and unfortunately living across the street from me and watching my every move. She must have seen me find the baby and instantly alerted DCF.”

“And?”

“They came to my house and wanted to take Annie.”

“So what’s the problem? That’s their job. They’ll try to locate Annie’s mother and, in the meantime, find the baby a foster home.”

“A foster home. That’s the problem,” Blake said with more feeling than he’d intended.

“You want to keep her?” Marissa’s low, throaty voice rose an octave in surprise. “But you just said—”

“I can’t keep her. But I don’t want her placed in a foster home. A kid needs a real family. Her own mom and a dad. That’s why I came to you.”

MARISSA SANK BACK in her chair and studied Blake with a mixture of admiration and dismay. She remembered how he’d always hungered to belong to a family of his own, how he’d envied her big, boisterous household and had felt like the odd man out, even when her mom made a point to include him in their special celebrations and gatherings.

“Blake, I’m a defense attorney,” she reminded him gently. “This is a civil not a criminal matter. You need a specialist in family law.”

“Won’t a family lawyer just advise me to turn Annie over to DCF?”

“That’s my advice, too. Or we can contact the head of Family Continuity Programs. They’re in charge of caring for abandoned newborns and children who are wards of the state in this county.”

Blake scowled. “Then a sheriff’s detective will pick up Annie, and from what I heard on the news the other day, they’re so overloaded with cases, the kid could be warehoused in a crib in the corner of his office for days until a foster home is available.” He shook his head. “There has to be another way. Can’t I at least get temporary custody until I find the right family who’ll adopt her?”

Marissa didn’t know whether to hug him or hit him. On the one hand, this gentle giant warmed her heart with his concern for a stranger’s baby. On the other, he hadn’t a clue what he was in for if he received even temporary custody of Annie.

“Who’s going to look after the child? Rambo?” Her sarcasm was intentional. She hoped to jolt Blake into accepting reality.

The strong planes of his face split into an appealing grin. “Actually, Bo’s really good with children. Every kid on the block’s in love with him.”

“I doubt the Department of Children and Families would deem him a fit caretaker,” she countered dryly.

“I’ll find someone to look after Annie until I locate the right family,” Blake said. “Agnes would be perfect for taking care of her. But first I want to make sure the authorities can’t take the baby away.”

“Why didn’t they take her this morning?”

A guilty expression settled across his tanned features. “I told them I didn’t have a baby. I even allowed them to search the house. I let them think Vienna Pitts is losing her marbles in her old age and was imagining things when she called them.”

Marissa shook her head at his boldness. “Apparently nosy Mrs. Pitts didn’t see you take the baby to Agnes.”

“That old busybody can’t see me come or go when I use the rear entrance,” he said with obvious satisfaction. “I use the back door a lot.”

Marissa sighed. She knew her duty, even though her heart was on Blake’s side. “As an officer of the court, I must advise you to contact the police and turn the child over to DCF.”

“I won’t do that.” His eyes, like gray thunderheads, sparked with heat lightning, and the angle of his taut square jaw underlined his determination. “She’ll end up lost in the system. I won’t sentence her to the same kind of childhood I had.”

Marissa heard the pain of his lonely youth in his words. She also remembered his stubborn streak. They’d butted heads often as kids, and most of the time, Blake had prevailed. But not this time. “Then I have no choice but to alert the authorities myself.”

“I can’t let you do that.” His voice was low, even, unwavering.

“And how do you plan to stop me?” Marissa reached for the phone.

With a swiftness unexpected in so large a man, he stood, reached to the baseboard, and jerked the phone cord from the wall. Before Marissa could recover from her shock, he’d rounded her desk. With one graceful and powerful motion, he lifted her from her chair and slung her over his shoulder.

“Blake!” she screeched in alarm and pounded his back with her fists. “Put me down!”

“Not yet.”

Even through the layers of clothing that separated them, she could feel the rumble of his voice deep in his chest. She was all too aware of his arm gripping her buttocks and his intoxicating male scent, a mixture of sunshine and sandalwood. Strangely, however, she felt no fear. Blake was apparently as impulsive and reckless as she remembered, but a man so concerned over a stranger’s baby wasn’t about to harm his old friend.

As if she weighed no more than a bag of gardening mulch, he pivoted easily and headed out of her office, past the receptionist’s desk where Kitty sat in openmouthed astonishment.

Marissa tossed her head to clear her hair from her eyes and confronted her receptionist from her upside-down view. “It’s okay.”

“You’re sure? Shouldn’t I call the police?” Kitty yelled after her as Blake strode toward the exit.

Marissa bit back an affirmative reply. Blake was no criminal, and she had no fear for her own safety. Wherever he was taking her, maybe she’d have a chance to talk some sense into him before he ended up in jail.

“No,” Marissa yelled back to Kitty. “If anyone asks, tell them I’m taking the rest of the day off.”

“That’s it?” Kitty shouted. “You’re sure?”

Marissa could tell Kitty thought her boss had lost her mind. Maybe she had. After all, a man could change a great deal in eighteen years. But before she could amend her instructions to the receptionist, Blake had carried her outside and closed the door behind him.

Marissa caught a glimpse of the Adams Landscape Designs logo on the side of the pickup truck before he dumped her into the passenger seat. His face was only inches from hers as he secured her seat belt, and his smoky gray eyes were pleading, his breath warm on her cheek.