Jacquelin Thomas - Forever My Baby

“And very married,” Garland stated. “Or didn’t you notice the wedding ring on his finger?” However, she noted that he had not mentioned his wife in their conversation at all. But still Ryker was very good-looking with firm muscles. It was obvious that he spent a lot of time at the gym working out and taking great care of his body. And his aftershave was as delicious as his appearance.

“I never moved past his face,” Robyn responded with a shake of her head.

She laughed. “You’re bad.”

“There’s no harm in looking, Garland.”

“Well, I make it a habit to never pay attention to married men.”

“When it comes to a married man, I just look at them every now and then,” Robyn admitted. “I wouldn’t deal with one—that’s for sure.”

“I know that.” Garland knew Robyn well. She had been with her from the inception of the boutique. She was the assistant manager, and Garland loved working with her and having her on the team.

“He may be married, but I couldn’t help but notice that he couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off you.” Robyn straightened a dress that hung lopsided on a hanger.

Garland shrugged in nonchalance. “It’s not what you think. He was best friends with my brother. They were college roommates and frat brothers.”

“Oh, I had no idea.”

“Parker and Ryker had been inseparable,” Garland said. “He really took it hard when Parker passed away. I never saw him again after the funeral.”

“So this is the first time you two are reconnecting?”

“I actually ran into him in Charleston on Wednesday,” she said. “That was almost a week ago.”

“So what’s up with his mother?” Robyn inquired. “She could barely focus on shopping because she was eyeballing you so hard.”

Garland shrugged. “This is the first time I’ve ever met her. Parker had known her pretty well from spending a lot of time at their house when we were all in college. She was probably making sure I wasn’t flirting with her married son.”

Garland decided to change the conversation back to work.

“I just ordered the cutest little flower girl dresses,” Garland announced. “Wait until you see them, Robyn. The entire collection is stunning.”

“I’m glad we’re adding more dresses for weddings. They sell very well.”

“Go on and say it, Robyn. You were right.”

“I was, wasn’t I?” she responded with a chuckle. “Garland, I appreciate you so much. You actually listen to your employees.”

“So I will be expecting my world’s greatest boss mug.”

They both laughed.

Garland went to her office a few minutes later to go over sales orders. Her smile broadened over the memory of seeing Ryker again.

But an odd twinge of disappointment interrupted as she reminded herself that he was married with a family.

Chapter 3

“T he State of South Carolina released the results of an investigation into how the switch took place. The report concluded that the cause of the mishap remains a mystery. No evidence was uncovered to suggest foul play and the medical center has heightened its security in order to prevent another inadvertent baby switch...”

Garland turned off the television as soon as the story of the nurse’s deathbed confession came on yet again. It was all everyone had been talking about these past weeks. It made her feel uneasy. But she knew that Amya was her daughter, despite being born on September 8 at that same hospital during the time the nurse was believed to have mistakenly switched the babies.

She sat down on the sofa beside her napping daughter, her thin fingers tensed in her lap. Biting her lip, Garland glanced over at Amya. She refused to believe that the baby switch had anything to do with them. Garland knew without a doubt that Amya was her little girl.

She caught herself glancing uneasily at the blank television screen, her thoughts dark and disquieting. Garland tried to ignore the warning voice in her head. “I’m thinking too much,” she whispered. “That story has nothing to do with me. Besides, I would’ve heard from the hospital by now if this involved Amya.”

She inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly.

Garland leaned over and kissed her daughter’s forehead. “I love you so much,” she whispered.

“Mom...my,” Amya murmured sleepily.

She rubbed her back. “Go back to sleep, sweetie.”

The doorbell rang.

As she opened the door, she said, “Hey, what are you doing here?” to her best friend, Trina, who stood in the doorway. “I thought you were in Arizona visiting your family. C’mon in here.”

“I flew back this morning, so I thought I’d come by to see my bestie and my goddaughter.”

“I’m so glad you did,” Garland said. “I really missed you and so did Amya. She is napping in the family room. Let’s talk in here.”

They settled down in the living room.

“Have you heard about the hospital situation?” Trina inquired as she picked up one of the small decorative pillows and held it close to her chest.

Garland nodded. “Can’t help but hear about it. It’s on the news all of the time.”

“Have you been contacted by anyone from the hospital?” Trina asked.

“No,” she responded as casually as she could manage. “I don’t expect to be contacted because I know that Amya is my child.” Biting her lip, Garland looked away.

“Maybe you should have a DNA test completed anyway,” Trina suggested. “This way there will never be any doubt in your mind.”

Garland awkwardly cleared her throat. “I don’t have any doubt, Trina.”

Trina eyed her in bewilderment. “How could you not? Any parent who gave birth to a daughter on that day should be worried.”

Garland stirred uneasily in her chair. “They’re sure it was a girl?”

Trina nodded. “Yeah. There were six girls born that day within a four-hour period.”

“I feel sorry for those parents,” Garland said. “I really do, but I don’t need a DNA test to tell me what I already know. I have the child I gave birth to—she is a part of me.”

“For the record, I believe Amya is yours, as well.”

“Then let’s change the subject, please.”

“Sure,” Trina responded hesitantly.

Garland silently struggled with the uncertainty that had been aroused by their conversation.

“While I was in Arizona, I reconnected with an old boyfriend.”

“Really? How did that go?”

Trina broke into a grin. “It actually went very well.”

Garland smiled. “Is this the one from college you were telling me about?”

Her friend nodded. “Yeah. He works for a pharmaceutical company, but get this...he’s been thinking about relocating to Charleston. He has a frat brother in the area who’s offered him a nice position.”

“Wow...that’s wonderful.”

“He did mention the guy is single, Garland.”

She quickly shook her head. “I have no time for men right now. I want to focus on Amya and my shop.”

“Garland, I know that you’ve been through a lot, but you can’t lock your heart away forever.”

“I’m not,” she responded. “I just don’t have any more time for lies and games. Maybe in a few years I’ll consider dating again, but right now Amya needs me most.”

“What do you need, Garland?” Trina inquired. “You can’t live your life just for your daughter or your business.”

“I’m human, Trina,” she uttered. “Of course, I would like to spend time with someone special. But right now that’s something I can live without. Besides, I have extremely bad taste in men. Remember Noah?”

Trina burst into laughter. “I do.”

“He was supposed to steal my heart, not my flat-screen TV and my laptop.”