Jacqueline Diamond - Diagnosis - Expecting Boss's Baby

Ahead of them, an older woman at a booth waved vigorously toward them. “Look who’s here!” she called.

Pink hair floated around the woman’s head, and despite the warmth of the day, she wore a paisley shawl over a long, shapeless dress. Her booth was hung with wind chimes, while the counter overflowed with stuffed dolls.

Behind the booth, in a chaise longue, reclined an equally eccentric-looking man. His salt-and-pepper hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and the cutoff sleeves of his T-shirt revealed an eye-catching series of tattoos.

Beside him, Patrick felt Natalie grow tense. Who were these people? he wondered.

The woman gestured them toward her. Natalie released a sigh. “Dr. Barr,” she said as she led him forward, “I’d like you to meet my mother.”

As Natalie made introductions, she hoped her unpredictable mother wouldn’t say anything offensive. Angie sometimes peppered her speech with four-letter words, and her attitudes toward everything from money to the law were anything but conventional.

Angie seemed too impressed by Patrick to fire off any wild opinions, though, and so did her longtime boyfriend. Although a former biker and drug abuser, Clovis had a good heart.

Only a surprised blink revealed Patrick’s reaction to her odd-looking mother. Otherwise, he was the soul of courtesy. Not that Natalie expected anything less from her diplomatic boss.

“Did you make these yourself?” he asked Angie, examining one of the dolls. “They’re delightful.”

“She makes everything except the wind chimes,” said Clovis. “I make those.”

“You’re both very talented,” Patrick said. “I especially like the dolls’ expressions.” They were appealing, Natalie reflected. “I’d like to buy one for my sister.”

“You think it’s her style?” Natalie had seen the ultramodern home Bernie and her ad-exec husband owned. She couldn’t picture the rustic doll fitting in.

“She collects handmade dolls,” Patrick explained. “She calls it her secret passion. I usually have a hard time picking out gifts, so I’d better buy one now.”

The sight of the doll in his grip reminded Natalie of the baby inside her, and she felt a rush of longing to see him hold their child with this same tenderness. Maybe it would happen. And maybe cows would fly.

“I like your boss,” Angie announced. “You should bring him over for dinner sometime.”

“Sure. He’d be welcome.” Clovis rolled himself a cigarette, using tobacco from a pouch.

Angie’s makeshift cooking was the subject of good-humored family jokes, especially about the Thanksgiving when she’d served her guests frozen turkey dinners with made-from-a-mix macaroni and cheese on the side. Patrick would be a good sport, Natalie thought, but she wasn’t sure she wanted him to know her relatives quite that intimately.

“I’ll get back to you on that, Mom,” she said.

Patrick took a couple of dolls into the direct sunlight to make his choice. Other shoppers drifted past, and then a well-dressed man stopped to eye Clovis disapprovingly.

From his high forehead to his sour expression, he was almost a dead ringer for Dr. Sorrell. A few more wrinkles and a small scar on his cheek distinguished Police Chief Finn Sorrell.

“What’s in that cigarette?” he demanded.

“Tobacky,” Clovis drawled. “Want a drag, Chief?” He held out the partly smoked stick.

“I’ve got half a mind to take that in for evaluation,” the chief said. “I guess you wouldn’t be stupid enough to smoke something illegal in public, though.”

“If you’re not interested in shopping, maybe you should go make yourself useful somewhere else, Chief.” Angie had never been known to hold her tongue, even around agents of the law. And unfortunately her family had had its share of brushes with Chief Sorrell’s department.

While none of the family had committed any major illegal acts, there’d been several run-ins, including domestic quarrels that got out of hand. The police chief obviously hadn’t forgotten.

He regarded Natalie with a curled lip. “Helping your mom earn a living?” he asked. “I didn’t figure you’d last long at that hospital job.”

She couldn’t believe his nerve. “I’ve been working there nearly six years,” she said. “I’ve had two promotions in title and none-of-your-business how many raises.”

Angie bristled. “You’ve got no call to insult my daughter.”

“That wasn’t an insult, merely an observation.” Abruptly the smug expression vanished from Finn’s face. “Oh, hello, Patrick. I didn’t see you there.”

“How are you, Finn?” The doctor, who apparently hadn’t heard the conversation, returned one of the dolls and took out his wallet. In his expensive suit and tie, he made a decided contrast to the couple behind the booth.

“What brings you here?” the chief asked.

“My sister’s going to love this doll,” Patrick said by way of an answer. “Angie, we ought to start carrying your work at the gift shop. Could you put the Doctors Circle logo on the dolls’ clothing?”

“Sure thing.” Angie enclosed the doll in a sheet of recycled Christmas wrapping paper. “I’ll bring some over when they’re ready.” She handed him a business card. “You can give that to the head of the gift shop, if you don’t mind.”

“I’ll do that. I’m sure she’ll love them.”

Natalie prayed that the chief wouldn’t say anything to Patrick about her past. She didn’t know whether her boss had ever gone back and read her job application, but if he had, he knew that when asked whether she’d ever been arrested, she’d answered no.

The truth was, she’d spent one night in Juvenile Hall after being swept up along with some misbehaving friends. Also, during her divorce, a drunken, angry Ralph had once claimed she’d stolen his car. The police had booked her before discovering it was merely a family dispute.

The incidents seemed so minor she didn’t figure they counted. After all, she’d been innocent both times. Too bad her arrest record wasn’t the only item Natalie had lied about on the form.

To her relief, Finn Sorrell departed with no further unpleasant remarks. It was unfortunate that he had such a bad attitude toward her family, since the police department generally did a fine job in Serene Beach.

“I’m afraid we have to be leaving,” Patrick said. “I’m due at the yacht club in twenty minutes.”

“Oh!” Natalie didn’t want to make him late for the luncheon. “We’d better hurry.”

After exchanging farewells with her mother and Clovis, the two of them headed for his car. It was too late to mention her pregnancy now even if she’d wanted to. She could hardly drop such a bombshell and then send Patrick on his way.

Besides, the encounter with Chief Sorrell had stirred Natalie’s insecurities. She hoped Amy, with her counseling expertise, could help her figure out what to do.

“YOU CAN’T TELL anybody I’m pregnant,” said Natalie, who’d burst out with her story the moment she arrived and found Amy by the pool. Fortunately the other condominium dwellers must have preferred the beach today, leaving the two women with the place to themselves.

“Of course not! I’d never betray a confidence.” Her friend began to dry herself with rough thoroughness. She’d completed a brisk swim just as Natalie joined her, and had been so fascinated by the story that she’d stood there dripping while she listened. “Who’s the father? Anybody I know?”

Although she’d intended to spill everything, Natalie found that she couldn’t. For one thing, telling Amy might put her in a difficult position, since Patrick was indirectly her boss, too. For another, it was simply too private a matter to share. “I’d rather not say. Sorry.”