Judy Christenberry - Who's The Daddy?

All three looked away.

“Why did Prescott and Adrian come with you to pick me up instead of my mother?” Caroline suddenly asked, struck by the presence of these men rather than family members.

“Friday is Save the Whales day,” her father muttered.

“I beg your pardon?”

Adrian leaned forward to explain. “Your mother is quite involved in the local charities. On Fridays, she goes to the meeting for saving the whales.”

Caroline remembered a curious remark from the day before. “And one of her charities is for unwed mothers?”

“Yes,” her father snapped.

Caroline asked no more questions. Not yet.

Her father escorted her into the house and introduced her to the housekeeper, Mrs. Lamb, and then left for the office, accompanied by Prescott and Adrian.

“Welcome home, Caroline. Are you feeling all right?”

“I’m still a little shaky. If you’ll show me to my room, I’ll lie down for a while.”

“Why, honey, there’s no need to be formal!” the woman said with a laugh that sent a shooting pain through Caroline’s head. “You know better’n me where your room is.”

Her patience was wearing thin. Amnesia might play a large role in a lot of jokes, but she wasn’t finding it funny. “Mrs. Lamb, I have amnesia. I don’t remember ever seeing this house before.”

“Oh, my stars. Of course, Caroline. You just come this way. Anything you want to know, you just ask me.”

If her head weren’t splitting into a chasm the size of the Grand Canyon, she might have taken the woman up on the offer. Later. She only had one question at the moment.

“If I want to invite someone to dinner, is that all right?”

“Of course it is. Just tell me when and how many.”

Caroline took a deep breath before she clarified her request. “I meant if I wanted to have a guest for dinner and—and not dine with the family.”

“Oh, of course, you want something romanticlike? No problem. It’s nice out at night right now. I could set up a table for two on the patio. You’d be all alone there.”

“That would be perfect. Thank you, Mrs. Lamb. I’ll let you know when.”

“Sure enough. I’m just having a little trouble with you being so formal and all. When you wanted something real special from me, you always used to call me Lambie.” The woman smiled with a warmth that struck Caroline as the kindest she’d seen since she awoke a lost person.

She reached out and touched Mrs. Lamb’s arm. “I’m sorry. I’m sure I’ll remember everything soon. If you’ll just be patient.”

“Of course I will. I’m just glad you weren’t hurt bad.”

“Thank you.”

She followed the housekeeper up a wide staircase, down a long hall to the last door on the right.

“Your room looks out over the pool.”

She pushed open the door and Caroline stepped into the room. She stared around her, her eyes wide. “Who decorated it?”

“Why, you did, Caroline, about two years ago. You don’t remember? Oh, my stars, what a silly question. Forgive me, child. Now look, here’s the phone and if you want anything, you just pick it up and press this button. Okay? I’ll be in the kitchen.” With a flush of embarrassment on her cheeks, Mrs. Lamb fled the room.

Though she moved about the room, searching for clues to who Caroline Adkins might be, she also recognized a sense of contentment gradually filling her. It felt as if she had finally found a sanctuary from the maze her life had become.

Maybe it’s all the blue. I’ve always been partial to blue. She had taken several more steps before she realized she’d remembered something else about herself. Yes, she’d always liked blues. And bright colors.

With a sigh she pulled back the coverlet on the king-size bed and sank down amid a huge collection of pillows. She’d worry about who she was, what she’d done, later. Now, she needed to rest her aching head.

Caroline awoke several hours later, consciousness gradually returning. But not her memory. She let her gaze sweep the room, looking for clues to who she really was. With a sigh, she sat up.

The rest had given her the energy to indulge her curiosity a little more. After washing her face in the luxurious connecting bath, she returned to the bedroom and opened the closet door.

A ripple of pleasure ran through her as she examined the rows of clothes hung neatly in the large closet. My, I have great taste…and expensive, too. She recognized designer names on many of the dresses.

Since she couldn’t remember buying or wearing any of the outfits, it was like having an entire new wardrobe. She wouldn’t have to shop for months. Wrong.

How could she forget the baby?

And the changes that would occur in the next few months. She groaned. Even the clothes she was wearing were a little snug, uncomfortably so. Before too long, they wouldn’t fit her at all, and she’d have to start shopping all over again.

Not necessarily an unhappy thought, she realized with a grin. What woman didn’t enjoy a little shopping? Sliding her hands into the pockets of her navy slacks, she felt the card Max Daniels had given her.

Resolution filled her. She had something more important than shopping to do right now. It was time to take back her life. And she would start with Max Daniels. She ignored the thought that she was starting with him because she wanted him to be the father of her child. She had to start somewhere.

She crossed the room to the telephone.

“Daniels Vacation Homes.”

Caroline frowned at the sexy female voice that answered the phone. “I’m calling Max Daniels.”

“Max is out of the office at the moment. May I take a message?”

“This is Caroline Adkins. I need to—”

“He just came in. One moment, please.”

“Caroline?”

She released a sigh at the sound of his voice. It was as if she’d feared she wouldn’t find him again. With no memory to support their relationship, she only had those few minutes at the hospital.

“Hi, Max. I—I wanted to invite you to dinner.”

The silence that followed her request left a hollow feeling in her stomach.

“To dinner?” he finally asked.

“Yes.” When he said nothing else, she asked, “Is that an odd request? Do you not eat?”

“Of course I eat, but you never even admitted you had family in the area, much less offered to introduce me.” There was an antagonism in his voice.

“Look, I don’t remember what I did…or why. I’m just trying to figure out what happened. I thought I’d start with you. If you don’t want to talk to me, then say so.” She could match his reluctance any day, she assured herself. Especially if she didn’t think about him.

“Of course I want to talk to you. I want to know what happened as much as you do. And whether the baby is mine.”

The doubt in his voice was like a blow. “You sounded a lot surer of that fact yesterday.”

“That’s before I realized I was one of a crowd.”

Even as anger filled her, it was tempered by understanding. “It came as a shock to me, too.” When he said nothing else, she asked, “Did I ever mention anyone else?”

“No. Like I said, I thought you had recently moved here. That you knew no one.”

This discussion was going nowhere. She returned to her original question. “Will you come to dinner? I need to ask you a lot of questions.” She didn’t intend to plead, but she recognized a hint of persuasiveness in her voice.

“Tell me when.”

“Tonight?”

“I can’t. I’ve already made an appointment with prospective clients.”

He could’ve sounded a little unhappy that he couldn’t come right away. “Tomorrow night?”

Letting out a gusty sigh, he agreed. “What time?”