Rebecca Winters - The Baby Discovery

“Meg?” he called over his shoulder. “Keep the IV going. I’ve got to check on a head injury patient, then I’ll be back.” He left the room.

Under the circumstances, Meg couldn’t help but admire the kind way Dr. Tingey had tried to put the stranger at ease. He knew how unsettling it must be for Mr. Broderick whose good deed had fallen under suspicion.

“You look like you could use a cup of coffee. Can I get you some?”

His gaze was still riveted to the baby. He seemed deep in thought. “If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, I’d appreciate it.”

“Not at all. Why don’t you bring that stool in the corner over to the crib and sit down while you watch the baby. I’ll be back in a moment.”

When she returned a few minutes later, she discovered he’d followed her suggestion. In the process he’d removed the well-worn cowboy hat which had been set on the counter next to his coat. Beneath the brightness of the overhead light, his medium-cropped dark-blond hair gleamed with health.

It surprised her to realize they’d both been living in town and she’d never seen him before. Lines of character defining a face burnished by the sun added to his masculine appeal. The combination of his six-foot-three height and well-honed physique made him a rarity among the male of the species. In Tooele, she hadn’t known such a man existed…

“Here’s your coffee.”

“Thank you.” He took it from her hands. In that brief moment when he’d looked up, she’d glimpsed a flash of blue. The man was even more attractive than she’d first realized.

“Hi, Meg.” The lab technician breezed in with her cart.

“How are you, Angela?” The mother of three was always cheerful.

“Can’t complain. Word has spread around the clinic that we have a Baby Doe.” She put on sterile gloves, then placed her hands inside the holes of the crib to get started.

“Oh—isn’t he sweet!” As she began drawing blood from the baby’s heels she said, “With those cheeks, he looks like a chipmunk.”

Meg smiled. “My words exactly. He’s the most precious thing I’ve ever seen.”

But she noticed that Zane Broderick continued to wear a pained expression throughout the procedure. For someone who’d never laid eyes on the baby until he’d found him on the track, the man seemed exceptionally attached to the child.

Maybe it was because the miracle of birth had happened only hours before its discovery and the crisis had managed to tug at his parental instincts. In some men those feelings were very strong. If that was the case, Meg could well understand his reaction.

Since she’d discovered the tiny infant wrapped inside the man’s coat, the powerful drive to mother the child she would never be able to conceive had been given a real workout.

By the time the technician had finished her job, it was time for Meg to start another IV. Mr. Broderick leaned closer to the crib.

“Do you think the baby looks any better yet?”

I wish I could tell you yes, but I can’t. “He’s holding his own, which means he’s a fighter.”

“In other words, there’s a good chance he might not make it.”

His tormented tone alarmed her. “Give him a little more time. Babies are more resilient than you might imagine.”

“I wouldn’t know.” He downed the rest of his coffee.

She checked the thermostat on the warmer to be sure it was maintaining a constant temperature, then reached for his empty cup. “I’ll dispose of that.” On her way over to the waste bin, two policemen entered the room.

“Mr. Broderick? If you’ll come with me.”

The stranger’s jaw hardened. Meg shared in his frustration as he got up from the stool and was forced to follow one of the officers out the door. The other officer placed the cotton blanket and sheepskin parka in bags for the forensics lab to examine.

Putting on sterile gloves, Meg walked back to the crib. Her heart ached for this baby who’d been deprived of his mother and desperately needed to be held. She reached inside the holes and grasped his tiny hands, trying to infuse him with all the love she would have poured out on her own baby. The one she would never have…

“You’re the sweetest boy I’ve ever seen. So strong and brave. The man who saved you thinks you are, too. He’ll be back. You’re not alone in the world, little precious.”

“Am I allowed to make a phone call now?” Zane demanded in suppressed anger, rolling down his shirt-sleeve over the gauze the technician had taped to his inner elbow.

The officer nodded. “Of course. Thanks for cooperating. We’ll get your coat back to you within twenty-four hours.”

After the policeman and technician had left the emergency room cubicle, Zane pulled out his cell phone. First he called Martin. Following the brief explanation, he asked his assistant to inform the rest of the crew that the test run for tomorrow needed to be postponed for a couple of days. He’d get back to him later.

As soon as they’d said goodbye, he rang Dominic Giraud at his apartment in Laramie, Wyoming. If he didn’t answer, then Zane would phone Alik Jarman who lived nearby. Both men were his best friends. Together the three of them were making the maglev project a reality.

This test was the critical one. He knew they’d be upset when they heard it had to be put off for another day or two, but circumst—

“Hello?”

“Hannah?” Dom’s wife was a sweetheart.

“Zane! Dominic and Alik were just talking about you.”

“Are they still there?”

“Yes.”

“Put them both on, will you? I’ve got something important to tell them.”

“Of course. Just a minute.”

He could hear happy sounds in the background. In his mind’s eye he pictured the small apartment bulging at the seams with both couples and their children assembled in the front room. At the odd time like this, Zane experienced a disquieting emptiness he didn’t like to acknowledge, not when his bachelor status had served him perfectly well all these years.

“Mon vieux—” His French friend often used the endearment in addressing him and Alik. Right now Zane felt like he was an old man. “Is everything ready for tomorrow?”

“We’ve been watching the weather channel,” Alik broke in on the other line. “You’re being blasted with snow right now. Exactly what we wanted for the test run in the morning!”

Zane gripped the phone a little tighter. “I’m afraid the test has to be postponed. That’s why I’m calling.”

After a slight pause, “What happened?” The disappointment in Dom’s voice was tangible.

“It has nothing to do with the train’s mechanics.”

“Then there’s something wrong with you,” Alik surmised, his tone full of concern.

He sucked in his breath. “You’re not going to believe this, but the track has been taped off as a crime scene.”

“What?” both men interjected at the same time.

“That’s right. At the moment I’m the chief suspect in an attempted murder case. As we speak, I’m in the ER in Tooele where I’ve just been fingerprinted by the police. They took a blood sample. I’ve been warned not to leave town until further notice. Oh yes, they’ll give me back my parka after the crime lab has examined it.”

“It sounds like you need an attorney. Alik and I will phone New York as soon as we hang up.”

Thank God for choice friends.

“I appreciate the backing, you two. If it comes to that, I’ll let you know. But this is an entirely different situation than you’re imagining. Just hear me out.”

For the next little while Zane told them everything that had happened. “You should have seen the little guy with only a thin cotton blanket for protection in that blizzard. An animal could have come along. If we’d done that test tomorrow—” Zane was so choked up, he couldn’t talk.