Peggy Moreland - A Sparkle In The Cowboy's Eyes

Parking in front of the long, ranch-style house, she crossed to the porch and rang the bell. From the other side of the door, she could hear the drone of a television set... and the plaintive cry of the baby. She waited, her nerves winding tighter and tighter with each passing moment, with each new heartbreaking sob.

She punched the bell a second time. Then, unable to stand the sound of the baby’s crying, tried the door and found it open. She stepped inside. “Mrs. Baker? John Lee?”

She listened but heard nothing but the baby’s persistent cry. Had something happened to the housekeeper? Was the baby alone and in pain? With panic gripping her chest, Merideth ran down the hall, following the crying sounds to the den.

There she found a playpen in the center of the room and inside it Cassie stood on wobbly legs, her fingers knotted in the playpen’s mesh sides. She stood just as she had the last time Merideth had seen her. Dressed in nothing but a fruit-stained T-shirt and a sagging diaper, she turned her face toward Merideth. Alligator-sized tears ran down her face.

Merideth glanced frantically around, looking for some sign of John Lee or Mrs. Baker, hoping they would hear the baby’s cries and would come and see to her needs. But no one came. There wasn’t a sound in the house other than that of canned laughter from a television set in another room. Merideth swallowed the fear that rose as she turned her gaze back to Cassie.

Tears burned her throat. She’d made a mistake, she told herself. She shouldn’t have come. She couldn’t bear this.

She started to turn away, to leave before anyone saw her, but just as she did, the baby swayed, losing her balance, then sat down hard on the floor of the playpen. Her frustrated wails grew louder.

Instinctively, Merideth took a step toward her, her hands outstretched, reaching for her...then she stopped, curling her hands into fists against her lips. She couldn’t pick her up. She couldn’t touch her. She just couldn’t.

As if Cassie sensed Merideth’s inability to rescue her, she flopped over on her tummy and buried her face in the blanket beneath her, sobbing miserably.

Swallowing hard, Merideth quickly closed the distance between them and stooped to pick her up. Cassie grabbed at Merideth’s hair, tangling the fingers of one hand there, while she fisted her other hand in Merideth’s blouse. Straightening, Merideth held her out in front of her.

Emotion rose in her throat as she met the infant’s gaze. “Shhh,” she whispered, blinded by her own tears. “Please don’t cry.” But Cassie only wailed louder. With her heart threatening to split wide open, Merideth drew a deep breath and slowly drew her to her breasts. The frantic beat of the baby’s heart throbbed against her own.

She closed her eyes, trying to remain unaffected, but the baby’s warmth seeped through her blouse and slowly wound itself around her heart. Merideth couldn’t hold back the tide of grief that rose inside her.

Cupping the back of the baby’s head, she tucked it beneath her chin and pressed her lips to the cap of silky hair there. Inhaling deeply, she filled her senses with scents of baby powder, milk and innocence.

“There, there,” she soothed as she instinctively began to sway. “No need to cry. Merideth’s got you.”

A hiccupy sigh reverberated against Merideth’s chest, then Cassie leaned back and looked up at her. Tears swam in eyes as blue as John Lee’s. She peered up at Merideth innocently, yet with a look of such expectancy and hopefulness, that Merideth felt as if the child had reached in and touched her heart.

Tears blurred her vision as she tried to focus on the baby’s sweet face. How could she have ever been so heartless, she asked herself, so selfish as to run from this precious child?

“What’s the matter, sweetheart?” she murmured sympathetically as she swiped tears from her own eyes. “Are you wet? Do you need your diaper changed?” In answer, Cassie’s lower lip began to quiver. Merideth tested the diaper. “You are wet,” she confirmed. “And I’ll bet you’re hungry, too.” She glanced around. “Where is Mrs. Baker?” she asked, beginning to frown. “She should be taking care of you.”

“C, you fool. Ask for a C!”

Merideth turned toward the sound and anger slowly rose to warm her cheeks. “The irresponsible twit,” she muttered to the baby. “Watching television and leaving you alone in here and all by yourself.” Furious now, she marched in the direction of the swinging door that separated the kitchen from the den. Slapping a palm against it, she stepped into the kitchen, then stopped, shifting Cassie to her hip while the door rocked on its hinges behind her.

Just as she’d expected, she found Mrs. Baker standing at the kitchen’s center island, her hands white with flour, her eyes glued to a television set on the counter opposite her. Pursing her lips, Merideth marched across the room and with an angry stab of her finger, punched the power button. The screen went black, the room silent.

Mrs. Baker turned from the screen to Merideth, her eyes widening in surprise when she saw Meredith, obviously unaware of her presence before that moment. “What do you think you’re doing?” she blustered indignantly.

“Turning off the television.”

Mrs. Baker narrowed her eyes suspiciously, shifting her gaze from Merideth to the baby and back again. “How did you get in here?”

Cassie started to cry again and Merideth bounced her on her hip, trying to quiet her. “I walked right in the front door, the same as any kidnapper or murderer could do.”

Her expression turning sour, the housekeeper gathered her apron in her hands and wiped the flour from them. “And what gives you the right to march into a private home unannounced?”

“I rang the bell twice, but you were so engrossed in Vanna White flipping letters,” she said with a dramatic wave of her hand toward the television set, “that I guess you didn’t hear.”

“An unlocked door gives you no right to just barge in.” She shook a finger at Merideth. “John Lee’ll hear about this, I assure you.”

“No need. I’ll tell him myself. And while I’m at it, I’ll tell him how you were watching television and ignoring the baby’s needs.”

Mrs. Baker’s mouth dropped open. “I was not ignoring the baby!”

“You most certainly were! She was in the den crying her heart out. I could hear the poor thing all the way from the front porch.”

At that moment, the back door swung open, and John Lee stepped into the kitchen. In the midst of dragging off his hat, he froze when he saw Merideth holding the baby.

“What are you doing here?” he asked in surprise as he tossed his hat onto the counter top.

“That’s exactly what I was trying to get out of her.” Mrs. Baker huffed and shot an accusing look at Merideth.

Ignoring her, Merideth turned on John Lee, having to raise her voice to be heard over Cassie’s crying. “This woman is totally irresponsible. When I arrived, Cassie was in the den in her playpen screaming her lungs out while she—” she pointed an accusing finger at Mrs. Baker “—was watching TV in the kitchen. She is incompetent and lazy and I want her fired immediately!”

Seeing the color rise on his housekeeper’s face, John Lee quickly crossed the room and took Merideth by the elbow. “Excuse us for a minute, Mrs. Baker,” he said apologetically, as he propelled Merideth toward the swinging door. “I’ll take care of this.”

Merideth dug in her heels, but John Lee shoved her kicking and fussing ahead of him. Once in the den, he spun her around to face him. “What in the hell do you think you’re doing?” he whispered angrily. “Do you realize how hard it is to get good help these days?”