When Hearts Collide - By James, Kendra Page 0,12

don’t need him waking up or the child having a tantrum.”

“Gracie, how about we let Daddy sleep?”

The child yawned, then tucked her head under Molly’s chin. “Okay. I’m tired, too.” She yawned and her eyes drifted shut. Molly took another glance at the monitor. Pearce seemed stable. She’d come back and check on him tomorrow. That was, after she found a place to rest her own head for the night.

“Here are his belongings.” The nurse handed her a clear plastic clothing bag. “They had to cut his clothes off in the emergency department. Lots of blood on them.” She paused. “But we have to give you everything. His wallet and keys are tucked in his shoes. The umbrella is in bad shape. They broke it. Won’t be much use.”

Molly grabbed the bag with her free hand—the one that wasn’t clutching Gracie to her chest. No wonder they said mothers needed another pair of arms.

Perched on the edge of a bench in the waiting room, she shifted the child and pulled the plastic bag up beside her. Rifling through it, she tugged out a gleaming black leather shoe. A leather wallet and car keys were stuffed inside. The wallet held his driver’s license, along with the routine jailbird picture.

A black thought crossed her mind. How good would she look when the police took her picture for forging official documents? She shuddered as an icy wave washed down her spine. Molly shook it away and continued searching. She needed something with an address and phone number on it. The hospital should have done it, but they assumed she was his wife and everyone was too busy to talk to her.

Why hadn’t she objected to their assumptions? Was it because of Gracie, or was she savoring the fantasy of being a wife and mother? Molly gave herself a quick shake. As soon as she found the child’s mother, or Pearce woke up, it would all be straightened around. She grabbed his wallet and searched through the soft leather.

There were several credit cards. She left them in their slots. Opening the back slit, she pulled out a wad of bills. Well, the man didn’t have to worry about finding a bank machine any time soon. Molly slid the money back into the wallet. She wasn’t going to add theft to forgery.

She held up the driver’s license with his name and address. There was also a business card with a matching address and a phone number. The same number Molly had called earlier and heard Pearce Taylor’s voice. She shoved everything back into the shoe. He’s a lawyer. Good, after signing all those forms, I might need one.

Chapter 3

Well, at least I have an address. That’s a start. Now, I just need to find out how to get there and drop off the child.

Molly prayed someone would hear the doorbell. She’d slept through Molly’s multiple calls. Wasn’t somebody concerned about their whereabouts? They should be waiting by the phone, worried, calling the police to find out where they were.

She searched for someone to ask for directions. It was 2:30, and short-staffed, like all hospital nightshifts, only a skeleton staff remained visible. The nurses, busy with patients, had handed over the car seat, then rushed away. There’s always the security guard. Just need to find out where his office is. Her sandals echoed on the tiled floor as she made her way down the deserted hallways.

Gracie’s sleeping body was heavy, and Molly shifted her position several times. Thankfully the child was exhausted and would merely let out a moan, then curl her head back into Molly’s shoulder. Her damp blond curls had pasted themselves to her neck, and Molly wanted to wipe them away, but between holding the man’s belongings and the car seat in one hand, and securing the child to her with her other, she didn’t have a spare hand. Thank heavens she wasn’t a mother. She didn’t know how she’d cope. Her brief babysitting sessions hadn’t prepared her for this. Hadn’t she passed a security guard’s office on the way in?

Molly tried to recall where she’d seen it. She headed down another hallway. It didn’t look familiar, but it did lead out of the emergency department. Why didn’t they have signs? She was tired and grumpy. All she wanted to do was sleep. Ahead of her, she saw a double-paned glass window in the wall. Finally, the security office.

A man, on the far side of fifty, his gray hair as rumpled as