them up first thing in the morning and drop them off at Dolan’s.”
“Thanks, Justin. You’re an angel.”
“I hope you still feel that way when this is all over.”
“No matter what happens, I won’t blame you. I promise.”
“I’ll see you in the morning.”
After she’d hung up, Sharon Lynn went in to check on the baby and stood for a long time just watching her sleep. She was so innocent and trusting and yet already in her young life, she had been betrayed in the cruelest way of all. Was she aware of that on some level? Would it affect her for the rest of her life? Or did she only know that there was someone now keeping her warm and fed and safe? She certainly seemed to be sleeping peacefully enough.
As the night wore on, Sharon Lynn envied her that. She tossed and turned, knowing that the day ahead would be chaotic, that it would be filled with unanswerable questions and maybe with heartwrenching loss. The weather had saved her from the visitors and the questions all weekend, but she wouldn’t be so lucky come morning. It wasn’t in the Adams genes to let something like this pass unnoticed.
Sure enough, not only was Justin on the doorstep when she arrived at Dolan’s, but her mother and grandmother were there right on his heels. Her aunts and her cousins followed at a head-spinning clip.
Thanks to Lizzy’s contributions, the baby was settled into a portable crib behind the lunch counter where every single Adams could ooh and aah over her, along with half the town. By noon Sharon Lynn was so sick of advice, so tired of warnings about getting attached that she was ready to scream. She would have thrown everyone out and locked the doors, but Dolan’s was a business and the novelty of an abandoned baby on the premises had the lunch counter busier than it had been in weeks.
By two, things had finally settled down again. Patsy Driscoll had gone home after pocketing more tips than she usually did in a week. Sharon Lynn finally had a chance to hold the baby herself.
“You charmed the socks off of them,” she informed the gurgling child. “Little wonder. You’re every bit as cute as any Adams baby I’ve ever seen and, believe me, there are a lot of them.”
“Hey, are you maligning my descendants?” Grandpa Harlan inquired as he slid onto a stool next to her, his gaze locked on the baby.
Sharon Lynn sighed. “I should have known you wouldn’t be able to resist coming into town to see her for yourself.”
“Why should I be the only one left out?” he inquired.
“Because she’s a baby, not a circus sideshow.”
“You upset because everyone’s interested or because they’re all offering up advice you don’t want to hear?”
Of course, he would see that, she thought. Her grandfather was the wisest man she knew. She gazed into his bright blue eyes and saw the concern there.
“I know what I’m letting myself in for,” she assured him.
“I’m sure you do,” he agreed. “Doesn’t mean we can’t worry about you.”
“Do you intend to add in your two cents?”
He grinned. “Not if you’ll let me hold her, while you go pour me a cup of real coffee.”
Amused by his eagerness, Sharon Lynn relinquished the baby gladly enough, but she poured decaf into the cup she handed him. Her grandfather scowled.
“You, too?”
“I take my marching orders from a higher authority.”
“Who’s that?” he demanded indignantly.
“Janet.”
“Whatever happened to the days when an old man was respected?”
“We do respect you and we love you. That’s why we want you to stick around. Now, drink the decaf. It tastes just as good as the high-octane stuff.”
“If taste were all that mattered, there wouldn’t be two kinds. I want a little kick.”
“Well, you won’t get it here and that’s that.”
“Stubborn brat.”
“Stubborn old man.”
He grinned. “If you’re calling me names, I guess your spunk is back. Might’s well go along home and find something else to worry about.”
“Might’s well,” she agreed. “I really am okay, Grandpa Harlan.”
He lifted the baby above his head until she giggled, then brought her down for a kiss before handing her back to Sharon Lynn. He headed for the door, then turned back.
“By the way, Cord’s working out real good at White Pines. Your daddy’s kept him hopping and from what I hear, Cord is up to it.”
“He got the job, then? I’d wondered.”
Surprise registered on his face. “You haven’t talked to him?”
“Not since Friday night.”
“Interesting,” he said thoughtfully. “Well,