Found: One Secret Baby by Nancy Holland

Author:Nancy Holland [Holland, Nancy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780008127381
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2016-07-06T21:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

Morgan joined in the man’s laughter while Rosalie pretended to be absorbed in the tricky task of tying the balloons to the stroller—Joey’s to the front, where he could see it, hers to the handle.

Once that was done they joined the flow of parents and children, and an occasional young couple with stars in their eyes, through the gate to the zoo.

Joey was as entranced by the crowds of people and other toddlers in strollers as he was by the animals. Morgan used the map to guide them to the larger, easily seen, species Joey was most likely to recognize.

The crowd around the elephants proved too dense to move through, so Morgan unclicked Joey from the stroller before Rosalie realized what he was doing, and swung the child up to his shoulders. Joey giggled and bounced up and down on his perch, more thrilled to be way up high than at the sight of the huge, gray beasts.

They moved on to the lion exhibit with him still on Morgan’s shoulders. Joey loved the ride, but when one of the lions gave a huge roar for the audience, he screeched and reached for Rosalie. She took the familiar weight from Morgan and swung Joey a few times side to side like a baby to calm him before she put him back in the stroller.

Morgan glanced at his watch. He had on a red designer polo shirt today with sharply creased chinos that put Rosalie’s unironed black trousers and flowered blouse to shame.

“Lunchtime?” he asked her with a nod toward Joey, who looked as if he was deciding whether to fuss or not.

“Good plan.”

“Shall we try the Children’s Zoo after lunch?” Morgan asked while they waited in line.

Rosalie shook her head. “He’ll need a nap after all the excitement.”

“We’ll do the Children’s Zoo next time.”

She started to protest that there wouldn’t be a next time, but they’d reached the front of the line and Morgan had turned his attention to ordering their meal.

She told him what she wanted and guided Joey’s stroller to a table near the windows.

When Morgan joined them a few minutes later, she was shocked to see what he’d bought for Joey.

“A hot dog! He might choke.”

“I thought you could take it out of the bun and he’d be able to hold it and chew on it.”

“They used to think it was okay, but not anymore. Bites of hot dog are just the right size to get caught in a toddler’s throat. Besides they’re full of fat and …”

“If a guy’s uncle can’t spoil him, who can?” Morgan gave her a heart-stopping grin.

“Step-uncle,” she corrected, to deflect it.

Instead of handing her the hot dog, he unwrapped it, took the meat out of the bun, and carefully cut the sausage into small pieces with the white plastic knife that came with the food.

Once he had a few pieces cut, he set them on a napkin in front of Joey, who sniffed the unfamiliar food for a moment before he took an experimental bite.

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