Montana Instant Family by Charlotte Maclay

Author:Charlotte Maclay
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2021-12-07T13:24:22+00:00

Chapter 14

“Looks like Becky may have a future as a gymnast.”

Laura started at the sound of Eric’s voice. She hadn’t heard him come in and, as usual, her heart responded with a jolt of pleasure to have him home.

“I don’t know,” she said. “She gets such terrible giggles, we may be looking at a circus clown instead.”

Sitting on the couch nearby, he extended his hands for the baby. “I think I’d rather have her be daddy’s little-stay-at-home girl.”

Laura passed Becky to him, smiling as he settled the baby in the crook of his arm like the experienced daddy he’d become. She rolled to her feet, wincing a little at a niggling pain in her side.

“I’ve got bad news for you, Eric. I intend to raise two independent young ladies who’ll make their own decisions about their future.”

He chuckled. “Maybe so, but they’ll always come home to Daddy, won’t you, Tinkerbell?” The baby blew a juicy bubble in response.

Home to both of us, Laura wanted to say but swallowed the words that would give away too much of her heart.

Picking up Mandy from her playpen, Laura sat down across from Eric, jiggling the baby on her knees. “Were you able to find out anything about Ungar today?”

“I was. And about his phony attorney, too.”

“Phony?”

“As much a crook as Ungar, which lends a whole lot of credence to my theory their whole deal is a scam.”

She exhaled in relief, brushing a quick kiss to Mandy’s forehead. “Thank heavens. But what about Ungar?”

“For a time he had a cell mate named Christopher Barry. He was a young guy, not much older than Amy, with a big mouth and a violent temper. He got into a brawl a couple of months after he was sent to state prison. Somebody slipped a homemade shiv between his ribs.”

Laura gasped. “Someone killed him?”

“Right. I’m thinking if this Christopher guy was Amy’s boyfriend, he might have told Ungar about her. The details of their relationship. At least enough to fill in some blanks on that affidavit he gave us.”

“So if he was their father, he’s dead now. He’ll never be a part of their lives?”

“That’s what I’m thinking.”

She ran her hand over the blond crown of Mandy’s head. “I’m not sure how to react. It’s terrible, in a way, that the girls will never know their father. But he was a violent man and a criminal. I can’t feel badly that he’ll never have any influence over them.”

“If I’m guessing right and Christopher Barry was their father. Not Ungar.”

“We may never know, will we?”

“Maybe it’s better that way, for us and the girls.”

“Almost anything would be better than finding out Ungar is their biological father.” Holding Mandy with one hand, she rubbed at her side again. She’d been achy all day, as though she was coming down with something. Her immune system was probably on the fritz due to too much stress in her life.

“I talked to the police in Helena, too, but there was no record of a domestic dispute call regarding Amy.

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