The Baby Beneath the Mistletoe by Marie Ferrarella

Author:Marie Ferrarella
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2011-06-07T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

Kicking off her shoes as she walked into her kitchen, Mikky pressed number three on the automatic dialer of her portable telephone. She shifted the receiver from one hand to the other as she shrugged out of her denim jacket, listening to the ringing on the other end.

“Narcotics, Detective Rozanski.”

Thad’s voice always sounded deeper over the telephone. At times it was hard to reconcile that deep voice with the little boy who’d always begged her to leave the light on because he was afraid of the dark. Now he was six foot four, and the dark was afraid of him, she thought with a smile.

“Hi, Thad, it’s Mikky. Have you found anything out for me yet?” She undid the buttons of her shirt quickly, eyeing the bathroom in the distance. If she didn’t take a shower soon, she was going to leap out of her skin.

There was a patient sigh on the other end. “Mikky, you only called me yesterday. I’m good, but I’m not that good.”

She draped the shirt over the back of the sofa. “I always said that about you, little brother.”

He laughed and then paused, debating getting into a futile conflict. But he had to try.

“Mikky—”

She straightened, alert. She’d thought long and hard before turning to Thad with this. Marino had trusted her with a secret. For the best of reasons, she’d bent that trust. But she wasn’t about to break it.

“I know that tone, Thad.” Her voice grew serious. “This is strictly off the record, do you understand? We’re not even having this conversation.”

“And while we’re not having this conversation, do you want to tell me again why this guy hasn’t come forward with the baby?”

She hadn’t gone into it with him last night, asking only that he trust her and look into the matter for her. She appealed now to the good-hearted, sunny-faced boy she helped raise. For a good chunk of their lives, she’d been more his mother than his sister, even though she was only eleven months older.

“He’s been through a lot, Thad. His wife and son were killed in a car crash a year ago. Drunk teenager, out joyriding. Marino didn’t cope very well with the loss.” Unsnapping her beige jeans, she stepped out of them. “I gather that this is the first signs of being human he’s exhibited since the accident. He wants to help.” Mikky picked up her jeans and sent them to join her shirt on the back of the sofa. “He really thinks that the mother will show up to take the baby back.”

Thad could understand the motive, but it was still against his better judgment. “Abandonment’s a crime, Milk.”

“‘The quality of mercy is not strained, it fall—’”

“Don’t quote Shakespeare at me, Mik, just promise me that this isn’t going to somehow come back to haunt me. I really like being a cop.”

She knew that It was all he’d ever wanted to be. She wasn’t making the request of him lightly. “I promise.”

“I feel better already,” he quipped dryly.

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