Baby In My Arms

  Table of Contents

  Cover Page

  Excerpt

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Books by Madeline Harper

  Title Page

  Dedication

  CAST OF CHARACTERS

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Copyright

  She knew nothing about him…

  Ben leaned back in his chair and looked at Kate. “Talk to me, Kate. There’s something on your mind.”

  He was on her mind, but what she was thinking kept getting mixed up with what she was seeing—his physical presence. It dominated everything. He was wearing boots, well-washed jeans and a plaid shirt. He hadn’t shaved, but he was the kind of man who looked good with a day’s growth of beard. She wished she had a robe—a blanket—something to give her protection from his nearness. To distract herself, she turned to baby Amanda, nestled snugly in his strong arms.

  “I should probably change the baby.”

  “Been done,” Ben said calmly.

  “Thanks,” she said, still avoiding his glance. “You’re better with Amanda than I.” She couldn’t believe how easily Ben handled the child—how content and calm Amanda seemed in his arms.

  “Experience,” he replied. “There’s coffee,” he added as he handed her a cup.

  Their fingers touched in a gesture that made the morning seem intimate. A man and a woman sharing breakfast. A baby in his arms. The woman still in her nightclothes. Too intimate, she thought, for someone she knew nothing about.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Shannon Harper and Madeline Porter have been published as Madeline Harper by Harlequin for over ten years. Many of their Temptation novels have appeared on the Waldenbooks and B. Dalton bestseller lists. Their partnership is unique, since Shannon lives on the East Coast and Madeline on the West, but with the help of faxes, phones and express mail, they’ve written over thirty books.

  Shannon and Madeline love reading and writing mystery and suspense. And it goes without saying that they enjoy humor and romance. In Baby in My Arms they have tried to combine all those elements for a special book to celebrate the Christmas season. Happy holidays to all!

  Books by Madeline Harper

  HARLEQUIN INTRIGUE

  325—TALL, DARK AND DEADLY

  HARLEQUIN TEMPTATION

  447—WEDDING BELL BLUES

  476—THE PIRATE’S WOMAN

  499—CHRISTMAS IN JULY

  527—THE TROUBLE WITH BABIES

  554—STRANGER IN MY ARMS

  589—THE MARRIAGE TEST

  601—THE HIGHWAYMAN

  Don’t miss any of our special offers. Write to us at the following address for information on our newest releases.

  Harlequin Reader Service

  U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269

  Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Ene, Ont. L2A 5X3

  Baby in My Arms

  Madeline Harper

  To Bonnie Crisalli, for her advice,

  enthusiasm and support.

  CAST OF CHARACTERS

  Kate McNair—Becoming an instant mother wasn’t on her agenda, but neither was being a gunman’s target.

  Ben Blackeagle—Reluctant bodyguard to Kate and her baby, he found himself deep in an unexpected mystery.

  Daniel Hedrick—He was the lawyer who placed Kate’s baby, but was he also in the baby black market?

  Kim Minter—She was Hedrick’s helpful assistant, but just how far would she go?

  Rudy Hall—He was Kim’s boyfriend—and more.

  Robert Brownley—Head of one of Denver’s most reputable charities, he had a dark secret.

  Jennifer Kersten—Nothing happened at Sky High Spa without Jennifer’s knowledge.

  Mark Kersten—Jennifer’s husband, he was bluff and brawny with more than a trace of menace in his eyes.

  Dylan—He was the darling of the spa, always eager to help with a workout.

  Coral Lampiere—Why had she sworn Kate to secrecy and then suddenly disappeared? And…

  Amanda—Blond, blue-eyed and adorable-was this baby the reason that Kate’s life was suddenly in danger?

  Chapter One

  Kate took a wrong step, swore to herself and slipped on the ice. Regaining her balance, she came to a screeching halt.

  “I’ll never learn,” she said aloud as she grabbed a parking meter and held on, surveying the sidewalk ahead. She hadn’t noticed any patches of ice. But that was the problem; they were never obvious, especially in Denver. This was December weather unlike anything she’d ever known.

  And that was under normal circumstances. Today, besides her briefcase and large handbag, there were a couple of unusual extras—the diaper bag over her shoulder and the year-old baby in a stroller beside her.

  “No one’s going to believe this,” she said as the wind came up and whipped the scarf away from her face. She lowered her head and pointed herself and all her gear toward the office building ahead.

  “Looks like you need some help, ma’am.” A rotund Santa appeared beside her. “You and your baby.”

  “She’s not my baby—” Kate began, and then shrugged as Santa held the door open wide.

  She forged through it, muttering her thanks, and became enveloped in the warmth of the glorious indoors. But it was only moments before the comforting heat turned into an uncomfortable steamy blast. So far, this was what winter in Denver meant—wrap up to keep from freezing outside and then strip everything off inside to avoid roasting.

  Kate peeled her way out of the scarf, coat and gloves. Then she crouched beside the baby.

  “Hat’s off,” she said, untying Amanda’s hood and pushing it back. She smoothed the soft golden curls from the little girl’s face and took off her knitted cap. “When we get upstairs, Tina can help you out of that snowsuit.” Otherwise known as a straitjacket, she added to herself.

  Amanda made a swipe for her cap. Kate pulled it away but not quickly enough. The baby’s grip was amazing. She looked up at Kate, bright blue eyes wide. “No?”

  “No,” Kate announced, then, “oh, well, why not?” She released the cap as she pushed the stroller into the elevator. “Might as well chew on that as some other things I can think of.” Besides, if Amanda didn’t have it she’d cry, and once she started crying, nothing could stop her.

  The elevator was empty, and Kate gave a tired sigh as she leaned against the wall. Nothing in her twentysix years had prepared her for instant motherhood.

  The doors opened on the third floor, and Kate stumbled out, pushing the stroller ahead and dragging everything else behind—but, once again, not fast enough. The closing whoosh of the doors grabbed the diaper bag.

  “Damn.” She fought the bag out of the clutches of the elevator, kicking, cursing and pulling until she was victorious. Then she looked down to see that Amanda had dropped the cap and was staring at her, a look of pure surprise on her chubby pink face.

  “What’s the matter? Was it my curses? Well, stick around and you’ll hear more,” Kate said as she picked up the bonnet and pushed the stroller through the glass doors into the offices of Executive Search Services.

  Her assistant, Tina Florio, looked up in amazement. “You brought the baby to work?”

  “Please, Tina, I’m not in the mood for accusations—”

  “It was just a comment,” Tina assured her.

  “Hmm,” Kate replied. “Then let me explain this baby th
ing. First, the sitter didn’t show, and I couldn’t find her anywhere. Seems she decided to go away for the Christmas holidays without telling me. Next, I called five—yes, five—day-care centers. Not a one had openings. Then I called a nanny service. Shall I tell you what she said?”

  “No openings?” Tina guessed.

  “More emphatic—‘ten days before Christmas-surely, you’re not serious.’ When I said I was perfectly serious, all I got was silence. She thought I was insane.” Kate hung her ankle-length red coat in the closet.

  “You know what, Tina?” She continued, answering her own question, “I believe I am insane—for taking on motherhood with no preparation. But I had no choice. Amanda was alone. She had no one.” Kate blinked back tears. “I know she’s terribly confused about all this.”

  “Kids her age are resilient,” Tina assured her.

  “I don’t know about that, but she’s certainly a little fighter—especially when it’s time to dress. I spent nearly an hour trying to get her into all this paraphernalia—diapers, undershirt, that little embroidered blouse, the overalls, socks—and the shoes, which were impossible. She scrunched up her toes so I couldn’t get the damned things on. As for the snowsuit—” Kate threw up her hands.

  Tina’s face wore the beginnings of a smile.

  “Don’t laugh,” Kate warned. “You haven’t heard anything yet. Have you ever tried to feed one of these—” She was momentarily speechless.

  “Babies?” Tina offered.

  “I’m only kidding. She’s some baby, but every mealtime is a war. This morning she refused to open her mouth for the longest time. When I finally got food down her she smiled at me innocently and threw up on my blouse!”

  Tina made a sound that was a near-laugh.

  “Don’t—” Kate said sternly.

  “I won’t,” Tina promised, pressing her lips together. “That’s the first thing they teach us at business school, not to laugh at our employers.”

  “Oh, sure,” Kate said, “and you got an A, right?”

  “You said it,” Tina replied as she picked up Amanda. “Let me help. I have four younger sisters….” She extricated the baby from her snowsuit. “You’re a little doll, Amanda. Look at those big blue eyes. Absolutely adorable.”

  The baby made a grab for Tina’s shiny black hair, but Tina eluded her. “Forget the hair, kid.” Tina looked up at Kate. “What are you going to do with her during your appointments?”

  “I don’t have any today,” Kate answered. “This close to Christmas, no one’s looking for managerial staff. They’re too busy planning parties.”

  “All except for one.”

  Kate thought about taking off her boots and putting on heels, but she couldn’t muster the energy. “What one?” she asked.

  “The guy in your office.”

  “Be serious.” There was no way she could handle appointments today, not after a night with Amanda. The baby had woken up at two in the morning, and Kate had tried every trick in the book to get her back to sleep. Failing that, and reminding herself that this baby was as traumatized as she, Kate had played with Amanda, invented games, walked her around the apartment, hoping she would tire. She didn’t; Kate did.

  “I am serious,” Tina insisted. “The computer guy’s in your office. The one ESS brought in to secure the system, remember? So rival placement services can’t hack in and steal our client list. He’s the one you stood up last week when you got hit by the car—”

  “Oh, Lord,” Kate moaned. “That guy. Just what I need, a computer nerd talking about bits and bytes and macros…”

  “I’ll be glad to deal with him,” Tina offered, her brown eyes ingenuous.

  “Umm. Well…”

  Tina headed toward Kate’s office.

  “No,” Kate decided. “I better handle it. Could you look after Amanda? There’s a bottle somewhere in that bag. If she takes it, maybe she’ll sleep for a while.”

  “It’s only ten in the morning, Kate.”

  “She has day and night confused. She was up most of the night, so possibly she’ll sleep….” Her voice drifted off, and Tina shrugged, a little unhappily, Kate thought. “Okay, I know this isn’t in your job description—”

  “I’ll give it a try,” Tina agreed. “Just promise you’ll call me if you need any help with Mr. Blackeagle.”

  Again, Kate saw the glint in her secretary’s eyes. “Black eagle? I thought it was just Eagle—Eagle Security.”

  “That’s the company name. The man’s a Native American. And what a native. You’ll see.”

  NOT STOPPING to figure out Tina’s cryptic remarks, Kate went into her office with the nerd image still in her mind—short, skinny and bespeckled.

  The man at her computer terminal couldn’t be the nerd, not with black denim pants hugging long legs, black leather jacket stretched across broad shoulders, and certainly not with ebony hair pulled back in a ponytail. But there was no one else in the room so the nerd was, in a word, the hunk. Ben Blackeagle.

  “Mr. Blackeagle?” she asked.

  He turned to look at her, and Kate tried not to stare. It was difficult. His eyes were dark and penetrating, like a bird’s, but not friendly—more like a bird of prey. His nose was strong and aquiline, his cheekbones high and sculptured and his skin the color of pale copper. His chin was firm, squared and stubborn. She caught the gleam of a gold stud in his left ear.

  What she couldn’t take her eyes away from was his wide, sensuous mouth, which, as she watched, he drew into a tight, narrow line. “Ms. McNair? How nice of you to come to your office,” he drawled. “I figured you for a no-show again.”

  Kate decided to ignore the rude remark. After all, he had a point, which she didn’t feel like getting into. She offered a friendly smile and her hand.

  “Kate McNair. Sorry about being late today As for our first appointment…” She decided to let that one go. He could finish it however he chose.

  He didn’t respond but took her hand with a grasp that was brief but powerful. She had just enough time to notice that his hands were strong and sinewy, with long lean fingers.

  He dropped her hand and looked at her with his almost black eyes. They fixed on hers. “Our first appointment,” he repeated. And then he waited, expectantly.

  “Well…” She was usually sure of herself, able to talk with anyone, never intimidated. What was happening here?

  He didn’t shift his gaze. It demanded a response.

  But wait a minute, she thought. I’m employing him, not the other way around. I don’t owe this guy an explanation. Then, suddenly, she was explaining. “Ten days ago, I was on my way to the office, and I got hit by a car—”

  He looked at her skeptically. “You recovered quickly. Nothing serious, I see.”

  “Maybe not serious in medical terms, but it’s all relative, and I was very badly bruised and shaken,” she said defensively. “I was taken to the emergency room and later sent home. It took me several days to recover. Then the baby came—”

  “Wait a minute. You had a baby—at home—just days after being hit by a car?”

  She laughed. “No, no. I—well, I kind of inherited the baby, my cousin’s daughter. Libby—and her husband, Derek—are, that is, they were the baby’s par ents. They were in a cominuter plane crash….” She swallowed hard.

  He was silent, politely quiet and serious.

  “They were both killed.” It was still difficult for her to talk about.

  “Sorry,” he muttered.

  She nodded. “As the closest relative, I kind of inherited the baby and we’re both trying to adjust.” As she completed her explanation, she crossed the room, assuming a more businesslike demeanor, wishing she’d changed into her other shoes.

  Ben leaned back against the computer table and crossed one ankle over the other, eyeing his potential employer. Kate McNair, manager of Executive Search Services, was like many of the career women he’d met. Nothing about her was unusual or unexpected. Her brown suit was well tailored
and severe, her blouse cream-colored and understated. Like her office, she was neat and professional.

  But something was different, Ben thought. It could be the red hair. It wasn’t the expected strawberryblond red, but red-red. He thought of the flames of a plains fire, whipping up against the harsh white snow. There wasn’t another red quite like that, and he’d never seen it in a woman’s hair.

  A few wisps of that fiery hair slipped away from her French twist, and there was something—it looked like a stain—on the lapel of her dress-for-success blouse. This young executive on the way up, he mused, somehow missed the mark and became a real person.

  Ben considered himself an expert in two areascomputers and women. In both cases, he knew when they were accessible to him and when they weren’t. Kate McNair was not his type, although the statistics seemed right: about five feet six inches, slender, small nose, full sensual lips, green eyes. But something didn’t work. He could see it in the tired look in her eyes. Parenthood could do that to a person. She was attractive, he decided, but a career woman with a baby was definitely not for him.

  “I’ve never known anyone who inherited a kid,” he remarked.

  “Neither have I, actually,” she said, adding, with a sigh, “I’m as surprised as anyone. I didn’t expect—” She caught herself. “But we’re not here to talk about babies.”

  “You’re right about that, Ms. McNair.” His voice was cool, uninvolved.

  “Call me Kate, please.”

  “Sure, Kate. I’m Ben. Your home office, back in New York, wants this computer system to be hackerproofed. Have you experienced any problems?” he asked in a voice that she found suddenly brusque.

  “Not yet, but I’ve only been in the Denver office about six weeks.” She dropped her briefcase on the desk and turned back toward him.