[Harlequin] - Madeline Harper - Baby In My Arms (txt), Ksiazki, txt
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Baby in my armsbyMadeline HarperMadeline Harper is a pseudonym for Shannon Harper and Madeline Porter.Their partnership is unique, since Shannon lives on the East Coast andMadeline on the West, but with the help of faxes, phones and expressmail, they've written many books.Shannon and Madeline love reading and writing mystery and suspense. Andit goes without saying that they enjoy humour and romance. In Baby inMy Arms they have tried to combine all those elements for a specialbook to celebrate the Christmas season. Happy holidays to all!DID YOU PURCHASE THIS BOOK WITHOUT A COVER?If you did, you should be aware it is stolen property as it was reportedunsold and destroyed by a retailer. Neither the author nor thepublisher has received any payment for this book.All the characters in this book have no existence outside theimagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyonebearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspiredby any individual known or unknown to the author, and all the incidentsare pure invention.All Rights Reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or inpart in any form. This edition is published by arrangement withHarlequin EnterprisesII B.V. The text of this publication or any partthereof may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by anymeans, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,storage in an information retrieval system, or otherwise, without thewritten permission of the publisher.This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way oftrade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulatedwithout the prior consent of the publisher in any form of binding orcover other than that in which it is published and without a similarcondition including this condition being imposed on the subsequentpurchaser.Silhouette and Colophon are registered trademarks of Harlequin BooksS.A." used under licence.First published in Great Britain 1997Silhouette Books, Eton House, 18-24 Paradise Road,Richmond, Surrey TW9 1SRMadeline Porter and Shannon Harper 1996ISBN 0 373 22400 146-9712Printed and bound in Great Britain by Mackays of Chatham PLC, ChathamTo Bonnie Crisalli, for her advice, enthusiasm and support.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 andheld on, surveying the sidewalk ahead. She hadn't noticed any patchesof ice. But that was the problem; they were never obvious, especiallyin Denver. This was December weather unlike anything she'd ever known.And that was under normal circumstances. Today, besides her briefcaseand large handbag, there were a couple of unusual extras--the diaper bagover 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 andwhipped the scarf away from her face. She lowered her head and pointedherself and all her gear toward the office building ahead."Looks like you need some help, ma'am." A rotund Santa appeared besideher. "You and your baby.""She's not my baby--" Kate began, and then shrugged as Santa held thedoor open wide.She forged through it, muttering her thanks, and became enveloped in thewarmth of the glorious indoors. But it was only moments before thecomforting he, at turned into an uncomfortable steamy blast. So far,this was what winter in Denver meant--wrap up to keep from freezingoutside and then strip everything off inside to avoid roasting.Kat peeled her way out of the scarf, coat and gloves. Then she crouchedbeside the baby."Hat's off," she said, untying Amanda's hood and pushing it back. Shesmoothed the soft golden curls from the little girl's face and took offher knitted cap. "When we get upstairs, Tina can help you out of thatsnowsuit." Otherwis known as a straitjacket, she added to herself.Amanda made a swip for her cap. Kate pulled it away but not quicklyenough. The baby's grip was amazing. She looked up at Kate, brightblue eyes wide. "No?""No," Kate announced, then, "oh, well, why not?" She released the capas she pushed the stroller into the elevator. "Might as well chew onthat as some other things I can think of." Besides, if Amanda didn'thave 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 againstthe wall. Nothing in her twenty-six years had prepared her for instantmotherhood.The doors opened on the third floor, and Kate stumbled out, pushing thestroller ahead and dragging everything else behind--but, once again, notfast 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 lookeddown to see that Amanda had dropped the cap and was staring at her, alook of pure surprise on her chubby pink face."What's the matter? Was it my curses? Well, stick around and you'llhear more," Kate said as she picked up the bonnet and pushed thestroller through the glass doors into the offices of Executive SearchServices.Her assistant, Tina Florio, looked up in amazement. "You brought thebaby to work?""Please, Tina, I'm not in the mood for accusations-""It was just a comment," Tina assured her. "Hmm," Kate replied. "Thenlet me explain this baby thing. First, the sitter didn't show, and Icouldn't find her anywhere. Seems she decided to go away for theChristmas holidays without telling me. Next, I called five--yes,five--day-care centers. Not a one had openings. Then I called a nannyservice. 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 thecloset."You know what, Tina?" She continued, answering her own question, "Ibelieve I am insane--for taking on motherhood with no preparation. ButI had no choice. Amanda was alone. She had no one." Kate blinked backtears. "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 littlefighter--especially when it's time to dress. I spent nearly an hourtrying to get her into all this paraphernalia-diapers, undershirt, thatlittle embroidered blouse, the overalls, socks--and the shoes, whichwere impossible. She scrunched up her toes so I couldn't get the damnedthings 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 youever 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. Thismorning she refused to open her mouth for the longest time. When Ifinely got food down her she smiled at me innocently and threw up on myblouse!"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 firstthing 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," Tinareplied as she picked up Amanda. "Let me help. I have four youngersisters "She extricated the baby from her snowsuit. "You're a littledoll, 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 todo with her during your appointments?""I don't have any today," Kate answered. "This close to Christmas, noone'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 shecouldn't muster the energy. "What one?" She asked."The guy in your office.""Be serious." There was no way she could handle appointments today, notafter 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 asshe, Kate had played with Amanda, invented games, walked her around theapartment, hoping she would tire. She didn't; Kate did."I am serious," Tina insisted. "The computer guy's in your office. Theone brought in to secure the system, remember? So rival placementservices can't hack in and steal our client list. He's the one youstood up last week when you got hit by the car--""Oh, Lord," Kate moaned. "That guy. Just what I need, a computer herdtalking 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'llsleep for a while.""It's only ten in the morning, Kate.""She has day and night confused. She was up most of the night, sopossibly she'll sleep... "Her voice drifted off, and Tina shrugged, alittle unhappy, Kate thought. "Okay, I know this isn't in your jobdescription-""I'll g...
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