Found: One Secret Baby by Nancy Holland Page B

of a small face framed by red-blonde curls floated into his mind. Damn if Joey didn’t look like the pictures Lillian had of Charlie as a baby, or a toddler, or whatever you called a kid that age.
    Morgan took another deep breath and wished it was late enough in the day to have a drink. No, he didn’t. He wasn’t that kind of man, either.
    So, what to do now? How could be get some payback at the sneaky Ms. Walker for what she’d put him through?
    She hadn’t lied to him in her capacity as an attorney, so disbarment wasn’t an issue. His friend’s gallery had already sold most of her mother’s paintings, so he couldn’t stop that from happening. Not that Ms. Walker cared about the money.
    Then, the obvious answer. Nothing would hurt her more than taking away the kid she’d clung to for dear life during most of their brief conversation. She clearly loved the little bastard. Love always made it easy for people to hurt you.
    Despite the threats he’d made, he’d never really intended to help Lillian get custody if the kid already had a decent home. He’d hoped she’d settle for visitation rights. Rights she’d probably never use, since it would mean disrupting her life in Boston to travel to Los Angeles. His main goal had been to keep Charlie’s father from getting at the kid.
    Ms. Walker’s lies changed everything.
    Not only did they give him a good reason to carry out the charge Lillian had given him to bring Charlie’s child home, they also made it easier for him to do that. He could make Lillian happy and have his revenge on the lady lawyer, too.
    As his anger faded, cold reason raised its ugly head. If given the choice, wouldn’t Rosalie rather have him hurt her physically than take kid away from her?
    He shook off the uncomfortable implications of that thought and looked out at the string of fast-food restaurants in front of him.
    Two boys walked along the sidewalk. Suddenly the larger one lunged sideways and pushed the smaller off the curb and into the parking lot. The harried-looking woman a few feet ahead of them turned at something the larger one said, then yelled a curse at the smaller one and grabbed his arm to yank him back up on the curb, oblivious to the larger one’s smirk.
    Something twisted inside of Morgan. The hopeless expression on the younger boy’s face reminded him too starkly of his own past.
    And of the look in Rosalie’s eyes when he’d stormed out of her house.
    Sure, the lovely Ms. Walker had tricked him. But maybe revenge wasn’t the best reason for whatever he did next. Maybe he should be thinking about what was best for Charlie’s kid.
    Rosalie was lucky enough to get an appointment with Joey’s social worker on Monday morning. Ms. Cameron was so overloaded with cases she often took as long as a week to return a phone call, but someone had cancelled and Rosalie managed to get the free spot.
    “I’m so glad you’ve finally decided to go through with the adoption,” Ms. Cameron told her. “You and Joey both need the closure.”
    The social worker’s cheerful smile grated against nerves worn raw by worry and guilt.
    Rosalie cleared her throat and managed to say, “Yes,” in an almost-normal voice.
    Ms. Cameron glanced over the forms Rosalie had spent some of the sleepless hours of the last three nights completing. When the social worker got to the last page, she frowned.
    “There’s a name listed here under next-of-kin, but no contact information. I thought you didn’t know whether Joey had any living relatives besides his father or not.”
    “I didn’t.” Rosalie swallowed. “His father’s mother contacted me recently.”
    Ms. Cameron set the sheaf of papers down. “What’s she like?”
    Rosalie closed her eyes against the image of Morgan Danby’s face that danced through her mind. “She didn’t contact me in person. I met with her stepson.”
    Ms. Cameron leaned back. “What’s he like?”
    A litany of inappropriate responses roared through Rosalie’s