Free The Baby Arrangement by Samantha Chase Page B

around her, comforting her.  “ Sshh…it’s all right.  I’ll go find her right now.  Are you okay?”
    The doctor answered for her.  “A couple of scrapes and bruises and five stitched on her head.  She’s going to be fine.”
    Thanking the man, Derek gripped Kayleigh’s hands tightly in his own larger ones.  “I’m going to get Emery and then we’re all going home.”
    Feeling as if she could finally breathe, Kayleigh let herself relax.  Within minutes, Derek was back in the room with Emery in his arms and Jared walking in behind him.  She jumped down from the table and carefully took the baby from his arms.  “Is she okay?” she asked nervously, scanning the infant for any signs of harm.
    “She’s fine, Kayleigh,” James answered.  She was well protected in her stroller; you had her strapped in perfectly.”
    “What happened?” Derek asked.
    Kayleigh relayed the events to him.  “She claimed to be Emery’s mother.  I’ve already talked to a police man and gave a description , but she wouldn’t tell me her name.”
    “Would you recognize her if you saw her again?”
    “Derek, I could sketch her for you perfectly right now!  I knew that it would be important to be able to physically describe her, especially for when Brian got back.”
    It took more than an hour to get them both released and Derek could honestly say that he was just as shaken up as Kayleigh was and he wasn’t the one that had been attacked.  When they arrived back at the house and had Emery settled, he sat Kayleigh down and asked, “Can you really draw this woman?  It could help the private investigators in finding her.”
    Within minutes Kayleigh had a very detailed sketch of the woman’s face.  “Do you recognize her?” she asked, thinking that if Brian dated her, chances were that Derek had met her.  A shake of his head told her she was wrong.
    “I’m so sorry, Derek,” she said quietly.
    “For what?”
    “I should have just come straight home.  The day was so beautiful and Emery had been so fussy that I though being outside for a bit would be good for her.”
    Gathering Kayleigh in his arms , he quieted her.  “There was no way for you to know that this woman was out there, Kayleigh.  It’s not your fault.”
    “But if I’d just come home…”
    “Who’s to say that she wouldn’t have tried to get in here?”  After saying the words out loud, Derek made a mental note to upgrade his home security system first thing in the morning.  “You fought her off and you protected Emery.  You heard your brother; she’s fine.”  He kissed her forehead and noticed her wince.
    “Sorry,” she said softly, “it’s still a little sore.”  Without hesitation, Kayleigh allowed hers elf to relax into Derek’s arms and realized that it felt good to be there.  It wasn’t awkward or strange, it actually felt quite natural.  They sat in companionable silence and it was almost frightening for her to realize that this was all really happening to her; she was here in Derek’s home, in his arms and that he seemed to really want her here.
    Turning her head slightly, she looked up at him and found him staring intently at her.  “Derek…I…”
    He placed a finger over her lips to silence her, as if he didn’t want the moment to be lost.  His finger stayed in place a moment longer before gently tracing her lips and moving to her cheek, her jaw, and carefully winding its way around to her nape.  Slowly, as if giving her time to stop him, Derek drew her head up to his as he lowered his mouth to hers.
    The kiss was soft; gentle.  He waited a heartbeat to see if she was going to pull back and didn’t fully relax until Kayleigh wrapped her arms around him as she shifted to get closer.  He couldn’t say who took control of the kiss first; one minute it was a sweet exploration and the next it seemed to be that they were each intent on devouring one another. 
    His hands carefully explored her; his brain