Free Baby, Oh Baby! by Robin Wells Page A

of a sigh. The right side of Henry's 'brow furrowed. "Are you. all right? You don't look so welt."
    "I'm feeling a little under the weather," Annie admitted. "I didn't sleep very well last night."
    To put it mildly. She'd tossed and turned all night, then awakened with a headache and a dull ache in her side. The pain seemed to be getting sharper, and now she was feeling queasy to boot. The stress of the situation was really taking a toll on her.
    The intercom speaker overhead crackled to life. "Ladies and gentlemen, our weekly bingo competition is about to begin in the front parlor."'
    Annie rose from the sofa. "Thanks for your help, Henry. I'd better go get Madeline so Pearl won't miss her game." She stretched out her hand.
    Henry gave it a warm squeeze. "I know this is upsetting, but it's going to all work out."
    "I don't see how."
    "It will, Annie. You just have to have faith."
    Faith didn't seem like much of a weapon against a big gun like Jake Chastaine, Annie thought woefully. She headed down the hall to collect her child, suddenly. anxious to hold her child, to feel the little girl's chubby arms around her neck, to inhale her sweet, milky scent. Madeline was her life, the very heart of her heart. The thought of a stranger laying claim to her knifed at Annie's soul.
    And yet, against her will, Henry's words echoed through her mind-do you really want to deprive your child of the love of a father?

    Chapter Five
     
    The soft tinkle of silver and fine crystal greeted Jake as he entered the formal dining room of the Southern Oaks Country Club in north Tulsa that evening. His stomach tensed as he spotted Tom and Susanna at their usual table in the corner. He wasn't looking forward to telling them the news about the baby, and yet it wasn't something he could very well keep secret. His former in-laws were the closest thing he had to family, and Tom was his business partner as well. In the normal course of things, he already would have talked to Tom about the situation, but the older man had been at an out-of-town legal seminar for the past two days.
    With a nod to the maitre d', Jake wound his way through the maze of linen-covered tables. He hadn't been here in a couple of years, yet the place was unchanged. The carpet was still so thick it felt like quicksand, the walls still hung with expensive oil paintings, the tables still set with glimmering votives and fresh flowers. It was fine dining in its highest form, the kind of place where the silver was real and the crystal had more lead in it than the James gang after their final shootout. The place was too staid for Jake's tastes, but it was one of Tom's favorite restaurants, and Jake had often dined here with his in-laws and Rachel.
    They hadn't come here together since her death. Jake glanced toward the chair where Rachel had always sat, and was relieved to note that a waiter had removed it.
    "Jake—I'm so glad you could join us." Susanna smiled up as he reached the table.
    "I'm so glad you asked me." Jake had been surprised when his mother-in-law had called that morning and invited him to join her and Tom at the club. The woman had turned into something of a recluse since Rachel's death. Tom had privately complained to Jake that she seldom left the house, had no interest in seeing friends, and had dropped all of the civic work she had before cared so fervently about. According to Tom, Susanna sometimes didn't even get out of bed. Even when she did, she often spent entire days in her bathrobe.
    On the few occasions when Jake had been to their home since the accident—holiday dinners and a couple of times when Tom had barbecued by the pool—Susanna had been as impeccably groomed as ever, but the sparkle had been missing from her eyes. Instead of actively joining the conversation, she'd sat quietly, only speaking when addressed.
    After the last visit, Jake had asked Tom about it. "Is she angry at me?"
    "Why would she be angry?"
    Jake had lifted his shoulders in a nonchalant