Free Found: One Secret Baby by Nancy Holland

Barnes. Thank you for taking the time to talk to me on the weekend. Could you hold for a moment, please?”
    She clicked the mute button and looked wildly around for Joey, who had waddled off toward the kitchen. Where was Jill? The teenager had promised to watch him while Rosalie took the business call.
    Rosalie chased Joey down and dumped him in his playpen. By the time he was safely corralled, Morgan stood inside the front door, both cats weaving around his legs.
    She was stuck. Her client’s whole future rested on this phone call. She pushed open one of the living-room windows and waved an arm at Morgan.
    “You, out.”
    When he didn’t move, she marched up to him, put her hand on his chest, pushed him back out the front door.
    “You, in,” she told the cats when they tried to follow him.
    Then she came out on the porch, too, and shut the door. As she pulled the cell out of her pocket, she positioned herself so her body blocked the door and she had a clear view of where Joey sat in his playpen chewing on his favorite teddy bear’s already-battered ear. With luck, Morgan would get the message and leave.
    “Hello, Congresswoman,” she said again. “Sorry for the delay. About that private immigration bill for my client …”
    Morgan tuned out the obviously confidential conversation and scowled down at Rosalie, almost unrecognizable in a sleeveless t-shirt and jeans, her hair haphazardly pulled back.
    If she thought he’d leave because she had an important phone call, she had another think coming. He had to do what he’d come here to do and get back to Boston this evening so he could put in a full day at the office tomorrow.
    A muted thump drew his attention to the window. The stuffed bear the kid had been holding a moment before was now on the floor a couple of feet from the playpen.
    Thump! Bump! A red-and-blue rubber ball followed, bounced twice and landed on the sofa. Then came a square book with thick pages and brightly colored drawings. Thump!
    He made the mistake of making eye-contact with the kid, who opened his mouth and began to howl.
    Rosalie threw Morgan a harsh glance, then looked past him to the crying child inside. Her frown deepened.
    “I’m sorry, Congresswoman. I was distracted for a moment. Could you say that again, please?”
    Even a moment of Rosalie’s attention had ramped the kid’s protest up another notch. Tears ran down his face, which was turning from red to purple.
    Rosalie waved her hand at the screaming child, but that only made things worse. The boy’s cries began to irritate, plucking every auditory nerve, until Morgan thought his head might explode.
    Rosalie gave every sign of being as distressed by the child’s crying as he was, but from her frown and the few words he’d caught of the conversation, she was explaining something to the Congresswoman that was of vital importance to Rosalie’s client.
    He couldn’t stand it any longer. He gently took her by both arms and moved her out of the way, ignoring the sizzle her bare skin sent through his system.
    The panicky expression on her face made him wonder if she thought he would steal the kid right from under her nose. He shook his head and flung one hand toward the screaming child.
    Her body sagged. She didn’t try to stop him, but when he walked inside she moved nearer to the window so she could keep a close eye on things.
    “An unusual and very deserving case, yes, Congresswoman,” she said into the cell.
    As soon as Morgan stepped down from the foyer into the living room, the kid stopped crying. He sniffled once and looked up at Morgan.
    He and Charlie’s son stared each other. The kid wore pull-up jeans, tiny sneakers, and a white t-shirt with little blue soccer balls on it.
    Morgan braced himself for another explosion, but the boy held up his arms. “Out.”
    Morgan shook his head.
    “I don’t think that would be a wise move. You’re more familiar with the layout of this place than I am, and amazingly fast on