Free The Baby Invasion (Destiny Bay-Baby Dreams) by Helen Conrad Page A

was April.”
    “At the time, that didn’t occur to me. But looking back now, yes, I do think it was her. Just checking up, making sure I was here with her babies. And then, when she heard my voice, she hung up.”
    Scott frowned. “I don’t get it.”
    “I know. Neither do I.” She sighed, then squared her shoulders. “But there’s no use sitting around trying to analyze why she’s doing this. The thing is to find her. And there was a clue in that phone call.”
    He looked skeptical. “Really?”
    She nodded. “I could hear the jangle of slot machines in the background.”
    He was becoming reluctantly intrigued now. “Are you sure?”
    “Absolutely. And as far as I know, there are only a few places with that sort of slot machine action.”
    “Oh sure.” His sarcasm was back. “Las Vegas. Henderson, Laughlin, Reno—should I go on?   Any Indian Reservation in California.   Just about any place in Nevada.”
    “Including the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe.” She rose from her chair and gestured. “Come on. Let me show you something.”
    She led him into the living room, and using a chair as a stepladder, went up on her toes to plunge her hand deep inside a decorative urn on a high shelf.
    “I honestly think April went through her entire house and obliterated everything that might give anyone a clue as to where she was going. But she forgot about these.” She pulled out a handful of match-books.
    Scott took a few. On each cover was printed an ad for the Wild Horses Casino. “I wonder if Tawny has this one?” he muttered.
    She glanced at him but had no idea what he was talking about and decided to skip it.
    “Doesn’t that look clue-like?” she demanded, stepping down from her perch.
    “Maybe,” he admitted reluctantly. He glanced up. “Have you tried calling the place and asking for her?”
    She nodded. “They even tried paging her. No luck.”
    “Well...”
    “But that doesn’t mean anything. She could be there under a different name. And anyway, this is the only evidence of a place she might have gone to that I’ve found anywhere in the house. So I’d like to try it.” She gave him an impish smile. “Don’t you think that’s a good idea?”
    He regarded her balefully, still wary of her plan to dump the kids on him. “Possibly.”
    And it turned out his fears were justified. She took a deep breath and tried one more time. “So, will you watch the kids for me while I go up?”
    He felt very selfish, but he had to refuse.  
    “No.”
    “Oh.”  
    Deflated once again, she started to turn away, but he reached out to stop her, his hands taking her shoulders. She wrenched herself out of his grasp, pulling away with a jerk that surprised them both.
    She stared up at him, wishing she hadn’t done that. He gazed back, and only the slightest flicker in his eyes revealed that he had reacted to what she’d done. Her jerking away had been caused by doubt and disappointment, nothing more. Did he realize that? She hoped he wasn’t reading too much into it.  
    But she wasn’t sure what she could do now. Apologize? No. It didn’t feel right.
    And anyway, he was already talking, speaking smoothly, not giving a hint that he might be offended or puzzled by her behavior.
    “Cathy,” he was saying softly, “I know you think I’m just being that mean old man again, but it’s more than that.” He shrugged in a way that managed to be manly at the same time it radiated little-boy-lost appeal.
    “I really don’t know if I could handle having primary responsibility for your kids for any length of time. And more than that, I don’t think you should go. You have no idea what April has gotten herself tangled up in. It could be dangerous.”
    She shook her head, her frustration plain in the strained look she threw him. “I can’t just hang around here waiting,” she said tightly. “I’m going crazy. That man keeps calling and I’m afraid he’ll show up here.”
    Scott’s gaze sharpened. “What