Practice Makes Perfect (23 page)

The phone rang before Paige could respond. He answered it on the second ring. Scowled at the call from Social Services. After he was done, she changed the subject.

“You still haven’t told me who you’re trying to reach.”

“Lynne. I’ve been calling for three days. She never disappears like this without telling me. I’m worried.”

Paige looked up at him. “That’s a little extreme, isn’t it?”

“She’s all alone in the world except for me.”

“She’s fifty-five, Ian. She can take care of herself.”

He folded his arms over his chest. “You know, I never understood that reasoning. Why would you
want
to take care of yourself?”

“It’s safer. You can’t be disappointed that way.”

“Well, I can accept that you might not want to depend on someone else financially. But emotionally—”

There was a knock at the door. Cursing the interruption, Ian strode over to open it. A tearful Mary Ellen stood at the doorway, holding a crying Suzy. The Center had no more appointments today, and no one was in the outer office.

Paige rose immediately. “Mary Ellen, what’s wrong?”

The girl gulped. “She won’t stop crying. My mother, she keeps yelling. I...don’t know...”

Taking the baby from her, Paige felt Suzy’s skin. “She’s cool. Is she hungry?”

“No, I just fed her.” Mary Ellen began to weep. “I think it’s the diaper rash.”

“Diaper rash?” Paige headed for the door. “Let’s go to an examining room.”

Ian followed.

Inside the first room, Paige told Mary Ellen, “Undress her while I wash up.”

The baby continued to cry.

Mary Ellen did as instructed. Paige crossed to the baby to examine her. “Well,” she finally said, “the diaper rash is pretty bad, all right.” Reaching into a drawer, she got out a cloth. She soaped it up and bathed the baby. “I told you how to deal with this, honey. Water, not diaper wipes. Air-dry. Zinc oxide.” She glanced at Ian, nodded to a cupboard. “There’s some prescription cream up there, Ian. Get it for me, will you please?”

Ian found the cream, handed it to her, then sat down in a chair and watched Paige finish. After the baby was diapered, Paige held Suzy close to her chest, protectively. “What happened, Mary Ellen?”

“I left her with my mother so I could visit Sammy yesterday. She...” Tears again. “She didn’t change Suzy all afternoon.”

Paige and Ian exchanged looks. “Maybe you can’t leave her with your mom anymore,” Ian said.

“What do I do? I have to see Sammy. They taught me this kangaroo thing, where you keep the baby against your bare skin—your chest and stomach.”

“Kangaroo care.” Paige nodded. “It’s very effective with preemies.”

“He loves it and calms right away. But it takes time, and I can’t do it if I’m not here.” Ian watched Paige. She cradled the baby to her breast. Kissed her head. Held her...like a mother.

“What can we do?” Paige addressed the question to him.

He stood. “Let’s talk to Elliot.” He faced Mary Ellen. “We have a psychologist on staff who can help you work this out. He has access to some child care, too, to pitch in under unusual circumstances. I’ll see if we can get you somebody.”

Mary Ellen swallowed back emotion. “Okay. Thanks”

“Did you see Sammy today?” Paige asked.

The tears returned. She shook her head.

“Look, as long as you’re here, why don’t you go over there now? We’ll keep Suzy for a bit.”

“Really?”

“Really.” After Mary Ellen was gone, Paige sat down in a chair across from him and held the baby close. Was she even aware of how motherly her actions were? “The plan’s not working.” Paige’s tone was grim.

“It’s only been a few weeks. Give it some time.”

“What happens when Sammy comes home? I’m worried about their safety.”

“Can’t call Social Services about diaper rash, honey.”

“I know. Just as we couldn’t call them about the car seat.”

“I’ll talk to Elliot.”

“All right.”

“Oops, there’s the phone in my office. Maybe it’s Lynne.”

“Ian, you really are...”

But he didn’t hear the rest. The caller wasn’t Lynne, so he tried reaching her again. She still wasn’t home. In the end he left Paige’s number—and address in case she needed to see him.

Where the hell was the woman?

o0o

WHEN LYNNE WALKED into Paige’s backyard, Ian bolted off the chaise and rushed to the gate. From where Paige sat at a table with Jewel and Scalpel, she could see Ian grasp Lynne’s arms. “Where the hell have you been?”

Lynne put her hand on her son’s chest. They looked so much alike standing there in the setting sun, same sculpted nose, similar bone structure and a similar stubborn tilt to their chins For the first time Paige wondered if her own child looked like her, then was utterly stunned at her speculation.

With no small amount of frustration, Lynne said, “Ian, really, calm down.”

Paige frowned at the unfamiliar yearning she was experiencing. This was Ian’s birth mother, who was a part of his life because she’d had the courage to risk an open adoption and the Moores had had the courage to accept one.

“What’s the matter, Aunt Paige?”

“Nothing sweetie.” It
was
nothing.

“You got the pudding paint all over the table.”

Jade had introduced Paige to pudding paint—using chocolate pudding, instead of finger paints, to draw pictures. Jewel loved it, as most kids would.

She heard Lynne, who was clearly exasperated, say, “Ian, I went away with a
man
. It’s not exactly something I’d clear with you first.”

Ian expelled a breath and ducked his head.

“Now let me say hi to Paige.” Lynne strode over with a determined gait. “Hello, Paige.” She smiled at Jewel. “Hi, Jewel.” Her gaze locked with Paige’s. “I’m sorry to disturb your evening, but his phone calls got more and more insistent, so I decided to talk to him in person.”

Paige smiled. “He can be overbearing.”

Looking chagrined, Ian came up behind Lynne and placed his hands on her shoulders. “I’m sorry. I was just worried.”

Paige thought about how Ian had reacted to being at his parents’ cottage. He’d lost Elsa and Tom. He was worried about Lynne. She must have realized the root of his concern at the same time. “Nothing’s going to happen to me, Ian. Actually I had a wonderful time. Do you want to hear about him?”

“No!” Ian said.

“I do,” Paige told her mischievously.

“Come on, kid.” Ian smiled at Jewel. “I’ll take you for a swim while these women share men stories.”

Scalpel barked and followed them to the edge of the pool, though he still had on his cast and couldn’t swim.

Paige and Lynne laughed as Ian and Jewel entered the water.

At around ten o’clock, when Lynne had gone and Jade and Jewel were in the house, Paige stared out at the pool. “Penny for your thoughts,” Ian said.

“It was nice getting to know Lynne.”

“She’s great. She likes you.”

“Good, I’m glad.” She waited a minute. “Have you always been this close to her?”

“Yes, she’s been an anchor in my life.”

“Has it been as good for her, having you in her life?”

“Why don’t you ask her?”

“No, I wouldn’t want her to know...” Paige’s words trailed off.

“About the child you gave up. She wouldn’t judge you, Paige.”

“She made a different choice. And now her life’s vocation is matching up birth parents and adoptees.”

“She understands both sides.”

Paige didn’t like where this conversation was going. “No, Ian. I don’t want to talk to her about it.” Abruptly she stood. “I don’t—”

He grabbed her arm before she could leave. “You said you were beginning to trust me. Show me. Tell me what you’re thinking.”

Time froze. Did she really trust Ian? She hadn’t even planned to tell Jade about her real reaction tonight as she’d watched Ian and Lynne. But she knew in her heart that Ian wasn’t going to accept anything but the truth. He’d expect progress. And somewhere inside herself, she
wanted
to confide in him. “You’re right. I watched you with Lynne tonight and realized I might have had what the two of you have if I’d made a different choice.”

“Honey, you need to talk to someone.”

“I’m telling you.”

“A counselor, maybe.”

She shook her head. “No, I don’t want to talk to a counselor. Do you have any idea how hard it was to tell
you
this tonight?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Then don’t push, please.”

He studied her. It was so difficult for him to back off. “All right. I’ll be satisfied that you trusted me enough to tell me as much as you did.” He pulled her onto his lap and kissed her hair. “I want you to be happy, Paige. With me and with your life. That’s all I want.”

“I know.” She wound her arms around his neck.

She had him in her life. She didn’t need anything else.

She didn’t.

NORA STOOD on the deck of Dan’s lake house and peered down at the four young women sunning themselves on the dock. Each had grown into lovely, interesting people. Yet each was—in many ways—still very troubled. Sometimes Nora wondered if she’d done enough that first year Serenity House had opened.

“Hel-lo,” Nora heard from behind. Turning, she saw Taylor Morelli and her husband, Nick. They were a good-looking couple. Both dark-haired and dark-eyed. They’d had stunning babies, the last one almost two years ago.

“Taylor, I’m so glad you’re here!”

Taylor gave her a hug.

“Hi, Nora,” Nick said. He stood back, the way he always did, not quite shy, but reluctant to call attention to himself. Something else he and Taylor had in common. The last of the first batch of residents to join Serenity House in 1987, Taylor had been found on the side of the road, beaten and suffering from amnesia. It still astonished doctors that her memory had never returned.

Nora shook hands with Nick. “So, you’re going to let us have Taylor for a few days?”

“I suppose.” His smile was self-effacing. “She’s never been away from me this long.”

“Really?”

Taylor rolled her eyes. “Pathetic, isn’t he?”

Nick said, “I’m going to go before I look like even more of a jerk.” He hugged Taylor tightly, kissed her cheek. “Think of me.”

She whispered something in his ear.

“You’re on, woman.” Nick said his goodbyes and left.

“He’s a wonderful man.” Nora smiled.

Taylor said, “He reminds me of Dan in a lot of ways.”

“Me, too.”

“Where is the bridegroom, by the way?”

“He went to pick up Anabelle at the airport.” Anabelle Crane was the youngest of the first group of residents, and Dan’s favorite.

“I can’t believe she’s coming.” Taylor glanced toward the dock. “I can’t believe everyone’s here.”

“You all promised to come back.”

Taylor slid an arm around Nora. She was taller than Nora, but there was still a vulnerability about her. “It’s because of you. We’d do anything for you.”

Nora hoped these three days would do something for the girls, but she didn’t say so. “Let’s go down. Wait till you see Jade. She’s beautiful. And she has a beautiful daughter....”

They reached the dock just as Nora finished filling Taylor in about the four women on the dock. Charly Donovan was talking and didn’t see them at first. “… really into more trouble than we were.” She stretched out on a blanket next to Darcy. Both wore black one-piece swimsuits. Demure but attractive.

“Oh, come on, Char,” Darcy said. “We weren’t angels.”

“No, but there’s something harder about these girls.”

“Nothing hard about Mary Ellen Barone.” This from bikini-clad Paige, who lay on her stomach.

“Hello, everybody,” Taylor said sweetly.

They all looked up. Charly was the first to react. “Hi, Taylor.”

Jade stood. In her animal-print thong bikini, she was almost indecent. “I’d hug you, girl, but I’m all greasy.”

“You look wonderful.”

Jade studied her. “You’ve gained a little weight. It’s good on you.”

Taylor’s eyes shadowed. Her fragility had bothered the other girls, and they had always tried to fatten her up. “I had a baby twenty-two months ago. Never did lose the weight I gained.”

“Well, you look great.”

Paige said, “Got your suit on under your clothes?”

“No, I’ll go change.” Taylor smiled. “I’m glad to be here.”

“So are we.” This from Darcy.

Nora and Taylor started back up the dock as two people headed down it. One was Dan, tall and handsome and grinning broadly. His arm was around the shoulders of a tall, blond woman.

“Holy hell, is that Anabelle?” Darcy asked.

“It must be,” Jade said.

As they neared, Paige eyed Anabelle’s dark-green, sleeveless linen dress and matching jacket, which was draped over her arm. “Nice rags. She must be doing pretty well for herself.”

Nora noticed that Anabelle leaned in closer to Dan as they approached. The girl seemed as sophisticated as a model, but her body language said she was nervous. They met a few feet from the other women. “Hello, Anabelle.”

Anabelle pulled off her sunglasses, revealing amber-colored eyes filled with a world-weariness that belied her thirty-two years. “Hello, Nora.”

“The girls are dying to see you,” Nora said, giving Annabelle a hug, which was returned stiffly.

“Anabelle.” Charly stood. “You look like a million bucks.”

Anabelle touched her hair self-consciously and smiled. “You look great, too.” She looked down at Paige and greeted her with a warm “Hi.”

Paige grinned. “Hi to you, kiddo.” Paige had taken an interest in Anabelle, the quietest one at the group home. She’d mothered her. Watched out for her.

Darcy was next to respond. “Anabelle. Wonderful to see you.”

“Darcy? God, you haven’t changed a bit.”

“Don’t count on it,” Jade laughed. “She’s turned into her mother.”

“Jade, you look terrific, too.”

“So,” Jade said saucily, “where has the mystery woman been all these years? We’ve caught up on everybody except you.”

Anabelle waited a beat, then finally said, “I’ve been somebody else.”

“That sounds mysterious,” Jade commented.

“I don’t mean it to be.” Annabelle looked at Dan. “I’m a cop,” she said. “Like Dan. Only I do undercover work. Now,” she said changing the subject smoothly, “I want to hear all about you guys.”