Still a little flummoxed, Lana stood in the kitchen, waiting for the kettle to whistle so she could make a cup of herbal tea. For days now, she’d tried to push the night with Sly from her mind, without much success. She assured herself that she’d eventually forget the handsome cowboy who dominated her waking thoughts. She certainly hadn’t expected to see him again and had been both surprised and elated when he’d shown up at the daycare.
But her feelings had quickly turned to disappointment. Sly hadn’t asked for her phone number or a date. He hadn’t asked her a single question or said more than a sentence or two. In fact, he hadn’t seemed interested in getting to know her at all or wanting her to know anything about him. Instead, his heavy-lidded expression had told her exactly what he wanted.
More of what they’d shared on that wild night.
Against her better judgment, she’d wanted that, too. The attraction between them was more potent than anything she’d ever experienced, even during her honeymoon days with Brent. To the point that when Sly had moved close to her outside the daycare, her mind had all but emptied.
She frowned. How could she feel so strongly about a man she’d just met? She had no idea what his last name was or whether he really was a rancher, where he worked or anything about his family. Although she had a hunch Amy would fill her in tomorrow afternoon when she picked up Courtney.
At last, the kettle whistled, and Lana pushed Sly from her mind. Tonight she had better things to do than fantasize about the sexy cowboy. She carried her steaming mug to her home office, which doubled as the den.
The only positive thing about his visit this afternoon was that he’d distracted her from dwelling on the lack of interest her profile had generated at AdoptionOption.com. With input from the social worker, Lana had carefully created the online profile with her photo and other information. Although many girls had contacted her, nothing had stuck.
The reason why escaped her. Likely because she was single or something else. She had no idea. The lack of any serious interest was discouraging, and she wished she’d waited to share her decision with her family until she’d formed a promising relationship with an expectant mother.
Not about to give up, she decided to check the website tonight after she checked her e-mail. She sat down and scrolled through her inbox. There were ten—ten!—inquiries from parents who’d read the profile in the paper and wanted to visit TLD. Her friend Kate had also eß-mailed, whining about an upcoming blind date her mother had orchestrated. Several other friends had sent the usual jokes and gossip.
But one e-mail stood out. “Baby,” the subject line read, from [email protected]. Hardly daring to breathe, she opened the e-mail.
I got your name from the AdoptionOption website. I’m Sophie and I’m four months pregnant. I’m looking for the right person to adopt my baby. When I saw the article about you in the paper today and read your online profile at the website, I couldn’t believe it. You seem to really care about kids, and I would like to meet you. Text me.
The phone number followed.
This was the chance Lana had waited, hoped, and prayed for. Sucking in an excited breath, she jotted down the number with shaky hands.
Yet as badly as she longed for a baby, she had to admit she was also a little scared. Raising a child without a partner was going to be a huge job.
Too antsy to sit, she paced to the window and looked out. Despite the lights from the other town houses and the shade tree in her yard, she could see the crescent moon and the stars studding the sky like diamonds. Tonight they seemed especially bright. She took that as a good omen.
Regardless of the challenges ahead, she wanted a child with all her heart. She grabbed her cell phone and texted the girl.Hi, I would love to get together. How about Big Mama’s—my treat.Tell me when and I’ll be there. Looking forward to meeting you.Lana
She’d chosen Big Mama’s Cafe because everyone loved the restaurant’s food. Less than a minute later, Sophie texted back.Saturday @ 10?
Gleeful, Lana replied.Sounds perfect. I’m 5’6” and have longish blonde hair.
Sophie texted.I know what u look like from yr profile and the pic in the paper. CU.
A baby of her own!
“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” Lana cautioned out loud.
Sophie might decide she wasn’t the right person to raise her child, and allowing herself to imagine otherwise would only set her up for heartache.
Still, she was too excited to worry about that now or read the other e-mails. She logged in to AdoptionOption.com and checked Sophie’s profile. The girl was sixteen and a junior at Jupiter High School on the far side of town. She had short hair, dyed white blonde with neon-pink streaks and bangs that fell into big, soulful eyes lined in thick eye pencil. Despite the alternative look, she was pretty, and Lana guessed the baby would be beautiful.
“She isn’t the mother of my child yet,” she reminded herself. Not that it calmed her down. Laughing, she danced around the room while she speed-dialed Kate. As soon as her friend picked up, Lana smiled. “It’s happened,” she said, skipping the usual pleasantries.
“You have a blind date, too? Ugh, you know that sewing circle my mom belongs to? That’s where it happened. I cannot believe she went behind my back and fixed me up with her friend’s sister’s son. That sounds like a bad joke, doesn’t it? Too bad it’s real. Save me, please.”
The whole thing sounded awful, Lana agreed. Her mother had her faults, but she wouldn’t set up a blind date without first checking with Lana. Bonus points for her. “You never know, Kate—it could work out.”
“With the son of the sister of some woman in my mom’s sewing circle? Puh-leeze. Your turn. You said, ‘it’s happened.’ Let me guess—Sly finally found you.”
“He did, but this is about a baby. Tonight I got an e-mail from a pregnant girl who saw the article on TLD in the paper.” Lana squeezed her eyes shut and squealed. “She wants to meet me!”
“Wow, that’s great, but back up a minute. Did you say Sly found you? I knew he would! Why didn’t you phone me?” Kate sounded hurt.
“Because it happened late this afternoon, and I haven’t had a chance to call until now.”
