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“But someone might be searching for it. I’d better take a closer look at Roger Adams and his family.”
“Or find the Balandin family. I struck out looking for them. The mother who left it for Gramma Helen was Sofia Balandin.” Carly tucked the egg away in the diaper bag.
“How are you going to keep that safe?”
“I have no idea. Maybe a safety-deposit box?”
“That’s a good idea.”
It would crush her to lose it now, and she glanced at her watch. If she hurried, she could get to the bank before it closed.
***
What had possessed him to offer to watch the baby? Lucas stared at the infant sleeping beside him on the sofa. Major stood, watching Lucas with his red ears cocked as if to ask him the same question. When Lucas had seen the panicked expression on Carly’s face and realized how late it was, the offer popped out of his mouth before he thought about it.
What if the kid’s diaper needed to be changed? What if he cried? The possible scenarios swirled in Lucas’s head. No way was he changing a diaper.
The floor creaked, and he looked up to see Ryan in theentry. His brother had a date, but for a moment Lucas considered throwing himself on Ryan’s mercy and begging him to stay. Stupid idea, though. Ryan didn’t know any more about babies than Lucas did.
Ryan’s eyes widened when he entered the living room and saw the baby. “I thought Carly left in your truck.”
“She did. She had to make a quick run to the bank, and I offered to keep the baby. It would have been closed if she’d gone home to get her vehicle and car seat.”
Ryan released a slow grin. “You falling under her spell, big brother?” The strong scent of Eternity cologne wafted into the room with him.
“What? Of course not!” Lucas wrinkled his nose at the thought. “She’s the last woman I’d ever be interested in.”
“Why? She’s pretty and smart. She’s loyal with a lot of heart.”
“And she made her husband’s life miserable. No thank you.”
“You’re listening to Eric’s mother too much. No one was good enough for her baby boy.”
Lucas shook his head. There was no getting through to his brother. Lucas was too jaded from his job to trust much of anyone, least of all a woman with Carly’s track record.
He decided to change the subject rather than fight about it. “Who you going out with tonight?”
“Cicely.”
“Three times in a row? Must be serious.”
“Nah, but she’s fun. We’re going to a country music concert.” The baby stirred, and Ryan’s hazel eyes darkened with concern. “You sure you know how to hold that kid and everything? I think he’s waking up.”
To Lucas’s dismay, his brother was right. The baby lifted his head and yawned. His eyes opened, and he put his fist in his mouth. The sucking noises made Major move closer, and Lucas grabbed his golden retriever’s collar. “Stay back, boy.”
The baby made mewling noises, and his head bounced up and down as if he couldn’t quite keep holding it up. Maybe he couldn’t. The sounds grew louder and more demanding. Those little lungs were gearing up to burst into a full-blown cry.
“Now what?” Lucas muttered.
“So now you pick him up. I think you have to watch his head and neck, though. They aren’t strong yet.”
“Since when did you become the baby expert?”
“I dated a girl in high school who had a newborn sister. It was one reason we broke up—she went on and on about the things you had to know about babies, and I wasn’t interested at the time.”
Lucas bit back a laugh. “I don’t doubt it.”
Little Noah’s lungs were in full bellow now, and Lucas bent down to scoop him up, but he wasn’t sure how to start.
