скачать книгу бесплатно
Whose Baby Is This?
Patricia Thayer
Fire burned bright in Tara MacNeal's eyes when she thrust her shocking news on Matt Landers: "You're my niece's father."But the handsome doctor quickly doused her heated accusation with his firm denial of paternity - and delivered a shocker of his own. Though the birth certificate named him as father, another man was responsible! For a revengeful schemer had stolen Matt's identity…and now an innocent baby - and her beautiful guardian - were at risk.To protect them, Matt kept "mother" and child within arm's reach…but his heart stayed miles away, where it was safe from the flickering warmth in Tara's touch. And though his name had been tarnished by an impostor, Matt would never trade his identity as "confirmed bachelor" for "husband and father"…would he?
“How many times do I have to tell you, she’s not my daughter?”
Tara’s back straightened. “Don’t worry, Dr. Landers, I already have custody of my niece and I plan to raise her like my own.” Her glare was heated with anger. “But it was my sister’s last request that you be told about your daughter.”
Matt glanced down at Tara’s ringless hand. Was she alone? He shook away the feelings of sympathy. She wasn’t his problem.
“For one last time, I never met your sister.”
Just then the baby stirred and began to cry. He wanted to soothe the infant…and her beautiful aunt, to take them in his arms and protect them from the world. None of this was their fault—or his!
He could not allow this little angel and her loving guardian to play with his feelings. And he would not be taken advantage of. But could he help them find the real father?
Whose child was Erin Landers…?
Dear Reader,
During the warm days of July, what better way to kick back and enjoy the best of summer reading than with six stellar stories from Special Edition as we continue to celebrate Silhouette’s 20th Anniversary all year long!
With The Pint-Sized Secret, Sherryl Woods continues to delight her readers with another winning installment of her popular miniseries AND BABY MAKES THREE: THE DELACOURTS OF TEXAS. Reader favorite Lindsay McKenna starts her new miniseries, MORGAN’S MERCENARIES: MAVERICK HEARTS, with Man of Passion, her fiftieth book. A stolen identity leads to true love in Patricia Thayer’s compelling Whose Baby Is This? And a marriage of convenience proves to be anything but in rising star Allison Leigh’s Married to a Stranger in her MEN OF THE DOUBLE-C RANCH miniseries. Rounding off the month is celebrated author Pat Warren’s Doctor and the Debutante, where the healthy dose of romance is just what the physician ordered, while for the heroine in Beth Henderson’s Maternal Instincts, a baby-sitting assignment turns into a practice run for motherhood—and marriage.
Hope you enjoy this book and the other unforgettable stories Special Edition is happy to bring you this month!
All the best,
Karen Taylor Richman,
Senior Editor
Whose Baby is This?
Patricia Thayer
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
To Jennifer Nauss, for all your hard work helping me find just the right story for Dr. Matt. It’s nice to have someone in your corner. And always, Steve.
PATRICIA THAYER
has been writing for fourteen years and has published over ten books with Silhouette. Her books have been nominated for the National Readers’ Choice Award, Virginia Romance Writers of America’s Holt Medallion, and a prestigious RITA Award. In 1997, Nothing Short of a Miracle won the Romantic Times Magazine Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best Special Edition.
Thanks to the understanding men in her life—her husband of twenty-eight years, Steve, and her three sons—Pat has been able to fulfill her dream of writing romance. Another dream is to own a cabin in Colorado, where she can spend her days writing and her evenings with her favorite hero, Steve. She loves to hear from readers. You can write her at P.O. Box 6251, Anaheim, CA 92816-0251.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Epilogue
Chapter One
Did the man deserve to know he was a father?
Tara McNeal wasn’t so sure as she stood at the office door of Dr. Matthew Landers, pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon.
Had she done the right thing coming to Santa Cruz? Tara looked down at her tiny three-month-old niece, Erin Marie, strapped in the carrier against her chest. From the moment the precious little girl had been born, Tara had wanted nothing more than to shower her with everything, especially love.
But Tara had made her deceased sister, Briana, a promise. That meant Erin’s father, Matthew Landers, had to be told about his daughter. Tara doubted the man cared. Not when he’d walked out of Bri’s life long before he knew she’d gotten pregnant.
So why would Dr. Landers care now? But it still frightened Tara to think he might take Erin away from her, might want to raise his daughter.
Well, I’m not going to get any answers until I talk to the man, she thought.
Tara’s hand shook as she opened the door. Inside, the surgeon’s waiting room had been decorated in soft blue and gray. A comfortable-looking sofa and four barrel chairs were grouped at a coffee table with several books scattered along the top.
At the desk sat a receptionist, a woman in her forties with dark hair and half-glasses perched on her narrow nose. She pulled them off and smiled. “May I help you?” she asked.
“Yes, I need to see Dr. Landers.”
“Do you have an appointment?”
Tara cuddled Erin’s tiny body closer. “No, but it’s important. We’ve come all the way from Phoenix.”
The woman glanced at Erin and smiled. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Matt sat at his desk, going over the report on a child who had been brought into the hospital last week. No matter how many times he’d studied the X rays, it didn’t change the fact that the six-year-old boy needed corrective heart surgery.
But the million-dollar question was could the weakened child survive the procedure? And could Matt once again live up to his illustrious reputation and pull off another miracle? He sure as hell hoped so.
The phone rang and he picked it up. “What is it, Judy?”
“I know you’re busy, Doctor, but there’s a woman with her baby here who wants to see you.”
He sighed, knowing his secretary was a pushover. “I’m really busy. Can you make an appointment for her later in the week?”
Judy’s voice lowered. “I would, but she came from Phoenix and the baby is only a few months old.”
Matt’s heart tightened. He knew he couldn’t turn away any child, not if there was something he could do. “Okay, send them back.”
Matt stood and slipped on his physician’s coat, then opened the door just as Judy was escorting the young mother and baby down the hall.
Matt couldn’t help but admire the tall attractive woman with short chestnut hair and pale, creamy skin. Her large green eyes were wide-set and slightly tilted at the corners. He glanced at the infant she held so tenderly in her arms. “Hello, I’m Dr. Landers and you’re Mrs.…”
“Ms. Tara McNeal,” she corrected. “This is Erin.”
Matt motioned for her to go in his office as Judy mouthed a thank-you, then disappeared. “Well, Ms. McNeal,” he began as he shut the door. “Have a seat.”
She ignored him and looked around the office. After a few seconds, she finally turned her attention to him.
“Can you tell me why it was so imperative I see you?” Matt asked.
“It’s about my baby.”
“Did my secretary explain I only see patients by referral?” He looked at Erin, then sat behind his desk. “I can send you to an excellent pediatrician, Dr. Talbert.”
“No,” she blurted, then calmed. “I don’t need a pediatrician.”
“Then please tell me why you’re here.” Matt glanced at his watch. He had to talk with Ryan’s foster parents. “I have a consultation in a few minutes.”
Suddenly Tara wanted to run. She had no doubt she could raise Erin by herself…alone. There was nothing worse than a man who didn’t want to be in his child’s life.
But she had to keep her promise to Bri.
She stole a glance at the tall Dr. Landers, a good-looking man with a square jaw and a slight cleft in his chin. His wheat-colored hair was parted neatly to one side. Tara swallowed a sudden dryness in her throat when his deep-set coffee eyes settled on her. Oh, my, sis. You were way out of your league.
Tara straightened to her full five foot eight. Just think about Erin, she told herself as she saw that the man behind the glass and chrome desk was quickly becoming impatient.
“What was it you wanted to discuss with me, Ms. McNeal?” he asked.
She unfastened the carrier and cradled Erin in her arms. “It’s about my sister, Briana…Briana McNeal.”
He looked confused. “What about your sister?”
Tara was saddened that he didn’t even recognize the name. “She died three months ago. This is her daughter, Erin.”
“I’m sorry for your loss,” he said. “So you’re Erin’s guardian now?”
Tara nodded, hoping desperately that would remain true.
“What is your niece’s condition?” He stepped around the desk, then reached out and stroked Erin’s head. “She looks healthy.” He smiled. “But looks can be deceiving, can’t they? I really need to see her medical records, though, before I can go any further.”
Tara blew out a long breath in frustration. She was tired of his game. “I’m not here because of a medical problem, Dr. Landers. You knew my sister, Briana. You spent time with her over a year ago.” She held his gaze. “Erin is your daughter.”
Matt Landers stood frozen. This had to be a joke. A bad joke.
“There’s been some mistake,” he said, trying to remain calm. “I’ve never met anyone named Briana.”
Tara McNeal gave him a knowing look, as if she’d expected him to say exactly that. “Well, according to my sister, you’re her daughter’s father.”
Just the thought of this precious child being his caused a familiar ache in his chest. But there wasn’t the remotest possibility of this accusation being true. He shook away the thought and wiped his face of any expression.
“Look, Ms. McNeal, I don’t know what kind of scam you’re pulling, but I’ve never met your sister,” he insisted.
“Why would my sister lie about this? She was dying.” Tara McNeal lowered her tear-glazed eyes.
Matt tried not to notice her tears. “Maybe knowing she was dying, she wanted to make sure her daughter was taken care of.”
“I’m taking care of Erin. Besides, I have proof.” She maneuvered a large bag off her shoulder, opened it, then took out an envelope. “Explain this,” she said, handing it to him.
Matt knew he shouldn’t give this woman’s claim any credence. All he had to do was show her the door. Or call security. He’d been sought after before. Doctors often had to deal with deluded people. It was the nature of the profession. The price he paid for the acclaim he’d received as a heart surgeon.
But he found himself reaching for the envelope and taking out a birth certificate for Erin Marie Landers. Born March twenty-ninth in Phoenix, Arizona. Mother: Briana McNeal. Father: Dr. Matthew Landers. Suddenly it felt like something was sitting on Matt’s chest, and he couldn’t breath. He knew it couldn’t possibly be true, but to see it on paper… He looked at the rosy-cheeked baby in the woman’s arms, and his yearning grew worse.
“Do you still deny you’re her father?”
His gaze met Tara McNeal’s, but he could not think of anything to say. Then the anger started to build inside his chest as he remembered the years of pain, the anguish he’d gone through…. He shook away the memory. He had to get to the bottom of this. “Your niece is a beautiful child, but she’s not mine.”
The young woman closed her eyes and drew a long breath.
“Look, Ms. McNeal, I’m sorry, but you have to believe me when I say I never met anyone named Briana McNeal. If I had, why didn’t she contact me when she discovered she was pregnant?”
“She did,” the redhead insisted. “You talked several times, but then your calls stopped. Then, when she tried to get in touch with you again, your cellular phone conveniently was disconnected.”
Whoever the father was, the guy was a real jerk, Matt thought. “Then why didn’t she call me here at the hospital? You didn’t have any trouble finding me.”
Once again he got her icy green-eyed stare. “She figured you didn’t want her around. But in the hospital when she became so sick…” Tara paused. “She told me that Erin had a right to know her father.”
Matt rubbed his forehead. Damn. How could this be happening to him? “Did your sister say where she met me? Was it here in Santa Cruz? Did anyone see us together?”
The baby started to fuss, and Tara shifted Erin to her shoulder. “According to Briana, the two of you met in Mexico nine months before Erin’s birth. She’s three months old. That’s pretty close to a year ago. Can you tell me that you haven’t been to Mexico?”
No, he couldn’t. He’d gone to Mexico several times on consultations.
