He laughed. “I guess I surprise myself. I’ve never been around babies much. But there’s something special about John David. It’s hard to explain. He’s just so—I don’t know—innocent, I guess. He makes you want to protect him.” His smile seemed self-deprecating. “Not exactly a manly thing to say, is it?”
On the contrary. Nina had a sudden vision of the way Grant had looked that afternoon when he’d taken the baby from her arms. His menacing presence had terrified her, and she’d had no doubt that he would do whatever necessary to protect the child. There’d been no question of his masculinity then or now. He was not only a man used to getting what he wanted, but was also a man who would fiercely guard what he thought was his.
Nina shivered again, and Grant’s arms tightened around her. “You’re freezing,” he said. “Let me go get your coat. What does it look like?”
Her mind raced. If she remained in Grant Chambers’s presence for much longer, she’d surely give herself away. She had to get away from him. She had to find a way to get upstairs and locate the nursery.
“It’s a very common style,” she said. “You’d better let me go get it.”
She tried to pull out of his arms, but he held her for an instant longer. His gaze deepened, letting her know in no uncertain terms that he found her attractive. And that he had every intention of acting on that attraction. Nerves fluttered along Nina’s backbone.
“Promise me you’ll come back,” he demanded softly.
She hesitated, striving for poise. Then she nodded and walked away.
* * *
Slowly Nina climbed the curving staircase, her heart pounding against her chest. This is it, a little voice whispered inside her. The moment of truth.
Soon she would find the baby they called John David and stare down into his little face. Soon she would know whether or not he was hers, because surely her instincts would tell her.
Pausing on the wide balcony, she glanced down at the throng below her, her gaze finding and resting on Vanessa Baldwin. The woman hadn’t given her a second glance all evening. She obviously had no idea who Nina really was or why she was there. Vanessa had no idea of the possible threat that lurked in her midst.
How easy would it be, Nina wondered daringly, to grab the baby and run? To simply disappear with him rather than letting the law take its course?
She had a little money put away. Though she’d received nothing from Garrett’s massive trust fund, she’d been the beneficiary of a life-insurance policy he’d left behind. She could use that money now to go somewhere far away and make a new life for herself and her son. Far away from the Fairchilds and the Baldwins and the Chamberses.
But seeing Vanessa Baldwin tonight had only confused Nina more. Vanessa was so beautiful and elegant, so sure of herself. Karen Smith had been the total opposite, demure and shy and so painfully insecure. Had it all been an act, an elaborate charade to win Nina’s confidence and then steal her baby?
Had Trent Fairchild played a part in the tragedy?
Had Grant?
Almost inadvertently, her gaze came to rest on Grant Chambers. He was talking to a woman in a red-beaded dress, and as Nina stood watching, she saw the woman place her hand on his arm, as if staking her claim. Uneasiness stirred inside Nina. A memory of something she’d read in the paper that afternoon came back to her. There’d been a vague reference to a scandal involving Grant four years ago before he’d moved to Venezuela. Though Nina hadn’t paid much attention to it at the time, she wondered now what had happened to him. Why he’d felt compelled to leave the country back then.
If he’d been in Venezuela for the past four years as he’d told her when they were dancing—then he hadn’t been here when Nina’s baby had been born. He hadn’t been anywhere near Galveston when Dustin had been stolen.
Why, all of a sudden, did she so desperately want to believe that? Nina wondered. Why did it matter if Grant was guilty or innocent so long as she found her baby?
As if sensing her scrutiny, he lifted his head suddenly and found her on the landing. Even from a distance, Nina could feel the intensity of his gaze, the power of his presence, and she shivered.
When he found out who she was, why she had come here, Grant Chambers would become her enemy. The notion left Nina oddly shaken, and only by sheer force of will was she able to tear her gaze from his and turn away.
* * *
There were several doors that opened from the upstairs hallway, and Nina had no idea which one was the nursery or if the baby’s room was even on this floor. She started checking the rooms one by one, knowing she had only a few moments before Grant would start to wonder what was taking her so long to find her coat and come looking for her.
Most of the rooms on the second floor were bedrooms, the largest of which was obviously the master suite. Nina paused in the hallway for a moment, glancing over her shoulder toward the stairway and the balcony that overlooked the large area below. Satisfied that no one was about, she let herself into Vanessa Baldwin’s sitting room.
And just what do you expect to find? Nina asked herself as she stood leaning against the door, her gaze scanning the room. A dark wig? Black-rimmed glasses?
If Vanessa Baldwin really was Karen Smith, she would have destroyed her disguise a long time ago. Searching her suite would be an exercise in futility, but Nina couldn’t bring herself to leave. Not yet.
The sitting room was elegantly decorated in shades of cream, gold and dark green. Though it had been beautifully done, Nina found the room totally lacking in personality. There was nothing out of place, nothing that didn’t match, nothing whatsoever that gave away anything of the personality of the woman who occupied these quarters.
As Nina turned to leave, a photograph on an antique cherry wood table caught her eye. She crossed the room and picked up the gold frame, her heart hammering inside her as she stared down at the image.
Here’s your proof, a little voice taunted her. This is what you came for.
The woman in the picture was Vanessa Baldwin. A very beautiful and very pregnant Vanessa Baldwin. Standing in front of a building with white columns, she looked to be about seven or eight months along.
Nina’s hands trembled as she stared down at the photograph. Did this confirm her doubts then? Did this prove Vanessa Baldwin wasn’t Karen Smith?
Could Nina have wanted to find Karen so badly that she’d conjured her up in the park that afternoon? Had she so desperately wanted to believe the baby she’d held in her arms was Dustin that she’d managed to convince herself he was?
Sergeant Farrell had warned her. The odds were against her, the coincidences too great. But she’d refused to believe him.
Nina had never felt so near an emotional edge as she did at that moment. Not when Garrett had died and not even when Dustin had disappeared. She’d somehow managed to hold herself together in the face of those tragedies because she’d always been a survivor. She’d had to be.
But now.
Now Nina had to question her own sanity. She could no longer trust her own judgment.
Dear God, what if she had taken that baby? What if she had put someone else through the same hell she’d gone through when Dustin disappeared?
Nina closed her eyes as the strange room swayed around her. She had to get out of there before she said or did something that would get her carted off to jail or to an insane asylum or…worse.
Taking a steadying breath, she hurried across the room and opened the door, but just as she started to step into the hallway, she heard another door open. Stepping back into the room, Nina left the door slightly ajar so that she could see down the hallway. What if it was Vanessa? she thought, frantically casting about for a hiding place.
But