HER BABY'S SECRET FATHER Read Online Free Page B

lungs. She steadied herself against a moment of dizziness. Touching the thin, birth-wrinkled skin on her baby’s side, to make sure she was real, she watched Tara twitch and squirm in response.
    The heart-wrenching sight throbbed in Jaynie’s chest. She ached for her child. What a rotten way to come into the world…but at least she was alive. She said a silent prayer of thanks to God, and blew out her breath in a rush of emotion.
    The tiniest disposable diaper she’d ever imagined gaped at the legs of her scrawny newborn. She couldn’t help but shake her head and smile in awe at her daughter’s minuscule size and the obstacles this preemie had to overcome—like breathing, and growing to real newborn size.
    “Oh, I’m sorry, sweetie,” she said, moving her face closer. “It’s Momma, Tara.” Jaynie traced her finger lighter than air across the child’s arm, memorizing the feel. She held her breath as though Tara would break if she exhaled too hard.
    Her eyes eagerly examined the bundle of life. Mine. This is my baby. She couldn’t stop the wide smile of joy and pride that swept across her face. “Oh…” she cooed. Growing bolder, she placed her hand flat on Tara’s side, savoring the warmth of her skin and the heat of the lights. “You’re going to grow up to be big and strong, ’cause you’re my special little girl.”
    Jaynie’s glance danced up for the briefest of moments, to find Terrance staring at her with inquisitive deep hazel eyes. There was something troubled in his gaze. Yet he covered it up, and broke into a large grin. He clearly approved of her doting.
    His hair was pulled back and tied tightly in a ponytail with a leather string at the nape of his neck, as he always wore it for work. His intense eyes took center stage, giving him a doe-eyed, beaming look—like a foolish new father.
    Nah—not macho Terrance.
    Besides, Tara wouldn’t have a father. They’d be a family of two, and they’d make do. Just like Jaynie and her mother had. She knew from experience it wouldn’t be easy, but such was life, and she’d overcome worse in her thirty-four years.
    With her emotions out of control and eyes watering, she studied her child from head to toe. The tiny hand that grasped her thumb seemed to be perfection itself. Perfection, that was, until she counted the fingers. Six? What was with the extra tiny stub on the side of Tara’s palm?
    As though he’d read her thoughts, Terrance spoke up. “It’s a common anomaly, Jaynie. They’ll remove them before she leaves the hospital.”
    “How will they do that?” Why hadn’t she planned for this?
    “When they’re underdeveloped, like these extra digits, I believe they tie them off with string and they literally fall off—like a skin tag.”
    His large fingers touched Jaynie’s when he slid them over Tara’s hand. They were warm. She remembered how they’d felt when he’d held her in his arms. She willfully stopped the reaction brewing in her chest.
    “Will it hurt? Does it mean anything else is wrong?”
    “Not necessarily,” the NICU nurse broke in. “It’s just a fluke of nature. It doesn’t mean a thing, unless there is a history of a specific disease or syndrome. Anything unusual run in your or the father’s bloodline?”
    Jaynie’s mind flashed to the extensive paperwork she’d received on the sperm donor’s medical history. Nothing had been mentioned about birth defects or anomalies. Fear shot through her as she pondered the risk of other physical problems that might have been withheld on the sperm bank forms. But it was supposed to be the most reputable cryobank on this side of the Mississippi—that was why she’d moved to Southern California.
    “I don’t think so,” she said.
    Terrance stepped closer and smiled downward. He lifted his thick eyebrows and placed his hand before her for inspection. “See anything unusual here?”
    She shook her head, feeling puzzled. All she saw was a huge hand, with long, graceful