The Baby Surprise Read Online Free Page B

to confront her and demand answers to the questions that crowded his mind.
    Early that morning, when he’d read Olivia’s letter—and reread it over and over again, as if doing so might somehow change the words that were written—he’d tried to call her, but both her home and cell numbers were out of service. At the time, he’d been more annoyed than concerned by the realization, but he’d decided that the conversation they needed to have should be face-to-face, and he’d driven to the apartment building she’d lived in while they were dating.
    When he got there, he found that her name was no longer on the tenant directory and his inquiries of the landlord only revealed that she no longer lived there. His next stop was the law firm where she worked, and when he walked through the heavy glass doors of the law offices of Wainwright, Witmer & Wynne, he’d been confident that he was getting closer to the answers he sought.
    It was the receptionist—Louise Pringle, according to the nameplate on her desk—who’d told him, with tears in her eyes, that Olivia had been killed in a motor-vehicle collision more than five months earlier.
    He’d had to swallow around the lump of guilt and regrets that had lodged in his throat before he could ask, “Did she have her baby with her?”
    â€œOh, no. Paige was babysitting the little angel, and thank the good Lord for that.”
    Relief shuddered through his system, assuring him that, although the news about the baby had rocked him to the very core, he wanted a chance to know his child, to be a father to his little girl.
    â€œPaige?” he prompted.
    â€œPaige Wilder. She’s another one of the attorneys here. She has legal custody of Emma now.”
    â€œIs it possible for me to see Ms. Wilder?”
    â€œShe’s out of town,” the efficient Louise had said, consulting the schedule on her computer. “But Victoria Lawrence might be able to squeeze you in around two o’clock tomorrow.”
    â€œThanks, but I really need to see Ms. Wilder,” he had said. “Do you have a number where I could contact her?”
    The older woman had started to shake her head, but then she eyed the uniform again and paused. “I really can’t give out that kind of information,” she said. “Maybe if you left your name and number and the reason you want to speak with her, I could contact Paige and ask her to get in touch with you.”
    â€œIt’s a personal matter.”
    The furrow in her brow deepened, but when she looked up at him again, her eyes suddenly widened. “Oh, I didn’t realize.”
    â€œDidn’t realize?” he prompted.
    â€œYou’re Emma’s father.”
    Her matter-of-fact assertion had taken him aback. Although he had originally gone to the law offices to see Olivia about that possibility, he’d been completely unprepared to hear a stranger echo his short-term girlfriend’s allegation.
    â€œWhat makes you say that?” he asked, as wary as he was curious.
    â€œShe has your eyes,” Louise told him.
    â€œCrawford blue” was how his mother had always referred to the color that each of her children had inherited from their father.
    Although blue was a common eye color, he’d had enough people comment on the unique shade of his to realize that “Crawford blue” was distinctive. But he couldn’t say for certain whether or not Olivia’s child had the same color eyes because she’d been asleep when he arrived at Paige Wilder’s door.
    He hadn’t looked at her closely enough to see if there was any other resemblance. Maybe he hadn’t wanted to. He waswilling to do the right thing by his child, if Emma was his child, but, if he was honest with himself, he wasn’t sure he was prepared to tackle fatherhood and everything it entailed at this point in his life. He hadn’t thought much about having