Jingle Bell Baby. Kate Little

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      “So, what happens next?” Jessie asked as she followed him to the door.

      “Someone will come by tomorrow and pick up the baby. I guess they’ll call you in advance for directions and such. You’d better give me your number,” he added and took a small pad and a pen out of his jacket pocket.

      Jessie gave him the number, silently registering that the someone who would call and come for the baby wouldn’t be Sheriff Bradshaw.

      “Oh, and you’d better save all her blankets and the clothes that she’s dressed in. We’re going to need all of that for the investigation.”

      “Investigation?”

      “We’ve got to try and find her mother, or whoever it was that wrote that note,” he explained, sounding very much like an officer of the law, Jessie thought.

      “But whoever left her doesn’t want her. It says so right in the note,” Jessie said. “Daisy wouldn’t be returned to someone who doesn’t want to take care of her, would she?”

      The note of concern in her voice touched a nerve. The woman certainly had a point, but he sure as hell didn’t make the rules.

      “It will be up to the court to decide,” he said simply. “That is, if we find her mother, or some other relative.”

      “And if you don’t find anyone?”

      “Then she’ll be adopted. There are thousands of couples waiting to give a baby like that lots of love and a good home,” he assured her.

      Thousands of couples. The phrase echoed in Jessie’s mind. Sometimes it seemed that the world was designed like Noah’s ark; you couldn’t get anywhere if you weren’t traveling in a twosome.

      “Yes, I guess there are,” she said quietly. Then in a brighter tone, she added, “Just one more thing before you go, Sheriff—”

      “Yes?” he answered sharply, pinning her with a definite “what is it now?” look.

      “Merry Christmas,” she answered.

      “Right—Merry Christmas,” he replied gruffly. “You’ve been a great help with this situation. Thanks.”

      “No thanks necessary,” Jessie replied lightly. “Thanks for trusting me with her.”

      “Well, don’t think I’m not going to check you out before the night is through,” he warned her in a half-teasing tone.

      “Oh?” Jessie’s eyes widened. Then she laughed. “Well, let me know if you find out anything interesting. A woman likes to live up to her reputation.”

      He didn’t answer. He just stood staring down at her for a long moment, his gaze floating over her hair and eyes, lingering on her mouth. Jessie felt something passing between them that was positively electric. He was going to lean down and kiss her. She felt as if she could barely breathe. Jessie looked up at him, meeting his gaze. Her lips parted. She held her breath…

      But he didn’t. He stepped back, and pulled open the door. “Good night,” he said abruptly. And without waiting for her reply, he stepped out into the falling snow.

      Jessie watched from the doorway as he walked down the path to his car and drove away. He was a puzzle, wasn’t he? A tempting puzzle for a woman attracted by that kind of man.

      But not her.

      Not by a long shot.

      She wasn’t going to get her tail tied in a knot over Sheriff Clint Bradshaw. Not tonight, anyway. She had a baby to tend to and the very thought made her glow with excitement and shiver with flat-out fear.

      This was a definite case of “watch out what you wish for because you just might get it,” she reflected as she walked back to Daisy’s basket. Well, it was just one night, she reminded herself, and the night was nearly over besides. Surely she could manage to care for one little tiny baby for a few hours? Why, the poor little girl would probably be asleep the entire time anyway.

      It was almost as if Daisy had read Jessie’s mind and had, on cue, decided to prove just how wrong a person could be about a baby. One moment, she was sleeping peacefully as Jessie looked on, contemplating how her tiny features were set in the most angelic expression. And a split second later, she was screaming at the top of her lungs, her body stretched with tension, her little face turning as red as a Christmas ball.

      “Here we go again,” Jessie mumbled, shaking her head as she reached for the baby. “Oh, now, now, sweetie. What’s all this racket about, honey pie?” she asked the baby as she lifted her up.

      It seemed unlikely that Daisy would be hungry so soon after having virtually inhaled that huge bottle, Jessie reasoned. It had to be something else. Her diaper! Yes, that was it. She hadn’t given the downtown area any attention recently and was sure that must be the cause of Daisy’s hysteria.

      “Okay, sweetie. I think I have a clue now—” With the crying baby slung over her shoulder, Jessie scampered around the house, pulling open drawers and closets with her one free hand as she tried to fix up a makeshift diaper station.

      She brought all the supplies into the living room and tossed them on the couch. Then she laid Daisy down on the couch on an open bath towel and got to work. Removing the dirty diaper and cleaning the baby’s bottom was no problem. But the disposable diapers were not nearly so easy to use as they looked. Jessie found that securing one around a squirming, wailing infant was quite a challenge. Almost as fast as Jessie could get the diaper on her, Daisy seemed to twist and burst out of it, messing up all the sticky stuff on the tabs.

      When Daisy was finally, though haphazardly, diapered to Jessica’s satisfaction, the room was littered with clean but unusable failed attempts.

      The baby’s nightgown and undershirt were also wet, Jessie noticed while diapering her. After another long bout of squirming, crying and figuring out what seemed to Jessie a very complicated arrangement of snaps, Daisy had on a fresh diaper and a clean, dry undershirt and nightie.

      Exhausted but proud, Jessie picked up Daisy and carried her back to her basket. Just as she was placing the baby back in her basket, however, she realized that somewhere during the clothes change, Daisy had managed to dirty her diaper again.

      This time, in a more substantial manner.

      “Courage, Malone,” Jessica said, bolstering herself. “You can do it.”

      Daisy smiled up at her and stuck her fist in her mouth.

      Jessica carried her back to the couch, and went through the entire operation one more time.

      By the time Jessie had Daisy cleaned up again, the baby had begun a whimpering cry. Jessie realized that several hours had passed since she’d been fed. She fixed Daisy’s bottle quickly and fed her.

      She was careful this time to remember to burp the baby. As Daisy gave out another astounding burp, Jessie glanced at the clock. It was well after three. Didn’t babies need to sleep a lot? Daisy seemed totally unaware of that part of her job description and did not look to Jessie at all likely to fall asleep anytime soon.

      Jessie swaddled Daisy in a blanket and sat СКАЧАТЬ