Granted: A Family for Baby Read Free Page A

husband, a Harmony High School classmate of theirs, who had left town for fifteen years, then had come back to marry and settle down.
    “Of course not. Jed is perfect. But he wasn’t always perfect,” Tally admitted. “It took some doing.”
    “Brady claims I won’t find anyone good enough for me here,” Suzy said. “Who’s this friend of Jed’s?
    “Somebody in the pilot’s association. He’s flying in on Saturday along with some other old friends of Jed’s. We’re having a little dinner party Saturday night. To celebrate the brand-new, remodeled dining room, I’m. bringing out my best china. Can you come?”
    “Of course. Oh, no, wait a minute. My mother’s got her bridge group Saturday night.”
    “So bring Travis along. You can put him to bed in the guest room.”
    “No, wait,” Suzy said with a gleam in her eye. “Brady said he’d baby-sit for me if I had a date, probably assuming I’d never have one. I’m going to call his bluff.”
    Tally smiled conspiratorially. “I’ll send Allan to pick you up in Jed’s car. To make it look real. It is real,”
     she reminded Suzy. “This guy is to die for, single, too. The only thing is—”
    “I don’t want to hear it,” Suzy said. “He’s a man. I have a date. That’s all that counts.” She slid off the stool, took her coat from the rack and met Brady at the cash register where he was paying the bill.
    He shot her an inquiring look.
    “Okay, you win,” she said grimly, reaching into her purse for the money to pay for her breakfast. “There were no eligible men here today. But there weren’t any gunslingers, either.”
    “So they’re taking the day off to polish their Winchesters. But hey, you win, too,” he said, pushing her hand away as she tried to pay for her share of the bilL “You win some time to think over this ill-advised scheme.”
    “I don’t need to think it over. After the election I’m going to work at the diner. Unless, of course, I’ve found Mr. Right by then. Which reminds me,” she said as they left the diner and started back under dry but leaden skies, “I need a baby-sitter for Saturday night.”
    He turned to give her a blank stare.
    “You said you’d baby-sit for me if I went out on dates. I’m going out on a date.”
    He stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and grasped Suzy’s arm. “With who?”
    “No one you know.” No one she knew, either. “Does it matter?”
    “Of course it matters. You deserve the best,” Brady said.
    “I’m not looking for the best. I’m just looking for—”
    “I know. A faceless, nameless guy who eats all his
     meals in a diner. Who’ll support you so you can stay home and play wife and mother.”
    Suzy took a deep breath and pulled her arm away. He was not going to talk her out of getting married. And he was not going to get out of his promise.
    “You said you’d baby-sit for me. Are you are a man of your word, or is that just your slogan?” she asked.
    “Yes I’m a man of my word, and no, that’s not just a slogan.”
    He took her by the elbow and they walked briskly in step toward the office. “Just let me know what time Saturday night,” he said, holding the front door open for her. Brady felt a glow of satisfaction as he returned to his office. He’d faced the enemy this morning and felt confident he could win. Especially with Suzy at his side. He’d headed off a disaster by preventing her from leaving him when he most needed her. One Saturday night of baby-sitting was a small price to pay for her skills, her loyalty and her political savvy. After all, how hard could it be to take care of a one-year-old baby for a few hours?

Chapter Two
    T he week sped by. Suzy gave in to Brady and put her dreams on hold until after the election. But every morning when she dropped Travis off at her mother’s she promised her son this schedule wouldn’t last.
    “Someday,” she said as she lifted him out of his car seat on Friday morning and lugged his diaper bag,