The Baby Battle Read Free

selling something, I’m not interested.”
    He laughed. “Promise, I’m not about to haul out some vacuum cleaners or magazine subscriptions. This matter is a little more…” Expression pinched, he seemed to have a tough time finding just the right word. “Well, let’s just say…delicate.” Withdrawing a packet of documents from his suit coat’s chest pocket, he handed them to her. “I just discovered that you and I share something very precious, and thought this a matter best handled face-to-face.”
    Olivia made quick work of scanning the documents, sheer will the only thing keeping her from blacking out. Obviously the man was deranged.
    “You should’ve received similar documents from the lab. They said they’ll be setting up a meeting.” Still wearing expensive-looking sunglasses that shaded his eyes, he nodded toward the papers in her trembling hands.
    “I haven’t received papers or a call,” she snapped.
    “Have you checked your mail? Mine were courier-delivered, but since you already know you have a son, they might not have been as expedient in your notification.”
    Ignoring him, Olivia looked over the papers once more. The more she read, the more her stomach roiled. Above anything else, she’d wanted to be a mother. So much so, she’d resorted to artificial insemination. Her doctor had assured her that the lab they’d used was reliable, discreet and all donors had signed consent forms agreeing to play no part in the lives of any future children born of their seed. Olivia had spent hours reading donor profiles. Though no names were given, there were photos, IQ test results, thorough family history of health issues. Donor A-178954 had been the ideal father for her child. A PhD, he taught history at a small private college. His hobbies were sailing and horseback riding. He’d chosen to donate in honor of his deceased sister, who had never been able to conceive. In short, her baby’s father was perfect. One hundred percent not the man standing on her porch.
    “Allow me,” the man said, jogging toward her mailbox at the end of her drive.
    “Liv?” Gabby called from the patio. A warm breeze carried her voice through the screen door. “Everything all right?”
    “S-sure,” she replied. “Be back in a sec!” Just as soon as this lunatic climbed back into his house on wheels and got out of her life.
    He was back, hand outstretched with a pile of mail. Water bill. Cable. Phone. Land’s End catalog…
    The next envelope had the return address of H & R Laboratory. The very sight caused Olivia’s heart to skip. Trembling made opening the envelope no easy task, but once the deed was done, she saw that her initial paperwork was pretty much a mirror image of the man’s standing before her. The lab manager was sorry. Blah, blah, blah. Bottom line, they claimed that instead of A-178954 being her baby’s father, this Tag O’Malley character was. The fine print in the consent forms she’d signed released the lab of all responsibility should just such an incident arise.
    Translation—as long as Olivia had gotten a baby, the lab didn’t care where he or she had come from. Mr. O’Malley, on the other hand, would have signed very different forms. He certainly wouldn’t have given away his parental rights the way her intended donor had. Meaning, if she didn’t pull some legal strings—fast—she could possibly lose the precious baby she’d fought so hard to bring into her life.
    “Again, sorry to just dump all of this on you. I thought by now you would’ve heard about our predicament.” Slipping off his sunglasses to peer around her toward her home’s shadowy interior, he asked, “Is there any way Imight come in for a spell? More than anything, I’d like to see the baby.”
    Hot and dizzy and seriously on the verge of being sick, Olivia managed, “Um, sure.” She stepped back, allowing him entry, and closed the door behind him.
    “Thank you,” he said, tone softer than it had previously