The Baby Jackpot Read Free

fun. “What time?”
    “Nine-ish.” With a wave of his free hand, Laird departed.
    Cole decided against checking the patio. Most likely Stacy had
left, and besides, she might mistake his professional concern for something
more.
    And I might mistake it, too.
    Although he’d heard of several happy marriages among the Safe
Harbor staff, workplace romances often backfired in an ugly fashion. And the
person on the lower end of the power structure was usually the one who got hurt.
Cole didn’t intend to do that to Stacy.
    He just needed to socialize more. Starting tonight.

Chapter Two
    Stacy’s walk on the beach carried her all the way to
the harbor. Since she didn’t feel like going home yet, she treated herself to a
pita supper at the Sea Star Café by the pier. Seated outside, she relaxed in the
salt air, watching sailboats glide to and from their moorings, listening to the
slap of water and the indistinct voices of tourists sauntering along the
wharf.
    Her thoughts kept returning to her unplanned reaction to Una’s
good news. Once upon a time, Stacy had longed for her own babies, but only if
she could raise them in a loving marriage such as her parents shared, and her
sister had found. Sure, other women raised kids alone—including Stacy’s
roommate, a fellow nurse. But Harper, the widowed mother of a young girl, hadn’t
chosen to be a single mom.
    Stacy wanted more for her biological kids. And she’d given it
to them. A stay-at-home, Una had a wonderful husband, Jim, and an adopted
two-year-old daughter. There’d be family support and full-time nurturing, like
Stacy’s mother had provided.
    At twenty-eight, Stacy hadn’t given up on happily-ever-after.
But most programs required egg donors to be under thirty, so she’d felt some
time pressure. As for her own future, she still didn’t understand how the deeply
caring relationship with her husband had fallen apart after only four years.
True, the excitement and romance of their early days had naturally faded, but
she’d considered that temporary, due to her busy schedule and Andrew’s having to
travel for an international investment company.
    She’d believed she’d found the kind of enduring passion that
had nourished her parents’ marriage for more than three decades. But Andrew had
fallen out of love, he’d said, and relit an old flame with his high school
girlfriend, who was now his wife.
    Surely there must be a man who could love Stacy with the same
ardor her father felt for her mother, but since Andrew’s betrayal, she found it
hard to trust anyone. As for having kids, it might happen. Or it might not.
    She felt a little ashamed of her reaction today, although she
supposed she should have expected it. Her light-headedness might also stem from
the arrival of her period. She’d seen a few signs this morning marking the end
of her cycle.
    She wished Dr. Rattigan hadn’t witnessed her meltdown. He had been awfully sweet, though.
    My favorite scrub nurse.
    It might not sound like much of a compliment to anyone else,
but it boosted her spirits.
    Some of the nurses considered him a cold fish. In Stacy’s
opinion, reserved was a better word. Cole tended to
observe people with a slight smile, as if he found them a fascinating alien
species. So today, when he’d loosened up, it had been all the more special. She
felt lucky to work with him.
    As she walked back to the hospital, Stacy put in a call to Una.
The mom-to-be was bubbling with high spirits. Judging by the happy noises in the
background, she and Jim must be surrounded by family and friends. Stacy kept the
conversation short and upbeat.
    Afterward, she felt glad that she’d called, but let down, too.
She’d expected to share in the joy when Una became pregnant, and instead she
felt like an outsider.
    She drove north to the apartment complex where she shared a
two-bedroom unit with Harper and her six-year-old daughter, Mia. As Stacy
mounted the outdoor steps, the mouthwatering aroma of baking