Undercover Baby

Letter to Reader Title Page CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN EPILOGUE Copyright

Welcome to the third of Rebecca Winters’ brand-new trilogy LOVE UNDERCOVER.

An award-winning author, Rebecca Winters writes romances that pack an emotional punch you won’t forget! And her new miniseries is no exception.

Meet Annabelle, Gerard and Diana. Annabelle and Gerard are private investigators, Diana, their hardworking assistant. Each of them is about to face a rather different assignment—faling in love!

Dear Reader,

Amnesia is a condition that has always fascinated me because it sets up so many possibilities for the person suffering from it, as well as the loved ones who must deal with it.

Recently I heard a story about a woman who lost her memory forever. As a result she divorced her husband. But this man loved her so much, he set out to win her love all over again. Six years later they were married.

I could only imagine the pain he went through, the rejection, the sacrifices he made, the challenges he faced because of his love for this woman. But as I imagined this, my own story, Undercover Baby, came to life. It’s my personal tribute to this hero of a man who lived every word of the vows he made.

Happy reading,

Rebecca Winters

Undercover Baby
Rebecca Winters

www.millsandboon.co.uk

CHAPTER ONE

“IS THIS the Rawlins’s residence?”

Cal Rawlins looped the bath towel around his neck, ready to put down the receiver in case it was a telemarketer. Seven-thirty in the morning was a little early to start listening to their unsolicited spiel.

If making love to his beautiful wife hadn’t put him in such a good mood before he’d reluctantly let her out of bed on this beautiful June morning, he might have said he wasn’t interested and then hung up.

“Yes, it is.”

“This is the Bonneville Regional Hospital emergency room calling. Please don’t be alarmed. The situation is not life threatening, but we have a Diana Rawlins here. Except for being disoriented from a fall, she appears to be all right. An initial examination reveals that the baby is jaundiced, but unharmed. A staff pediatrician has taken charge of his care. If you could come over—”

The mention of a baby filled Cal with unmitigated relief. “My wife’s at work and we don’t have any children.” Not yet anyway. “I’m afraid you have the wrong Rawlins. Sorry.”

He clicked off the phone and went back to the bathroom to finish shaving. His thoughts turned to their childless marriage, the only cloud threatening their happiness because she wanted to give him a baby so badly.

In the four years since their wedding, Diana had suffered three miscarriages, generally losing them at eight weeks. The last one had been devastating to both of them because she’d lost it after carrying it almost four months. A long enough time for them to decorate a nursery.

It had been a boy. They would have called him Tyler, after her grandfather.

When in future she conceived again, she would have to take it very easy and the doctor would perform a surgical procedure on the uterus to prevent the same problem from recurring. But so far, Diana hadn’t conceived and she was frantic that she might never have a child.

Their obstetrician suggested that she was trying too hard, that she needed to relax and give her body a chance to rest before they tried to get pregnant again. Cal recognized the wisdom of the doctor’s sound advice, but getting Diana to take it was a different story.

Cal had brought up the idea of adoption, but she’d adamantly refused to entertain it as a viable alternative. Still, he’d discussed the problem with Roman Lufka. Cal’s best friend and Diana’s boss at the LFK Associates International.

Both Roman and Cal agreed that if a baby were suddenly to become available, she might reconsider adoption. Oftentimes after obtaining a first child through legal means, a woman unexpectedly conceived. If time proved that Diana couldn’t carry a baby full term, then the adoption idea was worth pursuing. Roman had his sources and said he would look into them.

Naturally Cal would have loved a baby of his own body and hers, but if that wasn’t possible, then he welcomed the idea of adoption. Diana’s happiness meant more to him than anything else. They had an exceptional marriage. He would do whatever it took to preserve the great love they shared. She was his life!

While Cal finished getting dressed for work, he decided to call his friend and suggest that they get together for lunch later in the day. Maybe Roman had new information on the subject.

His hand no sooner reached for the phone to call Roman than it rang again. When he picked up the receiver and said hello, he learned it was the hospital disturbing him for the second time. His brows formed a dark frown line.

“Mr. Rawlins? You do live at 18 Haxton Place here in Salt Lake?”

“Yes? But as I told you before, we don’t have a baby.”

“Nevertheless this woman says she’s the baby’s mother. We checked her driver’s license. The address is listed as 18 Haxton Place, the same as yours.” An odd chill passed through his body. “She’s five feet six inches, long blond hair, green eyes, one hundred and twenty-four pounds.”

Tightening his grip on the receiver he said, “That’s my wife. Would it be possible to speak to her?”

“Not right now. As I told you a few minutes ago, the fall dazed her.”

When did she fall? Where?

“I’ll be right there.”

Feeling like he’d been kicked in the gut, he raced out of the house. Disobeying the speed limit, he drove his Saab to the hospital in record time.

He swallowed hard when he spotted her white Buick parked halfway up the block. Its presence confirmed that she had indeed driven to the hospital earlier that morning. She’d only been gone from the house a little more than an hour.

What in the hell had happened in that amount of time? The mention of a baby made no sense at all.

“I’m Mr. Rawlins,” he said the second he reached the admission desk outside the emergency room doors. “I’d like to see my wife, Diana.”

“Take a seat over there and someone will be right with you.”

With his adrenaline pumping, Cal preferred to remain standing. He would just as soon not have to look at all the anxious people who filled the reception area.

Thankfully the person who’d called the house had reassured him Diana’s condition wasn’t serious.

“Mr. Rawlins? I’m Dr. Farr, the one who first examined your wife. Come on in here and we’ll talk.”

Relieved to get some answers at last, Cal followed the short, wiry doctor through another set of doors to an empty examination room. He thought of course the other man would take him straight to Diana. The fact that he didn’t, served to deepen the pit in Cal’s stomach.

“Is my wife all right? That’s all I want to know.”

Dr. Farr looked up at Cal. “When she fell, she hit the back of her head hard enough to break the skin and form a small lump. The X ray didn’t reveal anything abnormal, but her concussion has left her disoriented. I’ve asked Dr. Harkness, a neurosurgeon on staff at the hospital, to come down and examine her. He should be here shortly.”

When the significance of his words sank in, Cal’s head reared back. “How bad is her disorientation?”

The other man eyed Cal compassionately. “A couple of ambulance attendants found her outside the emergency room entrance. She was sitting on the pavement in a dazed condition, clutching her baby.

“She couldn’t remember her name, where she lived, or what she was doing there. They had to look inside her purse for identification so they could call you.”

Good Lord.

Cal’s body broke out in a cold sweat. “Did someone see her fall? How do you know she wasn’t attacked?”

“We assume she slipped on the cement. The path is on an incline, so she probably fell backward. There was blood where her head hit, and the backs of her elbows are skinned. The baby didn’t appear to suffer any injury, but as you were told earlier, his bilirubin count is too high. To treat him for the jaundice, the pediatrician has put him under the lights.”

Cal shook his head in disbelief. “I have no idea whose baby it is.”

“A friend’s perhaps?”

“Possibly, though I can’t think of anyone close to us. Maybe Diana offered to baby-sit someone’s child and forgot to tell me. But I don’t see how that could be when she was on her way to work.”

“Well, it shouldn’t be too long before your wife starts to recall what happened.”

“I hope you’re right. Can I see her now?”

“Of course. Come with me. Please don’t be unduly concerned by her condition, Mr. Rawlins. Memory loss is a fairly common occurrence with some head injury patients.”

Memory loss was another word for amnesia. Just the word made Cal cringe.

“In the majority of cases, it’s temporary. She’ll probably be back to her normal self within twelve hours or so. I just wanted you to be prepared in case you went in to see her and she didn’t recognize you right away.”

Not recognize me?

Cal scoffed at the notion. She might be dazed, but there was no way in this world she wouldn’t know her own husband. They’d been soul mates from the moment they’d met.

Your soul could never forget an integral part of itself, he reasoned inwardly.

“She’s right in there. When you need to talk to me, I’ll be at the front desk.”

Nodding to the doctor Cal headed for the cubicle, his heart revving like a race engine. As he stepped inside the curtain, he couldn’t wait to embrace his wife who’d only been gone from his arms a short while.

He found Diana lying on her right side, facing him. From this angle he couldn’t tell that she’d sustained an injury to the back of her head.

Instead of the leaf-green shirtwaist dress which had molded her gorgeous figure earlier, she was wearing a hospital gown and appeared to be asleep. Her shoulder-length hair fanned out on the pillow, exactly as she’d worn it when she’d gotten ready for work.

Except for the smudges beneath her eyes where the dark lashes rested against her pale cheeks, she looked vulnerable as hell, but perfectly normal to him. Thank God.

Hopefully he’d be able to take her home within the next couple of hours.

One arm lay on top of the sheet covering her body. He leaned over to examine her elbow with his fingertip. The skin around the bandage showed definite signs of having been scraped. At the slight contact, her lips made an unfamiliar moue, then her eyelids fluttered open.

“Diana?” he cried in relief to see she was awake. In an instinctive move, he covered her mouth with his own, needing a repeat demonstration of the physical love they’d shared that morning before she’d left the house.

When she wouldn’t allow him to deepen their kiss, he tried gently to coax her lips apart to provoke the response he craved.

“No—” she begged in alarm. “Please don’t.” She pushed her free hand against his shoulder.

Never once in their lives had she rejected him. Bewildered by her behavior, he raised his head to look down at her. The green eyes staring back at him showed no sign of recognition. Only anxiety.

Lord.

She really doesn’t know who I arm.

That’s impossible!

“Diana, it’s me, Cal. Your husband. For the love of God, darling—Say something!”

He waited for her to cry out the words he needed to hear.

“I’m sorry,” she finally whispered, “but I have no idea who you are. Can I please talk to the doctor?”

Terror seized Cal’s heart so that he was slow to hear her plea.

The tall, broad-shouldered stranger at her bedside had just announced he was her husband, Cal. He’d called her Diana, and he’d kissed her with the ease of longtime familiarity.

Since she’d been brought in to emergency, Dr. Farr had referred to her as Mrs. Rawlins. Apparently she had no family other than her husband who would be arriving at the hospital shortly.

She studied the man whose brown hair matched the color of his pain-filled eyes. He reminded her of those men on horseback she’d seen in magazine ads depicting the West, rugged individualists with hardboned faces and chiseled features. Yet this man was dressed in a light brown business suit and tie, cloaking him in a mantle of urbane sophistication.

He looked successful, confident. Very much a master of his own destiny. She couldn’t imagine being married to someone who appeared so dominant and male.

Perspiration leaked from every pore of her body. She moaned in panic because she was unable to recall anything before they’d brought her and the baby into the emergency room.

The torment coming from the stranger’s eyes made her feel uncomfortable, and guilty, because she couldn’t do anything to alleviate it.

Her gaze slid away to focus on the large, breathtaking diamond of her engagement ring. It, plus a wide gold wedding band on the ring finger of her left hand, attested to the fact that she’d been through the process of an engagement and marriage to him. They’d had a child together.

The baby!

Right now she needed Tyler desperately.

Why hadn’t someone brought him back to her yet? The emergency room doctor had assured her that her little boy was all right, so what could be taking so long?

Wishing the man who claimed to be her husband would go away, she asked, “Could you do me a favor, please?”

“You know I’d do anything for you, darling,” came his husky response at last. “What is it?”

He’d been hovering over her. Combined with his loving attitude, she felt smothered and wished he would go away. “Would you please find Tyler and bring him to me?”

“Tyler?”

“My baby!” she blurted, not understanding why his voice had sounded so strange just now. But the strain of trying to get through to him had started up the horrible throbbing at the back of her skull once more. Nausea washed over her in waves.

“I just want Tyler,” she half sobbed. Tears poured down her cheeks. “They said he wasn’t injured in the fall, but maybe the pediatrician has found something wrong after all.”

His lips brushed her moist cheek. “I’ll be right back, my love.”

After he left the room, she breathed more easily. If he touched her again or used more any more endearments, she would ask the nurse to tell him to stay away.

Hurt because she’d winced when he’d kissed her, Cal wheeled out of the cubicle and made a beeline for Dr. Farr who was filling out a chart. At his approach, the doctor looked up.

“How is your wife? Did she recognize you?”

“Not yet.” He expelled the breath he’d been holding. “But she referred to the baby as Tyler, which is a step in the right direction.” Cal then proceeded to explain the significance of the name.

The other man gave him an encouraging smile. “No doubt about it. Her memory is returning. I’m sure Dr. Harkness will agree. Too bad something has held him up. I’ll make another inquiry and send him to you as soon as he comes into emergency.”

“I would appreciate that. However, there’s another problem. Diana’s worried about the baby and wants to see him to make sure he’s all right. After what I’ve told you about her last miscarriage, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“I understand where you’re coming from, Mr. Rawlins. You don’t want her to get unduly attached to a baby that isn’t hers. On the other hand, I’d like to decrease any anxiety she’s feeling right now. If seeing the baby will bring her momentary comfort, that might be the best medicine to hasten the initial healing process.”

In his heart of hearts Cal knew that for the time being, the baby was the only thing that would console his wife. The fact that she didn’t need or want him, her own husband, cut deeper than a knife. But he realized he had to put her desires ahead of his own.

“How old is the infant?”

“I estimate three, maybe four days.”

So young!

A shudder passed through Cal’s body. His wife would find a virtual newborn irresistible.

Diana, darling—Where did the baby come from? What were you doing with it? Lord, what a nightmare.

“Could you ask someone to bring the baby down to her?”

“It could be under the lights for a while. But I’ll find out what I can and keep you posted. In the meantime, go back to your wife and see if your conversation jars her memory a little more.”

He nodded. But first he needed to get hold of Roman.

Someone’s baby was missing.

If Diana couldn’t shed any light on the situation within the next little while, this could become a police matter. Roman would know exactly how to handle it and be discreet at the same time.

Cal didn’t think for a minute that his wife had gone off the deep end, and had stolen the baby. But whatever the explanation, when she regained her full memory she would be loathe to give it up.

This accident had happened too soon after her last miscarriage. More than ever he felt it vital to go ahead and start adoption proceedings.

Needing privacy, he found the empty examination room and called his friend on his cellular phone.

“Roman, here.”

“Roman? It’s Cal.”

“Hey! I’m glad you called. I was just telling Brittany the four of us need to get together this weekend. By the way, where’s the best assistant I’ve ever had? She told me she was going to come in early to catch up on some paperwork.”

“That’s what I’m calling about. Lord, Roman. I’m at Bonneville Regional. Diana’s in the emergency room with a head injury.”

“What?”

Cal’s eyes closed tightly. He was too broken up to talk.

“Say no more. I’ll be right there.”

“Thanks,”’ Cal said in a hoarse whisper, and put the phone back in his pocket. Right now he needed his buddy to help make sense of this nightmare. “Thank God for Roman,” he murmured, hurrying to Diana’s cubicle.

By this time another doctor was examining her, asking her questions. Cal figured it was Dr. Harkness. With eye signals the neurosurgeon indicated he wanted to be alone with his patient and would talk to Cal later.

He fought the desire to inform the doctor that he was Diana’s husband, that he wanted to be involved. However Dr. Harkness had left him with no choice but to return to the reception area.

Since the examination might take some time, Cal decided to go outside and wait for Roman. He needed to fill his lungs with fresh air that wasn’t tainted by the smell of antiseptic. On the way out, he asked someone to show him where his wife had fallen.

One of the ambulance attendants accompanied him to the spot, but any sign of an accident had been cleaned up.

“Did anyone see her fall?”

“Not that I know of, sir. We went out when an ambulance drove in and noticed her sitting on the path. Her pupils were dilated. She couldn’t tell us any information, so we brought her inside.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

Without wasting another second he strode swiftly toward her parked car. She’d left the doors unlocked, something she normally never did for safety reasons. It meant she was in such a hurry to get inside the emergency room, she didn’t bother.

Suddenly his eye caught sight of a rectangular carton in the back seat. It was the kind of box that held produce meant for a grocery store. With a jerk, he opened the back door and reached for the box. The empty carton had been lined with a thin, wrinkled cotton blanket.

Dear Lord. Had she found the baby in this box?

“Cal?” a familiar male voice called out.

Cal whirled around to see Roman standing there. He must have flown from his office to make it here this fast.

“What’s going on?”

After emitting a tortured sigh, Cal told his friend everything he knew. “The hell of it is, she didn’t recognize me, Roman.”

He felt a clap on his shoulder. “When I was on the police force, I investigated a lot of accidents and saw plenty of cases like this. Her amnesia is temporary.”

Cal shivered again. “You can’t imagine what it’s like to kiss your wife, look into her eyes, only to see fear and repulsion there.”

“No, I can’t. But she only fell a couple of hours ago. Give it time for her mind and body to absorb the shock. It won’t be long before she’s back to normal. Meanwhile, let’s see if there’s anything else in the car that will give us a clue as to what happened.”

Roman’s was the voice of sanity. Together they searched the immaculate interior, but found nothing else.

“Have you looked in her purse or her clothes?”

“No,” Cal answered in a hoarse voice. “Her reaction to me left me too shaken up to think, period.”

“I hear you. Let’s go inside the hospital and see if we can find anything else that will shed some light.”

Cal nodded before the two of them went back to the emergency room. Dr. Harkness met them at the desk.

After exchanging the amenities he said, “I concur with the attending physician’s diagnosis. She’s suffering the kind of amnesia brought on by head trauma.

“There’s been no loss of knowledge of the things around her. For example, she knows she’s in a hospital, she can tell time, add numbers, all of those details. But for now she has blocked out past events. In time, she’ll recover her memory.”

“How soon, Doctor?”

“No one has the answer to that question. You just have to be patient. My advice is to feed her information on a need-to-know basis only. Her mind is refusing to let her remember, possibly because she doesn’t want to remember.” One blond brow lifted. “Has something happened recently that has been very painful for her?”

Cal started to nod. “She’s had three miscarriages in a row. The most recent one dealt us both a severe blow. Since then, Diana has been obsessed by the idea that she might not be able to conceive again, let alone have a child. She’s wanted a baby ever since we were married.”

“That could explain the reason why it might take longer for her to get her memory back, Mr. Rawlins. Dr. Farr tells me the baby she was holding isn’t yours, that you have no idea whose it is.”

“None at all. Roman, here, is the head of the Lufka detective agency. He’s going to start an investigation to find out whose baby it is, and why Diana happened to have the baby with her.”

The doctor’s expression sobered. “That’s good. But as you’ve realized by now, she believes the baby is hers.”

“Yes. That’s what’s got me worried."

“I confess I don’t like it, either. Dr. Farr told me you would rather she didn’t see the baby again. I tend to agree with you, yet I also feel that the other doctor has a point. The baby would be good for her right now to comfort her in her fear. She’s very frightened that she can’t remember anything about her life with you. She’s clinging to that child because she needs something to love that is familiar to her.”

“What should I do?”

“For the time being, the baby has jaundice and can’t be moved from the lights until the pediatrician gives the go ahead. I’ve told your wife about his condition. She seems to have accepted the fact that she’ll have to wait until he’s improved before she’s allowed to see him.

“Thankfully the baby’s condition, which is not life threatening now that he’s being given the proper care, has bought us some time. We can hope that as you stay with your wife, keep her company and anticipate her needs, she’ll start to remember things on her own. The memory usually comes back in bits and pieces with little effort.”

“Except that she’s repulsed by my presence,” Cal ground out.

“She told me she’s afraid of you. That’s why I didn’t invite you to stay for the examination. It’s a natural reaction. She has to go on blind faith that you are her husband, that you two love each other and have been happily married. To her, you’re a complete stranger.

“I’m going to have her admitted overnight for observation. In the morning, if all her vital signs are stable, and another X ray doesn’t show any problems, I’ll let you take her home.

“For the time being, my advice for what it’s worth is to treat her like a sister rather than a wife. Slowly but surely allow friends and relatives to come around, but warn them not to upset her or act startled by her loss of memory. Always be supportive, friendly, tender, kind. Don’t overreact when she retreats. She’s only protecting herself. Don’t make physical advances.”

Cal shook his head. “I already did when I kissed her and she didn’t kiss me back.” The pain of her rejection had gone soul deep.

“A perfectly natural gesture on your part, but it explains her anxiety. Until her memory returns, she has to regain her trust of you. I’m afraid the burden is on your shoulders, Mr. Rawlins. However I want to assure you that I believe her condition is temporary. In time you’ll have her back as good as new.”

He turned to Roman. “We’ve had to report Baby Doe to the police, but perhaps your investigation will produce swifter results. Let us know, will you?”

“Of course. I’m hoping to have answers within a few hours.”

“Good. Then I’ll talk to both of you later. The hospital will keep me notified if there are changes in your wife’s condition. If you have any concerns at all, feel free to ask someone at the desk to phone me.”

“Thank you, Dr. Harkness.”

He smiled. “She’s a lovely woman. I can understand your fear. This is the time when the wedding vows start to take on a whole new meaning.”

Cal pondered the doctor’s words. He knew the other man was trying to commiserate, but could anyone understand a situation like this unless they had experienced it for themselves?

“You all right, Cal?”

The concern in Roman’s voice jerked him back to the present.

“No, but I’m going to have to be, aren’t I?”

The rhetorical question required no response. Roman shifted his weight. “After listening to Dr. Harkness, I think it would be better if I don’t see Diana until tomorrow or even the next day. One person at a time. It makes sense to me.

“What I want you to do is ask an attendant to bring her belongings out here. Tell them to make up any excuse they want so they won’t alarm her unduly. I might find a clue. It’s the first place I need to start. Then I’m going back to the office. Maybe she left some kind of clue there which I didn’t see at the time.

“We know she was on her way to work this morning and made no mention of tending anyone’s baby. So it’s my guess the baby was either placed in her car or—”

“Or placed on the doorstep at work!” Cal blurted. “If it had been on our doorstep or in our car when she left the garage, she would have run in the house to tell me.”

“Unless it was still kind of dark and she didn’t notice it on the back seat until she got to work.”

“That’s a possibility, except that she almost always locks the car doors. Someone would have had to force entry to even get in the garage.”

“Whatever, following this to its logical conclusion, if the baby looked yellow to her, she might have been so concerned, she didn’t think to call anyone. Instead she felt it was an emergency and immediately drove to the hospital figuring an ambulance couldn’t get there any faster. Obviously in her haste, she slipped and fell.”

“That’s it, Roman! That has to be the explanation.”

“As soon as you can, get me her things, and I mean everything, we should have answers before long.”

“I owe you for this, Roman.”

“Then we’re more than even. I can’t count the times you’ve come to my rescue, especially when I was working on Brittany’s case. You and Diana helped me keep my sanity before I made her my wife. Now it’s my turn to help you. I’ve never made it any secret that I love Diana. So do the other PI’s. She’s the best thing that ever happened to the agency. When the guys hear what happened, it’s going to come as a horrible shock, particularly to Brittany and Annabelle.”

“I know. Those three have grown as close as sistets.”

“I’ll inform everybody. You go back to Diana and let us handle the investigation.”

Cal put a hand on Roman’s shoulder. “Wait here just a minute. I’ll get someone to bring out her things.” He found an attendant nearby and told her what they needed from Diana’s cubicle.

“No problem. The doctor has just given orders to take her up to a private room on the fourth floor, 418 North. I’ll just tell her we’re going to load her stuff on a cart first.”

“Perfect.”

In short order the attendant came back with a large sack provided by the hospital containing Diana’s personal effects. Cal handed it over to Roman. “I hope you find something. For Diana’s own good, the sooner the mystery about the baby is cleared up, the better.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll be fast and thorough. I’m going out to her car for the box and blanket. One of the guys will be by later to drive the car back to your house. In the meantime, as soon as I discover anything, I’ll phone you on your cellular.”

Cal nodded. He couldn’t ask for more than that. Right now as he stared at Roman’s departing back, he realized his friend’s level-headed thinking was the only thing keeping him from going right over the edge.