LITMIR.BIZ

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Darcy wondered. Then it dawned on her—his sister, Josie, had vanished a few years ago. Her absence probably weighed heavily on him, since the pair had been close.

      Sam frowned at his brother. “Now is not the time to get cute.”

      “You know I can’t control it.” Ridge grinned, his dimples prominent even through the dark, heavy stubble on his cheeks. It was the same teasing expression he’d worn so often when they were alone together as teenagers, and it made Darcy’s heart tighten to see it now on the face of the man he’d become.

      Sam shook his head, but Darcy saw the smile he tried to hide. “We’ve got to find this woman—she could be the key to unlocking the whole case.” He turned to face Darcy. “Let’s start with what we do know. Do you have any idea how old this baby is?”

      Darcy tilted her head to the side, considering his question. “I’d say she’s about one to two weeks old,” she replied. “That range is consistent with her height, weight and reflex responses.”

      “Okay,” Sam said. He gestured to the computer workstation in the exam room. “Can you pull up access to hospital birth records during that time frame?”

      “I should be able to,” she said. It took a few moments, but she was able to gain access to the records system without much trouble. “It looks like there were nine total births during that period, four of which were female babies.”

      Annabel slipped inside the room while Darcy searched. “Good thing you put the note in a plastic bag,” she commented, pushing wet tendrils of hair off her forehead. “It’s really coming down out there.”

      “Washing away any traces of the person who left this baby on my porch,” Ridge commented sourly.

      “Can you print off the list of parents?” Sam asked, ignoring his siblings.

      Darcy slid him a glance. “I really shouldn’t,” she hedged. “It’s a massive patient privacy violation. I could lose my license.”

      Sam fixed her with a look. “Do you understand what we’re trying to do here? This baby’s mother is likely the target of a killer. I need that information.”

      “It might not even help,” Darcy hedged. “There’s no guarantee this baby was born here. She may have been born at a neighboring hospital, or possibly even at home.”

      “Maybe,” Sam replied. “But I have to start somewhere.”

      Darcy shook her head. “I’m sorry. I wish I could help, but if I do this and I’m caught it’ll wreck my career.”

      “You’re wasting my time here.” Sam kept his voice down, but she heard the impatience in his words. He seemed like a man who was used to getting what he wanted and didn’t tolerate anything or anyone getting in his way. Darcy appreciated his determination, but she wasn’t about to be bullied into doing something she knew to be questionable. She was torn, though—what if her refusal to help cost this woman her life? Could she live with herself knowing a woman had died because she was more concerned about her job than doing the right thing?

      “Sam.” Ridge’s calm tone cut through the growing tension in the room. “You know she’s right. Don’t ask her to compromise her professional ethics. How long can it take to get a warrant from a judge?”

      “Too long,” Sam shot back. He scowled at them both, then shook his head. “But fine, we’ll play it your way.”

      Darcy shot Ridge a grateful glance, but he didn’t acknowledge it. “Tell you what,” she said, pushing back from the desk. “I need to go find that bassinet for the baby. It’ll probably take me a moment to track it down.” She deliberately tilted the monitor around so it faced Sam. Recognizing the gesture as the olive branch it was, Sam offered her a tight smile.

      “We’ll keep Ridge company until you get back.”

      Darcy slipped out the door, her palms sweating. She’d never done anything like this before. Even though she knew giving Sam access to patient information was the right thing to do in this particular case, it still made her nervous.

      “He’s a police officer, not some random stranger off the street,” she muttered. Besides, she knew a judge would grant him access to the records. She was just cutting through the red tape, she told herself, and hopefully shortening the time it would take to track down the baby’s mother. It’s the right thing to do. And it was. But Darcy had always been one to follow the rules and this departure from the norm made her feel jittery.

      “Everything okay in there?” asked George, the other doctor on shift tonight. “I heard there was quite the ruckus earlier.”

      Darcy tried to smile but it must have come across as more of a grimace, as George frowned slightly at her expression. Get it together, she chided herself. Stop acting strange! “We’re doing okay,” she told him. “Someone found an abandoned baby earlier tonight, so we have the police in there now.”

      “Oh, man.” George shook his head. “Is the kid okay?”

      “Yeah. We got lucky. I’m trying to track down a bassinet for her now.”

      “I think I saw one floating around here earlier.” He tapped the desk as if he was trying to remember, then he snapped his fingers. “Yep. Give me just a second.” He trotted off and returned a moment later pushing a Plexiglas crib. “Here you go.”

      “Thank you,” she said. This time, her smile was genuine.

      “No problem. Want me to call CPS for you?”

      “Ah, no. I’ll let the police handle that.”

      George nodded. “Let me know if you need any help.”

      She waved at him and headed back to the exam room, trying to pace herself so as to give Sam the time he needed to look at the patient records. Had she been gone long enough? Hopefully so—she didn’t want to have to do this again.

      When she opened the door, three faces turned to greet her. Sam was standing next to Ridge, looking down at the baby. The computer monitor had been returned to its original position, and Sam offered her a nod of thanks. Annabel stood in the corner, her phone pressed to her ear. She offered an absent wave and moved to make room for the bassinet.

      “How’s she doing?” Darcy asked quietly.

      “Seems to be fine,” Ridge said, his voice low and soothing.

      “Are you ready to put her in the crib?”

      He glanced down at the baby, his expression softening. “I suppose so.”

      Ridge stood and moved back and forth for a moment, instinctively falling into the comforting sway deployed by anyone holding a baby. Then, moving slowly and carefully, he deposited the sleeping bundle onto the mattress. He straightened back up but remained standing by the crib, apparently absorbed by the sight of the infant stretching in her sleep.

      Once again, Darcy was struck by Ridge’s actions. To her knowledge, Ridge had never spent time around babies before. Yet here he was, stepping into the role of caregiver as if he’d been born to it. And for a stranger’s baby, no less.

      Annabel snapped her phone shut and walked over to join her siblings by the bassinet. “We have a problem,” she said shortly.

      Ridge raised one eyebrow. “What’s that?”

      “CPS can’t get here tonight—the storms have washed out several of the roads leading into Granite Gulch.”

      “Great,” Sam groaned. “So what are the options for tonight?”

      “She’ll have to stay here,” Darcy replied. “I can admit her and have her sent to the nursery.”

      “Will she be alone?” Ridge asked.

      “Not really,” Darcy said, touched by his apparent concern. “The nursery is staffed 24/7, so she won’t be unattended. Just let me put in the

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