Stella shut the door and walked to the table where she looked down at the newborn inside. “Everything go off without a hitch?”
“Always does. Even went by Doc’s so he could check out the little princess. She’s healthy and ready for her new family.”
Stella looked into Chuck’s face. They had been working together for years. She still remembered when there had been fewer lines on his skin and less gray in his hair. He stood tall, his body still on the slim side, though he didn’t have as much muscle as he used to. He never wore anything but jeans and collared pullovers, with Polo being his favorite brand.
“Thanks.”
His brown eyes narrowed on her. “You okay?”
“Just doing a lot of thinking.”
“It’s Marlee Frampton that’s causing the stress.” His lips were tight, a muscle jumping in his jaw.
Stella put her hand on his arm and smiled. They’d briefly been lovers, but both had realized it could interfere with their work, so they had mutually agreed to end things. Though as far as she knew, Chuck didn’t have anyone. Then again, neither did she. Maybe she’d been wrong. Perhaps she should’ve kept him as a lover.
“Stella?” he asked with a frown.
“Just a long day. That’s all. It has nothing to do with Marlee or anything else.”
He searched her face for a long moment before he gave a nod. Stella lowered her hand and turned back to the infant. She took the carrier and brought it into the back room, where two Hispanic women were seated. They had been in Stella’s employ for seven years, working as maids, cooks, and even nannies until the infants could get to their new families.
She handed the baby off to Maria, the older of the two women. “This one won’t be with us but for a few hours.”
Maria nodded. Her head of black hair was beginning to turn gray. Then she said, “I’ll take good care of her, señorita.”
Stella walked away, knowing that Maria would do just that. When Stella returned to the kitchen, Chuck was gone. She spun around and returned to her office to call the newborn’s new parents. It was going to be a very nice payday shortly.
Chapter 26
It didn’t matter how she looked at it, Marlee had screwed up. She’d made a rookie mistake, but now wasn’t the time to think about that. Once she discovered why she was in the area, she would go over every decision she’d made from the moment she heard those phone calls from the adoption agency, and could figure out how to keep from being duped again.
“You’re frowning.”
She jerked her gaze to Cooper to find him staring out the window as they drove. Jace was behind them in his truck. “I’m not.”
“You’re frowning,” he stated with a grin and briefly met her gaze. “That means you’re thinking about how you believe you messed up.”
“Because I did.”
Cooper sighed. “I know you think that, but the way you were duped wasn’t something you could’ve seen coming. And before you say that you should have, no one could’ve. No one.”
She looked out the windshield and shifted in her seat. “I’ve wasted so much time looking into the Harpers and everyone connected to them. That was time I should’ve spent finding the infant.”
“You thought you were doing just that. Look, if you want to beat yourself up about this, I can’t stop you. But you know you’ll be better if you focus on what we’re doing now.”
Marlee crossed her arms over her chest and cut him a look. “You’re right, I need to stop thinking about everything I’ve done and look at what needs to happen going forward.”
“That’s my girl.”
It was such an innocent saying, but it hit Marlee right in the chest. Her stomach clutched as if it were filled with butterflies trying to escape. She jerked her gaze away from Cooper and looked out the passenger window.
“We’re going to find whoever this is,” Cooper said.
“I sure hope so. I’d hate to think this was another wild goose chase. I’m not sure I’d know what to do if that happened.”
Cooper chuckled. “I’m pretty sure you’d dust yourself off and find another piece of evidence.”
She smiled. She couldn’t help it. Then she looked at him. “Are you always so positive?”
“No,” he said with a shake of his head before he glanced at her. “But in this situation, I am. You’ve got solid evidence, and your past experience says a lot. Add that into what Jace and I have found, and we’re bound to succeed.”
“Where are we?”
“There are a lot of smaller ranches in the area. People even lease their land for others to put animals on if they don’t want to do it themselves. Since this location is the farthest away from town and the homes are separated by swaths of land, I think it’s our best bet to locate who you’re looking for.”
She looked at the passing scenery and large pastures filled with cattle and horses as well as some sheep. “It would’ve taken me forever to find this.”
“Not as long as you think it would’ve.”
“You sure have a high opinion of me.”
He lifted one shoulder before he slowed and turned off the road. “Like I said, your previous work says a lot.”
Marlee swallowed as her mind drifted to her sister and niece. “Excuse me,” she said and pulled out her phone to call her mom. There was no answer, so Marlee left a brief message. Then she called Pam.
“Hey there, Marlee,” Pam said as she answered.
Marlee smiled. “Hey. I tried to call Mom, but there wasn’t an answer. Is everything all right?”
“Oh, she’s fine. So is your daddy. He wanted to see her, so I drove him up to visit. The TV was on, and a nurse is helping her shower.”
Marlee glanced at Cooper to see him smiling at her. “I’m glad they’re doing fine. Can you hold the phone to Dad for a moment?”
“Sure. He’s doing good with his physical therapy, by the way. Still no words, but he keeps trying. He wrote down that he wanted to see your mom this morning. He didn’t want to wait around for me to figure out what he was saying,” Pam said with a laugh.
Marlee grinned. “I know they miss each other. Thank you for bringing him up there. I know it isn’t easy.”
“Honey, your parents are amazing, and so are you. Now, hold on and let me put the phone up to your daddy’s ear.” There was a brief pause, then Pam’s voice could be heard at a distance as she said, “Talk now.”
“Hi, Dad,” Marlee said, putting a smile on her face. “I’m glad you got out of the house and are there with Mom. Make sure she gets better because I’m going to be home soon.”
There was a grunt that almost sounded like a word, but Marlee couldn’t be sure.
“I love you, Dad. I know how stubborn you can be, so listen to Pam while Mom is away, okay?”
This time, Marlee was sure she heard him say, “Love you.”
“Did you hear that?” Pam asked through the phone. “He said ‘love you!’”
Marlee was smiling widely now. “I heard it.”
“All right. You get back to work and solve that case so you can come home.”