Once and Future Wife
Father Found
Fortunes of Texas
The Baby Pursuit
LAURIE PAIGE
says, “One of the nicest things about writing romances is researching locales, careers and ideas. In the interest of authenticity, most writers will try anything…once.” Along with her writing adventures, Laurie has been a NASA engineer, a past president of the Romance Writers of America (twice!), a mother and a grandmother (twice, also!). She was twice a Romance Writers of America RITA Award finalist for Best Traditional Romance, and has won awards from Romantic Times Magazine for Best Silhouette Special Edition and Best Silhouette. She has also been presented with Affaire de Coeur’s Readers’ Choice Silver Pen Award for Favorite Contemporary Author. Recently resettled in Northern California, Laurie is looking forward to whatever experiences her next novel will send her on.
Contents
Chapter One
Spencer McBride parked in the lot at the Buttonwood Baby Clinic with a feeling of unease. He’d found an odd message from his mom on his voice mail when he returned to the office shortly before five that afternoon.
Spence, honey, this is Mom. Come to the clinic ASAP. Something important has come up. Hurry!
As executive administrator of the clinic, Rose McBride was in charge of the business affairs there. Maybe some nutcase was threatening to sue the clinic. Or bomb it. Who knew what people would do nowadays?
However, her tone had indicated the matter was exciting rather than threatening. So maybe it wasn’t bad news.
Stretching his shoulders and covering a yawn, he headed toward the attractive building. It had been a hard day. He’d spent most of it in court, arguing a case in which the judge had decided against his client in a mineral-lease claim.
The client wanted to appeal. Spence had advised the rancher that his chances of overturning the lease agreement signed by the previous owner were slim. The mining company wasn’t going to give up a lucrative deal without a fight.
He smiled absently at the receptionist when he entered the clinic, skirted the information area and strode into his mother’s office. The secretary, Marci Bonn, was locking up.
“Oh, hi. You’re just in time,” she said, adding to the sense of mystery surrounding the message.
Her bright smile indicated male-female interest. He ignored it as he had each time he’d been in the office during the few months since he’d moved back to Buttonwood and gone into law practice with Johnny Winterhawk, a friend from high-school days.
“Your mom said I was to bring you right down,” Marci continued.
“She isn’t in her office?”
“No. She’s, uh, waiting somewhere else.”
The smile grew more mysterious as she checked the lock on the file cabinet, grabbed her purse and dashed for the door. Spence gave an exasperated snort as he followed the young woman out of the office.
He hoped his mom wasn’t on one of her match-making kicks. She’d been trying to tie him up with various women for years. At thirty-two, he was a confirmed bachelor.
Or maybe he just hadn’t met the one, as his mom insisted.
The secretary led the way down one of the clinic’s four main corridors, which smelled of cinnamon and…pizza, he decided. It was dinnertime. His stomach was reminding him he’d missed lunch.
“In there.” She pointed toward a patient room, all the while beaming at him as if something momentous was happening, or was going to happen now that he was here. A chill of foreboding slid down his neck.
“My mom’s in there?” he questioned, just to make sure they were on the same track. A new worry attacked him. “Is she okay?”
“She’s fine. Go on in.” Walking a couple of steps backward, Marci waved and smiled some more, then turned and retreated toward the reception area.
Totally mystified, Spence called “Thanks” and went into the room a bit cautiously, not sure what he would find. It wasn’t his birthday or anything like that—
“Spence, you’re just in time,” his mom said, appearing at the door. She grabbed his arm and tugged him inside.
His first impression was one of lots of people. Four women, plus the usual hospital paraphernalia, were jammed into the small room. One female was a patient, in bed and quite obviously pregnant. And totally unknown to him.
He fell back a step, confused by the situation. The room felt crowded and filled with a complexity he couldn’t describe. Perhaps this was a paternity case, and the young woman needed help. “Mom, maybe we’d better step outside—”
“Spence!” another female exclaimed, turning from the woman lying on the bed and leaning past his mother’s shoulder to smile at him in delight.
A funny feeling raced over his skin, an electric tingle that started a thrum of response someplace deep inside him. He’d recognize that sexy bow-drawn-over-a-rusty-saw voice anywhere, anytime.
Ally Henderson McBride. His brother’s widow.
Once she’d been his best friend. Years ago. Like his law partner, Ally belonged to high-school days and sweet memories of the past….
“What’s
