It Must Be Christmas Read online

  “Okay,” she finally said. “Let’s have a look at this little one.”

  Dave looked down inside his coat. He must have thrown off some good heat because the baby was sleeping, little tiny lips moving in and out as it breathed. As gently as he possibly could, he slid his opposite hand inside and cradled the baby’s bottom in his wide palm, using his shoulder and upper arm to assist him in shifting the baby out of his coat.

  “You’re good with babies,” she offered. She reached for the bundle and took it into her hands. They were good hands, he realized. Despite her small size, her hands were strong and capable. Ordinary—no polish, just smooth, rounded nails, and as their fingertips brushed, her skin was soft against his. Yesterday they’d had the thickness of gloves between them. Now, as their hands touched while shifting the baby, the contact felt somehow intimate. It was the damnedest thing.

  Cradling the infant in the crook of her elbow, Charlie peeled back the blanket. The baby was dressed in a blue fuzzy sleeper and a thin stretchy hat.

  She smiled up at Dave. “I’m guessing it’s a boy.”

  There was no note tucked in with the baby as far as Dave could see. Instead he followed Charlie to an exam room with better lighting. She lay the sleeping baby carefully on the exam table and began looking him over. First, checking what she could with the sleeper on, and then she began unsnapping the pajamas. The baby woke then, disturbed by the feeling of being undressed and exposed. At the same time there was a knock at the outer door.

  Charlie never looked up from her examination. “Could you get that? It’ll be the police.”

  Dave went to the door and flipped the lock, letting in the other man, who was dressed in his uniform and was big enough that Dave figured most men in town would think twice before picking a fight. “Officer,” he greeted, holding open the door. “I’m Dave Ricker.”

  “Is Dr. Yang in trouble?” The cop pushed into the reception area, his eyes sharp.

  “No, no, of course not.” Dave shook his head. “Follow me. She’s in here.”

  The officer followed Dave back to the exam room and brushed by him at the doorway. “Dr. Yang? Are you okay?”

  She looked up, keeping one hand on the baby’s belly, as if anchoring him in place. “Hello, Todd.”

  Dave watched as the burly officer’s hard gaze softened as he looked at the baby. “Well. Who have we here?”

  “I wish I could tell you.” She met Dave’s gaze across the room. “Dave, this is Todd Smith. Come on in and tell him what happened, Dave, and I can finish up my exam. This little guy would probably like to be bundled up again.”

  Dave stepped a little outside the door, the urge to cuddle the infant, to quiet his crying surprisingly strong. He watched as Charlie felt the little one’s tummy gently, her concentration focused solely on the baby. “It might be quieter out here,” he suggested.

  He felt strange now that his arms were empty. He’d gotten used to holding the baby so quickly.

  “You said your name’s Dave?”

  He turned away from the sight. “That’s right. David Ricker. I’m renting a cottage in the area and work on the docks. Charlie and I were at the tree lighting tonight.”

  “Together?”

  There was an edge to Todd Smith’s voice that Dave recognized. That was another thing he was learning about small towns. People looked out for each other. He was actually really glad that someone had Charlie’s back. He got the feeling she felt she was mostly on her own.

  “Not together together, if that’s what you’re getting at.” Though they would have been if Dave had had any say about it.

  “Go on.”

  “We were walking to the pub—we were going to meet some people there for a bite to eat. I thought I saw someone hanging around the manger, and then they went running off.”

  Smith’s gaze sharpened as he looked up from his notepad. “You saw who left him?”

  “Not exactly. I mean I did, but I just saw a person. I couldn’t tell you what they looked like. Young, maybe? Slight. Probably a woman. A girl.” He let out a breath.

  “So you checked it out.”

  “I did. When I looked in the manger, I couldn’t believe it. Who the hell would leave a baby outside, in a nativity scene, on a December night?” His jaw tightened. “What if we hadn’t been there? That baby might have frozen to death.”

  Smith nodded. “Lucky for him you did see. Why didn’t you wait there? I would have looked the scene over.”

  “It was cold. Considering the baby, Charlie wanted to come here where it was warm, and make sure he was okay.”

  “That’s all right. I’ll call this in and go back over and see what I can find.”

  Charlie came back to the reception room, the baby dressed again in his sleeper and wrapped in the blanket. “He’s a bit on the small side, but otherwise he looks well enough,” she decreed with a smile. The baby was burrowed into her neck, sucking on his fingers. “But he’s going to be hungry really soon.”

  It looked disturbingly right, the way she was holding the child.

  “I have to contact child services,” Smith said quietly. “He’ll have to go into foster care until this is sorted out.”

  “Of course,” Charlie answered, while Dave’s gut churned. This poor little thing. Abandoned and then pawned off into foster care. It didn’t seem right.

  Charlie’s hand was on the baby’s head now, stroking the fine, blond hair. “Listen,” she said to Smith, “why don’t we leave him under my medical care until morning? That’s soon enough, don’t you think? We’ve got a stock of diapers and emergency formula here. I can care for him until then, make sure there aren’t any other medical issues that weren’t immediately apparent. You’ll have a better idea of the situation by then too.”

  “You’re up to it? Because this baby’s pretty little. There’ll be no sleeping through the night or anything.”

  Charlie smiled softly. “I’ll be fine. I did my neonatal and pediatric rotations and everything.” She bounced the baby a little bit. “We’ll be fine, won’t we, buddy?”

  Dave jumped in, even though he questioned whether or not he should. “I can help too.”

  Smith raised an eyebrow. “What sort of experience do you have with babies?” he asked, laughing a little. “Because believe me, it’s harder than it looks. My sister has two. I volunteered to babysit for a weekend once.” He shuddered, and Charlie laughed.

  Dave paused, annoyed at how easily Charlie seemed charmed by the young officer, annoyed at how he was made to feel left out of their little club. “I have a daughter,” he said quietly, his gaze shifting to Charlie, watching as her smile slipped from her lips and her eyes registered confusion.

  He probably should have mentioned that before inviting her back to his place. But it wasn’t exactly icebreaker sort of conversation. It was the kind of thing he’d rather ease into.

  “A daughter?” she whispered, and he felt like an absolute heel for springing it on her and for letting himself be baited by his own stupid male pride.

  “Yes,” he replied. “She lives with her mother in Kennebunkport.”

  “Oh.”

  He hated the disappointment he saw in Charlie’s face. But now wasn’t the time to explain. Instead he turned his attention to the police officer. “I’ll help Charlie get settled, give a statement at the station, whatever you need.”

  “I appreciate your help, Mr. Ricker.” He wrote a phone number on a slip of paper and handed it over to Charlie. “This is my cell number. You call if you need anything or think of something you might have missed.” Smith gave her a stern look. “You should program that into your phone too, so you can avoid calling dispatch.”

  “I don’t think that’s necess—”

  “You do it. You’re part of this town and around here we look out for each other. You’ll be getting a call from us too, I expect. I’m sure there will be more questions.”

  He was gone in a gust of cold air, leaving them alone in the clinic again,