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A Baby for Sarah: Inspirational Romance (Noah's Crossing)

By Carol Voss

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CHAPTER ONE

“Yes, I would like to know the baby’s gender. Why?” Sarah Taylor sat across the dark walnut desk from the only lawyer in Noah’s Crossing. To avoid looking unkempt and over-nourished in her comfy gray yoga pants and yellow tee, she stretched a little taller.
Will Kennedy, on the other hand, looked as well-groomed and polished as ever in khakis, blue dress shirt and interesting, patterned tie. Even the subtle scent of his after-shave spiced the air with good taste.
Sarah brushed at a Styrofoam packing peanut clinging to her pants. Why had he called an impromptu meeting on her shelf-stocking day? Why not on a day when she’d shampooed her hair and worn a little makeup to wait on her customers? Most days, actually?
“It’s here somewhere.” Will shuffled the stack of papers and envelopes on his desk. After thumbing through a few more items, he rose to his impressive basketball-player height and stalked to his credenza to sort through a pile of large envelopes.
She forbid her fingers from reaching to smooth flyaways into the wimpy ponytail she’d somehow hoped would improve her appearance.
Instead, she concentrated on tamping down her self-conscious energy. Self-consciousness Will had inspired in her ever since he’d found her tearfully trying to help an injured toad on the playground her first day of kindergarten. He’d been all of eight.
And he’d pretty much treated her like a kid sister in need of mentoring ever since. That is, when he wasn’t ignoring her altogether.
“Ah, here it is.” He plucked a large envelope from the stack. “Pat organized my office. Can’t find a thing.” He glanced at Sarah with an apologetic little smile, took his seat again, and laid the envelope on his desk.
Straining her neck, she tried to make out the upside-down return address to no avail, attempted to read his guarded expression, and decided to ask the obvious. “What’s in the envelope?”
Will’s muscular shoulders flexed as he leaned to slide the missive across the desk to her, a small frown flitting over his forehead. Was he worried she’d burst into tears if he delivered bad news?
She glanced at the return address. Oh, oh. New Hope Adoption Agency. She hadn’t made the cut. Way to go, Sarah. The humbling blush of mortification heating her cheeks, she frowned. “I certainly hoped to be considered a tad longer than six months.”
Will gave her a narrow look. “You weren’t rejected, Sarah. A birth mother chose you for an interview based on your paperwork.”
“An interview?” Shock spun her in a complete one-eighty.
“I told you domestic adoptions are happening much sooner than they used to.”
“A birth mother chose me to adopt her baby? You’re sure?”
“She hasn’t made that choice yet. She wants to interview you so you can both decide if adopting her baby will be a good fit.”
“A big step.”
“Huge step.” He studied her a little too closely. “But it’s not surprising if you have second thoughts. Adopting a child is a life-changing commitment. And to take it on by yourself?”

Oh, please. “You don’t need to impress on me again how crazy you think my idea is. And I’m not having second thoughts.” At least, she hoped not. A nearly thirty-year-old woman with no romantic interest in sight did not have the luxury of second thoughts when she wanted to become a mother. Which was one of the reasons she’d pounced on the idea of adoption the moment it had popped into her head.

Not that every man she knew treated her like his baby sister as Will did. It was just taking longer than she’d planned to find one she wanted to marry and raise a family with.
Hiring Will Kennedy to handle the legal work for an adoption hadn’t been her first choice. She’d done it only because she couldn’t afford the time for three-hour round trips to meet with an attorney in Eau Claire. And it didn’t give him the right to question her decision, did it? Even if he had put her in his little-sister column in ink and took his big brother responsibilities extremely seriously? “I didn’t think it would happen so soon, that’s all. When is the baby due?”
“Early June.”
“A month?” She sounded alarmed, even to herself. She was alarmed. As much as she wanted a baby, how could she get ready to be a mother in a month? “Didn’t I read somewhere that the agency always includes the adoptive family early in the pregnancy?”
“Yes, well... apparently, this mother has had a difficult time making a decision. She’s only eighteen. Besides, you’ve already done the preliminary work, even the home inspections.”
“Is the mother sure now?”
“Appears to be. There’s a letter from her in the packet along with a copy of the ultrasound. That’s why I had to make sure you want to know the baby’s gender.”
She fingered the envelope, doing her best to appear calm and collected. It would help if she could just catch her breath.

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