Matters of the Heart (2 page)

Chapter Two

“We’ll find
you another perfect man. I promise you, Perfect Pairing has never let a client
down.”

Sadie’s heart
went out to Lucy. The poor girl had kept her appointment even though the man of
her dreams was now a married man. Sadie had guessed something was wrong the
minute the new client had worked through her door. Her eyes were bloodshot, and
the skin underneath them was both puffy and dark.

She slid the
box of tissues over to Lucy’s side of the table.

“I guess I
should have told him how I felt about him sooner, even asked him out, but he’s
always considered me to be like a sister, so I didn’t have the courage. That’s
why I thought Perfect Pairing was my answer.”

She blew her
nose.

“This is the
worst day of my life and not just because of Bryce’s surprise marriage. Can you
believe that just as I was about to leave work I was called into human
resources. They told me they’re going through budget cuts and my job is being
eliminated at the end of the week?”

“I’m so
sorry.”

“A nurse, of
all things
, getting
laid off.”

Sadie felt
her pain and knew she’d have to help her in any way she could.

“How about
you sign up with us?
 
There will be no
charge. This one’s on the house.”

Lucy shook
her head. “That’s very nice of you Ms. Sutton, but my heart belongs to Bryce.
Always has, always will.
And I just came along to tell you
that I won’t
be needing
your services now.”

Sadie took a
deep breath. She knew that Bryce wasn’t supposed to be with Lucy and that’s why
the universe had let this happen. There was someone else out there for Lucy.
All she had to do was convince the girl to sign up and she’d find him for her.

“Lucy. I know
you have great faith in Perfect Pairing or you wouldn’t have called me in the
first place, so will you at least give me a chance to change your mind about
Bryce being your one and only love? Give me a month and if I haven’t found you
another cowboy who steals your heart and takes your breath away, then we’ll
call it a day.”

Lucy dabbed
the corner of her right eye with the edge of a tissue. Her mascara had started
to run down her cheeks, which made Sadie feel even worse for the poor young
woman.

“I should say
no, but what have I got to lose?”

“That’s
wonderful, and I promise you won’t ever regret this.”

“Okay, and
maybe while you’re at it you can find me another job. I’m getting one month’s
severance pay and that will cover next month’s rent, but after that I might be
waiting tables.”

She knew Lucy
had meant it as a joke but finding her a new job would also be on Sadie’s to do
list.

“I’ll
definitely keep my ears open. And I’ll be in touch once I have a match for
you.”

Lucy stood.

“Now go and
buy yourself a large tub of ice cream and eat every last bit of it. Have one
last cry, and then think about that perfect man who’s going to sweep you off
your feet.”

Lucy smiled.
“You’re optimistic. I’ll give you credit for that, Ms. Sutton.”

Sadie tapped
her fingers on her desk.
 
She wouldn’t
let Lucy down. Now all she had to do was find a match for her. She looked at
her watch and realized she was running late. One of her old buddies from the
Witch’s Academy lived twenty miles from
Helena
and Sadie had promised to drive there and visit with her for a couple of days.
She glanced outside. It was starting to snow so it was about time she headed
out before the storm made driving treacherous.

****

Brad put the
carrier down on his couch. The baby had cried all the way home. He didn’t know
if she needed her diaper changed, wanted feeding, or she was simply crying for
her mother. How you could miss someone who’d dumped you on a doorstep was
beyond him, but maybe babies, as innocent as they were, were also
non-judgmental.

He took the
blanket off her and placed it on the back of the couch. Presley looked clean
and well looked after so he’d give
Nevie
credit in
that department. He fumbled with the strap that secured her in the carrier and
finally figured out that he needed to press the plastic circle in the center to
release it. It popped open and as he reached in to lift her out, he suddenly
froze. This was his daughter and he was about to hold her for the very first
time. This was going to be a special moment so he wanted to do it right. What
was the correct way to hold one? He didn’t know and there was no one around to
ask. He’d just go for it and hope for the best.

Brad put his
hands on either side of her ribcage, lifted her free of the carrier and then
pulled her close to his body almost as if he was afraid he’d drop her. She felt
heavier than he’d imagined and was actually warm. Maybe she was too hot in the
snowsuit now that she was indoors. Her cheeks looked flushed, but never having
seen her before perhaps that was normal for her. Now that her face was mere
inches from his, he was sure he recognized those big blue eyes of hers. They
were so much like his late mother’s that it was uncanny.
Yeah,
and his, too.

“You
too hot?
Let’s get you out of that suit.”

Just how
would he do it? Sit her on his lap, or lay her flat on her back on the couch?

Shit, he only
wished his mother was still alive because she’d know exactly what to do. Still
this wasn’t rocket science. This was looking after a baby. Everyone did it
every day without any problem. He sat down and placed her flat on the couch and
unzipped the suit. As he peeled it away from her body, he saw she was wearing
pink floral leggings and a solid pink knitted top. He gently eased her arms out
of the top of the snowsuit and then pulled it from her legs. She cried again.

“Okay, let’s
see if I can figure out what the fuss is all about.”

He lifted her
up and sat her on his knee, immediately feeling a wet patch eating into his
pants.

“I’ll take a
peek in here for your diapers.”

With one
hand, Brad unzipped it and rummaged through the contents until he found a stack
of them at the bottom. He lifted one out and sat it down beside him. This would
definitely be a first for him. He set her back down on the couch, pulled down
her leggings and then figured out that her diaper was secured with two
Velcro-like strips on either side.
 
He
pulled them apart and the diaper fell away from her body.

Geez,
if the guys at work could see him now, he’d never live it down.

He opened up
the clean diaper and assumed that the best way to get it under her butt was to
lift both her legs together with his other hand. He pushed it under her bottom,
remembering how the old one was secured, and was relieved that his first
attempt at a diaper change had been one hundred percent successful.

“There you
go. That wasn’t that bad.”

She started
crying again.

“Now
what?”

She kicked
her legs against the couch.

“Food.
I bet you’re
hungry.”

He looked in
the bag again and found a bottle and a container of formula.

Yeah,
Nevie
, that
would be too easy to have written down what I need to do, and how much she
needs. Shit, I don’t even know how old she is.

Wait a
minute,
Nevie
had exited his life just over a year
ago which meant Presley was probably around three months old.

He looked at
the chart on the container, and then ran his fingers through his hair. Maybe he
should look this sort of thing up on the Internet or call Dr.
Willouby
, the local doctor.

Presley cried
louder and soon she was sobbing.

“Okay, okay.
I guess you take after your mother in the demanding department.”

He put her
back into the carrier and took her out to the kitchen where he attempted to mix
a batch of baby formula.

Brad guessed
it needed warming and hoped that baby bottles were okay to use in the
microwave. He mixed some of the powder with water, shook the bottle a few
times, and placed it in there for a couple of minutes.

He tested a
few drops on the palm of his hand before offering it to Presley who sucked on
the teat with vigor. He thought how cute it was when one of her fingers curled
around the bottle.
So tiny and fragile.
He smiled at
her and couldn’t help but notice that her nose and forehead looked a lot like
his. Her eyelids began to flutter which he guessed meant she’d be asleep very
soon.

Damn, that
was something else he hadn’t thought about. He didn’t have a crib so what was
she going to sleep in?

****

Sadie put the
bread rolls and cheese into the cart and looked outside. It was still snowing.
She was supposed to be back at the Perfect Pairing office later today but the
roads were slick so her friend had suggested that she stay another day. She’d
offered to go to the store and pick up some items for their lunch. As she stood
in line she reached for one of the tabloids in the rack beside her and paged
through it while she waited.

According to
one report, former Perfect Pairing client,
Evie
Summers, had been spotted with what looked like a baby bump at one of the
recent award shows. Sadie smiled while slipping the magazine into her cart for
later reading. If it was true, it meant that
Evie
and
Kyle’s offspring would officially be the first Perfect Pairing baby. Maybe
she’d start a collection of photos on the wall.
Which
reminded her she still needed to find a match for Lucy.

Come on universe send me someone for her.

The bell over
the door rang and in walked the sheriff carrying a screaming baby. The poor
thing looked flushed and uncomfortable, and the sheriff didn’t look in much better
shape. In fact, Sadie guessed he’d gone without sleep for a couple of nights.
Although he was handsome, the dark circles under his eyes and slightly unkempt
hair said it all.
New
Dad on Duty.

“Bob, can you
direct me to the diapers? I used the last one a few hours ago.”

“Aisle two,
top shelf,” said a balding man behind the counter at the front of the store.

“Thanks and I
apologize to everyone for the odor,” said the sheriff venturing further inside.

He was right
about that. Sadie almost went cross eyed when he whizzed past her with the
crying baby in his arms. A few minutes later the sheriff joined the line with
two packages of diapers tucked securely under one arm, and the baby under the
other.

“Brad, why
don’t you go and change her first and then come back in to pay for the
diapers?” the clerk at the check-out called to him.

“Could I?
Thanks a bunch.”

The bell rang
again as the sheriff dashed outside. Sadie stood on tiptoe so she could look
out the side window of the supermarket. She watched him open up the back of his
truck and set the baby down inside it. He looked so dashing in his cowboy hat
and boots, and the shiny sheriff’s badge glistening on his sheepskin jacket
was, in Sadie’s opinion, the icing on the cake. Some lucky girl had obviously
nabbed him.

“Anyone want
to get some air freshener and give the place a spray?
It’s
aisle three, middle shelf?” suggested the clerk.

“I will. Just
hang tight everyone,” said a young man, waving his hands in front of his nose.

“Poor Brad. I
hate to gossip but the whole town’s talking about him. That model he was dating
dropped that sweet baby on his doorstep. I said that girl wasn’t any good for
him, or anyone else for that matter. I knew he’d be better off with a
Montana
girl,” said one
of the two ladies standing in front of Sadie.

“And he’s
such a sweet guy. I don’t know how he’s going to manage with being the sheriff
and looking after a baby. They said he’s taken her to work for the last two
days,” said the second lady.

Sadie looked
outside again and saw that the sheriff was zipping up the baby’s snowsuit.

Universe, is this the one?

“So the
sheriff isn’t married?” asked Sadie, turning around and diving into the
conversation.

“Nope, he got
mesmerized by some big city model
who
was in town for
a shoot. She hooked up with our sheriff, but then she realized a
hick,
as she’d called him, wasn’t for
her, nor was a little old town that didn’t have at least one Abercrombie and
Fitch. She left town quicker than she’d arrived. He didn’t even know she was
pregnant until she left that poor baby on his doorstep along with a note. That
bitch.”

Sadie felt it
in her bones. Something magical was going to happen.