That's My Baby! Read Online Free PDF

she’d ever mentioned the incident to her parents. “She might have told you about helping four clueless cowboys who’d decided to go skiing,” he ventured.
    “No, she did not.” Russell continued to drill Nat with his gaze.
    “We…she’s a very independent person.” Adele laced and unlaced her fingers. “She doesn’t fill us in on all her doings.”
    “That’s an understatement,” Russell barked. “So, what happened out there in Colorado?”
    “Well, some friends and I went skiing and stayed at the lodge where she worked at the desk. I guess she figured out we were beginners who might get in trouble, so she offered to go along and watch out for us. Unfortunately we didn’t give enough credit to her warnings. We blundered into an avalanche, and I was completely buried. She figuredout where I was and told my friends how to dig me out. If she hadn’t been there, I might not have made it.”
    Adele sagged back against her chair, her face pale. “An avalanche.” She glanced over at Russell. “She could have ended up in it, too, Russ.”
    “Of course she could have!” Russell’s jaw worked. “But she thinks she knows best, so what the hell are we supposed to do?” His voice trembled with obvious pain and frustration.
    Nat had only heard Jess’s version of the difficult relationship she had with her parents, and of course he’d sided with her in her bid for independence. But seeing the strain they were under because of her leaving, Nat couldn’t help sympathizing with them. She was their only child, and they were frantic with worry because they could no longer watch out for her. Nat could relate.
    “Is she still up in Aspen?” he asked.
    Russell lost his tenuous hold on his composure. “We don’t know where the hell she is! We—”
    “Russell.” Adele’s quiet authority stopped his tirade immediately. “Jessica calls,” she continued, sitting up straighter and sending another warning glance at her husband. “She updates us every couple of weeks. About six months ago she decided to see a bit of the country, so she’s traveling around.”
    A cold chill zipped up Nat’s spine. Something about this scenario didn’t sound like the Jess he knew. She was a nest-builder, not a vagabond. She’d loved her setup in Aspen, and she’d told him it was the perfect place to begin her study of herbs. “Traveling where?” he asked, trying to keep the panic out of his voice.
    “God knows. She’s behaving like a damn gypsy!” Russell shot a belligerent glance at his wife.
    Her voice remained low and well-modulated. “Russell,we don’t know this young man that well. I think perhaps you should—”
    “I think I should reconsider supporting this foundation, is what I think!” Russell turned back to Nat. “Tell me, Grady, how did you know that Jessica is our daughter? As I recall, she wanted to ‘fade into the woodwork’ as she put it, so she could—and I quote—‘live a normal life.’ She didn’t intend to tell anyone she was related to me. How did you find out?”
    “She told me,” Nat said. Concern for Jess tightened his chest. “After the avalanche we became friends.” It was all he dared admit in this charged atmosphere. “I don’t think she ever told anyone else, but she told me. Now that I’m back in the country, I wanted to…say hello.” Yeah, right. Say hello. And then kiss her until neither of them could stand. And make love to her for about three days straight.
    Adele leaned forward, her gray eyes intent. “Did you have a close relationship with our daughter, Mr. Grady?”
    He’d been demoted from that first-name basis pretty quick, Nat thought as he wondered how to answer her.
    “What the hell kind of question is that, Adele?” Russell asked. “The man said they were friends. Don’t go making something more of it.”
    Adele ignored her husband and continued to study Nat. “She never mentioned being involved with someone,” she said, “but I knew it had to happen,