Oh, he’d grown! She felt tears rush stinging to her eyes and willed them back. He was moving quickly beyond baby to toddler. There were little red high-tops on his feet, scuffed, as if he might have been walking already. His hair was longer, curling around his round, rosy face.

And his eyes … She stopped, had to bite back his name. He was looking at her as he rolled along in the bright blue stroller. Looking right at her, and there was a smile, a smile of recognition, in his eyes. He squealed, held out his arms.

“My boy likes pretty women,” the man said with a proud grin as they rolled David past.

Rooted to the spot, Mel watched David crane his neck around the stroller, saw his lips move into a pout. He let out a wail of protest that had the woman crooning to him.

“He knew me,” Mel whispered. “He remembered me.”

“Yes, he did. It’s difficult to forget love.” He caught her as she took a stumbling step forward. “Not now, Mel. We’ll go call Devereaux.”

“He knew me.” She found her voice muffled against a cool linen shirt. “I’m all right,” she insisted, but she didn’t try to break away.

“I know you are.” He pressed his lips to her temple, stroked a hand over her hair, and waited for her tremors to pass.

*  *  *

It was one of the most difficult things she’d ever done, standing on the sidewalk in front of the house with the blue shutters and the big tree in the yard. Devereaux and a female agent were inside. She’d watched them go in, through the door opened by the young brunette. She’d still been in her robe, Mel remembered, and there had been a flicker of fear, or perhaps knowledge, in her eyes as she bent to retrieve the morning paper.

She could hear weeping now, deep, grieving tears. Her heart wanted to hold rock hard against it, but it couldn’t.

When would they come out? Stuffing her hands in her pockets, she paced the sidewalk. It had already been too long. Devereaux had still insisted that they wait until morning, and she’d had hardly a wink of sleep at the hotel. It was well over an hour since they’d gone inside.

“Why don’t you sit in the car?” Sebastian suggested.

“I couldn’t sit.”

“They won’t let us take him yet. Devereaux explained the procedure. It’ll take hours to do the blood test and the print checks.”

“They’ll let me stay with him. They’ll damn well let me stay with him. He’s not going to be with strangers.” She pressed her lips together. “Tell me about them,” she blurted out. “Please.”