“My god,” he muttered in a tremulouswhisper, Natasha’s words still whirling in his mind. This wasn’tnormal, it couldn’t be. She was only five months old...that wasimpossible. Neal wondered if he could have imagined the entireincident.

I love you.

Near shuddered again, the words stillreverberating in his mind. Her voice had been so strange andcreaky-sounding, almost sarcastic. And the image! He could stillsee Natasha’s inexperienced, infantile mouth crudely twisting outthe words. Something about it made his skin crawl.

He gawked unblinkingly at the baby, unableto get a grip on himself. The hair on his arms was standing onend.

But Natasha didn’t say anything more. Theangry expression on her little face vanished as quickly as it hadappeared.

She lay on her back on the countertop whereNeal had hastily deposited her, staring up into space, kicking andwiggling the way babies do. It was as if the entire episode neverhappened.

When Neal heard Annie coming in the frontdoor, he finally snapped out of his paralysis. He glanced in thedirection of the living room, then quickly stepped over to thestove and turned off the burner. He wanted to pick up Natashabefore Annie came into the kitchen, but he could hardly bringhimself to look at the child, let alone touch her.

As soon as Annie entered the room and sawNatasha, she gasped.

“Don’t put the baby on the counter!” shesnapped, scooping Natasha up into her arms. “What’s wong, sweetie?”she cooed in baby-talk. “Did Daddy leave ooo on the counter whileMommy went bye-bye?”

Annie turned towards Neal, her blackeyebrows furrowed together.

“What’s the matter with you? She could havefallen on the floor!”

“I...she...” was all Neal could manage tosay. He ran his hand uncertainly through his sleep-corkscrewedhair, debating whether or not to tell Annie what had happened. Buthe decided against it—he was sure she wouldn’t believe him.