The Surrogate

“To us,” he said, lifting his glass.

“Yes, to us,” Amanda said, taking a sip. “My darling Gus. How I love and count on you. We have survived so much together, and now, with So

His eyes misting over, Gus reached over and stroked her hair. “Thank you, my darling,” he said. “You are far and away the most important person in my life.”

Amanda leaned close and kissed him. Just a soft brush of her lips, but it left him light-headed. He took a sip of sherry then cleared his throat and said, “Mother seemed glad to see us.”

“Perhaps. Poor Montgomery. Can you imagine putting up with Mother day in and day out? But with her unpredictable behavior and not knowing what trash is going to come out of her mouth, it’s best this way. She has her television to watch, and I think she takes a perverse pleasure in giving poor Montgomery a hard time.”

Gus put his glass on the side table and turned to face his sister. “There’s something we need to talk about, Amanda,” he said.

“Oh, dear,” she said, affecting a pout. “You’re using your stern voice.”

“I have seen stories in several publications from supermarket tabloids to Newsweek that claim you and Toby are expecting a baby in April,” Gus said.

“So?” Amanda said with a girlish smile. Then she actually giggled. “I’ve bought this little padded thing that looks quite authentic. I plan to start wearing it after Christmas. And I’m having some perfectly lovely maternity clothes made for me. In the meantime, I have opted for a loose, more ambiguous look.”

“So you plan to pass this girl’s baby off as your own?”

“It is my own baby,” Amanda said. “I have a contract that says it is.”

“Do you plan to pass this baby off as one to which you yourself gave birth?” he amended.

Amanda nodded. “You sound displeased. Would that bother you?” she asked.

“Is Toby the biological father of Jamie Long’s baby?” Gus asked.

Amanda squared her shoulders. “Damn it, Gus. It is not Jamie Long’s baby. It is my baby.”

“Answer my question, Amanda,” Gus said, his voice quite firm. “Is Toby the biological father of this baby?”

“What difference does it make?” she demanded.

“It could make a great deal of difference. When I first started hearing these rumors about your being pregnant, it occurred to me what your motivation might have been for keeping poor So

“Of course, he is,” she said, anger in her voice. She took a deep breath, downed the last of her sherry, and carefully put her glass on the table. Gus could see her mentally shifting gears. Anger was not her style.

She took his hand and leaned very close, her lovely scent filling his nostrils. For an instant, he thought she was going to kiss him again. She looked so beautiful in the firelight. Her skin glowing, her eyes glistening, her lips moist. “Just think, Gus, this baby is of our blood. A baby that will continue our mother’s ministry and the Hartma

The son of his beloved So

“And what does Toby say about this plan?” he asked.

She shook her head. “He doesn’t know. Of course, he realizes that I plan to assume the role of the baby’s natural mother and agrees that it’s better that way. Our people will more readily accept the baby if they think he is my flesh-and-blood son. Just think of the television ratings when we introduce him to the world,” she said, clasping her hands together.

Gus realized that there was some rationale to this logic. Many of Amanda’s flock had been followers of their mother before her. It would indeed mean a great deal to them if the baby was of the Tutt lineage and had entered the world with a birthright and would carry the Tutt ministry into the fourth generation. And the child would inherit the ranch and the family’s vast oil and gas business. Gus could groom him to take over. Like he had once pla

But the warming of his heart to Amanda’s scheme did not erase his anger at her. She should have told him from the begi

“How could Toby not know?” Gus asked.

“All it took was a little dry ice,” she said with a shrug. “When the day came for the insemination procedure, Toby and I made a little game of it. I ‘helped’ him, so to speak. When we were finished, I carried the semen out of that little room while he got himself back together. But the contents of the vial I gave to the nurse came from So

“And how did you get So

Amanda folded her hands in her lap and looked down, avoiding her brother’s gaze and his question.

“Freda helped me,” she said, staring into the fire. “I did what I needed to do. So

“I’m not so sure of that,” Gus observed.

“Of course it is,” Amanda insisted. “He will have a son to carry on for him. And we will have the next best thing to So

“Amanda, I don’t think you’ve thought through the implications of what you have done.”

She lifted her chin. “Such as?”

“Such as Jamie Long realizing that the baby you are publicly claiming to be your own natural-born child is no such thing.”

“Jamie believes that I also am carrying a child,” Amanda pointed out.

“A child that just happens to be born the same time as the one she is carrying? You are a very famous woman. The girl is going to see photographs of you and your miracle child everywhere. And read heartwarming stories about how God miraculously healed you with another child after your son’s tragic accident even though you were postmenopausal or whatever. Those stories will say nothing about a second adopted child. There will only be one baby, Amanda, unless you and Toby plan to go out and find yourself a kid to adopt and raise alongside the miracle child.”

“I’ll tell Jamie that my baby was stillborn,” Amanda said.

“And maybe she will believe you and be ever so happy that you have the baby she carried to raise. But she will still know that the baby you are claiming to be your own child is no such thing. She would know that you, Amanda Tutt Hartma