Baby Love Lite (42 page)

“
That's perfectly fine with
me, sir,” he said. “I'll make their flight arrangements. There's a
matter of accommodating the baby though.”

My father must've said something in
response.

“
Yes, that's wonderful. I’ll
have Tylar get back to you just as soon as the arrangements have
been made. I'll tell her, sir. Good night.”

I was glaring at Trey wanting him to spill
the gist of the conversation.

“
Don’t give me the hateful
look, Tylar. Your dad wanted to talk to me. He wants you and
Preston to visit. Must be a kind of old-fashioned guy who still
thinks the man rules the roost.”

“
Don’t worry. I'll set him
straight about our roost when I’m down there, now what'd he
say?”

“
He's certainly moved
quickly on all of this. Search warrants are being served as we
speak by federal authorities to search Matthew Renaud’s home,
vehicles, phone records, confiscate his hard drive and any other
software communication device in his possession or in his name.
Along with that, a search is being done on the vehicle that Maggie
had and ditched which was impounded to find any traces of Matthew’s
involvement in Preston’s abduction.”

“
Why couldn’t Dad just
tell
me
that?”

“
Honey, I think he also
wanted to see if I had a real issue with parting with you and the
baby for a few days to come and see him. It’s actually kind of
sweet. When I asked him about accommodating the baby he said that
he'd already had a room furnished as a nursery for her and his
housekeeper would serve as a nanny at your whim.”

“
Really?” I
asked.

“
Sweetheart, you do know
that you father is a millionaire several times over
right?”

“
Do federal judges make all
that?” I asked surprised.

“
They make a nice living,
baby, but your father’s wealth also comes from the estate of his
deceased wife. She came from a very prominent family and was an
only child so when her parents died, she inherited, big
time.”

Something bothered me about all this. I'd
believed that my father had fallen in love with my mother. I also
felt that the fact he'd told her he couldn't get out of his
impending marriage pointed toward something else. I recalled her
diary entry where a month or so before I was born he was appointed
as a federal judge. I needed to understand the politics of
this.

“
Trey, can I ask you
something?”

“
Sure. Baby."

“
I just need to know
something about how things work with appointments to federal
judgeships, Supreme Court appointments that sort of
thing?”

“
I’ll tell you what I know;
the rest will be strictly my opinion on the matter.”

“
Did the fact my father was
engaged to a woman who came from an extremely wealthy family help
him get that appointment to the federal bench?”

“
It’s a little more
complicated than that. Federal Judges are appointed by the
President as openings occur. Unlike Supreme Court justices they
don’t require approval by both parties. They're appointed for life.
I guess my short answer is that, it's possible if your father’s
wife’s family had a lot of political clout that might have served
your father well in getting that appointment. It doesn’t mean that
there were any payoffs or bribes. I would doubt that very much. His
district isn’t one that would have key legislation crossing
it.”

"I'm looking forward to this trip to Baton
Rouge." I needed to see how my father rolled.

Trey got on the phone making arrangements for
next week. Gina was due to move in this coming weekend and I needed
to be here to help her get settled and referee any arguments that
might ensue between her and Trey. It was as if Gina was psychic. My
phone chimed right then and it was her.

“
Hey, Girlfriend,” I said
when I answered.

“
Tylar, I'm so pissed!” she
yelled into the phone.

“
What’s wrong?” I asked
wondering what the hell was up.

“
Tristan and I just had our
first fight and it was a fucking doozy!”

“
Is he down here?” I
asked.

“
Of course not,” she
snapped. “We had a fucking argument on the phone. He isn't
‘allowing’ me - did you catch the operative word there
‘allowing’?”

“
Yes,” I replied rolling my
eyes, “Please finish.”

“
He isn't permitting me to
rename my club ‘The Shady Lady’ just like I'd planned for
months!”

“
Well, did he give you a
reason, Gina?”

“
Yeah. He said it wasn’t
fucking conducive to the type of atmosphere he was trying to
portray with adding the dinner menu during the weeknights. I
suppose he doesn’t think it’s classy enough.”

"Can't you two come to a compromise?"

“
Compromise? Compromise?
He's so freaking bull-headed, Ty! He must have some of that Hot
Nazi shit running through his bloodline!”

“
How did you leave it
between you two?”

“
He said we'd discuss it
when he’s back next week. Then - and listen to this girlfriend - he
says ‘end of conversation, Gina’.”

I got a smile on my face recognizing one of
Trey’s signature responses to me.

“
I mean, do you fucking
believe that?
Him
telling
me
it’s the end of the conversation? Oh, hell no!”

“
I'm sure everything will
work out fine and you and Tristan will reach some compromise when
he's back here and you two are . . . “

“
Are
what,
Ty?”

“
Having a fuckfest,” I said,
barely getting the words out before I broke into
laughter.

“
Hmmph,” she said haughtily.
“It'll be a cold day in hell before he gets inside my knickers
again!”

“
Gina, take a bath and
relax. It'll be fine, I promise you. Look, I’ve got to go and get
Preston ready for bed. I'll talk to you tomorrow and let you know
what’s been going on with me today. There've been all kinds of
surprises.”

“
Okay, call me,” she ordered
before hanging up.

CHAPTER 40

I helped Gina get settled in to our apartment
on Saturday. Tristan had ended up flying in to help her move,
though Gina said that nothing had changed between them. She was
still in stand-off mode with him about changing the club’s
name.

Tristan had definitely extended the olive
branch to Gina by offering to pay for professional movers. Gina had
pooh-poohed his offer by saying that she had too much pride to
accept his “fucking charity.” She'd rented a truck fully expecting
that she and I could haul her stuff out of the condo and into the
truck.

Trey had put his foot down on that idea.

Thank God!

He and Tristan were adamant that they would
load it up and take it over to her storage unit. It took them three
trips to get it all moved. In the meantime, Gina and I busied
ourselves at the apartment getting her clothes unpacked and put
away.

Preston was playing in her crib while we
worked in the nursery getting Gina settled in.

“
Do you believe that Tristan
flew in just to help you move?” I was trying my best to get her
spirits up.

“
Oh, don’t let that fool
you! He has an appointment Monday with the health inspector to
approve the kitchen for the upgraded food license for expanding our
food service."

"Plus, he's interviewing chefs this coming
week. You know he plans to stay here, don’t you? I mean you're the
one that extended that invitation.”

“
Well of course he's
welcomed here, Gina. He’s Trey’s brother and my
brother-in-law.”

“
Just so you don’t expect
him to crash in here with me then.”

“
Of course not,” I said as
if the thought hadn't occurred to me. “Tristan can bunk out on the
living room sofa. He'd probably prefer that anyway, with the big
flat screen out there.”

Just then we both turned as we heard Preston
grunt extremely loudly. Her little cheeks were beet red. “Uh oh,”
Gina laughed, watching her grunt.

“
I guess since I’m bunking
in here with her, I’ve got diaper duty.”

“
I’ve got it,” I said
grabbing a clean disposable diaper.

“
No, you don’t! This is my
god-daughter and we're official roomies, so I've got it.” Gina
scooped Preston from her crib taking the diaper from me and getting
the baby wipes. I watched as she changed my baby girl, talking to
her and cleaning her up thoroughly. Gina was going to make one
helluva a mom. I truly hoped it'd be with Tristan.

Once Tristan and Trey got back to the
apartment, Gina had settled Preston on a blanket in the living
room. They had an assortment of toys that they were playing with
together.

I had dinner going. I could tell Trey and
Tristan needed showers before dinner. Tristan’s suitcase was in the
entry hall. To avoid a scene later, I figured that I'd better bring
Trey into the fold as to what had transpired. I lip synced Trey
indicating that I needed to speak to him privately. I left the room
going down the hall to our suite. Tristan had gone into the
bathroom off of the nursery to shower.

“
What is it?” Trey asked as
I shut the door behind us in our room.

“
Trey, there's major tension
between Tristan and Gina.”

“
So?” he asked.

“
Sooo,” I said. “What
exactly do you think the sleeping arrangements are going to be
while both of them are here?”

“
The same as if they weren’t
fighting,” he answered immediately. “One of them can bunk on the
couch; the other one can bunk in the bed in the
nursery.”

He saw the confused expression on my
face.

“
Tylar,” he said patiently,
“It doesn’t matter to me whether they're fighting or not. I wasn't
about to let them cohabitate in my daughter’s room for
Chrissake!”

“
Why?” I asked
puzzled.

“
Do you think for one moment
I’m going to expose my baby girl to their sexual
shenanigans?”

I guess I'd not considered that.

“
Okay, sweetie. I agree. So,
I guess you'll let Tristan know that we'll make up the couch for
him to sleep on?”

“
You got it, babe,” he said
kissing me sweetly.

Trey went to take his shower and I fed
Preston. Gina took over after that getting Preston changed and
dressed for bed. I went in to nurse her and asked Gina if she'd go
ahead and put our dinner on the table. Tristan had finished his
shower and was out in the living room watching television.

“
Sure thing, Ty; got it
covered.”

I settled into our rocker and unbuttoned my
shirt giving my baby girl access to her “num-num.” I knew that her
grandpa would love her to pieces. What wasn't to love about my
wonderful baby girl? I'd learned so much in the last few days about
my own mother. I felt a bond with her which was so strange. I had
the feeling that my mom had loved me every bit as much as I loved
my Preston. My mom and I'd both loved men that hadn’t realized they
were soon to be fathers to daughters.

I'd loved Trey from the moment he'd held me
by the pool after rescuing me and resuscitating me. I think that my
father had started loving my mother as soon as they'd met. The fact
that he'd taken her virginity thinking she was a prostitute
followed by her cussing him into oblivion had only sweetened the
deal. My dad and Trey both loved spirited women.

Preston was asleep now having released my
nipple from her grip. I leaned over and kissed her cheeks and then
tucked her into her crib for the night.

Trey had just come out of the shower in his
sweats and tee shirt, his hair still damp from his shower.
“Preston?” he asked.

“
She's fed and down for the
night. Hungry, baby?”

“
For a couple of things,” he
replied smacking my behind playfully.

When we got out to the living room, it was
obvious that Tristan and Gina had called a truce at the very least.
They were on the couch all over each other kissing and feeling each
other up.

“
Oh, for Chrissake,” Trey
commented rolling his eyes. “Are you even hungry at this
point?”

“
Not really,” I said, going
to the kitchen to shut off the lights and make sure all burners
were off. “I’m clearly exhausted and ready for my
shower.”

“
Go for it, babe,” he
replied. “I’ll get everything put away here and join you
shortly.”

Within ten minutes I was showered and in my
nightgown for the night. Trey was in our suite shortly thereafter
saying that we needed to move Preston’s crib.

“
Why?” I asked.

“
Because Tristan and Gina
have apparently made up and that couch isn't big enough to
accommodate the fuckfest I know is coming.”

“
But, Trey,” I whined, “How
are we going to get the crib moved without waking the
baby?”

“
Christ Tylar, It isn’t as
if we have to take it apart and re-assemble it. There are caster
wheels on it you know? I just want her out of that
room.”

“
Okay. You’re right; the
doorways here are plenty wide enough. Let’s just roll it down the
hall into our room.”