The Christmas Baby (8 page)

B
RIAN
’
S CELL PHONE
rang when he had just finished up with a prospective client in Port Aransas the day after Thanksgiving. Checking caller ID, he saw that it was Faith and frowned. She never called him when he was working. Never. She was supposed to be shopping. Maybe she’d had car trouble. He walked out of the business office and into the hallway of the dental clinic and flipped open his phone.

“Faith, what is it?”

“I’m sorry to bother you while you’re working, Brian, but I thought you’d want to know. I know why both the babies were fussy last night.”

“What’s wrong?”

“They have the stomach bug.”

Stomach bug? “You mean they’re throwing up?” That wasn’t good. Not good at all.

“Afraid so. I wanted to warn you. These viruses are very contagious and you haven’t—”

“I’ll be there in twenty minutes.” Ignoring her protest, he snapped the phone shut and sprinted to his car. Both babies were sick. He didn’t know anything about sick kids. Hell, he didn’t know anything about healthy kids. What if Faith was wrong and it wasn’t just a virus? What if something serious was wrong with the kids?

By the time he reached home, he was a wreck, convinced the babies had some dire disease and for some ridiculous reason, Faith hadn’t wanted to worry him.

“Faith!” he shouted as he walked in. “Where are you?”

She came into the den carrying Lily. “For heaven’s sake, stop shouting. Will’s just gone back to sleep.”

He went to see for himself. Will was flushed, but he was sleeping, though fitfully. Brian put his palm on the baby’s forehead and thought he felt warm, but what the hell did he know? Leaving the door ajar so he would hear Will if he woke, he headed back to the den to talk to Faith.

“I think Will has a fever. Does Lily have a fever?” He put his hand on Lily’s forehead. “She feels warm. Have you taken her temperature? Did you take Will’s? What was it?” Why was Faith standing there staring at him as if he’d lost his mind? “What?”

“Brian, calm down.”

“Calm down? Are you nuts?” He paced away a few steps and whirled back to her. How could she be so calm? Wasn’t she worried? “Have you called Jay? Where the hell is he? This is his nephew and Lily we’re talking about. He can damn well get his butt over here and examine them.”

“Of course I haven’t called the doctor. The clinic is closed, for one thing. It’s a virus, Brian. Children get them all the time. I’ve given them some medicine I had from when Lily was sick before and they’re already doing better.”

“Better? Have you looked at them? They obviously feel terrible.” Lily was as flushed as Will had been and fussing against her mother’s shoulder. How could Faith say they were better?

“Well, they’re sick.” She patted Lily’s back and bounced as she talked. “Naturally they don’t feel well. Lily’s had this virus before and you have to be careful they don’t get dehydrated but—”

Ignoring her, he flipped open his cell phone and speed dialed Jay. “You need to come over here right now,” he said as soon as Jay picked up. “And bring your doctor bag with you.”

“What’s wrong? Are you sick?”

“Not me. Will and Lily are both sick. You need to come over,” he repeated.

“What are their symptoms?”

“Symptoms? What the hell does that matter? They’re sick. Get your butt over here right now, Jay.”

Faith took the phone from him and put it to her ear. “They have a stomach virus, Jay. I’ve given them the medicine you gave me for Lily when she had it before. They seem better. I don’t think you need—”

Brian jerked the phone out of her hand. “If you’re not over here in five minutes I’m coming to get you and it won’t be pretty.”

Jay had the gall to laugh. “All right, I’m coming. But settle down, Brian. It’s probably just a stomach bug. One’s been going around.”

“What the hell does he know?” Brian muttered as he shut the phone.

F
ORTUNATELY
, it didn’t take Jay long to get there. Brian was seriously in danger of a meltdown, and Faith had her hands full trying to calm him down. It didn’t help matters when Lily threw up again. She’d thought Brian was going to faint.

“Thank God,” Brian said when he opened the door for his brother. “What took you so long?” Not waiting for an answer, he continued, “Will’s in his room. He’s asleep, but I want you to go ahead and look at him. Or maybe you should take care of Lily first. She just got sick again.”

Jay put his hand on Brian’s shoulder. “Brian, he’s going to be all right. Both of them are. Okay?”

“How do you know? You haven’t even seen Will and you’ve barely glanced at Lily.” Eyes wild, he ran his hands through his already disordered hair. “What if they need to go to the hospital?”

Jay turned to Faith. “How long has he been like this?”

She knew he was talking about Brian, not Will. “Since I called him and told him they were sick.” She checked her watch. “About forty-five minutes ago.”

“Why don’t I take a look at Lily, since she’s awake. Let’s bring her to her room, Faith.”

Brian started to follow but Jay stopped him. “Go do something useful, Brian. Make some tea or something. Faith and I can see to Lily without your help.”

“Well, you’re getting my help whether you like it or not. Didn’t I tell you she just threw up again? That baby is sick—all you have to do is look at her to know that—and so is Will. Isn’t there a shot of something you can give—”

Brian was still arguing when Jay shut the door in his face. Jay looked at Faith and shook his head. “Good God, I’ve never seen him like this. What’s he going to do if Will ever gets really sick?”

She hoped they never had to find out. “It’s his first experience. I was pretty hysterical the first time Lily got sick. You had to calm me down.”

“You did fine. First-time mothers are understandably nervous about their children.”

Faith put Lily on the changing table and watched as Jay examined her.

“I’ll cut him some slack since he’s a first-time father. They don’t always do well, either.”

“He’s scared. He loves Will so much. More than he realized, I think.”

Jay glanced at her and seemed about to say something but apparently thought better of it. “Well, you called it,” he said a few minutes later. “She has a little bit of a temperature. You can give her a lukewarm bath but the medicine you gave her should take effect soon. I’ve brought some more, too, in case you need it.”

“Thanks. I was going to ask you for another prescription. I don’t have much left, just enough for a couple of doses.”

“I have some samples. You know the drill with a virus. The major concern is dehydration, but if it’s a mild case and the meds are working, that shouldn’t be a problem. You can give them an electrolyte solution, though. Do you have any?”

“Yes. I always keep some on hand. I’ll call if I think there’s a problem.” And Brian would undoubtedly call him before that. “Thanks for coming over. It was kind of you.”

“Are you kidding? I thought Brian was coming through the phone after me.”

Faith laughed but she had to agree with him.

“We’d better go see about Will before Brian loses it completely. Let me wash up and I’ll be right there.”

When they opened the door Brian was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest and a grim look on his face. “How is she?”

“She has a virus,” Jay said and went into the bathroom between the children’s bedrooms.

“That’s informative. Thanks for nothing.” He walked into Will’s room and Faith followed, carrying Lily. As soon as he saw his father, Will stood up in his crib crying and held out his arms. Brian picked him up, cradling him against his chest. “Poor little guy.”

Thank goodness he hasn’t thrown up again, Faith thought. She didn’t think Brian could take it.

When Jay came in, he said, “Brian, why don’t you take Lily back to her room and let Faith help me with Will?”

“No. I’m not leaving him.” Will’s chubby arms went around his father’s neck as if in agreement.

Jay studied him a moment, then shrugged. “All right, but no more getting hysterical.”

“I’m not hysterical. I’m concerned about the kids. Is that a crime?”

Jay looked at him and smiled sympathetically. “No, of course not. You know I’d tell you if this were something serious, right?”

Brian frowned. “I guess. They’re just so little. And I’ve never seen a sick baby before. It’s freaking me out.”

“It’s scary when your kids are sick, whatever their age. Why don’t you put Will down on the changing table and let me check him over?”

Brian did as Jay asked but he stood right beside him, interjecting questions and making suggestions about what Jay should do, which Jay managed to ignore without seeming to. Faith wondered at Jay’s patience but she figured he was accustomed to a lot of this sort of parental behavior in his practice. Not to mention, Brian was his brother and obviously scared to death.

Finally the ordeal came to an end and Jay allowed Brian to gather Will into his arms. “He has a virus, just like Faith thought,” he told him. “I’ve given her the medicine and she knows how to administer it. I suggest you let her. You can start them on an electrolyte solution, just little sips for now, but Faith knows all this. Listen to her, okay? The medicine makes them sleepy and sleep is the best thing for them right now.”

Still holding Will, Brian sat down in the rocker. “That’s it? That’s all you’re going to do?”

“That’s all I can do right now. These viruses are usually short-lived. Twenty-four hours at most. But call me if either of them gets worse and I’ll come right over.”

“You’re sure it’s not serious?”

He looked so worried Faith wanted to hug him. Good thing she had her hands full and couldn’t.

Jay smiled. “They’d have to be a lot sicker before I’d call it serious. Will and Lily are going to be all right in no time.”

Faith walked Jay out while Brian stayed with Will. “Would you mind terribly coming back over in the morning? I’m sure it would set Brian’s mind at rest.”

“No problem. Poor guy. Kids have a way of wrapping their fingers around our hearts, don’t they?”

“Yes, they do.” And so, she was forced to admit to herself, did Brian. She was wading in some very treacherous water.

Lily had fallen asleep, so once Jay was gone, Faith took her to her room and put her to bed, hoping the worst of the illness had passed. In Will’s room, she found Brian just as he’d been when she left, sitting in the rocker holding his son.

“Looks like he’s asleep,” she said softly. “Do you want me to put him to bed?”

“Not yet. I’ll hold him awhile.” Their eyes met and a corner of his mouth lifted. “You think I’m a moron, don’t you? Because I flipped out over a virus.”

“No. I think you love your son very much and you were scared.”

“I care about Lily, too.”

“I know you do.” He’d been as hysterical about Lily as he had been about Will. How could she not fall for a man like him?

“How do you do it, Faith? You just took it in stride. You had two sick kids on your hands and you coped with them like you handle this kind of thing every day.”

“I’ve had practice. Not with two of them at the same time, but with sick babies in general. Lily was sick a lot when she was in day care full-time. I told you that. The first time…I thought I would go nuts with worry and fear. I might have if it hadn’t been for Jay. He’s very soothing. I guess he has to be in his line of work.”

Brian was watching his sleeping son. “Will turned to me. He looked at me like he knew I’d help him and he held out his arms to me. He’s never done that before.”

“I told you last night. He loves you.”

Brian rose and laid Will down in his crib. “About last night—” he began.

“Don’t, Brian. Just…let it go. Okay?” Because if they talked about what had almost happened, she wasn’t sure what she’d do. Blurt out her growing feelings for him, most likely, and that would be a disaster.

“All right.” He studied her for a long, intense moment. “But I don’t think we can avoid this forever.”

“Yes. We can.” She sounded positive but she was anything but. She was determined not to go down that road, though. That road, she suspected, would lead to worse heartbreak than she’d already experienced.

Brian wasn’t for her and it was time she remembered that. Past time.

B
Y MORNING
the babies were almost back to normal, but Brian wasn’t. He couldn’t remember ever being so scared or feeling such an absolute lack of control over a situation. Not since he was a child, anyway.

Faith assured him the babies were fine, though she was still feeding them that electrolyte stuff, he noticed. But she insisted she was perfectly capable of taking care of them, so he planned to go back to the dental clinic and start putting in the new system. The dentist had wanted him to work on it while the clinic was closed for the holiday, and since Brian was happy to have the job, he’d agreed.

When he went to tell the kids and Faith goodbye, he couldn’t find Faith. Will was playing happily in his playpen but Lily was fussing in hers, so he got her out and discovered why she was crying. Her diaper was dirty.

“Let’s go get your mom,” he told her. Just because he knew how to change a diaper didn’t mean he wouldn’t avoid it when possible.

He tapped on Faith’s bedroom door. Lily pulled on his ear and chortled happily, apparently having forgotten all about any discomfort. “Faith, are you in there?” She didn’t answer so he opened the door and found her bathroom door closed. “Are you all right?” he asked, knocking there.

“Give me…a minute,” she said.

Five minutes later, he was still waiting and Lily was fussing again, so he resigned himself to changing her, then put her in her playpen and went back to Faith’s room. He sat on her bed and waited for her to come out of the bathroom.

“You have the virus, don’t you?” he asked when she finally emerged. Her complexion was pasty white and she looked like she felt terrible, so he didn’t really need the verbal confirmation.

“No, I’m fine. You go on to work.”

“Faith, you’re sick. You can’t take care of Will and Lily like this.”

“I’m not sick. Just a little—” she broke off, rushed back into the bathroom and slammed the door.

“Right. You’re not sick at all. You’re healthy as a horse.”

He left the room and called Jay. “Faith has it now.”

“Not surprising. These bugs are extremely contagious. You’ll probably get it, too.”

“No, I won’t. I can’t. I have to take care of the babies. Can you tell me exactly what and how much I’m supposed to feed them? Faith isn’t up to talking right now.” He made notes about what Jay told him and hung up. He knew their schedule, more or less, so he could make do on that end. Besides, how hard could it be? Faith looked after both of them all the time with no problem. He knew what he was doing with Will now. Surely it wouldn’t be that bad taking on Lily, too.

He called the dentist to cancel, assuring him he’d make it in the next week, after hours if he wanted. By then both babies were crying so he went to them.

An hour later, he’d decided that any woman who could do what Faith did every day was Superwoman. One of the babies was always hungry, dirty, wet or just plain fussy. He’d no sooner get one of them settled down than the other would start up. And when they were both cranked up and wailing in tandem, he wanted to pull his hair out.

He managed to keep Will occupied by giving him a wooden spoon, which he banged on the coffee table. Over and over and over. Not very good for the coffee table or Brian’s head, but hey, it kept the kid busy and happy so Brian could feed Lily some of that electrolyte stuff.

Several hours later, after he’d miraculously managed to put both kids down for a nap and was sitting on the couch in a stupor, Faith came into the den. She looked pitiful, as wiped out as anyone he’d ever seen.

“I’m feeling a little better. I’m sorry you’ve had to take care of the babies.”

“I didn’t mind. You don’t look like you feel any better.”

She was wearing her glasses and sweats. Her face was still pinched and white and her eyes glassy. She looked to him like she could hurl at any moment.

“Well, I do.” She sat in the easy chair and sighed. “I think I’m over the worst of it now, if you want to go back to work. I had some water and ginger ale and feel almost human again.”

Brian laughed. Yeah, he would go off and leave her with both babies when she obviously felt like hell. “Don’t be ridiculous, Faith. Go back to bed.”

She pouted. He’d have thought it was funny if she clearly hadn’t felt so bad. “You shouldn’t have to take care of the children. That’s what you hired me for. And especially not Lily. She’s not even your child.”

“Are you saying you don’t trust me to take care of the kids?”

“Of course I trust you. But they’re my responsibility.”

“Today they’re not. Faith, go to bed. Get some sleep. You’ll feel a lot better after you do.”

She pouted some more but she eventually dragged herself off to bed.
Just call me Mr. Mom
, Brian thought as he headed to Will’s room to answer his cry.

Who would have believed six months ago that Brian Kincaid, confirmed bachelor, would be taking care of two babies under a year old? And doing a pretty damn decent job of it, too.

“D
ID YOU WANT TO HAVE
a party for Will’s first birthday?” Faith asked Brian Tuesday night. They’d put both babies to bed and Faith was cleaning up after dinner. “Isn’t his birthday Thursday? If we’re going to have a party we need to get it planned.”

Brian put down the newspaper he was reading. “You’re supposed to have a party for a one-year-old? He won’t know it’s his birthday.”

“But you will. If you want to do something simple, we could have your family over for cake and presents after work. Maybe order pizza.” She picked up the sponge and began wiping down the stove top.

“My whole family together in this house? Remember Thanksgiving? It’ll be a zoo.”

“No, it will be fun. You’ll see. And we aren’t talking about having nearly as many people as were at your sister’s house.”

Just half that many. But Faith seemed excited and obviously wanted to do something for the kid. “Well…okay. If you think we should, then let’s do it.” His son’s first birthday. How mind-boggling was that?

“Good. Are you going to get his present or do you want me to pick something out?”

“I’ll do it. But I could use some help. Why don’t we go shopping on Thursday when the babies are in Mothers’ Day Out?”

“All right. I can pick up some decorations then, too. This will be so fun. I love parties. And the grocery store has good cake. I can order that over the phone tomorrow.”

“Cat won’t like that. She usually makes the cakes for family birthdays. And hers are great.” He knew because he’d happened to be in town for Jay’s birthday one time and had a piece of the cake she’d brought over.

“Your sister-in-law has an infant. She might not be up for baking cakes.”

Bummer, he hadn’t thought of that. “I’ll talk to Mark and if she doesn’t want to bake it, you can order one. So, is there anything else we need to do?”

“Not that I can think of.” She put the sponge down, picked up a pot and began drying it. “But I have a favor to ask you.”

“Ask away.”

“Can you take care of Will Friday night? Roxy said she’d mind Lily for me.”

“You have a date?” He didn’t know why he was surprised. Except she hadn’t been out since her date with Dr. Smooth and he’d thought she had decided not to go out with him again. “I thought you blew off that guy.”

“Oh, it’s not with him.” She stowed the pot below the stove top, then started loading the dishwasher with the supper dishes. Every night that she cooked, he offered to help clean up, and every night, she turned him down. “The date is with someone else. I just met him today.”

“Where did you meet him?” Not that it was any of his business but she
was
living with him. Taking care of his son. He had a right to some…curiosity about who she dated.

Faith turned and gave him a surprised look. “In the grocery store. The produce section.” She laughed. “He asked me to pick out a cantaloupe for him. Why?”

“You’re going out with a man you met in the grocery store? Over a cantaloupe? Isn’t that kind of—” He broke off and searched for the word he wanted.
Stupid,
he thought, but didn’t say it. “Isn’t that kind of chancy?”

“No, why? He seemed perfectly nice. His name is Brent Walken. He owns a gym in Port Aransas and one in Rockport. Do you know him?”

“No, I don’t know him and neither do you. He could be a creep. Or a pervert. Or married.”

She stopped loading the dishwasher and turned around, her hand on her hip. “He’s not a creep or a pervert,” she said, obviously peeved. “He’s divorced and he says he’s lived in Aransas City for ten years. And if you don’t want to keep Will, just say so.”

“Don’t be st—ridiculous. Keeping Will isn’t the problem. I just think you ought to be more careful about who you go out with. Hell, this dude could be a serial killer for all you know.”

She laughed. “Maybe you should ask your police officer friend for a background check.”

“What friend?” he asked blankly.

“You know, the redhead you were so chatty with on Thanksgiving.”

“You mean Maggie Barnes? I hardly know her.”

“You and she seemed awfully cozy sitting together on the couch.” She turned back around. “It looked to me like you were hitting on her.”

And why would Faith care if he had been? Unless, like Maggie had believed, she wanted him for herself. “I wasn’t hitting on Maggie. I asked her out.”

“Same thing.”

“It isn’t the same thing at all,” he said, stung. “There’s a big difference between hitting on a woman and asking her out for a date.”

“Name one.”

He couldn’t think of one, which annoyed the hell out of him. “Never mind that. At least I didn’t meet her in a grocery store, for God’s sake.”

She glared at him. “I hate to have to break the news to you but I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I’m a grown woman with a child and I’ve been on my own for a long time now.” She wagged her index finger at him. “
And
I can date whomever I damn well please without any input from my employer. All I want to know is if you’ll take care of Will that night or if I need to get a babysitter for him, as well as Lily.”

Her voice had risen with every word. He’d never heard Faith shout before, but then, he’d never seen her mad. He found it…fascinating. And a little bit of a turn-on to see mild-mannered, soft-spoken Faith McClain all worked up and bent out of shape.

Her employer. If he wasn’t her employer he’d go over there and kiss her and make her forget all about…what’s his name. But he
was
her employer so nothing like that was going to happen.

Not tonight, not ever.

“Of course, I’ll take care of Will,” he said irritably. “But I hope you don’t regret this.”

“I won’t,” she snapped.

“Fine.” He picked up the paper and shook it out, even though he was way too pissed to read.

She banged around putting away the pots and pans and muttered something that sounded like
jackass.
Brian pretended to read the paper. A few minutes later, she said, “When are you going out with Maggie?”

He put the paper down and looked at her. He started to lie but decided that would make things way too complex and besides, she’d undoubtedly find out for herself at some point if he lied about that. From Maggie herself, if no one else. “I’m not. She shot me down.”

“Oh. Why?”

Because she thinks I’m hung up on you.
No how, no way was he going there. “How do I know? She’s a woman. Sometimes they say yes, sometimes they don’t. So what?”

“I’m sorry.”

He shrugged. “No big deal. If at first you don’t succeed, move on to the next one. I’ve got a date Saturday night with someone else.” Which was still a lie but not one she would catch him in. He could get a date easily enough, but it wouldn’t be with Maggie Barnes. Or Faith.

“You hadn’t mentioned having a date Saturday,” she said suspiciously.

“I’m mentioning it now.”

“Is it with one of the casserole ladies?”

“No. I wouldn’t date any of them. She works for my new client in Corpus Christi. She’s Dr. Blair’s receptionist.”

“What’s her name?”

He blanked on that, then picked one at random. “Virginia. Virginia Baker.”

“I suppose she’s beautiful. That’s one of your requirements, isn’t it?” She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the counter. He couldn’t be sure but he thought she was smirking.

“I wouldn’t call it a requirement. But yeah, Virginia’s a knockout,” he confirmed. “Long, wavy black hair, ocean-blue eyes,” he added, getting into the fantasy. “Tall. Curvy.” He made an hourglass shape with his hands. “She used to model. Lingerie and stuff like that.”

“She went from modeling to working as a receptionist? Why? Didn’t she make a lot more money modeling?”

Dumb-ass,
he thought.
You should have stopped while you were ahead.
“Did I say receptionist? Actually she’s more like his executive secretary. She likes the hours better.”

Faith clearly wasn’t buying it. “Still seems strange to me, but whatever floats your boat.”