by Dahlia Rose
“Interesting,” Jay mused and gave no other inclination of his thoughts on this, one way or the other.
Jacob breathed out a sigh as he pulled the car seat from the back of the SUV. “Do you think my plan will work?”
“I just dated Caroline like a normal person.” Jay laughed. “It just might and if it does... bring your new family over for dinner.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Jacob answered.
He watched as Jay explained how to put in the base of the car seat and the actual carrier locking into place. He then took it out and showed him again.
With it installed, Jacob talked to his friend for another half an hour and noticed the tiredness in his face. After telling his friend to go get some rest and thanking him once more, he set off back to his hotel. Tomorrow, he would go see Sera and Eden. After the kiss by her front door, he knew her feelings and passion for him hadn’t died away. It had been just one of the first steps to gaining his family and the woman he loved.
* * * *
The next day, he went with a sense of excitement to see Eden and Sera. It was Thursday and his realtor kept him updated that the owners did accept his offer and he would meet Jacob the next day to sign the paperwork. They settled for nine in the morning at the hotel restaurant. From there, his movers would be able get in the house and the decorators could start his holiday spread.
Of course, Jacob knew he was throwing money at a problem, but it was with the hope that the next holiday it would be them putting up a tree and decorating while Sera toddled around. The thought made him smile and he could imagine her on little legs, running through the house with tinsel or a tree decoration she took from a box.
He parked beside Eden’s car that was now a black four door Mazda. The upgrade was of course that the other car was definitely too small for a car seat to be held properly. He pressed the doorbell.
Within a minute, Eden opened the door. She was bouncing Sera on one hip and her phone was caught between her ear and shoulder. “Hey Jacob, come on in,” she said in a distracted voice and spoke into the receiver. “Yes, I’m still on hold.”
“Want me to take her?” Jacob asked in a low voice. He noted that since the last time he was there, the house had lights strung up and around the living room and a decorated fake fir tree stood in the corner. Fireplaces weren’t much of a thing in Arizona but Eden had set up one of those fake fireplace kits and hung two stockings, one with her name and on with Sera’s. Jacob made a mental note to get some stockings made for his house and all three would be hung by his fireplace.
Eden nodded.
He reached out to take Sera as she kicked her little legs in excitement. “Hi baby, are you happy to see me?” Jacob asked and she gurgled in response. To him that was an agreement if he ever heard one and he went to sit on sofa so he could bounce Sera on his lap. “What do you want for Christmas, hmm?” he asked while looking into her bright beautiful eyes that stared at him. “A pony? Does my sweet girl want a pony?”
Eden covered the phone with her hand. “Don’t buy a pony.”
He grinned and whispered to Sera, “Maybe a little one.”
“So, there is no one else, everyone is booked, and Rachel is out sick.” Eden sighed over the phone. “Thank you and yes, please get back with me if something opens up.” She swiped her phone screen.
“Something wrong?” Jacob asked.
“Sera’s regular care provider is out sick and tomorrow, I need to go into court with the lawyer I work for,” Eden replied. “Unlike the law firm I worked for in Texas, Powers and Mayes use my paralegal knowledge. They let me learn through researching precedent and its making school so much easier with hands on research and being in the courtroom.”
“That’s great!’ Jacob said enthusiastically. Her career was important to her and he knew that from Texas. “I can watch her for the day.”
“Maybe my mom or dad could stay with her,” Eden said glossing over his statement.
“Eden, I can stay with Sera,” Jacob said gently. “I only have to sign some paperwork tomorrow and I can push that up or meet them in the hotel with Sera.”
“Um, you have never cared for a baby.”
“I can learn, teach me.”
“I don’t want her in a hotel all day.”
“I can stay here,” Jacob countered all her questions logically.
“I will be gone for most of the day till around six,” Eden pointed out. “That’s a full day of diapers, milk, naps and all that good stuff.”
“Eden, she’s my daughter, I will have to get used to it sooner or later,” Jacob answered with a grin. “I got this.”
“What about your meeting?” Eden countered.
“I just have to sign some papers, the realtor can come here,” he told her and watched her reaction. As he expected, her eyes widened in her surprise.
“You already bought a house?” Hesitation echoed in her voice.
Jacob nodded. “Right outside Phoenix.”
“Okay, so you really are moving,” she said.
Jacob smiled. “Have you ever known me to say anything I don’t mean?”
“Good point.” Eden sighed. “Okay, so you are now daddy daycare for tomorrow. I need you here at seven, so I can leave.”
“Or I can spend the night,” Jacob hinted huskily.
A smile hinted her lips. “Trying to sneak that in, nice ... but no. I am not ready for that Jacob. I can’t think past us co-parenting because it means I’d have to admit—”
“—That you still love me?” Jacob asked. “We were separated because of something my mother did, not me. Can’t we just move forward and love each other? That is exactly where we would be now, if you hadn’t run away. Married, a baby and I wouldn’t have missed a thing.”
“Are you’re saying I should’ve put on my big girl panties and stayed?” Eden asked. “Even though I didn’t know where we stood, especially after your mother’s very vile words. Jacob, I’m just hearing ‘I love you’ now with Sera, because when we were together, you never said it.”
“Give me the benefit of the doubt maybe?” he retorted helplessly feeling his anger rise just a bit. Would he be paying a debt for his mother’s actions for the rest of his life? “You knew I loved you, Eden.”
“How did I exactly, know this?” she asked. “Did you say the words? As far as I know, we only ate and hung out at your house because you were ashamed to be seen with me.”
“You don’t really think that do you?” Jacob was shocked to hear the words that escaped her lips. “Jordan and those guys barely got me to go out. I am not one of those party guys by nature. I wasn’t hiding you from the world, Eden I was trying to build with you in our little cocoon. God, there was so many plans and then in an instant, they were gone... you were gone.”
The baby started to fuss in his arms, halting the conversation in a stalemate. Jacob comforted his daughter with a series of shushing noises and talking to her gently in Japanese.
“Pudding baby,” Eden crooned sitting down beside him. “Who’s my sweet girl?”
“Why ever do you call her Pudding baby?” Jacob asked the question amused.
“She’s so chubby and jiggly, like pudding.” Eden laughed. “I was sleep deprived at the time and not thinking clearly.”
“That is hilarious.” Jacob laughed and the baby squealed in happiness. “Do you want to go out today, maybe you can show me around Phoenix, and we grab dinner with the baby?”
“That sounds nice actually.” Eden smiled. “Let me get her dressed and throw on some clothes. Unless I’m going to work, I pretty much wear joggers and t-shirts in case of spit up and honestly, she doesn’t give you a lot of time to get dressed.”
“How about I dress her and you get ready?” Jacob suggested. “It will be my first test and see if I don’t put her clothes on backwards.”
Eden shook her head in amusement. “I’ll get her something easy to wear. She doesn’t like shoes, so we go with socks. She hates them too, but we try and by th
e time we get out to the car, they’ll be off.”
“That’s because you’re going to run around barefoot like your daddy did.” He lifted Sera up against his chest. “It was hell to keep me in shoes, even now.”
“So that’s where she got that from.” Eden walked away and came back with a little blue tunic dress with yellow flowers, tights and socks that matched the dress. “Here you go. I’ll pack the baby bag as well.”
“The baby bag?” Jacob asked.
“It has diapers, milk, a change of clothes, and a few other things in case of emergency,” Eden explained. “Be back in five...” She looked down at her clothes. “...make that fifteen.”
That was what he’d always loved about her. Eden didn’t put on airs or try to be perfect. She wore light make up and when she was at home, she didn’t mind dressing down. He recalled how she walked around his house in his socks and t-shirts for the entire weekend and he was okay with it.
Well, this isn’t too bad, he thought getting the squirming baby out of the onesie and into her pretty dress. He was good with his hands and deftly got her little legs into the tiny tights and socks. Then he put Sera over his knees to slip the tunic over her head. He lifted her and pulled down the tiny tunic before smoothing her curls that had been ruffled. “There you go, such a pretty princess.” Jacob kissed her on the cheek, and she turned her head getting drool on his face. “Are those kisses, huh? I love you too, Princess.”
Eden was back in less that fifteen minutes wearing jeans and a light blue blouse with flowy sleeves that ended at the elbows. She left her hair loose and the light make up and pink gloss made her even more kissable.
In all actuality, it was always in the back of his mind to be able to taste her lips, but he needed to be slow and careful. “Ready to go.” Jacob held up the baby. “And look, she’s all put together.”
Eden laughed. “Let me get the baby carrier.”
“No need, I have one in the car.” Jacob’s voice held a note of pride.
“Look at you, jumping into the daddy role,” she teased.
“I’m ready for it all,” Jacob’s assured her.
The baby was in the carrier safely and Eden sat in the back-passenger seat with Sera in case she needed tending to. They ended up at one of the local strip malls close by for dinner. The palm trees and the store fronts were all very new to him and he loved the fact the malls had open courtyards with foliage, trees and benches for customers to enjoy outside.
This time of year, it was dressed up for Christmas and twinkling lights were everywhere.
They had dinner and to Jacob, they were one of the many families who were enjoying the evening. Sera taking her first ice cream cone that Jacob held‒ while Eden took a picture of her reaction‒ warmed him down to his core. It was the first time in a long time, he felt the holiday spirit take hold. True happiness had come to him at that moment in time.
Chapter Six
“How?” Jacob asked incredulously of the baby who lay staring at him on the changing table. “How does this come out of you and all you get is milk? It’s like a level three bio-hazard down here, Princess.”
She smiled around chewing her hand as if she understood his words, like she was behaving and not kicking her legs, so he could change her.
He wrinkled his nose and made funny faces at her, making small giggles escape her. Lifting her into his arms after he was done, Jacob bounced her. He called Jay on his cell and put it on speaker as he took the baby back to the living room.
“Hey Jacob, how’s it going?” Jay answered.
In the background, Jacob could hear the sound of the hospital, including someone being called on the intercom. “I need to know if my baby is broken,” Jacob said bluntly.
Jay’s voice turned instantly amused as he asked, “How so?”
“Her diapers, I mean are they supposed to be this...” He didn’t know a word to fill in there.
“...Pungent?” Jay questioned.
“That... that’s the word,” Jacob agreed.
“What did she have to eat?” Jay asked.
“Milk and strained peas,” he answered easily.
“Then there you are, I mean with just milk, it’s pretty bad,” Jay explained. “You add peas and it mutates.”
“It gets better right? I mean as she eats more solid foods?” Jacob asked hopefully.
Jay’s laugh echoed through the phone. “Yeah, keep telling yourself that, buddy. Gotta go, good luck and Godspeed.”
Jacob looked at the phone for a moment before hitting the red button. “I could learn to dislike him.” He gazed down at Sera. “See? We got through that pretty okay,” he told his daughter conversationally, focusing on the baby in his arms. “We may need to discuss with your mom what those peas do to your tummy.”
It was after one and he’d been there since seven am when Eden had rushed out of the house with half a bagel in her mouth, and a satchel type briefcase. She’d worn a dark red pants suit with matching heels. Her hair was up and she also wore glasses which he never saw before and assumed when they were together, she’d worn contacts. Either way‒ when she’d handed him the baby, picked up her coffee cup and went out the door‒ Jacob thought it was sexy as hell. Then every time he had a moment to think, it was about taking the pant suit off her slowly and leaving her glasses on.
While he thought that watching a six-month-old would be easy, it certainly was not. Figuring out what each cry meant or when she didn’t want to be put into her bouncer, meant he was bouncing and shushing her all day. A grocery delivery he ordered on his phone almost woke her at around eleven when she napped, and Jacob rushed the door like it was a bomb threat to keep everything silent.
There was Korean barbeque pulled pork in Eden’s crock pot and he would make rice and a vegetable side on the next round of sleepy time. It would be easy to add a little broth to each and steam them back to warm when she got home. He was enjoying being at stay-at-home dad for the day and was thinking about a home office at his own house, so he could spend more time with Sera. But it was best not to make plans without Eden because upturning her life was not what he wanted to do.
By the time Eden came home it was after seven and the baby was already bathed and dressed for bed.
“God, I’m sorry,” Eden apologized as soon as she came through the door. “The case took a turn, and my boss needed some research done—”
Jacob put a finger to his lips to shush her while he gently rocked the baby on his chest by the Christmas tree. He’d turned on the lights and decorations, finding that something he flicked on played a song made up of just tiny bells. Sera seemed intrigued as she had her evening bottle and then he rocked her as she slowly began to fall asleep looking up at him and the lights that flickered in pattern around the house.
“It’s okay,” Jacob said in a low voice. “We got in handled. When I put her down, I’ll grab you some dinner from the kitchen.”
“Dinner?” Eden said the word like it was foreign to her.
He smiled and nodded. “Yes, I made you food.”
“Like actual dinner I didn’t order to be delivered or my mom didn’t make?” she questioned again.
Jacob couldn’t help but grin. “I made Korean barbeque pulled pork, basmati rice and green beans steamed with a little sweet and spicy chill sauce.”
Eden put her bag in the empty high back chair. “I don’t think I had any of that in this house.”
“You didn’t.” Jacob moved with the now sleeping Sera and kissed Eden’s temple. “Kiss our daughter good night and get yourself a glass of wine. I’ll be back.” He could feel her eyes on him as he went down the hallway to the baby’s room and by the time he came back, the red coat was off, and Eden was opening a bottle of wine. The white silk shirt and the full bow at the neck emphasized her bosom even with its demure look. But he knew the fire that was within her, the passion that could burn him down to his soul. He wanted to feel that again, to have her hot and wet beneath him, begging for more.
&nb
sp; “Jacob,” Eden said his name gently.
He was brought back to the present. “Um yeah, sorry about that.”
“You seemed to be deep in thought, was it a hard day watching Sera?” Eden asked.
“No, I loved every minute of it,” Jacob answered. “Let me get you some dinner.”
“You’re eating with me, right?” she asked.
He glanced at her. “If you want me to?”
She gave him a nod.
“Then dinner it is.” He fixed them both plates and set them on the table, then refilled her wine while getting himself a glass. He pulled out her chair, so she could sit before joining her and Eden picked up the fork. With her first bite, he watched her close her eyes in pleasure.
“Mmm, can I say I missed your cooking,” Eden said with a laugh.
“I hope that’s not the only thing you missed.” His voice was a low timber.
“No, it was not.” Her smile turned shy and she looked down at her plate before deftly changing the subject, “So, tell me about today, what did you and Sera do?”
Jacob proceeded to fill her in on their day, including the diaper and his call to his doctor friend to make sure Sera was okay.
That set Eden to laughing until tears leaked from her eyes. “You called a doctor about a dirty diaper?”
“It’s sounds silly now, but it was not pretty when I saw it,” Jacob defended. “I don’t think she should have peas until she’s about five.”
Eden laughed again until she got the hiccups and had to take a sip of wine. “Oh, thank you for that, I think I hurt something laughing.”
“Glad I could amuse you,” he said dryly.
She put her hand on his. “Don’t worry, my first week as a mother was not easy. When I was discharged from the hospital, I wouldn’t go because I was terrified of not having the nurse’s help. I came home and breastfed... boy that was a lot until my mom bought me nipple cream.”
“Nipple cream?” he questioned.
“Your nipples hurt and can crack from those little gums sucking on them multiple times a day,” Eden explained. “The cream helps soothe it in between feeding so the skin and areola stays nice and supple for the baby.”