by Natalie Ann
“I don’t know. He won’t stop crying. He’s been like this for hours.”
“Have you tried to feed him?”
“Of course, I’ve tried to feed him. I’ve even checked his diaper, but it’s dry.”
I stood and began to pace. “Are you holding him, or is he lying down?”
“I just laid him in his bed, but I’ve been holding him for hours. I’ve rocked him and bounced him and tried to burp him. I told you that I had no idea what the hell I was doing, Davina. I can’t do this.”
I stopped in the middle of the floor. Why was this my problem? Why was he calling me? I was not the mother, and this man was not my concern. “Why are you telling me this? What the heck do you expect me to do?”
“I don’t know. Maybe give me some advice, maybe come over here and help me, or—take him back.”
I blurted out a laugh. “Yeah, that’s not happening, Mr. Vaughn. Do you know what I did when I got home this afternoon? I passed out for eight straight hours. Do you know how long it’s been since I got more than two hours sleep in a row? It’s been two weeks. It’s your turn now.”
“Davina, come on, what if something is wrong with him?”
“Then take him to the hospital,” I snapped back as my email pinged.
“Maybe he misses you,” he said gently.
“I doubt that.” His words made my chest tighten. I was all Devon had ever known. Well, except for Lucy downstairs, who had watched him a couple of times for me when I had to go into the office for meetings.
“Look, is there any way that you can come over here and check on him, or I can even bring him to you. Tell me where you live, and I’ll come over.”
“Mr. Vaughn, I can’t—”
“Would you cut the damn Mr. Vaughn shit.” He growled. “It’s Trev or Trevor already.”
“Okay, Trevor,” I growled. “I’m working right now; I can’t stop what I’m doing and help you take care of your son.”
He was quiet for a second, and Devon’s screech filled the void. “It’s after midnight; why are you working? Normal people sleep at this time.”
“Yes, normal people do, and I just told you that I came home and crashed for eight hours. Now I’m late on a project that is due in the morning, and I have to get it finished.”
“Davina, please!” His voice was urgent. “I’m begging you here. I don’t know what to do with him. Today was the first time I have even held a baby. He’s like an unknown entity to me, and I don’t know how to deal with him. Jesus, I landed back in the US at midnight last night after three weeks overseas, got four hours of sleep, and went to work where my entire world turned upside down when you showed up. I need help, and you have no idea how hard that is for me to say, but I don’t know where else to turn. Please! I’ll pay you!”
I mulled that over for a moment. He really did sound desperate, and Devon’s agonizing cries were tearing my heart in two. “I don’t want your money,” I finally muttered.
“Davina—”
Would it be possible to help him for a little while and still get my project done? Yeah, it wasn’t like I had to write the code from scratch. Most of it was written; it just needed to be strung together and tested. I could do that and help him with Devon, right? “Fine, give me your address.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes, now give it to me before I change my damn mind.”
He gave it to me, and I was surprised to find that it was only about twenty minutes away. “Give me a few minutes to get things together, and then I’ll be on my way.”
“Text me when you get here. I need to buzz you into the front gate.”
Just by him telling me that, I had a good idea where he lived. There was a gated community on the other side of town. One of my co-workers lived there, and I’d taken them home once after an office party. It was a nice place, although a bit too classy for my taste.
“Thank you, Davina. I owe you. I really do.”
I sighed. “Yeah, you do.” I hung up without another word and started packing up my laptop, then grabbed my backup one and my notebooks with all the notes, charts, and information, and shoved them into my biggest laptop bag.
Then I looked down at myself and rushed into the bedroom, changing into clean jeans and a long cream-colored cable knit sweater before I ran a brush through my hair and brushed my teeth.
I stared at myself in the mirror. I still looked hell, but I doubted that he would even notice, especially if Carol had been his type. I was her polar opposite. She had been tall, with beautiful honey-blond hair that fell in classic waves over her shoulders. Her blue eyes had sparkled with life, and her laugh had sounded like a bell tinkling. She had been grace and beauty, and I was functional and bland with uncontrollable frizzy hair.
Back in the kitchen, I poured a large to-go mug with coffee and added some of my favorite creamer before I grabbed my bag and headed out the door. I let my car warm up a minute as I wondered why the hell I was doing this. I had obligations that needed my attention, and helping Trevor Vaughn with his new baby was not on that list.
I frowned as I put the car in gear. I was only doing this because I had loved Carol so much, and it wasn’t fair for Devon to suffer because his father was a stupid playboy.
I remember Carol telling me she had met him at a coffee shop. They enjoyed a cup of coffee which turned into dinner the next night, and then two weeks later, a long weekend at a bed and breakfast in the mountains. She told me it had been a whirlwind romance, and then he had to travel for business.
When I asked her later if she was ever going to see him again, she smiled sadly and said no. She never would tell me why, but by then she had learned she was pregnant and had a heart condition.
Had he not gotten Carol pregnant, she would still be here. He was to blame for her death, someone to direct my anger toward, and I needed to keep that in mind. Trevor Vaughn was the reason my best friend was dead, and I would never forgive him for that.
I drove through the quiet streets of the town and got there in fifteen minutes since all the lights were green, and I was basically the only car on the road. I stopped at his gate and typed one word to him: here.
A moment later, the gate began to rattle and roll open, and I slipped through as soon as I could. I found his building and parked in an open spot, grabbing my laptop bag and coffee mug before locking up my car.
I found his door and was about to knock when it suddenly jerked open, and I jumped back in surprise. “Jesus, you scared the crap out of me.”
“I saw you park. Come in.” I glanced at him as I slipped past; his hair was sticking up in every direction, and he had a shell-shocked look about him. I almost laughed, but a keening wail caught my attention, and I quickly shoved my laptop bag into his hands and ran up the stairs.
In the living room area near the sofa was a small white bassinet, and I rushed to it, setting my coffee mug on the side table and shrugging out of my jacket. After tossing it to the couch, I went for Devon.
“It’s okay, sweet baby. It’s okay. Aunt Davina is here. Come here, honey. It’s okay.” I cooed at him as I curled him against my chest. He continued to cry, but his tears slowly began to subside as I whispered to him and kissed the top of his head, rocking slowly.
“Get a bottle for him,” I said as I glanced over my shoulder. Trevor was standing at the top of the stairs, his jaw hanging open as he stared at me. “What?”
“How did you do that?”
I rubbed Devon’s back, patting it softly, and he let out a burp and fidgeted against my chest. “Shh, sweetheart, it’s okay.” I stared at Trevor. “How did I do what?”
“Get him to quiet down so damn fast?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Get a bottle for him.”
He quickly set my laptop bag to the side and hustled into his kitchen area. There were baby things spread all over the counters, and I chuckled to myself. It looked like my apartment when I’d first brought Devon home.
Devon continued to c
ry softly and wiggled against me as I waited. The minute Trevor had the formula in the bottle, he came toward me, a look of awe in his eyes. I took the bottle while adjusting Devon in my arms and then rubbed the nipple against his lips. He latched on immediately and began to suck.
Trevor stepped closer, and I glanced up at his face. He was staring at Devon, shaking his head. “I’m serious, how did you do that? I’ve tried to feed him four different times, and not once would he take the bottle.”
I pulled the bottle away from Devon’s lips, and he started to cry immediately. “Here, you take Devon, and let’s see if we can change that.”
“But he’s crying again.”
I rolled my eyes. “Just take Devon.”
He sighed, but took hold of the baby, holding him stiffly. “Go sit down with him.”
“Where?”
“On the couch,” I pointed, and he took Devon to the couch and sat down as he began to wail again. I handed him the bottle, and he tried to get Devon to take it, but Devon refused.
“See, he doesn’t like me!” Trevor growled.
“Oh, come on.” I took hold of Devon and pulled him against my chest again, and then held my hand out for the bottle. The moment I put the nipple to his mouth, he latched on again.
I frowned down at Devon as Trevor spoke. “You sure you don’t want to take him home with you? He likes you much better than me.”
Chapter 5 – Trevor
I was at my wit's end. I’d never been so stressed in my life. Put me into the middle of a battlefield with guns firing all around me and I could think perfectly clear. Put a baby in my arms, and I was a total idiot.
I had tried everything, and nothing was working. Lexi had been kind enough to not only pick up a car seat, but a small baby bed and some other important things like more bottles. My kitchen looked like an IED filled with baby paraphernalia had gone off with baby shit all over the place.
When Devon wouldn’t quiet down, and I was ready to throw my hands up in the air and run screaming, I finally did what I said I wasn’t going to do. I picked up the phone and called Davina. Maybe she could calm him down or at least show me what I was doing wrong.
I paced by the front window as Devon continued to scream, and I was thankful that I was an end unit, and my neighbor downstairs was an old woman who was very hard of hearing. The one on the other side of me worked nights. If I’d had other neighbors, they probably would have called the cops for a noise disturbance. Jesus, how did people deal with this?
I watched her car pull up and turned back to Devon. “Backup is here, little dude. Hold on.” I took the stairs quickly and yanked open the door. She jumped back, her eyes wide.
When she stepped in, she paused momentarily, then practically threw a heavy shoulder bag at me before rushing up the stairs. By the time I got to the top landing, she had Devon in her arms, and he was already quieting down.
I stared at her, completely in awe. “How did you do that?”
She was rubbing his back and spoke softly to the baby before looking at me. “How did I do what?”
“Get him to quiet down so damn fast?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Get a bottle for him.”
I rushed into the kitchen to get what she’d asked for and then came back to her a few minutes later. The moment she put the bottle to Devon’s mouth, he started sucking, and I stood there shell-shocked.
“I’m serious, how did you do that? I’ve tried to feed him four different times, and not once would he take the bottle.”
She removed the bottle from Devon’s lips, and he started to cry immediately. “Here, you take Devon, and let’s see if we can change that.”
“But he’s crying again.” I wanted to run away, and that was totally unlike me.
She rolled her eyes at me. “Just take Devon.”
I took him again and then went to sit down. She gave me back the bottle, and Devon fussed, not wanting to take it from me. “See, he doesn’t like me!”
“Oh, come on,” She pulled him from my arms again and curled him against her chest, putting the bottle back to his lips.
“You sure you don’t want to take him home with you? He likes you much better than me.”
“He knows me, Trevor; he doesn’t know you. You’re tense when you hold him; you need to relax a little bit.”
“Relax? How the hell am I supposed to relax? This is the most stressful situation that I have ever been in.”
“Yes, and he can tell that. You’ll get used to it.”
I closed my eyes, not sure I wanted to get used to it. I wasn’t sure I wanted to have anything to do with any of this. I sure as hell hadn’t signed up for being a father. What the hell had Carol been thinking?
“Why didn’t she tell me about this? Don’t you think I had the right to know?”
“I thought you did, but it wasn’t my decision.”
“How did you find me?”
She sighed long and loud. “She had a notebook with information in it. Your phone numbers and where you worked were listed. I was trying to get in touch with you for a week.”
“Sorry, I didn’t know who the number was that kept calling me, and I was overseas. When you didn’t leave a message, I figured it was a bullshit telemarketer or something.”
“Yeah, I guess I don’t answer my phone to numbers I don’t know either very often.”
“Did Carol ever explain to you why she didn’t want to tell me?”
Sadness filtered down over her features. “Not really. She told me that if this were the only time she would have with her baby, then she didn’t want to share it. She had told me that if she survived, she would have come to see you after he was born.”
I shook my head. “How could she decide to carry a child that she knew might kill her?”
“I don’t know,” Davina said quietly.
I leaned back on the couch, suddenly completely exhausted, and watched her feeding my son. My son. That rocked me to the core. If you had asked me if I wanted kids, I would have said maybe, but I might have been just as happy without ever having one. With the unexpected arrival of Devon, I didn’t know what to think anymore.
Davina was staring down at Devon’s face, brushing a finger over his cheek, and for the first time I looked at her, I mean, really looked at her. Her dark hair was in a messy clip at the top of her head, and her face was round, her lips full. Her skin was devoid of any makeup and yet looked flawless.
She lifted her gaze to mine, and I stared into her whiskey-colored eyes. “Why are you staring at me?”
“I’m not.”
She laughed uncomfortably and adjusted Devon slightly. “Yes, you are.”
“Okay, so maybe I was just looking at you.”
Her forehead lined, and she looked away. “Why didn’t you ever call Carol again after that weekend?”
“I went overseas.”
“You were overseas the entire time?”
“No.” I shook my head. “After my weekend with her, I was gone for two months.”
“But you didn’t try to call her when you got back,” she stated, and I thought I caught a little bit of anger in her voice.
“No, I didn’t. Carol knew that I probably wasn’t going to.”
“You know, that’s pretty rude.” She glared at me. “You spend a romantic weekend with her and then just walk away, never call her again.”
“Hey.” I reached out and touched the knee that she had curled under her. “Carol knew that our weekend was just that. A weekend of fun.”
“Fun? You got her pregnant, and it killed her. How much fun is that?” I heard the anger in her voice.
“She said she was on birth control, Davina. I didn’t do it intentionally, and if I had known that she was pregnant, I would have been in touch with her.”
“Would you? Would you have wanted her to have the baby knowing that it could kill her?”
“What? No! I would never have asked her to do that.”
“So, you would have tri
ed to talk her into ending the pregnancy.”
I paused, letting my gaze drop to Devon. Would I have? Probably. “Maybe, yes.”
She nodded slowly and pulled the bottle away from Devon’s lips. It was empty. “Do you have a burp rag?”
“Yeah.” I climbed off the couch and went to retrieve one from the table. It was one of the things that Lexi had picked up. I handed it to her, but she shook her head.
“No, you put it on your shoulder, and you burp him. I got him quiet, and now you can do the rest.”
I froze. “You aren’t going to leave now, are you?”
“No, I’m going to work. I’ll let you get some sleep and keep an eye on him while you do.”
I took the squirmy baby from her arms and put him against my shoulder. He wiggled around until his head was tucked against my neck, and I slowly started to pat his back. “I appreciate that.”
It only took a couple of minutes before Devon let out a big burp, and then he grunted, and his entire body vibrated as a loud pft sounded through the room. I stared at Davina. “What the hell was that?”
She grinned at me. “Oh, you haven’t had a poopy diaper yet?”
I shook my head.
“Then you’re in for a treat. Where is his changing pad?”
“It’s on the table.”
She stared at me. “You aren’t changing him on the table, are you?”
I glanced at the table as a rotten smell hit my nose. “Um, yeah, why?”
“Because he could roll off.” She went to the table and collected the pad along with a diaper and the package of wipes. She dropped them all on the floor. “Change him on the floor.”
I stared down at my white carpet. Did I want to change a dirty diaper on my white carpeting? I guess I didn’t have any choice. I slowly got down as she shifted the items so that they were between my legs.
“Now what?”
“Change him, but beware, you’re going to need several wipes. He’s messy.”
I began to unbutton his clothes, and the smell got stronger. “Jesus, why does it smell like that?”
She chuckled. “The formula.”