Sweet and Sassy Daddies

by Natalie Ann

  “That’s disgusting.” She told me to pull out a few wipes before I opened the diaper, and thank god I did. The minute I undid the diaper, I saw it everywhere, and I gagged.

  She began to laugh.

  “This is not funny,” I said as I stared down at the mess in his pants and gagged again. “I can’t do this.”

  “Yes, you can.” She went back to the couch and sat down. “This is all you.”

  Devon kicked his legs up in the air, and I quickly grabbed wipes and began to clean him up, turning my head to the side to try and breathe fresh air. “How does one baby poop this much?”

  “That’s probably why he was so upset earlier. His tummy must have hurt.”

  “I guess mine would have too if I had that much stored inside,” I replied softly as I began to clean him up. It was everywhere, and it took nine wipes to get it all as he squirmed on the pad. Finally, I got the diaper replaced and his clothes back on.

  “Now what?”

  “Now, you need to throw that away and try to get him to sleep again.”

  I stared at the little boy on the floor; his eyes were open and staring at me. I felt that funny thing in my chest again but ignored it as I got off the floor and started to go throw the diaper away. I stopped. “Can I leave him there?”

  “For a minute. It’s not like he’s going to crawl away anytime soon.”

  “When does he do that?”

  “I don’t know; I guess in a few months. I told you that I’m not a very maternal person.”

  I went to throw the diaper out and washed my hands, keeping my eye on him as he wiggled on the floor. He was kicking his legs out and waving his arms.

  “You never wanted kids?”

  “It’s not that I never wanted them,” she said as she collected her bag and began to pull things out. “I just never really thought about it. I guess I just assumed that one day I would have one, but after I found someone that I loved.”

  “So you’re single?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  She laughed. “Why what? You’re single right?” I nodded. “Why are you single?”

  “Because of my job. I travel too much to get involved with someone.”

  “Yeah, well, maybe my job is just as important to me.”

  “What do you do?” I finished up in the kitchen and came back to stare down at Devon. His eyes were wide open, and he was looking at my bookcase.

  “I work in IT.”

  I nodded; so she was intelligent. “Now what do I do?”

  “Well, he’s awake for a little while. Might as well get to know him.”

  I stared at her like she had lost her mind. “And how the heck do you get to know a baby?”

  “Hold him, talk to him. Let him get to know your voice.”

  I frowned as I stared at Devon, but I leaned down and picked him up. His eyes stared at my face. “Hey there, little guy. I’m Trevor,” I paused, “your Dad.”

  Davina snickered. “See, it’s not that hard.”

  I cuddled Devon to my chest and took a seat on the other end of the couch as Davina began to type on her laptop.

  As she worked beside me, I studied Devon’s face and touched his hand that was waving about. He grabbed my finger and squeezed, and just like that, that weird feeling in my chest was back.

  Chapter 6 – Davina

  I did not want to like Trevor Vaughn; I really didn’t. In fact, I wanted to hate him, but as he talked softly to Devon about things that made no sense to me, I found myself listening more to him than doing my work.

  Every once in a while, I would notice Trevor looking at me from the corner of my eye, but I pretended not to notice. He continued to sit there talking to Devon about guns and safety in strange countries, and I tried not to laugh. Those weren’t particularly subjects that I would have chosen, but Devon seemed interested as he remained quiet, once in a while cooing or grunting.

  Trevor yawned so widely that I heard his jaw pop, and as I glanced over, I saw Devon yawning too, his eyes closing and then popping back open.

  “You should try to get him back to sleep so you can get a nap,” I said.

  Trevor turned tired eyes to me and spoke in a gravelly voice that made me almost shiver. “Yeah, and how do you suppose I do that?”

  I studied him for a moment, thinking over something I had done previously after reading about it on the internet. “Take your shirt off.”

  His eyes popped wide. “Excuse me?”

  “Take your shirt off, then lay him on your chest so that his ear is to your heart. That soothes babies.”

  “And you know this how?”

  “I read it on the internet. It worked once or twice for me when he was really cranky.”

  He gave me a lopsided smirk. “You took your shirt off and laid him on your chest?”

  I lifted my chin higher. “Yes. Do you have a problem with that?”

  His gaze drifted down my face to my chest and then back up before he replied, “No.”

  I hated the fact that my body had slightly responded to his slow appraisal. He was a womanizer, and I wasn’t interested in a man like that. Hell, I wasn’t interested in any man right now. Not until my classes were over and I got my master’s, then I could think about a relationship—maybe.

  Not that I wanted a relationship with Trevor Vaughn. Nope. No way. Forget it.

  He laid Devon down on the couch between us and pulled his t-shirt over his head. I didn’t want to notice, and I sure as hell didn’t want to stare, but damn, he had a nice chest for a man around forty. I felt my face flush as I lifted my gaze to his and found him watching me carefully.

  For a long moment, the two of us stared at one another, and then I forced myself to look away. “Now lay him on your chest and lean back a little bit.”

  He picked up Devon and shifted the squirmy baby to his chest as he leaned back slightly, resting his head against a pillow he’d put behind his head. Devon wiggled against his chest, and I suddenly envied the little guy. How long had it been since I’d cuddled up to a man’s chest? Years? And when was the last time that I had ever curled myself around someone that had a chiseled chest? Um, never.

  “You’re staring at me,” he said softly.

  I lifted my eyes to his and quickly looked away. I didn’t want to be drawn to this man. “Just making sure he’s okay.”

  “You weren’t checking out my brawny chest?” I heard the humor in his voice and rolled my eyes.

  “You’re not my type.”

  “Yeah, what’s your type, Davina Daniels?”

  “Not someone like you,” I replied. To be honest, I had no idea what my type was. I guess if I had to explain it to someone, I preferred someone stable, calm, intelligent, and not someone who just wanted to sleep with me and then walk away.

  He laughed. “Not someone like me.” I saw him nod. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  Yeah, you do that, I thought to myself. His hand was rubbing circles on Devon’s back, and Devon stopped wiggling and grew quiet. I forced myself to focus on what I was doing and glanced to my side after a few minutes. Both Devon and Trevor seemed to have slipped off to sleep.

  I couldn’t see Devon’s face, but his back rose and fell steadily. My attention went to the man holding him, and I found myself mesmerized by the strong arms wrapped around the child. He had long, thin fingers, and my gaze traveled up his arms to his biceps, which were not bulging, but nicely toned and strong. His shoulders were broad, but not football-player wide, and his neck wasn’t as thick and beefy as some men I knew. His lips were parted slightly, and his features looked relaxed for the first time since I’d met him.

  I could definitely see what Carol had seen in him. He was very masculine and extremely attractive. His eyes popped open and latched on to mine. “Yes?”

  I startled and quickly looked away. “Nothing, I thought you were sleeping.”

  He chuckled slightly. “And you thought it was safe to check me out.”

  “I wa
s not checking you out.”

  “Yes, you were.”

  I turned to him. “Just because I was looking at you doesn’t mean I was checking you out, Trevor. I was making sure that Devon was sleeping and that you looked comfortable and wouldn’t drop him.”

  He grinned and closed his eyes. “Yeah, if you say so.”

  “How did you know that I was looking at you anyway?”

  “Instinct. I’m pretty good at that. I could feel you staring at me.”

  “You could not,” I muttered.

  “Oh, yes, I could. You were staring at me so hard; I could feel it.”

  My brows popped; how the hell did you feel someone looking at you? “Whatever.”

  I went back to my work, and a few moments later, something made me turn my gaze back to him. He was staring at me now. “What?”

  “Did you feel that?”

  “Feel what?” I asked softly as Devon shifted.

  “Feel me staring at you?”

  “No.”

  “Then why did you suddenly look at me?”

  I frowned. “I don’t know.”

  “Because deep down inside, you knew someone was staring at you. It’s instinct, and while you might be working, your other senses are keeping tabs on what’s around you.”

  I frowned deeper as I turned to stare at him. “Do you make this shit up as you go?”

  He began to chuckle, and Devon wiggled again. “No, I’m not making this stuff up. It’s what makes me good at my job.”

  “Yeah, if you say so. What makes me good at my job is being able to focus on it and get it done.”

  “Then get to work.”

  “You can probably lay him down in his bed now.”

  “You think he’ll let me?”

  “Try it.”

  He slowly got up, and I watched the muscles in his back shift as he stood and moved toward the bassinet. As he bent over, I got a good view of his backside and noticed a long scar that disappeared into the waistband of his jeans. Had he been injured overseas?

  Devon grunted a little bit, but otherwise remained asleep, and Trevor stretched his shoulders and back. I found myself biting my bottom lip and dragged my eyes off his body and back to my computer screen.

  “Why don’t you go lay down, and I’ll keep an eye on him while I work.”

  “You sure?” he asked.

  “Yeah, that’s why I’m here, right? To let you get some sleep.”

  He approached the couch, snagging his shirt from the armrest. “Thank you, Davina. I really do appreciate it.”

  “Go, before I change my mind,” I said without looking at him. My fingers were running aimlessly over the keyboard as if I were typing something meaningful. I was typing; I was typing exactly what I was saying to him, not code, but I wanted him to think that I was working, and he wasn’t affecting me.

  “Can you give me a few hours?”

  “Yep,” I replied.

  “Thanks again,” he said and then passed by me and headed to a small hallway. I let my eyes flip to his backside again and watched him disappear into a door in the hallway. A few moments later, I heard the water running and figured he was taking advantage of his time to take a shower. My mind exploded with images of that chest and back wet with soap bubbles slipping slowly south.

  “Oh, geez, I need to get laid,” I muttered to myself and then shut out all thoughts of Trevor as I deleted the gibberish I’d been writing and got back to work.

  In the back of my mind, I was aware of Trevor finishing his shower and moving around in the other room, but I was on a roll on what I was doing and able to block thoughts of him out of my mind. I sipped from my coffee mug, and after a while, the apartment grew very quiet.

  I was letting something run on my laptop and glanced around the living area of the apartment for the first time since I’d arrived. The furniture was dark brown, and the walls were covered with pictures. I set my laptop to the side and got up to investigate a few of them.

  Most of them were of men, and a few women, dressed in military gear. There were a few sunsets over vast landscapes, but most were of people, except one over to the side. I went to stand in front of it. Carol would have loved it. It was of a lightning bolt streaking down from the sky in the middle of nowhere. I shivered and turned away from it and went back to the other photos. Trevor was in almost every single one of them, and I found myself studying him in each one. He had a handsome smile, and with his dark sunglasses on, he looked tough and unapproachable.

  The image of him lying on the couch with Devon on his chest came to mind, and I realized that even the toughest of men could look different when they held a child. If nothing else, Trevor Vaughn would keep Devon safe.

  I sighed and went back to my laptop, lying back and kicking my feet out on the cushions after removing my shoes. My gaze strayed to the storm picture, and I gnawed on my bottom lip. I suddenly remembered that yesterday we’d had wild storms, the kind that Carol had loved. Was it odd that it had been storming like crazy when I took Devon to his father? I shook my head, dismissing the thought, and got back to work.

  It was a while later when Devon began to fidget, and I realized it had been almost four hours since he last ate. He must have been worn out from all the crying.

  I went into the kitchen and found a clean bottle, preparing one for him. My gaze latched on to the note that Carol had written to Trevor, and I found the envelope still sealed. He hadn’t even read it. Why? Did he not want to hear what she had to say, or did he forget about it?

  I glanced at my watch, seeing it was almost five-thirty in the morning. It was going to be a long day, but I needed to keep working. I was almost done and should have it finished in another hour or two. I decided to make coffee and fished around in the cabinets until I found his filters and coffee. I had just put it on when Devon began to cry softly, and I collected the bottle and him and went back to the couch while the coffee brewed.

  “Hey there, little boy,” I cooed to him as I gave him the bottle. “You slept well. I wish you had slept that well at my house.” He hurriedly sucked the bottle down, and I put him on my shoulder to burp him. It didn’t take long, and before I knew it, he was asleep again.

  I put him back into his bed, poured myself a cup of coffee after finding powdered creamer in a cupboard, then sat back down to finish my work. It was another two hours, and I was almost done when I heard a noise behind me and turned back to see Trevor coming out of his room. He was wearing track pants and pulling a t-shirt over his head.

  “Is he still sleeping?” he asked softly, and his husky morning voice did funny things to my stomach.

  I took a sip of coffee. “He is now. He woke up a couple of hours ago to eat, but he went right back to sleep.”

  He glanced at his watch. “I can’t believe I slept for six hours. Been a while since I was able to do that.”

  He stood over Devon for a moment and then turned and went into the kitchen. “You made coffee.”

  “Yeah, I needed a boost.”

  He chuckled, and I found myself mesmerized by his sleepy smile. You need to hate him, not fall for him, Vina, I reminded myself. He’s the reason Carol is dead.

  Chapter 7 – Trevor

  I stood under the shower spray for a few moments thinking about Davina’s whiskey-colored eyes. She had totally been checking me out, and when she hadn’t known I was watching her, I had done the same.

  Her features were soft, not striking, but still pleasant. Her eyes were large and round, and her skin had a darker tone to it, not quite olive, but a browner tone than most. She gnawed on her bottom lip while she concentrated, and her nose was rounded at the end. She was pretty, not the model kind of pretty, but in a more wholesome way. A down-to-earth way, and I liked that probably more than I should have.

  Her oversized sweater, baggy jeans, and messy hair shouldn’t have intrigued me either, but they did. I wasn’t sure why, and maybe that is what bothered me more than anything else.

  As I climbed in bed,
I stared at the ceiling for a moment. I was a father. I had no clue what to do with the child, or what would happen to my life now. I was well aware that life could change in a second on any given day. I hadn’t expected that yesterday was going to be the day that everything I knew would be turned upside down.

  How was I going to keep doing my job and raise a kid? Would I be able to find adequate childcare for him? What about someone to watch him while I went away on assignment? My parents were too old to ask for help. Hell, they had both been in their forties when I was born, a surprise to them both. Now they were in their eighties and living in a retirement community down south. There was no way they could help me.

  With no siblings, I had no one to turn to. Alex was busy with his own life and his future baby, so I couldn’t ask him for help. I had a few other friends, but none that I felt I could go to for assistance of this type. What was I going to do? Hire a nanny? What about Davina? Would she be willing to assist me? She had come over tonight to help, but would she want to continue?

  I rolled to my side and closed my eyes, needing to take advantage of the quiet for a little while to get some rest. When I next opened my eyes, I was in the same position, and I glanced at my watch to see I’d been asleep almost six hours. I couldn’t remember the last time I had gotten that much sleep straight. Probably a month or so. When I was working overseas, we slept in four-hour blocks so that we could relieve the other people on watch. I was used to that, but after everything that had happened, my body had needed a couple more hours of recovery.

  I found Davina right where I’d last seen her, busy at her laptop, and I took a moment to check on Devon. My concerns from last night rolled through me, and I again wondered what I was going to do. Would it be smarter to call the adoption agency and turn him over to them? They could place him with parents that wanted to take care of a child, who were able to take care of a child.

  I just didn’t know what I should do about him, so instead of deciding, I went into the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee that Davina had made.

  I took the coffee back into the living room and took a seat on the other end of the sofa. “Thank you.”