Orlando: Boyle Heights #4

by Elizabeth Reyes

  “The fuck?” Maybe her phone battery had died, and she didn’t bring a charger. Still, he was so worked up, it pissed him off. Who forgets something so important in a situation like this? And if she didn’t forget it, why the hell wouldn’t she respond to his calls? The second he killed the engine in his truck, he jumped out, reminding himself to go easy on her. He was the one that hadn’t been there that morning when he was supposed to be. Skipping the stairs, he jumped onto his porch then punched the code to his door lock. He pushed the door open and rushed in, his heart spiking when he saw no one and there was complete silence. “Dani,” he called out as his mind went crazy, fearing the worst, and his strides got longer with every step he took. “Danica.”

  Maybe something happened and it’s why she couldn’t call or answer her phone. He pulled his shirt up to cover his nose as he remembered the local couple on the news recently who died in their sleep of carbon monoxide poisoning. Rushing through his silenced house, he looked in every room until he reached his. He froze when he saw them. They were sound asleep on his bed, the baby cuddled up next to her as she cupped him lovingly against her body. From where he stood, he could see they were both breathing, and he dropped the shirt from covering his mouth and nose. It was nothing heinous, like his dumb ass had begun to think. She fell asleep with him. For almost two hours? Orlando had never gotten him to nap for that long in the day. But that would explain why she hadn’t responded to his calls. Still kind of irresponsible, right, given what she’d put him through? He walked closer to them to get a better look. Baby O had never looked so content as he lay there curled up against her ample bosom. Orlando swallowed hard as his eyes took in Dani’s impressive curves, but feeling guilty, his eyes were quickly back on his son. Baby O even wore what looked like a very satisfied smile as if he couldn’t be happier. It made Orlando smile, despite all the turmoil he’d been through in the past two hours with his heart still pounding in his chest. He turned his attention back to her. Her arm and hand cupped his son’s body, protectively. Even now with her eyes closed, Orlando was drawn to those exotic features. Because her eyes were closed and he had this chance to assess them a little longer, he could see now just how wide her cat-shaped eyes were. He couldn’t decide which he was most drawn to when he got so lost in all of it anytime he spoke to her. Already, at just the sight of her, his mood had done a complete reversal. Maybe it was a little irresponsible to have fallen asleep for almost two hours. But then she probably hadn’t expected Orlando to be this long. She most likely thought Orlando would be there in a few to wake her. Walking softly over to the rocking chair in his bedroom, Orlando took a seat, letting his head fall back as he clutched a hand to his chest. He felt like an idiot now. How in the hell could he possibly think Dani could be a danger to his son in any way? The girl was fucking adorable, and clearly, the baby had picked up on what a sweetheart she was, since he took to her so quickly.

  From where he sat, he had a perfect view of his son and Dani sleeping so soundly he almost wished he could join them. He felt completely drained after all the dumb shit that had run through his head when all the while his son had been in such a perfectly safe spot. Orlando actually envied him. Unbelievably, he sat there for almost another ten minutes before Dani woke. The moment she realized where she was made Orlando chuckle. Her eyes nearly bugged out as she looked around and saw him sitting there watching them. But she brought her finger to her mouth because the baby was still out. Somehow, she managed to gently maneuver off the bed without waking him. It surprised Orlando what a struggle it was to keep his eyes from roaming all those curves as he watched her carefully place pillows all around the baby before she walked away. Orlando turned the baby monitor on, and they slipped out of the room without waking him. “Never do that,” she whispered as soon as she closed the bedroom door behind her and turned to him out in the hallway. “It’s not safe and I’ll be checking on him every few minutes to make sure he doesn’t roll off the bed. I can’t believe I fell asleep with him.”

  “How long ago did he fall asleep?” Orlando asked curiously, still wondering if they’d really slept as long as he’d been trying to get ahold of her.

  “Not long after I got here.” She explained what Felicia had already about the baby being out when she got here then the TV waking him. “He was good for about ten, fifteen minutes after Felicia left, but then it was clear that the short nap he’d taken hadn’t been long enough.” She’d warmed his bottle, changed him, and tried putting him down, but he wasn’t having it. The plan had been to lie with him until he knocked out and then move him to his crib, but she knocked out with him.

  “So, he has been out for almost two hours then?” Orlando was still surprised by this. He was going to tell her how he never napped that long for him but stopped when her jaw dropped dramatically. “It’s been almost two hours?”

  “Yeah,” Orlando smirked, feeling like a dick for all the reasons he’d begun to imagine why she hadn’t gotten back to him. “Felicia called me to tell me about how well he’d taken to you on her way to work, and I texted you to tell you how cool I thought that was.” Feeling even stupider because she’d know how many times he tried getting ahold of her and about all his worried texts, he had no choice but to add, “When I didn’t hear back from you, I might’ve gone a little overboard with the calls and texts because I was freaking out a little.” He held up his fingers. “But that’s only because it’s the first time someone who’s not a close friend or family member has watched him. I just wasn’t sure what to think because—”

  “I am so sorry.” She brought her hand to her chest, completely wide-eyed, and again, Orlando had to remind himself to keep his eyes on hers.

  “Don’t be—”

  “No.” She clutched his arm, shaking her head. “That’s completely unacceptable. Two hours. Oh, my God. You must’ve been going nuts. I’m so, so sorry.”

  “Dani, stop,” he said firmly, feeling like an even bigger ass. “This is just all new to me.”

  “Exactly.” She agreed with as much conviction as him. “Of course you’d freak out. I shouldn’t have even been in your room. Much less your bed—”

  “Listen to me.” He grabbed ahold of her dainty shoulders with both hands. “It’s okay, really. I’m fine now. And you’re free to be in any room of my house, especially if it’s for his sake.” Without thinking, he took her into a much-needed embrace, breathing in that sweet, yet intoxicating scent of hers deeply. It contradicted everything he’d just said about being fine. The weight of all the anxiety he’d worked up on his way there, all the heart-stopping scenarios that had played out in his head, and then the enormous relief of seeing them perfectly fine in his bed finally hit him. “I’m just so glad you’re okay,” he whispered, squeezing her warm, still-snuggly-from-sleeping body, a little tighter. “When I walked in the silenced house already all worked up, I wasn’t sure what to think. But I’m fine now. I promise.” He stopped short of telling her the sight of her on his bed snuggled up with his baby boy was one he’d likely never get enough of. Taking another deep breath, he still couldn’t bring himself to let go of her. “He’s really never napped that long for me in the day. Obviously, having you next to him felt so good he could probably sleep all day.” Feeling her pull away gently, he had no choice but to let her go.

  “It’s not a good habit to get him into.” She pulled a strand of her dark locks behind her ear as their eyes met, and Orlando could hardly believe such a young girl was so much better at this baby thing than he was. Those amazing eyes looked so big and innocent, even if his gaze inevitably lowered to her mouth. “I only allowed it because it’s my first day with him and I know it’s gonna take some time for him to get used to me.”

  Orlando couldn’t help smiling as the relief continued to seep into his tensed muscles. “I think he’s already taken to you. Felicia said it too. I knew you’d be good with him, but Felicia called the instant connection you two had incredible.”

  Smiling softly, Dani shrugged, gla
ncing away. “The TV just startled him.” She turned as their eyes met again. “It startled both Felicia and me too, so it’s no surprise he’d cry about it. The poor thing was sound asleep when she turned it on, and it was loud.” She tilted her head, peering at him. “Any reason why it was on so loud?”

  Thinking about it for a moment, Orlando remembered and nodded. “Yeah, my bad. Yesterday afternoon Little Man and I were jamming to Cri Cri.” As expected, her brows pinched in question. “We were in the kitchen as I cleaned up, and he sat in his highchair, munching on a teething biscuit, so I upped the volume.”

  Those animated eyes widened as they had earlier when she realized she’d slept for nearly two hours, only this time it was followed by an excited smile. “I remember Cri Cri.”

  “You do?” This surprised Orlando. Cri Cri was before his time even “He was way before our time. Only reason I ever got into him was because of my grandma. She played records she had of his.” He chuckled, thinking about it. “If you even know what those are. My grandma had bought them for my mom and her siblings when they were kids.”

  “Of course I know what records are.” She smiled even bigger, adding a twinkle to her already distracting eyes. “My mom and next-door neighbor sitter played them for us too.” She stopped and chewed at the corner of her lip as if trying to remember something. Orlando had been indulging in every detail of her delicate features. He couldn’t look away now if he tried. Each day he’d been around her this week, he’d discovered something new about her he hadn’t noticed before. While he’d obviously noticed her fragrance, he realized how keen he was on it, but he had to work on his subtlety. Last thing he wanted was to make her uncomfortable if she began noticing how often he inhaled deeply when he was this close to her because he just couldn’t get enough of it. It was bad enough he’d never smiled so much and so big as when he spoke to her. “La patita.” Dani’s singing the two words pulled him right out of his thoughts, and she went on smiling silly, his eyes once again zooming onto her plump singing lips. “La patita de canasta y con reboso de bolita.” She smiled even bigger as she swayed her head side-to-side. “Va al mercado. A comprar toda las cosas del mandado.”

  She laughed, bringing her hand to her mouth. Orlando had never heard such a sweet laugh, and she looked just as sweet doing it. If she kept it up, his face would be hurting tomorrow, because try as he might, the goofy smile he knew he wore was impossible to flatten now. “Oh my God. I can’t believe I remember that song. I haven’t heard those lyrics since . . .” Her eyes widened again. “Oh wow, I must’ve been in pre-school and then maybe kindergarten when Doña Elena used to watch us. She only watched us for a few years before she passed. But I do remember singing that song for years after. It was my favorite. Still, it’s been forever since I last heard it.”

  “Yeah, well, now not only can you hear the songs, you don’t even need a record player,” Orlando informed her as if it were the best news ever. “You can watch the videos on YouTube. It was my mom’s idea. This way he can start learning Spanish. I’d forgotten about Cri Cri myself. El Ratón Vaquero is our favorite.” He aimed his pointer fingers, feigning taking shots at her, then blew on the end of his fingers like the cartoon cowboy mouse in the video. He chuckled before admitting the next part. “Well, it was my favorite as a kid, so it’s the one I play most for him.”

  “That was my brother’s favorite.” She looked even more excited now. “YouTube, huh? I’m gonna have to play it for him when I get home.” She seemed to ponder that for a moment. “I wonder how he’ll react?”

  This confused Orlando. “You have a little brother?”

  As if pulling her out of her thoughts, she turned to Orlando, the smile sort of waning. “Yes and no. He’s actually older, but he has Down Syndrome, so he’s more like my little brother.” The smile was back and bright again. “My boo boo.” Orlando was already beginning to ask himself how in the world could he possibly question whether his son was safe in the hands of this sweet girl when her smile flattened suddenly. She turned in the direction of his bedroom. “Is that . . .?”Before he could even decipher what she meant, she was off in a rush toward his bedroom and he followed.

  He took advantage of the moment to take in the view from behind again, and hot damn it was something else. He’d always been partial to a little extra junk in a woman’s trunk, but this woman was packing the goods. Shaking off those thoughts, Orlando walked into his own bedroom behind Dani, his eyes on the bed as soon as they walked in. Baby O was just doing his usual wake up sounds. His hands touched his face and then one arm stretched out as if he’d had a hell of a nap. He wasn’t even crying, and she heard him? ”My little Oreo,” Dani said in the sweetest sing song voice. “Did you have a good nap, baby boy?” The baby turned to the sound of her voice and instantly smiled. “You did, didn’t you?” Little Man kicked his legs and shrieked as Orlando had never heard him shriek before. “Oh, my goodness!” Dani said as he continued shrieking and kicking, all animated and smiling only as big as Orlando had seen him do the last few times he’d shown up to visit him at the foster home. “Someone woke up in a good mood!” As she swooped him up in her arms, the baby shrieked again. For a moment, Orlando almost felt envious of the reaction he had to her until she kissed his chubby cheek and turned him in Orlando’s direction. “Look!” Baby O squealed again, his mostly gummy smile so big Orlando had never seen it so wide. “Look who’s here. Daddy!” Nearly jumping out of her arms, he reached out for Orlando.

  Orlando took his warm squirmy baby in his arms and kissed his cheeks. “You’re a happy boy today.” To think, less than an hour ago Orlando was thinking this might be the worst day of his life and here he was holding his son who’d never seemed so happy. The warm greeting he was given was fleeting. After touching Orlando’s face and giggling when Orlando kissed his neck, little guy was distracted when Dani took a few steps away to grab her phone by the nightstand. Immediately he was reaching out for her and whining.

  Dani turned to them after picking up her phone with a frown. Baby O continued to whimper, practically calling out for her. Orlando’s and Dani’s eyes met for a moment before she broke the eye contact, glancing down at her phone. “I put it on silent. It was supposed to be just until I could get him to sleep.” She winced, looking up again as she reached for the baby with a smile. “He probably needs to be changed.”

  The moment he was in her arms he buried his little face in her neck, and she kissed the top of his head. “Holy shit,” Orlando said unable to take his eyes of her again. “Felicia wasn’t kidding.”

  Glancing up at Orlando for just a second, Dani glanced away quickly then started toward the door, and Orlando followed. “I saved him from the big bad TV today, Orlando. I’m his temporary new hero.”

  Chapter 12

  Danica

  With her heart speeding up, Danica prayed the baby would tone down the neediness for her at least a little. She’d researched and anticipated the real possibility of him remembering her. It was something she’d hoped for and looked forward to, but now it made her nervous. There was no way Orlando would make the connection, would he? Obviously, he knew about Angie’s overdose, right? She pushed back the feelings of guilt, because it made her heart ache to think the little angel was likely feeling the very anxiety she was, of being separated again. But she wouldn’t worry about that now. She was with him now and that’s all that mattered. What she should be worried about and concentrate on instead, was dealing with him making it so obvious this wasn’t just an instant connection. She was someone he remembered—and clearly missed. Orlando was still going on about how incredible it was that the baby had taken to her so quickly as they walked into the nursery. Danica scrambled to think of ways to veer the subject onto something else. Inevitably, the baby would continue to show how taken he was by her. No need to continue to harp on it and get the wheels in Orlando’s head spinning. Reminding herself the chance way she ended up here had been just perfect, she tried not to worry too much. Nine had offered
her the job at the shop and Orlando had practically begged her to watch the baby. No way could he figure out she’d planned to weasel her way in there. At least there was no way Orlando might suspect she had. As far as he knew, this was all his doing.

  “How young can a kid develop a crush on someone?” Danica glanced up at Orlando, who stared at the baby all snuggled up at her chest then turned to meet her eyes before his eyes moved down to her lips. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he has a major one already.”

  Danica glanced down at Oreo, remembering their love fest the moment Felicia was out of sight. Orlando didn’t know the half of it. The baby glanced up at her and reached for her nose. Taking his little hand, Danica kissed it, and he smiled big. “Daddy’s a big silly, isn’t he?” Not wanting to add any merit to Orlando’s comment, that’s all she’d say about it. She glanced around the changing table. “I noticed earlier when I changed him that he had a few little red bumps in the crevices of his legs.”

  She put the baby down on the changing table, and he was immediately kicking and making silly noises. Thankfully, Orlando didn’t comment again on what a great mood the baby was in. Instead, he explained about how he’d recently changed the brand of diapers he used because he’d heard good things about the new brand.

  “I think his skin was used to the other ones.”

  Danica nodded in agreement, as they discussed diaper and baby wipe brands and the kinds of things to look out for. After changing him, the conversation moved onto his teething, then his eating solids, and a few minutes later they were in the kitchen. “First and foremost, babies, like adults, need structure. You have to start building good habits and making sure you don’t start bad ones.” She frowned, shaking her head, but smiled the moment she kissed Oreo’s head. “Me falling asleep with him on the bed is one of those things that will absolutely lead to bad habits if it keeps happening. He gets used to that, and you’ll never get him to sleep alone in his crib again.”