A Bachelor, a Boss and a Baby

by Rachel Lee

  At the last moment, before settling into a small house she hadn’t yet been able to turn into a home, she thought to check her diaper stash even though she’d bought quite a few yesterday. Who would have thought such a bitty thing could fill so many diapers?

  She counted and decided she had enough for a couple of days. Plenty of formula, too. And since Candy and Aubrey had brought her a huge lunch from the café, she didn’t need to cook.

  Good heavens, she thought. The baby was sleeping contentedly, she could dine without cooking and she had time to kick off her shoes and collapse on the recliner that had been delivered just yesterday. Beaten and creaky, it held a lot of memories of her father, a veteran who had largely retreated to a distant land inside his own head. Memories of her father, as rare as the good ones had been, were something she didn’t want to lose entirely.

  She wandered down the hall to the bedroom she hadn’t had time to unpack yet and opened a suitcase to pull out her favorite old jeans and a checked shirt as softened by age as the jeans. Her grungies, her comfies, whatever anyone wanted to call them. That night she had nothing to do except care for Daphne and herself...for the first time since she’d accepted this job. She supposed she ought to feel slothful for not unpacking just a little, but frankly, she was worn out. She could live out of a suitcase for another day.

  When she emerged from her bedroom, slightly freshened for the evening, she heard Daphne stirring, making little sounds that might soon turn into a full-throated cry. Diaper. Feeding. Blaine had been right about one thing: it was actually very simple. Demanding but simple.

  In a very short time, she had become practiced at pulling out a bottle and filling it with room-temperature formula from a can. The woman who had turned Daphne over to Diane had told her she didn’t need to warm the baby bottles as long as the formula was at room temperature. However, it had been chilly outside, so she put the bottle in a pan of warm water from the sink and gave it a few minutes to lose any chill.

  She tested the warmth of the formula on the inside of her wrist, then went to rescue her increasingly noisy charge. A finger in the diaper told her that could wait, so she gathered the child to her and let her drink from the bottle.

  Sitting in her recliner without putting her feet up, she became fascinated with watching Daphne eat. Her little eyes, beginning to get darker and resemble her mother’s, watched her back. Intense. Content.

  Amazing. After just a few days she could feel her heart reaching out to this child, taking her in, wrapping her in swiftly growing love. If MaryJo got well, it was going to hurt to have to give this baby up. Hurt like hell.

  But the social worker’s assessment had been brutal: MaryJo would never be well enough to care for her own child. If she improved, like so many with her illness, she probably couldn’t be trusted to stay on her meds. And if she didn’t keep taking her medication...

  Diane shook her head a little and began to hum softly. Daphne continued to watch her, then with a surprisingly strong thrust of arms and legs, she turned her head from the bottle.

  “Enough of that, huh?” Diane asked. “A little gas bubble, maybe? You eat more than that.”

  Daphne scrunched up her face, so Diane quickly put the girl over her shoulder and began to pat and rub her back. She felt a bit embarrassed that Blaine had done it for her earlier, clearly thinking she didn’t know to do such a thing. But she’d forgotten in the midst of her overwhelming day.

  She wouldn’t forget now. Rising from the chair, she paced and patted, continuing to hum quietly. When the little burp emerged, she offered more formula.

  “Easy peasy,” Diane said. Twenty minutes later, she had the child changed—she decided she was going to need a changing table soon—dressed in a fresh onesie and apparently content enough to yawn.

  “Success.” The best evening yet. She paced with the little girl on her shoulder some more, drawing out another tiny burp, then moved her to the cradle of her arm. Daphne waved one fist around then shoved it toward her mouth. In an eye blink, she fell asleep.

  A very successful evening. Diane was smiling happily as she settled Daphne into her small travel bed. She needed to get a crib soon, too. But first there’d be another round of hungry baby around eleven.

  One of her girlfriends had told her before she left her old job that she was lucky, missing the first three months of caring for the baby. “By four months,” Lucy had said, “I was beginning to wonder if the little brat would ever sleep through the night. You remember. I was in a fog of sleep deprivation all the time.”

  Diane didn’t really remember, because she hadn’t seen a whole lot of Lucy after she birthed her first child. “Too busy” had been Lucy’s response to every invitation. She probably had been, too.

  For that matter, she felt a bit guilty about how little she’d seen of MaryJo in the past five years. The kind of closeness some claimed with cousins had never existed between them, and there was little enough to pull them together when they no longer lived in the same town.

  MaryJo’s parents had divorced a long time ago. She’d never seen her dad again. Then her mother had dived into a bottle and never emerged. The most amazing thing was that those two had been together when they got caught in a flash flood in Texas. As if they might have been reaching out to one another again? No one would ever know now.

  It was hardly to be wondered that MaryJo was troubled, but the social worker assured her that the causes of schizophrenia involved so many factors nobody could pin all of them down. Bottom line, she really didn’t need to worry about Daphne getting it.

  Diane hoped that was so. She couldn’t imagine that darling child growing up to be so ill.

  She was just about to move to the recliner and close her eyes for a little while before heating up the remains of her lunch when someone knocked at the door.

  Her heart accelerated. She’d come from a much larger city where knocks on the door at this time of night were a bit threatening. Too late for regular deliveries, and friends always called first. Plus, she really didn’t know anyone here, so it couldn’t possibly be a friendly call, could it?

  On the other hand, as an official now, her address was had become public record, so finding her wouldn’t be hard if someone wanted to rant about something. Lovely idea.

  But she shook herself, telling herself not to be ridiculous, and went to answer it.

  She should have guessed. Blaine Harrigan stood there, wearing a light jacket now and holding a potted red gerbera daisy. “To brighten a windowsill,” he said with a smile. “I take it your new boss is happily sleeping?”

  Just seeing him drew a bright smile from her and a rush of warmth. Man, she didn’t even know this guy. It was too soon to be happy to see him, wasn’t it?

  Heck, she didn’t care. It was nice to see him, to feel as if she might have made her first friend here. She stepped back, inviting him in. “Thank you for the daisy. I just love it. What a kind thought.” She looked at the bright flower with a sudden feeling of comfort, as if she weren’t a total stranger here anymore. “I was thinking about making some tea. Would you like some?”

  “I never turn down a cuppa,” he answered. He handed her the flower, and she motioned him to follow her to the small kitchen and dining area. She placed the daisy on the sill over the sink then turned to find him standing in the doorway, evidently awaiting an invitation to sit or go.

  “Have a seat,” she said, pointing to the ridiculously small table with two chairs. This place had come partially furnished, a relief to her because she hadn’t wanted to ship her things from Iowa. None of it had been worth shipping. Her life revolved around her work, and decorating had mostly involved plastic storage containers and repurposed boxes. Hey, it had served her needs.

  But now...well, what was here could do with a few additions for the baby.

  “So you’re enjoying a little peace and quiet,” he said as she filled the
kettle and put it on the gas stove.

  “Until around eleven,” she agreed. “I’m sorry you caught me in such a mess earlier. I’m new at this, but I’m not stupid. I don’t know why I didn’t think of burping Daphne. I do it all the time!”

  He laughed quietly. “No excuses needed. You’re tired, probably overwhelmed. I mean, a new job and a new baby all at once? And more to come, I believe. I’ll bet the little one starts creeping and crawling soon.”

  “She’s already trying,” Diane admitted. “When I put her down on a blanket. But I’ve only had four days with her. A lot to learn.” She hesitated. “You said you were from Ireland, right?”

  He nodded.

  “Then my tea is probably going to appall you.”

  He leaned forward a little on his chair. “Tea bags? I’ve learned to admire their advantages. Easy and quick, especially for a single guy who only wants one cup. Now, if I really want to brew a pot, I can do it, but usually I’m on the run.”

  “I wouldn’t even know where to begin. I make a pot with tea bags.”

  “I’ll show you when we have some time. Anyway, I’m going to buzz into yer meetin’ with the commissioners tomorrow.”

  “The culvert?” she asked, turning to pull out two mugs and a box of tea bags and put them on the table.

  “It has to be replaced quickly. The road is sinking, the concrete is cracking and the steel drainage pipe is buckling. Me and Doug from the road department closed off the road today. I don’t want some poor rancher to start driving over it and find his bonnet—sorry, hood—six feet in the ground.”

  Diane nodded. “Not good. Do you like milk and sugar?”

  “I’ll go for straight. Thanks. Yeah, the budget has been way too tight for too long. Been patching and mending as best we can, but there’s only so long we can push things off.”

  “I know. Infrastructure is one of my pet peeves. Nothing works if you haven’t got it.”

  “Ah, some common sense!”

  She couldn’t repress a giggle at that. She wasn’t totally unfamiliar with the difficulties he mentioned. No place ran like a smoothly oiled machine, no budget was ever sufficient and personalities always got in the way. “Did you expect something else from an urban planner?”

  His grin broadened. “I’ve known all types in my life.”

  She was still smiling as she poured boiling water into the mugs over the waiting tea bags. Soon the rich aroma of black tea began to waft through the kitchen. “So why did you leave Ireland?” she asked. “I’ve always wanted to go there.”

  “Now that’s a story,” he answered. Once again his deep voice took on the rhythms of the American West, leaving behind the hints of Galway. And they were just hints, poking out from time to time. He’d clearly been in the States for a while. “Like many places in the world, Ireland was booming just before the economic crash. Unlike many places in the world, we didn’t recover quickly. We had too much boom. We were bringing in workers from all over the world, building fast, growing, and then...” He shrugged.

  “Whatever. Life was getting harder, finding work was getting harder and I had a bit of the wanderlust in me. I hopped through a few jobs, then stopped here.”

  “Why?”

  He shrugged. “Because I like it. It’s different. Galway’s beautiful with mountains and plenty of seashore, and the town itself has a lot of charm in parts. But I have to say, I wasn’t prepared for the sheer size of your country. I was astonished and spellbound. And then I saw the mountains here. They dwarf anything I’d ever known before, plus there’s a whole lot of wide-open space, space almost beyond imagining. It would be hard to tear me away.”

  She nodded and set her tea bag on the saucer in the middle of the table. Lifting her cup, she closed her eyes for a few seconds just to inhale the fragrant steam. The questions buzzing her head were dangerous, so she diverted. She didn’t dare ask about people she would be working with. “All tea comes from a single Asian plant, from Yunnan in China. It grows elsewhere now, and there are probably varieties, but most of the flavor we love has to do with how the tea is aged.” She opened her eyes.

  “Where did that come from?” he asked.

  “Trying to avoid asking you about the members of the commissions and boards I’m going to be dealing with.”

  He cracked a laugh, a deep sound that rumbled as if it rose from the depths. “I shouldn’t say much. A bunch of eejits, but not always. They’re politicians. You can count on them to look out for themselves. Take the culvert I told you about. That’s going to need to be replaced as swiftly as possible. I’ll have to let them know what I’m going to do, even though I believe I have the money in the roads budget. They like to be informed. Oh, keep that in mind, Diane. They want to know everything. Some of them will raise Cain because there are probably ten things that they might consider more important. Finally they’ll settle down and give me the go-ahead simply because they don’t want a dozen of the largest ranchers around here to be having to detour by miles all winter. But the argument will reassure them that they’re the ones in control.”

  She understood him perfectly. That was a game she’d played before. She also knew how to win...usually.

  “But that’s just a handful of people,” he said. “The rest of the folks around here are the kind of people I’m happy to spend time with. At least those I’ve met. I think you’ll enjoy most everything here, unless you like to live in high style. The closest thing we have to a nightclub is a roadhouse, where I’d advise you to never go alone. Then there’s Mahoney’s Bar, which is as close as I’ve ever found to my local pub.” He paused. “Now, you might like that somewhat. Busy, friendly place.”

  She was smiling again, enjoying his description. Relaxation had begun to fill her anew as she thought that she probably hadn’t made a mistake in accepting this job.

  Daphne’s sudden entrance into her life had given Diane more qualms about coming to Conard County than she’d initially had by far. When it was just her, it was all a big adventure. With Daphne it had become intimidating. She had begun to start thinking about all kinds of things, from day care to eventual schooling. Was this the best place to give her little cousin all the opportunities she should have? And what about the quality of medical care?

  Thoughts that had never plagued her before plagued her now. “Becoming an unexpected mother is a bit shocking,” she said, musing and only half-aware she was speaking. “A whole new set of worries I never had in the past, and bam, at the worst time possible, in the middle of a move and starting a new job.”

  “Yeah, most people get a little more warning, like about nine months.”

  Again he made her laugh. There was a sparkle in his amazing blue eyes and only humor around his mouth. A good-looking man. She realized she was experiencing an adolescent urge to just drink him in with her eyes. At once she raised her cup and turned her attention to her tea, hoping to find safety there. She had too much on her plate, and anyway, as far as she could determine, romantic relationships with colleagues could be fraught with danger and a lot of potential discomfort.

  “Thanks so much for the tea,” he said, rising. He crossed to the sink and rinsed his cup before setting it on the counter. “I’ll see you in the morning, Diane. I’m sure you need some downtime after everything.”

  She rose, too, and followed him to the door. “How much trouble do you think they’re going to give me over Daphne? Aubrey said she’ll ask her sister-in-law to find room for her at the day care center.”

  He paused with his hand on the doorknob and gave her another smile. “I told you we were going to be an army. I meant it. First one gives you a hard time is going to hear from me. You’re entitled to time to settle everything. Good night.”

  “Thank you again for the flower,” she called after him.

  He gave a quick wave, then strode away into the night. He moved easily, evidently fit and apparentl
y accustomed to walking. He passed from the pool of light under one streetlamp to the next until he vanished around a corner.

  Only then did she close and lock her door. Back in the kitchen, she smiled again as she looked at the bright red daisy on her windowsill. A thoughtful gesture. He couldn’t possibly have guessed how much she loved gerbera daisies. They always reminded her of a drawing, so perfect it hardly seemed possible that they were real.

  Then, trying to divert her thoughts from Blaine without much success, she put the remains of her steak sandwich and salad on a plate, opened a bottle of diet root beer and headed for her recliner.

  Settled in comfortably, she waited for the next feeding and wondered if she could find that novel she’d been reading before her whole life had been packed into boxes and the trunk of her car. Having so little furniture of her own that was worth keeping had made the move easy and cheap. But now there were boxes stuffed into every corner, awaiting her attention. Boxes that had been labeled by the movers she had hired. She wondered how well they had done their jobs.

  Well, she could wait to find out. The important thing was that she had her dad’s easy chair.

  And Daphne. That baby was becoming incredibly important to her.

  Poor MaryJo. Diane couldn’t begin to imagine the hell her cousin must be enduring. She just hoped the doctors could help.

  Then she started eating, taking her time. Even cold the sandwich tasted delicious. She wiggled her toes and felt tension start to leave her legs.

  Man, she had been wound up today, although she hadn’t really been aware of it. For a little while when Daphne had refused to stop crying, yeah, then she’d been frantic.

  But Blaine had come along, handling it all for her and assuring her it wasn’t all that difficult a thing to take care of a baby. Then Aubrey and Candy and their warm welcome.

  She just hoped tomorrow would go as well. With a full tummy, she put her empty plate and bottle onto the box beside her chair and allowed herself to doze. Behind her eyelids danced the memory of a man offering her a red gerbera daisy.