The Baby Beneath the Mistletoe

by Marie Ferrarella

  Most likely, he thought later, it was because Michelle Rozanski was an anomaly of nature that the world hadn’t been able to categorize yet. An anomaly that knocked the wind out of everything she encountered.

  But whatever the reason, the upshot was that he suddenly found himself falling, headfirst, into a vortex that was like a multicolored funnel without beginning or end. He wasn’t even totally sure he was going to come out of it alive.

  Wow. That was all Mikky could think of. Wow

  The man kissed every bit as well as he looked as if he might—which was a hell of a whole lot. Somewhere in the recesses of her mind, she’d known he would. The sensation his kiss generated was like opening an oven door and being hit with a sudden blast of heat. She felt her edges turning crisp.

  It came up all around her, surrounding her, sizzling her toes, singeing her body. You know what happens when you play with fire, a little voice taunted her. It didn’t matter, she could be brave.

  Belatedly Mikky realized she had stopped breathing.

  Tony couldn’t remember putting his arms around her, couldn’t remember pulling her closer or deepening a kiss that was already fathomless. But somehow he found himself sealed to her, feeling his pulse racing away to parts unknown, along with his sense of orientation.

  Holding her the way he might have once held Teri.

  The memory of Teri abruptly ended the moment for him. He pulled his head back. “I didn’t mean—I—”

  Lips barely able to move, Mikky held up her hand to stop his halting excuse midstream. There was no need to put into words what they were both feeling. It had been a mistake, a huge mistake. The less said about what had just happened, the better. They still had to maintain a working relationship come Monday morning, and this could really mess things up even more than they already were.

  What had she been thinking? She’d been wondering somewhere in the back of her head what it might feel like to have him kiss her. That had just been perverse curiosity. She certainly hadn’t expected to feel like this about it. As if someone had just set a torch to the known universe.

  Why couldn’t someone she liked ever have kissed her that way?

  “Same here.” The words came out in a harsh whisper, forcing their way up a throat she discovered had gone dry as sawdust.

  Seconds later, the doorbell rang, making them spring apart as if they’d just been catapulted to opposite ends of a war zone.

  Welcoming the diversion, Tony pulled open the door. Still disoriented and trying desperately to get his bearings, he tried to focus on Angelo standing on his doorstep.

  Had he forgotten about something?

  Tony really looked out of it, Angelo thought. He would have said that he’d gotten him out of bed, except that his cousin was still wearing the clothes he’d had on yesterday.

  What gives? he wondered.

  “Hi.” Not waiting for an invitation, Angelo walked in. “I know it’s early, but I just wanted to stop by to see how you were doing. Oh. Oh.”

  The second “oh” was followed by a wide, sheepish grin as Angelo saw Mikky standing just to the left of the door and Tony. She had that same, slightly dazed look that was on his cousin’s face. They both looked as if they’d just jumped off a wild amusement park ride. Things began to dawn. Talk about bad timing.

  Angelo began backing away. “Obviously you’re doing better than I thought you were. Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt anything.”

  Reacting, Tony grabbed his cousin’s arm before Angelo could make it out the door. That’s all he needed, for Angelo to get the wrong idea about what he was seeing. Word would spread like wildfire through the family. Angelo wasn’t exactly closemouthed.

  “You’re not interrupting anything,” Tony told him emphatically.

  A wail burst into the room, loud enough to sound as if it was right there with them instead of coming from the bedroom.

  Stunned, Angelo looked from Mikky to Tony. “Is that a—?”

  Taking a deep breath as she finally pulled herself together, Mikky nodded. “Yes.”

  Angelo’s eyes narrowed as he turned toward his cousin. He lowered his voice, inclining his head so that Mikky was momentarily shut out. “You know, as I recall, when we were growing up you worked fast, but not this fast.”

  Tony made an unintelligible noise. “It’s not mine, you numbskull.”

  “I see family affection runs deep here,” Mikky observed to Angelo.

  “Whose baby is it?” Angelo finally asked, appearing confused.

  “That,” Mikky announced, looking at Tony even though she was talking to Angelo, “is the sixty-fourthousand-dollar question.”

  “The what?” Tony asked shortly.

  “It was an old game show. Big scandal in its time. Allison likes to play trivia,” Angelo explained, when Tony stared at him as if he’d left his senses.

  Tony snorted. “Well, at least I have someone who can translate for her.” Was that a normal cry? Or had Justin hurt himself? Without another word, he hurried to the bedroom.

  Mikky was right on his heels.

  “How about translating for me?” Angelo called after him. “Last I checked, you didn’t have a baby in this warehouse you call an apartment” Following them, he walked straight into a seven-foot tower and nearly sent the boxes crashing. He steadied it at the last moment, but just barely. “Damn it, Tony, haven’t you done anything about these boxes yet?”

  “Doesn’t look that way, does it?” Tony shot back dryly.

  “I tried to tell him he should unpack, but he won’t listen.”

  “He never did. Even as a kid, you could never tell Tony anything. He always knew best.”

  Hand on the doorknob, Tony turned to look at his cousin accusingly. Why did he get the feeling he was outnumbered? “Hey, I’m standing right here.”

  “Couldn’t miss you if we tried,” Mikky quipped. Reaching past him, she put her hand over his and turned the knob, opening the bedroom door. Their eyes met for just a second, both aware that they were valiantly trying to ignore something in the making.

  Angelo walked in first, then stopped dead when he saw the baby lying on the worn comforter.

  “Okay.” Angelo swung around to face both of them, but mainly looked to Tony. “What the hell’s going on here?”

  Where did he begin, Tony wondered, and how did he present it so that Angelo didn’t give him any flack? He’d had about all he could put up with. “With what?”

  “Where did the baby come from and, no offense,” the remark was directed at Mikky, “but what is she doing here? I thought you two didn’t get along.”

  “We don’t,” they said in unison with a volley of feeling.

  Angelo threw up his hands. “Well, that explains nothing.”

  Kissing Mikky seemed to have short-circuited his brain, Tony thought in disgust. He couldn’t seem to think clearly. “We don’t know whose baby it is. I found it—and a note—on the trailer’s doorstep last night after you and Shad left.”

  Angelo looked at his cousin incredulously. It sounded like something out of a movie made for television. “You’re kidding.”

  Moving the barrier aside, Tony leaned over the bed and picked up the crying baby. “Does this look as if I’m kidding?”

  Tony knew Angelo had always been a sucker for babies. His cousin took the small hand in his. The baby reciprocated by grasping one of Angelo’s fingers in its grip.

  He glanced at Tony suspiciously, his finger still firmly held captive. “And you have no idea—”

  “None,” Tony said, cutting off a second volley of questions.

  “I think he needs changing.” Moving between the two men, Mikky took Justin into her arms.

  Angelo stood back, watching as Mikky confidently worked with the baby.

  “He’s going to need more clothes,” Mikky said, handing the soiled diaper to Tony.

  “Why didn’t you call the police?” he asked Mikky.

  Walking back into the room, Tony caught the question. “D
on’t you start.”

  Angelo looked at him. “What start? I just asked a simple question. The normal assumption would be that if you find a baby, you call the police.”

  That was her point, or had been last night, Mikky thought, picking up the baby from the bed. But after pacing the floor and rocking Justin for over half the night, she was finding it increasingly difficult to remain detached.

  “Someone abandoned—” she began to explain.

  “—temporarily left,” Tony corrected, sending her a dark look.

  He’d have to do better than that to intimidate her, she thought. “—this baby, and he—” she nodded toward Tony “—thinks he’s just holding it for the mother or father until they have a change of heart.”

  Angelo had always had a soft heart, softer than his, Tony thought. He appealed to it now. He didn’t really feel the need to have anyone siding with him, but it wouldn’t exactly hurt, either. Someone who could drown out Mikky’s incessant talking would be nice.

  “If the police are called in, there’ll be charges filed against the mother and then she won’t be able to take care of the baby.”

  “You’re assuming she’ll come back,” Mikky. countered. “What if she doesn’t?”

  Tony took the baby from her. “If she doesn’t, I’ll think about that when the time comes.”

  Angelo frowned. They both seemed to have completely forgotten he was standing in the room. Though he knew it was a good sign that Tony had emerged out of his shell to show concern for someone else, he worried that there would be nothing but more heartache ahead for his cousin. One way or another, the baby was going to be taken from him, and from the looks of it, Tony’d already grown attached to it.

  “But—” Mikky began.

  “End of discussion,” Tony informed her. “And while you’re at it, lower your voice. You’re going to upset Justin.”

  Angelo’s mouth dropped open. This was bad. “You named him Justin? Tony—”

  Tony recoiled from the pity he heard in Angelo’s voice. “I didn’t name him Justin. His name is Justin. It was on the note.” Angelo glanced toward Mikky, who nodded. “What are you looking at her for? Don’t you believe me?”

  “It’s not that I don’t believe you, Tony. It’s just that I’m women.”

  “Well, go worry somewhere else. I’m fine. Go home, Angelo, I’m fine,” he repeated with ferocity when Angelo didn’t move.

  Which just told Angelo that he wasn’t fine at all. Angelo looked at Mikky with a silent plea in his eyes. Though she looked reluctant about it, after a beat she acknowledged the plea with a slight nod. Relieved, Angelo withdrew.

  Mikky took Justin from Tony as they heard the front door being closed. “We’re all glad you’re so fine, but it’s time to feed this big guy before he starts in gnawing on that meathead of yours.”

  They began arriving less than an hour later.

  Seeing that Angelo had returned, Tony opened the door before the doorbell set Justin off again. Tony was only mildly surprised to see his cousin. And to see that he wasn’t alone. He’d brought Allison and the triplets. At two and a half, the triplets had enough energy to make a person believe that an invasion surpassed only by Dunkirk on D-Day took place each time they charged into a room. They charged past Tony now.

  Tony nodded a greeting to Allison before looking at Angelo. “I see I didn’t hurt your feelings enough to make you stay away.”

  Angelo laughed. “Hurt my feelings? I grew up with you, remember? You were born ornery and then got worse. I’m used to it.”

  Far from having his feelings insulted, Angelo had retreated merely to call together reinforcements. If Tony felt the need to play guardian angel to the abandoned baby, then they were going to back him up as best as they were able. Things, Angelo’s mother had told all of them time and again, always had a way of working themselves out. Some things just took longer than others. And it was up to family to help “things” along their way.

  “I brought some clothes you might need,” Allison told Tony. “It’s a loan,” she added. “Dottie’s going to be needing them in a while.”

  Angelo stopped dead. This was news to him. “Dottie? She’s not—”

  “She seems to think she is,” Allison replied, a smile dimpling her mouth.

  In his enthusiasm, since Tony was closest to him, Angelo slapped him on the back. “This is great. Guess we have something to celebrate. Am I supposed to know?” he asked Allison suddenly.

  “As if you could ever keep a secret,” she hooted. “Boys, be careful! You’ll knock something over.” She looked at Tony. “Why haven’t you unpacked yet?”

  He closed his eyes. Another county heard from. “I’m getting to it.”

  By noon Tony’s apartment was filled to bursting with members of the extended Marino-McClellan-Delaney family. Shad and J.T. came next, bringing food and a portable crib as well as Frankie, Tina and Lily.

  “Where are you going to put this?” J.T. asked as Shad brought in the portable crib. “Tony, you just have to get rid of these boxes.”

  “I think they’re neat,” Tina, a pint-size tomboy through and through, declared. She was already playing guerrilla soldier with the triplets.

  J.T. leveled a look aimed at Tony. “I rest my case.”

  “Could you just imagine if she were a lawyer instead of an accountant?” Shad interjected, stealing a kiss as soon as he set down the crib.

  Tony observed the playfulness between his cousins and their spouses with a bittersweet feeling weaving through him. It reminded him how good things could be.

  And how much he missed having the life they were enjoying.

  Bridgette Marino arrived last. There were tears in Bridgette’s eyes when she walked in.

  “Aunt Bridgette, what—” Tears always undid him. He looked helplessly at Dottie.

  “Don’t mind Mom. I just told her we were increasing the ranks by one.”

  “You know,” Angelo commented, “we keep this up and we can declare ourselves a separate country pretty soon.”

  “At least a separate state,” Mikky murmured. There seemed to be children everywhere.

  Drying her eyes, Bridgette looked around. “Tony, you need a good woman to help you clean this all up. Lucky for you, there are several right here. We’ll get to work after you show me this baby everyone is telling me about.”

  Dutifully, Tony took his aunt into the bedroom.

  Mikky mused as he disappeared from view how in certain ways, Tony’s family reminded her of her own.

  She didn’t have a sharp-tongued, softhearted mother like Angelo’s, but she’d had her father, and for all his gruffness and the hours he’d spent working away from home, he’d still been the best father in the world as far as she was concerned. He’d given her and her siblings far more than food and shelter. He’d given his heart. His selfless love and sacrifice had helped her make her way through life, helped her shoulder whatever burdens happened along and made her feel lucky to be able to do so.

  Even when it meant butting heads with someone the likes of Tony Marino.

  Well, she saw that he had enough willing people to help him. There was no reason for her to remain any longer. It was the perfect time to retreat.

  But she found her path obstructed by a woman who barely topped five feet. Dark, flashing eyes took measure of her quickly. “You are Michelle, yes?”

  “Yes, but people call me Mikky,.”

  “Mikky is a boy’s name.” The dark eyes swept over her again. “You are very much a woman. Tony tells me you helped him.”

  She was surprised that Tony had given her any acknowledgment at all. “I tried.”

  Bridgette nodded, pleased. “Trying is the first step to succeeding. Come, you help me now, yes?”

  “Um... sure. With what?”

  Bridgette merely smiled at her. “With whatever it is that needs to be done.”

  So she stayed, forgetting about the blueprints she’d promised herself to go over. Finding herself drawn into
the heart of a family that didn’t know how to take no for an answer.

  “Oops, sorry.” Turning abruptly, a tall, muscular young man nearly hit Mikky with an oversize box he was trying to move.

  The steady influx of information from Bridgette allowed Mikky to know that she’d almost been knocked down by Shad’s stepson, J.T.’s son from her first marriage.

  When he flashed his smile, Frankie looked as if he had not only Shad’s name as his own, but his blond hair as well, Mikky thought.

  Trying to avoid the box in his arms, Mikky stumbled into Tony. The latter caught her before she could fall down. He pulled her up abruptly, her body brushing hard against his.

  “Watch yourself, boy.” The admonishment carried very little conviction. Not when Tony’s attention was centered on the sensation that was telegraphing itself through every nerve ending in his body as he found her against him for the second time that day.

  This time, the blame couldn’t be ascribed to static electricity. This time, if he was to be honest with himself, he’d have to reexamine things from another direction.

  He decided that there were instances when honesty was highly overrated. Sleeping dogs were best left in exactly the condition they were found.

  Releasing her, Tony blew out a breath. What was it about this woman that made him feel as if he’d just stepped into a puddle of water and grasped a live wire?

  This had to stop, Mikky told herself. She was behaving like some addled adolescent girl. Moving back, she searched for something to say that would keep Tony from realizing that their brief encounter had sent torpedoes of excitement through her.

  “It’s nice to see that you can be bullied by your family.” When he raised an eyebrow in a silent query, she gestured toward the activity. “The unpacking.”

  He lifted a shoulder. “Nobody stands a chance against Aunt Bridgette. She keeps after you until she gets her way. It’s easier just to say eyes.” His eyes shifted toward her. “You two probably have a lot in common.”

  His smile was quick, sending another flash of electricity through her before she could steel herself from it. “I believe that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”