The Baby Consultant

by Anne Marie Winston

  “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

  On her end, the phone clicked off abruptly.

  His knees felt weak and he sat down before he fell down. Lex was still screaming bloody murder, but now he could handle it. Frannie was coming.

  Her van whipped into his driveway exactly eight minutes later. He knew because he was counting. How many traffic laws had she broken? Didn’t matter. He’d gladly pay every ticket she incurred.

  “Let me look at her.” That was all the greeting she offered. He surrendered his screaming niece to another pair of arms and waited expectantly.

  Frannie had barely touched Lex’s little body when she raised her head, and the look on her face scared him to death.

  “What is it?”

  “She’s burning up with fever. Jack, call your doctor right now. I’m going to put her in a cool bath and sponge her down until you talk to him.”

  He scrambled for the phone again, listening as Frannie carried the screaming baby up to the bathroom. It occurred to him that she would need towels, but as the doctor’s answering service came on the line, he decided Frannie would find anything she needed.

  Twenty minutes later they were on their way to the hospital.

  The nurses in the emergency room steered Frannie to an exam room the minute they walked in. Frannie didn’t even hesitate as she carried the infant down the hall. A doctor walked toward him, explaining that he had spoken with Jack’s doctor and that he’d be examining Alexa.

  He nodded. He was dying to be back there with them, but first he had to stop at the desk and give them his insurance information.

  As soon as possible, he joined Frannie in the exam room. She stood against a wall, arms folded tightly over her chest, as a doctor and nurse bent over Alexa, who was shrieking and screaming on the table. Without speaking, he slipped an arm around her shoulders. Just that simple action was comforting. He didn’t feel so alone, or so terrified.

  They had a diagnosis in under ten minutes. Alexa had whopping infections in both ears.

  He felt like the lowest of the low as the doctor handed him a prescription. “We’ve given her a little medication to bring that fever down and knock out the pain. Once that takes effect and I’m satisfied the fever’s on its way out, you can take her home. Right now, you could go and have this filled. There’s an all-night pharmacy right across the street. Your wife can stay with the little one.”

  He caught Frannie’s startled glance out of the corner of his eye, but he didn’t even bother to correct the guy. If she really was his wife, they probably wouldn’t be here right now. She would have known Lex’s personality change wasn’t sheer contrariness, but a sign of illness. She would know about diaper rash and when to start solids, about shot schedules and growth curves and developmental delays... all the stuff he’d been reading about in the few spare moments he’d had since he became Alexa’s father by default.

  If he were to marry again, not that he was considering the idea, Frannie would be the type of woman he’d choose, he thought as he waited for the pharmacist to fill the prescription. She loved Alexa, and she knew stuff about raising kids that he’d never even heard of. Their sex life would be fantastic. At the mere thought, his body went on full alert—and he did mean full alert, he thought ruefully, so that he had to turn hastily and examine the display of literature on the wall near the pharmacy. If he wasn’t careful, the lady pharmacist was liable to have him arrested as some kind of pervert who got off reading medical pamphlets.

  So enough about what it would be like to sleep with Frannie every night. Even the idea of falling asleep with her snuggled close against him was appealing.

  Forget it. Wanting to be close was what got you in trouble the last time, dope. Why would you want to set yourself up to get shot down again?

  The answer was simple: he wouldn’t.

  With prescription in hand, he jogged back across the street and into the emergency department. Seeing him, the girl at the desk smiled warmly and stood. “I think they’re ready to go.” She disappeared, and in a few minutes Frannie came out through the swinging doors from the E.R.’s interior, carrying Alexa.

  He held up the bag to show Frannie he’d gotten the medicine, suddenly feeling incredibly weary. Alexa wasn’t screaming anymore, but the sound of her pained cry would haunt him for a long time. Why in the world hadn’t he realized she was hurting? It didn’t take a rocket scientist to be a parent, even a half-decent one. Which, no doubt, was what Frannie would say.

  The little receptionist who’d greeted him a moment ago held the door open for Frannie. She beamed again, dimples flashing in her rosy cheeks when she saw Jack. “I hear this little one isn’t your daughter. She’s so precious. And you’re so lucky to have a wonderful friend to call on.” The girl advanced on him as Frannie started for the door. “Here’s a card with the number of the hospital to keep by your phone in case you need help again. And my number is on the back. If there’s anything I can do, just give me a call. I’d be happy to help anytime.”

  Jack took the card she extended without even glancing at it. “Thanks very much. I’ll keep that in mind.” The girl gave him one more toothy, cheerleader smile as he held the door for Frannie.

  He eyed Frannie’s back as he strode after her. When he reached her side, he slowed to match her pace. “I know what you’re thinking. That wasn’t my fault. Did you see me making eyes at that girl?” Frustration colored his voice, and he forced himself to take a deep breath. He had the feeling that she would sprint in the opposite direction if he tried to make her understand he didn’t even want to look at another woman these days. Finding he still held the white card in his hand, he methodically ripped it into tiny shreds and dumped it into a trash can they passed.

  Frannie turned and looked at him, and to his amazement, she was laughing. “You do not know what I was thinking.”

  “Ha.”

  “Really,” she insisted. “I was thinking that I can’t imagine being as forward as that woman. She homed right in on you, buddy.”

  “Too bad,” he muttered. He didn’t see one thing amusing in the incident.

  “You need sleep,” she told him. “I’ve never seen you grumpy before.” As they reached the car, she waited until he opened the door for her to strap Lex into her seat, then opened the front door for Frannie. As she stepped into the car, she looked up into his face and he saw she was still laughing. “It’s kind of cute.”

  Cute? She thought he was cute? He chewed that one over as they drove back to his condo. It wasn’t a very manly word; he probably should be offended. But it was the first sign she’d given him that she didn’t find him completely objectionable, and instead of growling some more, he felt a bubble of satisfaction growing inside him.

  Frannie watched Jack warily as he unlocked the condo door and ushered her inside. He was looking awfully smug about something. He made her nervous when he got that look on his face. She’d already learned it meant he was hatching some idea.

  To cover it, she said, “I think you’ll be able to get her to sleep after she has a bottle. She must be exhausted. You’re supposed to start her on the antibiotic immediately but keep giving her pain reliever for about twenty-four more hours.”

  Alarm flared in his eyes. “What if she starts to cry again? Couldn’t you stay until she’s asleep?”

  She glanced at her watch. “Jack, it’s one-thirty in the morning. I have a busy day tomorrow. I have to get some sleep.”

  “You’re working on Saturday?”

  “Until the end of June and the mad rush to the altar subsides, I work every day.”

  He grimaced. “I’m really sorry for calling you. I didn’t stop to think.”

  She stifled a yawn. “It’s okay.”

  “Why don’t you stay here?”

  It surprised her, and she knew it showed. “Stay here?”

  “It makes sense. You can get some sleep, but if Lex and I need help, you’ll be here.” He took her hand in his free one, and his eyes wer
e earnest when he gazed down at her. “Please, Frannie. You can have my bed and I’ll take the couch.” Then he grinned, and the Jack she knew was back again. “Unless, of course, you’d like to share the bed. That makes even better sense.”

  “Only to you.” She forced the flippant words out. How was she supposed to refuse when he was looking at her like that? Even though she knew the man could talk a Frenchman into buying California wine, he got to her. And when he was this close, touching her, seducing her with his mere presence, she didn’t have a chance.

  “All right.” If she agreed, then she could put a tiny bit of distance between them, at least. “But you’re sleeping on the couch. You can pretend to be a gentleman.”

  “It’s a deal.” His broad chest expanded and fell again. The mere fact that he didn’t parry her verbal jab told her a lot about his mental state. “Thank you. I’ll never be able to thank you enough for all you did tonight.” He didn’t release her hand, but lifted it to his lips, and she felt the moist, sweet caress of his mouth against the back of her fingers. “Come on. I’ll get you some fresh towels.”

  It was a good thing, she decided, that he hadn’t noticed the involuntary shiver that seized her at the contact. As she followed him up the steps to the second floor, she told herself it was just a physical thing. She hadn’t had a date, hadn’t been kissed by a man in so long that all it took was one little innocent gesture to get her heart pounding and put a funny, aching sensation deep in her abdomen.

  He guided her toward the master bedroom at the far end of the hall. On the way, he pointed out a spare bedroom, which he used as a home office, and a third bedroom which had been turned into Alexa’s room.

  It didn’t look like a room for a baby girl. Unadorned and bare, a crib, a changing table and a zillion boxes were its only decor. “I want to wallpaper it after I unpack all her things,” he said with a sheepish grin, “but there don’t seem to be enough hours in my days anymore.”

  “It won’t get any easier.” She looked at the child, dozing now in his arms. “The older she gets, the busier you’ll be.”

  “Thanks for the encouragement.” His tone was wry as he laid the baby gently in the crib, covering her with a pink blanket before moving toward the big bedroom that she knew was his. “Here’s where you’ll sleep.” He switched on a light. “There are T-shirts in the top drawer of the dresser and an extra blanket in the closet.”

  She nodded, trying to act casual as the silence stretched. The enormous water bed that dominated the room seemed to magnify the fact that she was alone in a bedroom with Jack.

  His eyes were on her, but suddenly she saw that they weren’t actually seeing her. His eyes were glazed and he practically sweated dejection. He looked...really, really bad. Exhausted, certainly, but something more.

  “Are you all right?” she asked.

  He shrugged and shook his head like a dog coming out of water, then sat down on the edge of the bed. “I guess.” He didn’t sound convinced. Then he looked straight at her and his gaze was focused, intent. “Do you think I’m doing the right thing?”

  “The right thing...?” Inviting her to sleep in his bed?

  “Yeah. Do you think I should keep Alexa?”

  The question staggered her. The direction of his thoughts began to coalesce in her head. “Of course you should keep Alexa. Didn’t you tell me you are the only family she has left?”

  He nodded.

  “She needs you, Jack.” Frannie perched beside him on the bed. “Family is important.”

  “I know. That’s what I told myself when I applied for custody. But tonight...tonight showed me just how bad I am at this parenting stuff.” He looked at her, and she read anguish and despair in his gray eyes, sorrow that made her want to pull his head to her breast and comfort him as she would a child. “She had a mother and father who loved her. They never thought they wouldn’t live to see her grow up.”

  The sorrow in his voice reminded her that Alexa wasn’t the only one who’d lost someone dear to them. Jack’s brother had died. She didn’t know what to say, so she followed her instincts. Turning to him, she put her hands as far around his wide shoulders as they would go and pulled him to her. It was an awkward embrace; he was so much bigger than she. But he was still in need of comfort and she certainly knew how to offer that.

  “Do you know what I’d give to bring them back? For her sake?” His voice was muffled against her hair. “I’d give my own life for that baby girl in there to have her parents again.”

  “Sh-h-h.” She stroked the back of his neck, feeling the warmth of skin give way to the soft stubble of his short hair under her hand. “It doesn’t work like that. You can’t trade one life for another, as much as you might wish you could. You just have to move on from here, think of how lucky Alexa is to have you.”

  “Lucky? I damn near killed the kid tonight. I don’t know anything about raising children.”

  “That’s an exaggeration.” She made her voice firm and authoritative, sensing that was what he needed right now. “So you didn’t realize she had an infection. Yes, she was sick and uncomfortable, but she wasn’t dying. And you’ve learned something from the experience. Now you know how to check for fever and what to do if she is hot. You know how to administer medication and you have some sense of when to call the doctor. You’re not going to kill her, Jack. You’re learning something every day. I was sur prised at how easily you handled her the day you came to see me. If you’d seen yourself that first day...” She chuckled a little at the memory. “Let’s just say you made me a little nervous.”

  He drew back far enough to gauge the expression on her face. “I guess I’ve gotten a little better with her.”

  “A little? Could you have changed a diaper a month ago? Mixed formula? Would you know which end to hold upright to burp?”

  “Okay, I get the point.” She was relieved to see his eyes clearing. “I couldn’t have done any of those things without you, though.”

  “Sure you could have. You might have learned them a little more slowly, but you’d have figured it out.”

  “I’m glad I didn’t have to.” His deep voice was fervent. Then his tone changed. “Tell me about your family. Are your brothers older or younger than you?”

  “All younger.” She slipped her hands down from where they still rested on his shoulders, aware of every warm inch of him only millimeters away. The position was far too intimate for friends who didn’t even know each other that well. “My mother died when I was twelve, and I helped my dad take care of the boys after that.”

  “A surrogate mother.” He captured her hands when she would have drawn away.

  “I suppose.” His thigh was warm and solid where it pressed against hers, his fingers big yet gentle. She was afraid her voice would show him how breathless she felt.

  “How old were your brothers when your mother died?”

  She thought for a moment, forcing her awareness away from the sensual promise in his proximity. “Eight, five and the baby had just turned two.”

  She felt his interest quicken, honing in on her with an unsettling laser accuracy. “Holy smokes. That’s a big burden for a young girl.”

  “I guess it is. You don’t think about that when something happens to your world.”

  “I know.” His voice was dry. “So what did your father do when you graduated from high school? Did you go away to school?”

  This wasn’t a period of her life she particularly enjoyed rehashing. She felt the weight of those years settle on her as if it were yesterday. “I was supposed to go to a clothing design school in Philadelphia. My dad had a heart attack in July the year I graduated from high school. He survived, but there was no way I could leave him alone to care for all three boys. I thought I’d wait until they were all a little older. But then he died the following spring and I became my brothers’ legal guardian.”

  “So you delayed going to school again?”

  She nodded, her throat suddenly too knotted with regret for
words to come out.

  Jack’s eyes were steady on hers, and suddenly the room was too small, too intimate. The air around them seemed to shrink inward, sealing them in a bubble in which nothing existed except intense, wordless communication. She didn’t know how it had happened, but her world had been cut apart recently, and when it was patched, Jack was stitched into the fabric of her days.

  She thought of him too often. Too many times his face floated between her and the work she should be focused on. Too many times she’d caught herself sitting idle, scissors or needle arrested in midair as she wondered how Jack and Alexa were doing.

  His thumbs caressed her knuckles as his eyes dropped to her lips, lips that felt parched and dry. Without thinking, she licked them, and a flame leaped high in his eyes as his head came down, blotting out the light.

  Alexa’s fretful cry from the next room made her jump. Frannie asked herself what in the world she was doing? Frantically she turned her head.

  Jack’s lips landed on her cheek, and she was shaken to her toes by the sweet scrape of his stubbled jaw against her neck. She froze, and so did he. In the quiet room, she could hear her own breathing mingled with the heavier rasp of his. More than anything, she wanted to turn her face to his, to let him take her and do anything he wanted with her willing flesh.

  But she knew better. Jack came with all kinds of complications. He might not be the playboy she’d taken him for initially, but he definitely was not what she needed in her life.

  She bounced up with all the false enthusiasm of a cheerleader celebrating a tie-breaking touchdown and turned toward the door. “There’s Alexa. It’s time for more pain medication, and she’ll probably be hungry. I’ll—”

  “I’ll get her. You need to get to sleep.” Jack’s hands caught her at the waist as he stood, as well. He pulled her against him, and she gasped as his bold masculinity, solidly pressing into her belly, proclaimed his interest in her. His hard, lean frame was seared into her consciousness, and his hot breath feathered over her temple.