ESCAPE INTO ROMANCE- 4 Book Bundle

by Patrice Wilton

  Jenna made a face. “You know…a bowel movement.”

  “So change it already. What are you waiting for?” A look of awareness dawned on her face. “Forget it. I’m outta here.”

  “No, please. I can’t do this. I’ll pay you twenty bucks.”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  “No, I’m not kidding. Is that enough?”

  She giggled. “I should take it, but I won’t. You’re too funny, Aunt Jen.” Kelly grabbed another diaper, whipped the soiled one off, wiped Amy’s bum with a baby wipe, talcum powdered her, and fastened the clean diaper expertly.

  Then she snorted. “Man, oh, man. You should see your face. You look ready to hurl.”

  “I’ve never seen green poop before.”

  “You’ll get used to it.” Kelly sauntered off.

  Jenna tentatively picked up the clean-smelling Amy and carried her downstairs. She placed her in the playpen which was stocked with mobiles and a few soft toys to entertain her.

  Beethoven had entered the house with Kelly, and now sat next to the playpen. He kept one eye on Jenna as he guarded the baby.

  Jenna checked out the cupboards, finding little jars of fruit and vegetables, and sat down to read the labels. What’s with all these preservatives? She’d research how to make Amy’s food from scratch, but this would do in a pinch.

  She relaxed a little. Everything was under control. Heck, if she could manage an entire sales force, she could do this.

  She’d gather all the information she needed to care for a baby, copy it, commit it to memory, and file it. Amy would get the best care possible until her mother came home. It wasn’t rocket science.

  Jenna opened a jar of applesauce and added it to a little rice cereal mixture, making a creamy puree. She lifted Amy out of the playpen and popped her into a feeding seat on the table. After placing a bib around her neck, she sat down to feed her.

  Beethoven was slobbering around her ankles, but she did her best to ignore him.

  Once Amy had eaten her fill, Jenna cleaned her rosy mouth with a tissue. She was about to release the baby from the seat when the phone rang. She got up to answer it, but it stopped ringing before she could do so.

  Jenna turned back to see Amy sticking her fingers into the bowl and rubbing the remaining food into her hair. The dog was panting and looking at the baby’s dish.

  She put herself between Amy and the dog and grabbed the bowl. “No, sweetheart. That’s yucky.” She took Amy over to the sink, turned the tap on warm and attempted to rinse her hair.

  Amy started to wail and Beets howled in reply.

  Kelly ran in. “Did you get the phone?” She stopped when she saw what Jenna was doing with Amy. “Oh, my gosh! Are you trying to drown her?” She grabbed Amy out of Jenna’s hands. “Don’t you know anything about babies?” She kissed Amy’s face, dried her with a towel, and soothed her until she stopped crying.

  “She had food in her hair.”

  Kelly looked at her like she was the dumbest person on the planet. “You had the water running in her eyes. No wonder she was crying. Poor little baby.”

  The phone started ringing again, and Kelly thrust the baby at Jenna. “Don’t do anything stupid. Just hold her. I’ll get the phone.”

  Jenna walked around the kitchen with Amy cradled in her arms, jiggling her up and down. It seemed everything she did made Amy cry harder.

  Kelly hung up. “I want to go to the movies with Lisa. Think you can manage on your own?”

  She didn’t want Kelly to leave, but she couldn’t very well ground her, could she? “Uh, sure. At least I think so.”

  “Good. Amy should fall asleep soon. Try not to hurt her, okay?”

  “I would never hurt her. Would I, baby?” Amy was still fussing and didn’t look like she had any immediate plans of falling asleep.

  “Where’s Nick? Will he be home soon?” Jenna asked.

  “I doubt it. He’s at a basketball game. They usually end around four. The guys all shower and then go out for a pizza or something. He’ll probably be home by seven or eight.”

  It was only three. “What time will your movie be over?” God, she hated sounding so desperate, but she was afraid to be alone with this child.

  What if the little darling decided to poop again? Or wouldn’t stop crying? How did you stop a baby from making these awful, gasping, screechy sounds?

  Kelly picked up a pacifier from the playpen and stuck it in Amy’s mouth. The baby stopped squirming and screaming, and Jenna had her answer.

  “I’ll call you if I’m not coming home for dinner.”

  Dinner. Yikes. She was expected to make dinner? “What does your mom usually make for you guys?”

  “She grills a lot. Dad likes pasta, but she says it’s too fattening and tells him to have it at work.”

  “Since your mom’s not here, how about a nice spaghetti dinner, or baked lasagna?”

  “Nick and Dad would love that, but I’ll pass. I’ve got a school dance next week and I want to lose a few pounds.”

  After Kelly left, Jenna found a large knobby rubber bone that she used to entice Beets outside. She put Amy into her playpen and went to work vacuuming the carpets and mopping the tiled kitchen floor. After washing the countertops, she searched through and organized the pantry.

  As she sat down to flip through a magazine, Amy began to cry again. Jenna picked up the pink, sweaty-faced infant and began to walk around the room. She jostled the baby and sang lullabies, but nothing stopped the crying.

  Deciding that she must be hungry, Jenna made up a bottle of formula. She’d found the mix in the pantry. Amy gulped it down, gave a nice burp, and then let out a wail.

  Jenna wondered if the baby was actually sick. It couldn’t be natural for a baby to cry like this. For half an hour she tried to soothe her, but Amy only got more agitated.

  Jenna’s nerves were frazzled. She needed a glass of wine, or something stronger. She walked over to the fridge, took out a chilled bottle of Chardonnay and was looking around for a corkscrew. She couldn’t find one. She checked the freezer and found a bottle of Russian vodka just waiting for her. She could almost taste it going down her throat. First there would be the initial icy cold bite, but then the thick liquid would be as smooth as gold.

  Wanting a drink in the afternoon reminded her of her mother. That was a scary thought. She put both bottles away.

  Grant’s face flashed to mind. He’d told her to call any time. And this technically qualified as an emergency.

  Finding his card in her purse, she hoisted Amy onto her hip and called his cell phone. He picked up almost immediately. The sound of his voice sent a gentle hum through her veins, like the first chord struck by a violin.

  “Hi Grant, this is Jenna.” She was determined to sound casual, mature, not like one of those young nurses who’d go into meltdown at the mere sound of his dreamy voice. “That screaming you hear is Amy. I can’t make her stop.”

  “Have you fed her, and changed her diaper?”

  “Yes, of course. But she won’t stop crying. She’s throwing a shit-fit and I don’t know what to do. I was thinking of a shot or two of cold vodka, but then I thought of you.”

  “Don’t give her vodka. She’s just a baby.”

  “The vodka was for me.”

  “Oh, okay. You had me worried. Look, she’s probably teething.” His calming, gentle tone relaxed Jenna quicker than a single shot. “Do you have a teething ring, by chance?”

  “I don’t know. What would it look like?”

  “Sometimes it’s a rubber ring. Or a water-filled, clear plastic one that can be chilled. Check the fridge. The baby can even suck on a cold, damp washcloth to soothe her sore gums.”

  “Okay. Is there any pain relief medication she can take?”

  Jenna rubbed Amy’s gums with her finger and her cries were softer now. She kissed the baby’s wet cheeks. “There you go, baby. Your poor little mouth.”

  “See if there’s some topical oral gel around.
It would be in a small tube. Make sure it’s for babies, and just rub some on her gums.”

  “Thanks, Grant. Sorry I panicked. Babies are not my forte.”

  “You’re doing fine. Mostly it’s about trusting your instincts, Jenna. I’ll be leaving here soon. Want me to drop by?”

  Of course she did. The guy was hotter than hell. But he was speaking as a professional—and he couldn’t be expected to make a house call every time the baby cried. “No, that won’t be necessary. I’m sure I can handle this. But thanks for offering.”

  “Jenna. I have a feeling you don’t like to ask for help. It isn’t a weakness, you know. Your world has turned upside down, and asking for help would be quite natural under the circumstances.”

  “I know, Grant. When I need help, you’ll be the first person I call.”

  “I hope so.”

  She smiled, warmed by his words. Now she wondered if the offer to stop by the house had been a ruse to see her. All he had to do was ask.

  “I do feel inadequate around here. But I’ll get the hang of it soon enough.”

  “I’m sure you will. But it wouldn’t hurt for me to have a follow-up visit with Amy after her concussion.”

  “That could be arranged.” She kept her excitement contained. “I’ll give your office a call in the morning and schedule something soon. Thanks.” She hung up the phone.

  She kissed Amy’s cheek. “Thanks, doll. Now, you and I are going to see that nice doctor again. Isn’t that cool?”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Grant couldn’t say for sure why he was grinning except that he felt good. From the moment he met Jenna he’d been intrigued, but after that smokin’-hot kiss, he couldn’t get her out of his mind. He wanted to see her again. And soon. If she hadn’t called today, he would have called her.

  She seemed so unsure of herself, and he couldn’t help but wonder why.

  The way she held herself, her tone of voice, her confident stride, were all signs of a self-assured woman, a woman who didn’t doubt her decisions, and made them quickly. He could tell she was intelligent and liked to have all the facts at her fingertips to make informed decisions—not the type who panicked over a crying baby.

  More than one female had used a child as an excuse to see him. He didn’t think Jenna would use such a ploy, but he was flattered enough to hope so. This had certainly been the first time in his medical history that he’d used a baby as an excuse to get to her aunt.

  He definitely wanted to know more about this tantalizing lady. He already knew she had a brain. Now he wanted to know what triggered her emotions, and he had every intention of finding out.

  * * *

  Amy was sleeping soundly and Beethoven was snoozing on his doggy-bed. Jenna went into the kitchen to see about dinner.

  She found some frozen chicken breasts, defrosted them, and cut them into cubes to put on skewers. She made a spicy peanut sauce, deciding to serve the chicken over a bed of basmati rice. That with a simple salad should do the trick.

  Nick came flying through the door as she was finishing up in the kitchen. “Hi, Aunt Jenna. What smells good?”

  He saw the skewers of grilled chicken she had put on a platter. “This for dinner?”

  “Uh-huh. You hungry?”

  “Starved.” Picking up a couple, he wolfed them down. “Hmm. Good. You better make some more, I could easily eat all of these.”

  “Go ahead. I’ll find us something else.” Jenna searched the freezer and found some fish fillets. She took them out and nuked them to thaw.

  Nick sat at the table scarfing down the would-be dinner. Jenna smiled fondly at him, strangely tempted to tousle his hair. He was like a little boy stuck in a man-sized body.

  Jenna grabbed one of the skewers before they were all gone and nibbled on the spicy chicken. “How’d the game go? Did you win?”

  “Yeah, it was awesome beating the Tigers. They had a winning record last season, but this year we’re going to take them down.”

  She grinned. “Your mom brags about you all the time, says you’re one of the star players.”

  Although Jenna didn’t visit her sister often, they made an effort to talk a couple of times a month. Cindy emailed her pictures of the baby, but hadn’t sent any recent ones of the older two kids. It had surprised Jenna to see how grown up they’d become.

  “She does?” he asked around a mouthful of food. “She doesn’t come to many of the games.”

  “She probably can’t with the baby, but I’m sure she would if she could.”

  He shoveled in some rice, and swallowed in a loud gulp. “It doesn’t matter. I wouldn’t want my mother hanging around. I mean, how embarrassing would that be?”

  Jenna looked closely at him, wondering how he really felt. Didn’t most parents go to all the games and cheer their kids on? She certainly would. Every victory would be celebrated. Every loss would be commiserated over a fully loaded large pizza.

  “What about your dad? Does he come to watch?”

  “Naw. He’s busy with the restaurants. You know how it is. ‘As the owner I have to oversee everything.’ Blah, blah, blah…”

  “Of course he needs to.” She thought Rob could possibly take off an afternoon or two to see his only son play. Maybe Nick discouraged his parents from being there.

  She decided to find out. “So when’s your next game? I’m a huge basketball fan, and I’d love to come.”

  “You would?” He flushed, giving himself away. “I guess it would be okay—if you stayed in the stands and nobody knew you were family. I feel sorry for the guys whose parents are jumping around, screaming at their kids, and yelling things at the referees.”

  “Yeah, that would suck.” She couldn’t fathom that type of behavior from a respectable adult, but she knew it happened. “I wouldn’t do that.”

  “Thanks for the grub,” he said, dropping his plate in the sink. “I’ve got some homework to do, then I’m going out for a while.”

  “Where are you going on a school night?” She didn’t want to sound like a disciplinarian, but she wanted to set the record straight and let both Nick and Kelly know she expected them to adhere to their parents’ usual rules. “What time is your curfew?”

  “I’ll just be hanging with some friends. Don’t worry. Mom and Dad let us stay out until eleven, as long as our homework is done and our grades are good.”

  Jenna nodded, not saying a word. She’d ask Rob about this when he came home later. She wasn’t sure it was appropriate for the kids to be going out on school nights, and definitely not until eleven. It seemed a little late, but what did she know?

  Amy started fussing, Jenna changed her, and then fed her the left-over applesauce, handling it like a pro. After she cleaned the baby’s face and put her Winnie-The-Pooh dish away, she brought out a couple of toys and they played together.

  Kelly called from the mall, saying she’d already eaten. Jenna put the fish away for the following night, fed the drooling Beets, and ate a salad.

  Later, after tucking Amy in her crib, she sat down to watch the news, but couldn’t concentrate on anything.

  Since Cindy’s accident, Jenna had only caught an hour or two of sleep at a time. She thought she would sleep now. Instead she kept watching the clock, waiting for the kids to come home.

  About nine-thirty, Kelly returned.

  “You still up?” Kelly kicked off her sandals and dropped her satchel on a chair. “Is Nick home?”

  “No. I was waiting up for the two of you.”

  “No need to bother.” Kelly didn’t look at her. “We come and go as we please.”

  Somehow Jenna doubted that. The parents might be permissive, but they weren’t stupid. “What did you do tonight?”

  “Saw a movie, looked around the stores, hung around with some kids from school—the usual.”

  “Really? You’re fifteen, aren’t you?”

  “Yeah. So what?” Kelly headed for the kitchen and Beethoven followed her. “I’m going to grab a snack, then g
o to bed.”

  Jenna watched her. “So, I don’t think it’s safe for you to be hanging around the mall late at night. What movie did you see?”

  “What’s it to you? Writing a book about me?” Kelly opened the refrigerator door, peering inside.

  “I might, but this time it’s just curiosity.” Jenna wanted to know exactly what Kelly had been up to, but she couldn’t force it. She had to build trust.

  Kelly hitched her bottom onto a bar stool, cradling a container of ice cream.

  “I’m going to make tea. Would you like some?”

  “No, I’m good.” Kelly had the lid off the ice cream and was digging in with a spoon.

  Getting a teenager to open up was akin to prying open an oyster without a tool. It wouldn’t happen.

  The kettle started hissing, and Jenna made her tea. “You sure I can’t make you a sandwich or something?”

  Kelly licked the spoon and dropped it in the sink. “No thanks. I’m done.” She left the empty carton on the counter and trotted upstairs.

  Jenna finished her tea, threw the carton in the trash bin, washed up and put the few dishes away. She turned off the TV, but left a light on for Nick.

  * * *

  The following morning Kelly came down the stairs and saw Nick eating breakfast. She sniffed the air.

  “What’s that?”

  “Damned if I know. But it taste good.” He dumped more ketchup on his plate and dug into the egg dish Jenna had made. “There’s some left. Better grab some ’cause I’m going back for seconds.”

  “You’re welcome to mine.” Kelly said. “It looks like it’s got at least a thousand calories.”

  Nick jumped up, Jenna grabbed the plate before he got the chance. “Sit down and enjoy, Kelly. It’s a wild mushroom frittata. I only used egg whites. The entire breakfast is low calorie and totally guilt-free. And it’s delicious.”

  Beets sat under the table, making whining noises. “Forget it, dog. You had your yum-yum doggy chow.” Jenna nodded to Kelly. “Eat it before Nick or the dog does.”

  Kelly sat down and tasted it as though it pained her to do so. Nick was lingering, and Jenna was sure if Kelly dropped a piece on the floor, there’d be a fight between dog and boy as to who’d get it first.