“Tuesday?” he asked, taken by surprise – or was it guilt? “Not Tuesday Twaggard.” Just thinking of the skinny, nerdy girl he’d taken to the prom on a dare brought back memories he would rather forget. He liked buxom cheerleaders and girls who liked to sneak out of the house to drink or make out in the back seat of a car. Little Goody Two-Shoes was the worst date he’d ever had in his life. To this day, his friends still gave him crap about it.
“Why, yes, that’s her name. Do you know her?” asked the girl.
He felt the lump in his throat and the pain in his ear from little Magnolia screaming right into it. His brain hurt and he could barely think. He nodded slowly, and admitted it. “I went to high school with her. But that was a long time ago. We barely knew each other at all.”
“I see,” the girl said with a nod. “Please wait here.” She disappeared into another room that looked like a kitchen.
Sweat beaded on Cal’s brow. Why did he have to ask if she meant Tuesday Twaggard? He should’ve known better. No one else in the entire country had a name like that! It had to be odder than the little girl’s name he held in his arms. He wasn’t looking forward to seeing her again after all these years. After what he’d done to her, he wouldn’t be surprised if she was still crying.
He’d felt bad about ignoring her at the dance, and then all but dumping her at her door and never speaking to her again before he left for the army. She was a friend of his sister’s and infatuated with him and he knew it. Most girls in high school had a thing for him, so it didn’t surprise him at all. Cal knew Tuesday idolized him and he took advantage of the situation. His only saving grace is that she never knew he’d only taken her to the prom on a dare from his friends. Or at least not at the time. He was sure by now her friends or his sister had told her she’d been nothing but the brunt of a joke.
Cal could have won a hundred bucks on that dare, but his conscience wouldn’t let him take the money afterwards. In a way, he’d felt sorry for Tuesday. Homely, shy, underdeveloped girls like her lived a lonely life of solitude and had no idea how to have a good time. It wasn’t her fault she was doomed for life and would probably never experience an orgasm with any man.
He wouldn’t be surprised if her date with him was the only one the poor girl ever had. She was nice, but she had a lot to learn about the ways of the world. If she’d been aware of how the school peer pressure worked, she would have known the real reason he’d asked her to the dance in the first place. Anyone could have figured it out. Anyone but gullible, shy, love-struck little Twiggy – as he and his friends called her since she’d been so skinny and flat as a board.
If the girl hadn’t been so stuck on him, the whole thing wouldn’t have hit him so hard. He’d known from the minute he saw her staring at him when she came to his house to see Jenna that she wanted nothing more than to marry a man and have a family someday. Isn’t that what nerdy girls always wanted? She wasn’t one of the busty cheerleaders he’d dated. That is, the wild, crazy, carefree girls who only wanted fun for a night. That was actually all he wanted, too. No, Tuesday Twaggard was different and, in some odd way, that kind of scared him. She was the homemaking kind. It was the exact type of girl he’d always stayed away from because that only meant trouble. They always wanted commitment from a guy and that was the last thing he ever wanted. Cal was a proclaimed bachelor and was never going to get married.
He supposed that the whole thing could’ve been ignored on his part, if only he hadn’t felt sorry for her and given her a little kiss that night. After all, the dare from his friends was to take her to prom and didn’t include kissing. It happened anyway, and ended up being a kiss he never forgot. If he hadn’t felt an odd sense of attraction to her at that point, he probably would have kept the money his buddies put up as a bet. But when he’d dropped her at her door and kissed her goodnight, he’d seen a side to Tuesday he’d never known.
Behind those thick glasses, braces, mousey brown hair, and skinny limbs, lay the passion of a full-fledged woman just dying to be unleashed. While he could have helped her do it, he didn’t want to be the one to unleash that kind of raw passion. The thought scared him immensely. He felt attracted to her after that kiss, and knew that only meant trouble. That’s why he needed to run before it was too late.
After that, he’d ignored her like a plague, and tried to ignore his feelings for her. He knew that with one more kiss from the shy little songbird who was the star of the school choir, he’d be on his knees doing whatever she wanted. Yep, her kind frightened him more than any other. She was the marrying type with a capital M . . . and that was a word he wanted to avoid at all costs.
The baby squirmed in his arms and cried until she was red in the face. He bounced her, burped her, and tried to tickle her tummy, but it only made things worse. Why in heaven’s name wouldn’t she stop crying?
“Calvin Reeves?”
He expected to see skinny little Twiggy with her thick glasses and braces, but this woman wasn’t her. Before him stood a ravishing beauty with the body of a goddess and the face of an angel. She intrigued him and he wondered who she was. The soft silken curls of her honey-colored hair spilled down over her shoulders, nestling into the cleavage of her bountiful, perky breasts. Her eyes were sparkling like blue sapphires, drawing him in like a siren. Her full lips parted and the tip of a pink tongue shot out to lick the corner of her mouth. She flashed him a quick smile that suddenly disappeared. When she did, he saw her straight, white teeth. Her skin was smooth and tanned. Her appearance was striking. The woman was positively breathtaking! Cal found himself unable to look away if he tried.
“Yes, I’m Cal Reeves,” he answered, shifting the baby in his arms. “I’m here because I’m in need of hiring someone for a few days or so to help me take care of my baby.”
“Your baby?” she asked with a raised brow, perusing first the baby and then him.
“Yes,” he told her. “My sister died recently and named me as the baby’s guardian in her will. I’m taking the kid back to Texas, but I need some assistance on the trip since all she does is cry.”
Little Magnolia screamed louder than he’d ever heard her do. Her fists balled up and her little body stiffened. Her face turned bright red. Cal’s body tensed as well. He was at the end of his rope. God, he needed a cigarette and a beer desperately right now.
“May I hold little Magnolia?” asked the beautiful woman, reaching out for the baby.
“Please do.” Cal felt relieved and thankful to let someone else try for a while to calm the kid.
He watched the woman turn the baby on her stomach in the crook of her arm and rock her back and forth. Little Magnolia belched loudly and sniffled once or twice before falling fast asleep almost instantly.
“My God, you’re a life saver! How did you do that?” he asked in shock and true admiration. “I’ve been up all night trying to get her to pipe down.”
“You need to tune in to the needs of the child or you’ll never be able to help her,” replied the woman. “The red face and balled-up fists along with the stiff body told me little Magnolia had gas. This football hold works wonders. You should try it next time since you know all about football.”
“I guess I should,” he said, figuring she thought every man had played football at one time or another in his life. The woman looked so natural rocking the baby in her arms. Something about her seemed familiar but he didn’t know why. It didn’t matter. She knew how to stop Magnolia from crying and that was good enough for him. Too tired to think straight, he needed some rest. He decided that this was the girl who could help him. She was the person he wanted to hire. With her at his side on the way back to Texas, he’d never have to worry about a crying baby again. Just the thought of the peace and quiet made him smile.
“I’m looking for someone to drive cross-country with me to take care of the baby,” he explained. “You’re great with the kid. How about you?”
Her eyes snapped up in surprise, then lowered as if she felt embarrasse
d. She continued rocking the baby in a motherly fashion. He could only imagine she had children of her own to be so good at what she did. That made him think. If she was married, he had no right asking her to go with him and no chance in hell that she’d accept.
“I’m sorry, I’m too tired to think straight and just realized how awful that must have sounded,” he apologized. “I just assumed . . . I thought you were single. I’m sorry for the mistake, and I understand why you can’t take the job.”
“I am single,” she said softly, looking at the baby. “However, I’m not the kind of girl to go off with just any man. Especially where Maggie is concerned.”
“Maggie?”
“Oh, that’s just what we call Magnolia here at the daycare. I hope you don’t mind.”
“No, not in the least,” he said, wondering why he hadn’t thought of calling the baby Maggie. He kind of liked it. “Please don’t get the wrong idea of me. This is strictly a platonic business deal, plus I intend to pay well for your services. After I get to Texas, I’ll be sure to pay your airfare back home, too. So what do you say? Interested in the job?”
She seemed to consider it for a moment, and then she raised her chin and looked him directly in the eyes.
“Strictly a platonic business deal?”
“Of course.”
“Tell me, how much money are you willing to pay for my services?”
“Just name the price.” To get the baby to stop crying was worth all the money in the world.
She thought for a moment and then answered. “A thousand dollars.”
“A – a thousand?” Right now, that amount seemed like all the money in the world to Cal since he’d recently bought his fully equipped rig that damned well cost more than a house. He had some money left, but it had to last him for a long time. He almost gagged at the notion of paying this stranger one thousand bucks just to watch the baby. Then again, any woman who could quiet the baby as fast as she could was well worth the price.
“All right,” he reluctantly agreed, not wanting to spend the money, but liking the sound of the blessed quiet more. He needed sleep and would do whatever he had to in order to get it. “I’ll pay you a thousand dollars.” He held out his hand to shake hers, but she just looked at it and then up to him.
“A day,” she added, batting those damned long lashes. He thought she was joking at first, but when she didn’t smile, he figured she was serious.
“A thousand dollars a day?” he spat, thinking this was starting to turn into a nightmare fast. “Do you realize it’s going to take at least two and a half days to get there, maybe three. Do you know how much money that is?”
“Yes, I do, Mr. Reeves. If you want me as a ride-along to tend to the baby, it isn’t going to be cheap. It’s going to cost you 2,500 to 3,000 dollars. Plus expenses.”
“Expenses?” he blurted out, hearing his voice raise an octave. “What the hell kind of expenses are you talking about? We’re just going for a simple ride in my truck.”
“Shhhh.” Her eyes swept the room and settled back on him. “Please refrain from cursing around the children.” She threw him a daggered look. “There will be many expenses, of course. The baby is going to need formula and diapers for instance. Plus, she is six months old now, so she’ll need baby food as well as ointment to help stop the pain of teething. Not to mention, I have needs, too.”
“Baby formula? Teething?” His mind raced, adding up the cost of everything she’d just mentioned, hearing that persistent cha-ching of a cash register in his head. “No, no. We don’t need all that. I just give her milk. Besides, I’ll rub a little whiskey on her teeth if they hurt. That might even help her sleep better.”
“Milk?” The woman’s head snapped up and she glared at him now, seeming very upset. Odd that she didn’t say a word about the whiskey. What was going on here?
“Yes, milk. That is what babies drink,” he told her.
“Not this one!” she snapped. “Maggie can’t have milk. She is lactose intolerant and needs a soy-based formula. Milk gives her horrible gas and makes her cry.”
“Now you tell me,” he muttered under his breath, feeling like slapping himself on the head. He’d never even considered this as the problem. Then again, why should he?
“And please, don’t even joke about putting alcohol into an infant’s mouth because it isn’t funny,” she said in a clipped tone.
Ok, so she did react to that remark after all. He figured it wasn’t the right time to tell her he was serious about using the whiskey on the baby’s gums. After all, that’s what his mother had used on him. Maybe they didn’t do that anymore.
“Do you have a proper car seat for a child of her size?” she asked him.
“Sure. I’ve got one of those carrier things in the truck.”
“An infant carrier?” Those blue eyes were drilling into him again and now her manicured brows dipped down at an odd angle. “No, you can’t use that. It won’t do. Maggie’s too big for that. It’s not safe. Besides, there are laws about these kind of things.”
“Laws?” He chuckled. “You’re kidding, right?”
“I’m most certainly not,” she said with a sniff.
He stopped laughing when he saw her face. It reminded him a lot of the way Aunt Cappy had scowled at him, too. God, why did he feel like a child being chastised ever since he got back to this godforsaken town?
He cleared his throat and looked down at the ground. “No, I don’t suppose you are kidding.”
“This is no joking matter, Mr. Reeves. You’re going to need to buy a car seat that is appropriate for a child of Maggie’s weight and age, and that is approved by the child safety laws.”
“Fine,” he said, blowing air from his mouth. “But what do you mean there will be expenses for you, too?”
“Well, I’ll need to eat, as well as a place to sleep,” she retorted.
“Oh, that.” He chuckled again, waving his hand through the air to dismiss the notion. Suddenly, Cal decided he didn’t want to tell her that they would all be mainly eating fast food as they traveled and sleeping in the truck along with his dog. For some reason, he didn’t think she was going to approve of any of this. He figured the less he said, the less it would end up costing him in the end. This was already getting way out of hand.
Cal held back a sigh in thought. He was over a barrel. He needed help and this woman had a magical way of making the baby quiet. No, he decided, he didn’t really have a choice. It was obvious that he needed her. Maybe he could just hire her and break the news to her about living in the truck after they were already on the road. Then it would be too late for her to back out.
“All right,” he grumbled. “You’ve got the job. Can you be ready to go by tomorrow morning?”
She seemed startled by that. It was almost as if she were expecting him to turn down her outrageous demands.
“Who said I wanted the job?” she asked, looking at him as if she were appalled that he’d even think she’d go with him. This woman was already proving to be a problem.
“Well, I assumed you were interested when you started giving me all your demands. Now, do you want the job or not?” he asked. “If not, send out one of the other girls, because my offer still stands. That young girl who met me at the door will be just fine.”
She didn’t seem to like that idea either. He wasn’t sure anything would please this woman.
“No. I’ll do it,” she said quickly, looking down and running a gentle hand over the baby’s head.
“All right then,” he said, feeling like his brain was about ready to explode. “It’s a deal. Thank you, Ms. – I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name.”
When she looked up at him, her blue eyes clouded over. He thought he saw what was a cross between despair and triumph, if that was even possible.
“I’ll be ready to go first thing in the morning,” she told him. “And the name is Ms. Twaggard.” She stared right through him now. “That’s, Tuesday Twaggard.”
�
��Twiggy?” he blurted out, his jaw dropping in disbelief. Could this possibly be the same skinny, shy girl he took to the prom on a dare all those years ago? No, it couldn’t be. That girl had mousey brown hair as well as boring brown eyes. Or at least he’d thought so. He wasn’t sure of anything anymore. Running a weary hand through his hair, he perused her. Twiggy used to wear thick glasses and had braces on her teeth. Not to mention, she didn’t have all these sexy curves. Or at least she didn’t back in high school. He found himself stunned, and though it didn’t happen often – embarrassed.
“No one calls me Twiggy. Not anymore,” she told him bluntly. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a job to do.” She handed the sleeping baby back to him, and he stood there, unable to move. He’d just hired the woman, but there was no way he could drive cross-country with Twiggy sitting next to him. Especially not now! Not when she looked like this. He couldn’t help thinking back on that one innocent kiss from an infatuated girl with passion in her soul. It had stirred his loins as well as his soul, scaring him out of his mind. Now that the girl was a raving beauty, it frightened him even more. Women like this are what tempted men to marry. And no one was going to change Cal’s mind about marriage. Not even Twiggy Twaggard, no matter how sexy she looked now or how much she knew about crying babies!
He watched her bend over to pick up a toy, his eyes fastening to her pear-shaped bottom in her tight-fitting jeans. She rounded up the children and sat them in a circle for story time. With two kids on her knees and the rest looking up to her as if she were a goddess, thoughts flitted wildly through his brain.
He couldn’t stop thinking about the Taylor brothers and their Aunt Cappy and how they all said he should get himself a wife. Twiggy would make a damned good mother to little Magnolia. With just one touch, she had stopped the baby from crying and she had put the child straight to sleep. Twiggy also seemed to like children. It was obvious that she was at ease around them. Plus, they seemed to adore her. The only question was, would he be at ease with her on this trip?
Trucker Daddy (Working Man Series Book 3) Page 4