Unexpected Arrivals

by Stacy Eaton

  I had no idea how Trevor Vaughn was going to take this, but I was pretty sure it wasn’t going to be with open arms and a wide engaging smile. When Carol had first found out she was pregnant, I told her she needed to get in touch with him. Especially after she found out that she had an underlying heart condition that was going to prove difficult with a pregnancy. She had refused, saying that this time was for her and the baby alone. I disagreed, but I’d kept my mouth shut.

  Maybe Carol had known that she’d never make it through delivery and that her nine months of carrying her child would be all she would ever have. Personally, I thought it was extremely selfish of her. Not only to have a baby knowing it could kill her but not to tell the father that he was going to have a child that he alone would be responsible for after she was gone.

  When Carol had told me a little about him, I’d considered searching for him on my own, but she had kept his identity under lock and key until she was in delivery. Anytime she had spoken of him, she called him by the single letter of T.

  “Can I help you?” the woman asked as I paused beside the desk.

  “Yes, I need to speak with Mr. Vaughn, please.” The building rumbled as thunder vibrated around us. Could she hear my voice shaking, or did the thunder mask it enough? I was usually so professional, and nothing could shake me, but this did.

  “And does he know what this is about?” she asked, and I unconsciously glanced at the stroller, shaking my head. “Well, Mr. Vaughn is in a meeting right now, but let me tell him you’re here. You are?”

  “Thank you. My name is Davina Daniels.” I pulled the stroller to the side and took a seat in the lone chair near the door. So far, Devon had been somewhat content, but I knew he would need to be changed and fed soon as he’d been sleeping for over two hours already.

  I stared at the little boy, seeing his mother’s face and blinking back the instant tears. I missed Carol so much already. She had been my best friend since high school, and we had done everything together in the last sixteen years. I held back a sob as my mind drifted back to right before Devon was born.

  Carol lay exhausted; her hair clung to the sides of her face; beads of sweat rolled down her cheeks. Even in her exhaustion, she was still beautiful. She took my hand. “I’m not going to make it, Vina. I know it, you know it.”

  “Hush, you are going to make it. You have a baby to raise, Carol.” I clung to her hand, tears filling my eyes because deep inside, I did know the truth.

  She shook her head. “No, I’m not, and you need to accept it.”

  “Never,” I cried toward her. “I don’t want to lose you. I can’t lose my best friend.”

  “It’s going to be okay. I promise. Vina, I need you to do me a favor.”

  “What? Anything!”

  “Find T. Find Trevor Vaughn.”

  “Trevor Vaughn?”

  “Yes, that’s Devon’s father. Take Devon to him. Tell him I’m sorry.”

  I stood there, gaping at her. I finally had the name of the man that she had spent the weekend with. For nine months, she had spoken and looked back on that weekend with sighs and smiles, saying she had wonderful memories of her time with T. She told me that she had loved a lifetime in those few days with him. I doubted that, but I respected her positive thoughts enough not to say anything.

  “You want me to show up with Devon and say, hi, this is your son. Take him.”

  She chuckled and then winced as another contraction began. A few moments later, she looked at me seriously. “I wrote Trevor a letter. You’ll find it with Devon’s things. It will explain, or at least, I hope it explains to him why I didn’t reach out. I did try once, but when he wasn’t available to talk, I changed my mind. He’s a wonderful man, Davina. He will be a fantastic father to Devon.”

  Thunder snapped me back to reality. I sure hoped that he was a good father. After Carol died, I had done exactly what she had requested of me. I had found not only the note but information on Trevor, along with phone numbers and where he worked. Obviously, she had known more about him than she let on or that I had known about.

  I hadn’t expected it to take almost two weeks to get in touch with him, though, and in the interim, I’d been granted temporary guardianship over Devon for sixty days. It had been a rough couple of weeks, and I was exhausted. Between the constant care that a newborn required, dealing with my grief, my full-time job, and the classes that I was taking to get my master’s degree in IT, I was on thin ice with my sanity.

  The receptionist told me it would be a few minutes, and shortly after, Devon woke up when a huge crash from the lightning made us all jump, and he let out a cry that I’m sure everyone in the building heard. I hurriedly pulled him into my arms, standing to jostle him around a bit with hopes to calm him down. I winced as Devon let out another high-pitched wail and looked at the woman behind the desk apologetically.

  She smiled at me as if she completely understood and went back to her work. When Devon wouldn’t quiet down, I wondered if I should find a place to feed and change him, but just then, the door behind the receptionist opened and several large men strode out. One glared at me and then walked in the opposite direction. Several other men approached me, all smiling and reaching toward the baby.

  I studied each one carefully, but none of them looked like the picture that Carol had left me.

  “Aw, poor little guy, sounds like he’s hungry,” one of the men said in a sappy voice as he touched Devon’s face. Another man began to walk past our group, and the secretary called out to him. When she said his name, my gaze snapped toward his face, and I recognized him immediately from one of the photographs that had been on Carol’s phone.

  As he approached, he studied me curiously, his gaze dropping to Devon briefly. He was tall, but anyone over five foot six was tall to me since I was only five foot flat.

  I was glad that he realized that we should speak in private and thankful when he helped me get the stroller into the room. My hands were shaking so badly; I was afraid I would drop Devon. The intensity of the storm was also not helping matters. I was not a fan of storms. Carol had loved them, but not me.

  I hated doing this, hated surprising this man with a child he didn’t know about, and I also despised the fact that I was going to have to leave this sweet baby with a man that I didn’t know. But I had no right to Devon. Yes, he was my best friend’s child, and I did have temporary custody of him, but he wasn’t mine to keep. Not that I could take care of him myself right now anyway.

  I was glad that he at least remembered who Carol was, and it was as I mentioned how long ago their relationship was, that it began to dawn on him why I might be there. He nervously stared at Devon and backed away as if he was preparing to run. Well, that wasn’t happening, and I approached him, holding his son out to him. “This is Devon, your son.”

  He looked shocked as he shook his head, “I think you have me confused with someone else.”

  “Oh, no. I don’t.”

  “Look, if that baby is mine, why the hell isn’t Carol here?”

  Oh, how I wish Carol were here, then she could be introducing Devon to his father and asking him if he’d like to be part of his life. Instead, I was going to be forcing a child on a man that probably didn’t want to have anything to do with a kid. My heart ached for Devon and the loss of Carol.

  “Carol died giving birth to Devon.”

  “What?”

  I explained about Carol’s condition and what had happened. While I did, I watched him carefully. I could see why Carol had been taken with the man. He oozed confidence, vitality, and sexuality. From the top of his dark head to his boot-clad toes, he was incredible.

  Trevor stared at the baby again, and I stepped closer. “I know you’re surprised, Mr. Vaughn, and I get that this is a lot to have to deal with, but you need to take your son.”

  His voice was hoarse as he spoke. “I don’t know what to do with a baby.” “Just hold him,” I practically begged.

  Very slowly, Trevor took hold
of Devon and brought him closer to his chest. He stared down at him for a long moment, his brow furrowed, and I suddenly wanted to brush my hand over his forehead to ease that tension. I stepped back from them instead. Another loud rumble of thunder filled the room, and I shuffled back slightly farther.

  “I brought enough food to get you through a couple days, and diapers too.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. “This is a list of all the important information you need to know, along with his doctor and his schedule. I also packed some clothes, and when you have time, I can get the rest of his things to you. Carol accumulated quite a collection. I have them packed up, but I didn’t bring them today.”

  “Wait, what?” His gaze snapped up to mine. “You can’t leave him here with me.”

  “Why not? He’s your son,” I stated firmly.

  “How do I know that?” he snapped back.

  I put my hands on my hips and glared at him. “You were the only man Carol has been with in two years. It was three weeks after she last saw you that she found out about her pregnancy and then a week later, her heart condition.”

  “Why didn’t she reach out to me?”

  I sighed. “I think she tried once but changed her mind. Carol knew she probably wouldn’t live through it and wanted that time for herself and her baby.”

  “She knew she wouldn’t live, and yet she had the kid anyway? That was fucking stupid.”

  I pursed my lips as I glared at him. “How dare you say that. Carol gave you a precious gift, Mr. Vaughn! Not to mention she gave her own life so that she could give that to you. Obviously, she was wrong about it, and you didn’t deserve it!” Lightning cracked overhead, and the thunder instantly filled the room making me jump slightly.

  “I didn’t ask for it,” he growled back in tune with the thunder.

  “Yeah, well, then you should have been more careful, Mr. Vaughn.” I stepped around him and set the paper inside the stroller. “Everything that you should need is under there.”

  He grabbed my arm. “Wait, I’m serious. I can’t take care of a baby.”

  He looked close to panic, and I was pretty sure that was a new feeling for him. I doubted this man was afraid of much, but he looked scared shitless that I was going to walk out the door and leave him with Devon. “Yeah, well, neither can I.”

  “I don’t even know for sure that he’s mine.”

  “Take a paternity test then,” I hissed back and wiped my hands over my face. I knew I looked like hell after two weeks of taking care of a newborn, dealing with my grief and everything else in my life, and I just didn’t care.

  “Are you seriously just going to drop him in my arms and walk away?”

  I turned to face him and collect my umbrella from the back of the stroller. “Mr. Vaughn, I’m sorry for doing this. I really am, but Devon is your son. I honestly cannot take care of him; I wish I could. If I were in a better time in my life, maybe I could have, but if you don’t want him, you can always put him up for adoption.” The words were like a knife in my chest. I could not imagine someone else raising my best friend’s child, but then again, I didn’t know Trevor Vaughn either, and I was going to leave Devon with him.

  He stared at me like I was nuts, and I shook my head. “All I know is that Carol wanted me to get him to you. I’m sorry about that. There is a note from her in the baby’s bag. Maybe it will explain more to you about why she did what she did.” I stepped forward, touching Devon’s soft cheek with my fingers before I placed a kiss on his forehead.

  I stepped back, staring into the confused beautiful blue eyes of the man in front of me. “I have to go. Good luck, Mr. Vaughn.” I let my gaze drop to Devon and wanted to snatch him back from the strong arms holding him but knew this was the best. “Take care of him, please.”

  I turned quickly and burst from the room, rushing to the door as my eyes filled with tears. I had grown to love the little guy so much, and as I swiped the tears away from my cheeks, I prayed that Trevor Vaughn would take good care of him.

  Chapter Three

  Trevor

  I stared at the door, and then the baby in my arms began to wiggle. His face scrunched up, and he started to wail. “Oh, hell, no!” I growled and ran toward the door.

  Alice and Alex were standing at the front desk, and both of them turned to me.

  “What’s going on?” Alex asked.

  I rushed to his side. “Take this.” I pushed the baby into his arms and then rushed out the door after Davina. She must be crazy to think I could take care of a kid.

  The elevator was going down, so I hit the stairs and practically jumped from landing to landing. When I arrived on the first floor, I looked at the elevator to see the doors were already closing again, and I spun around, catching sight of Davina’s small figure walking out the lobby door as she fiddled with her umbrella. I bolted after her.

  “Davina!” I yelled as I reached the other side. Her head was hidden under the black waterproof material, and she was walking faster than I had expected her little legs could carry her. “Davina!” I called again as the rain began to saturate me.

  She must have heard her name the second time because she twirled around. I slid to a stop in front of her, just out of reach of the poking umbrella tips. “You can’t just drop a kid off at my office and walk away. What the hell am I supposed to do with him?”

  “Raise him,” she hissed my way as she swiped at tears on her face. “He’s your son!”

  “I don’t know how to raise a kid. I travel to dangerous places, live in a one-bedroom apartment. I don’t know the first thing about raising a child.”

  “Yeah, well, I am sure there are plenty of books you can buy that will help you, or support groups or something.” She tossed a hand wildly in the air and spun away from me, rain racing off the umbrella and onto my face. I grabbed her arm and stopped her as I wiped the water away.

  “Are you serious? You think I should learn how to take care of a baby through a support group or books? What kind of a woman are you?”

  Her whiskey-colored eyes widened. “How dare you say that! The kind of woman I am has nothing to do with your obligations, Mr. Vaughn. I fulfilled my obligation! I promised Carol that I would bring Devon to you. I did that.”

  “But what am I supposed to do now?”

  “I don’t know! Do you think I knew what to do with a baby when I had to bring him home?” She shook her head. “I had no clue. I’ve never been a maternal person, and I don’t have any kids of my own, so I had to figure out how to take care of him all by myself. Maybe your current piece of ass can help you.”

  I jerked back. “That was uncalled for.”

  She closed her eyes, rubbing her hand over her face. She lifted her eyes to mine, and they looked sad and utterly exhausted. “I’m sorry. You’re right, that wasn’t very nice. I haven’t slept much the last two weeks that I’ve been taking care of him, and I work full time and take classes. It has been overwhelming for me.”

  I stared down at her as rain dripped from my face, and a flash of lightning crashed nearby. The thunderous noise that followed made my spine stiffen as her face paled. Suddenly I wanted to pull her into my arms and comfort her, but that was wrong on so many different levels. “I’m sure it has been,” I said softly. I glanced around the busy street. “I guess I should thank you for doing that.”

  “Doing what?” she asked as she tipped her head to the side, and an errant lock of kinky hair fell away from her smooth complexion.

  “Taking care of him, finding me.”

  “It’s what Carol wanted.”

  I nodded, not sure what else to say. “I’m sorry that I snapped at you, but I’m seriously at a loss right now, Davina. I have no idea what to do with a baby. I have no siblings, so I don’t have any nieces or nephews; none of my friends have small kids.”

  She sighed. “I know it’s going to be hard for you, Mr. Vaughn, but Devon needs to be with his father. If you really can’t take care of him, there is a number for
a good adoption agency on the list that I left in the stroller.”

  Yeah, maybe that is what I would have to do, but I didn’t say that to her.

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Vaughn, but I have to go. I have to get to work.”

  She turned and started to walk away again. “Davina!”

  She paused and glanced back, a brow raised.

  “Does he have a seat for the car? I mean, how did you get him here?”

  “Sorry, he does have a seat, but I don’t have it with me. I took the bus. My phone number is on the bottom of that paper I told you about. Call me when you figure things out, and I can meet with you to collect all the things that Carol has for him.”

  Without another word, she hustled away into the crowd of colorful faceless umbrellas, and I frowned. I turned slowly and went back inside numbly. Inside the elevator, I stared down at my soaked clothes; Jesus, what a fucking day. Inside the office, Alex was holding the baby in his arms, a bottle in his hands as Alice looked on.

  “You want to tell us what’s going on now?” he asked as he eyed my sopping wet clothing.

  I stared at the little person he was holding, then lifted my gaze to Alex. “Looks like I have a kid.”

  Alice chuckled. “Yeah, we figured that part out.”

  “What I’m wondering,” Alex began, “is how you had a kid with her and didn’t remember her.”

  “She’s not the mother,” I stated.

  “Where is the baby’s mother?” Alice asked with a frown after tossing me a roll of paper towels she had stored behind her desk. “Was she too afraid to face you?”

  “No, she died in childbirth,” I replied, wiping at my face.

  Alice gasped, and Alex shook his head, looking sadly down at the baby. “And now you, little man, are stuck with the likes of him.”

  “That’s not funny, Alex. I have no clue how to be a father.”

  Alex chuckled. “Welcome to adulthood, Trev.”

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  “It means no one knows how to be a father until they become one.” He laughed. “You’ll figure it out.”