Unexpected Arrivals

by Stacy Eaton

  His eyes turned toward my voice, and I felt my heart melt a little bit. I leaned down and picked him up. “Did you miss daddy?” He cooed as his arms flailed around. “I got all your stuff. You’re all set now.”

  “What did she have for him?” Lexi asked as she came back into the room and sat down on the couch.

  “What didn’t she have is more the question. My truck was filled. I had no idea a baby needed all of that.”

  “Where are you going to put it in your apartment?” Alex asked, taking a seat beside Lexi.

  I got comfortable in one of the side chairs. “Well, I was going to ask what the name of your real estate agent was. I think it’s time to buy a house.”

  Lexi clapped. “Aw, our little Trevor is growing up.”

  Alex laughed at her. “Yeah, her name was Margo. She was really good. I’m sure she can find you something.”

  “Hey, that’s the first name I saw when I was glancing over listings today. I hope she can help because I’m not sure I can handle being in the apartment with all that stuff piled on one side.” I studied Devon for a moment. “Either of you know anything about nannies?”

  “Nannies?” Lexi echoed.

  “Yeah, I found a few local services, but I don’t know what I’m supposed to be looking for. I know I’ll need someone to help when I travel.”

  Lexi frowned. “You’re going to keep going overseas?”

  “Yeah, that’s my job.”

  “But what if something happens to you? What will happen to Devon?” Alex was the one to ask those questions.

  I stared at Devon, then looked at the two of them. “Would you take care of him if something happened to me? I mean, I know that’s asking a lot, but it’s not like I have anyone else to ask.”

  “What about Davina?” Lexi asked.

  “I’m not sure she would want that responsibility. I know she wants to be part of his life, but I’m not sure she’d want it that much.”

  Lexi and Alex looked at each other for a long moment, as if having a long silent conversation, then Alex took her hand before turning to me. “I think you should ask her, and if she says no, then you can bet that we would take him for you.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Davina

  I returned to Carol’s apartment and took a seat on the couch as the memories gathered around me again. For a moment, as the tears drifted down my cheeks, I wished that Trevor was still here. I knew that wasn’t a good idea. I had to deal with this grief on my own.

  He might feel bad for her loss, but he didn’t feel the emptiness that I did. I glanced over my shoulder to where all Devon’s things had accumulated, and the tears ran faster. I had lost Carol, and now Devon.

  I didn’t need to lose Devon, though. I could be part of his life. Trevor had said he wanted me to be that. I wiped at my cheeks, grabbing a tissue from the side table and blowing my nose. I needed to stop the pity party and get to work.

  I began going through her living room, sorting through things that I had no attachment to. Other things that held memories went into a different pile, and then there were a few things that I set in an entirely different pile. That collection of items I would pass along to Trevor for Devon. Most of them were pictures of his mother, a few of me, a couple of her favorite knickknacks, and a blanket that she loved to cover herself with.

  From time to time, tears would leak out; once in a while, a sob would steal my breath, but for the most part, I managed to at least sort through the room. I considered going into the bedroom and doing that, but as I stood outside the door, I knew I wasn’t quite ready for that yet.

  I grabbed my phone and keys and locked the apartment up. I’d made good headway today, and now I needed to find boxes so that I could pack the things up. There would be time. I had a week off, thanks to Trevor.

  Back in my apartment, I found some leftovers in the fridge and warmed up the chicken and rice before curling up on the couch with my laptop. I had quite a few work emails and went through them to see which ones needed my attention. A huge yawn racked through my body, and I glanced at my watch to see it was almost ten at night. Wow, how long had I been working in her apartment?

  I set my laptop down, put my dishes into the sink, and then collected my cellphone. I hadn’t looked at it all afternoon, and when I checked it, I found a text from Trevor. He didn’t say anything, but he had sent a picture of Devon over to me. He was sitting in a bouncy chair in front of the huge pile of stuff that had come from Carol’s.

  I laughed for the first time all afternoon and quickly typed a response. Thank you, I needed that.

  After getting ready for bed, I found I had a reply. I hope it made you smile.

  It did. I hope you both rest tonight.

  You, too.

  I stared at the message for a moment and then plugged my phone in to charge before crawling under the covers. Thoughts of the kisses I’d shared with Trevor were in the forefront of my mind as my eyes closed and I drifted off to sleep.

  For the first time in weeks, I slept all night long without waking up. I stretched like a cat waking from a nap and put a few pillows behind my head so that I could sit up, grabbing my phone.

  I had a message from my boss asking me to call him when I got a chance, and I also had two messages from Trevor. I laughed as I looked at them.

  The first one was around eleven-thirty. It was a picture of Devon lying in his arms drinking from his bottle. Unfortunately, my gaze was more interested in the bare chest Devon was resting on, and my girlie parts clenched. It really had been a long time.

  The second message came at three, and this one was of Trevor holding Devon on his bare chest again, no bottle around. By the background, I could tell Trevor had been lying on his couch, probably trying to calm Devon back to sleep after another feeding.

  I smiled as I stared at the picture and pushed on it to save it to my gallery. Was I saving it because it was of Devon or because it was a good picture of the sexy man holding his son?

  I typed a quick response. Nice way to wake up. I hope you got some sleep.

  I was making coffee when I got a text. What was nicer, seeing Devon or me?

  Um, seeing your bare chest was the real answer, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. I was happy to see Devon content and resting.

  Damn, and here I thought you might have enjoyed seeing me half-dressed.

  I rolled my eyes as I laughed and typed back, Friends don’t ogle other friends. I set my phone down and finished making coffee, then retrieved my laptop and set it on the dining room table. Once I had poured my coffee, I was walking to the table when I read his reply. I literally spit my mouthful of hot coffee all over.

  Okay, so next time you have Devon, you send me a picture of you holding him on your bare chest, and I’ll make sure not to ogle.

  I set the phone and my coffee down and went to get a towel to clean up the mess and wipe down my mouth, shirt, and phone screen as I snickered. I couldn’t believe he wrote that, and I thought for a moment about a reply.

  Finally, I came up with, You just made me spill coffee all over myself, and now I need to change my shirt. Too bad Devon’s not here.

  I hit send and then winced. Oh, my god! Did I really just send that to him? I sighed. I guess a good night’s sleep and my need for sex were making me flirtatiously giddy.

  I received two words back a few seconds later. Holy. Shit.

  I put my phone down and pulled up my email with a smile on my face. A moment later, my cellphone rang, and I saw Trevor’s name on the screen. My hand hovered over the phone; did I want to talk to him after that? Was he going to make a proposition?

  My curiosity got the better of me, and I answered, “Yes?”

  “Morning,” his voice was so damn husky and low, and my girlie parts clenched again as I closed my eyes.

  “Good morning,” I finally choked out. “What do you want?”

  He was quiet for a moment. “Lots of things, but really I was calling to tell you that he slept pretty
good.”

  “I’m glad to hear that.”

  “Yeah.” He chuckled, the sound like sweet honey coating my spine. “He slept good. Me, not so much.”

  “Why is that?” And why do I care? I held my breath, wondering if he was going to say that thoughts of me had kept him awake.

  “I guess I was so worried I’d sleep through him crying that I kept waking up wondering if it was time to feed him or change him, or was he even still breathing.”

  I found myself grinning. “Yeah, I did that a few nights too when he first got here. Then I got used to him and was able to sleep in between his feeding spells.”

  “So there is hope? I’ll be able to sleep more than an hour at a time?”

  I giggled. “Yes, it will get better.”

  “Whew,” he blew into the phone, “I’m glad to hear that.”

  “Everything alright, otherwise?”

  “Yeah, he’s good. He is sitting in his chair right now, bouncing. I just finished feeding him again. I feel like all I have done is feed him, clean his bottles, feed him again, and change him a dozen times, and his clothes, too.”

  “Yeah, I know the feeling.”

  “How did it go at Carol’s yesterday?”

  “Actually, after I had another breakdown, I managed to get through most of the living room. I have a few things that I’d like to pass along to Devon if you wouldn’t mind.”

  “Of course, I’d love for him to have some of her things. I’m sorry it was hard for you. I can’t imagine doing that for my best friend. I had to do it for a guy from my unit once, and that was hard, but we were only friends, not besties.”

  “It is hard, and I appreciate you understanding that.”

  “What are you doing today?”

  “I’m going to find some boxes and start packing it all up, and then maybe work on her kitchen. I don’t think I’m ready to do her bedroom yet.”

  “Do you want help?”

  “No, I appreciate that, but I need to do this alone.”

  “Alright, just say the word if you want a friend to help.”

  “Friend,” I repeated softly. “Yeah, I will.”

  He paused. “And just so you know, that comment you made on text wasn’t very friend-zone.”

  I barked out a laugh. “Sorry, I think I was still in the haze of a good night’s sleep. I was feeling a little daring.”

  “Baby, you can be daring anytime you want.” Devon cried out in the background. “Okay, I gotta go. You have a good day, Davina. I hope it’s a little easier for you today. I know it won’t be, but I’m thinking about you if that helps.”

  “It does, thank you, Trevor. Kiss that little boy for me.”

  “Can I have one too?”

  I blinked. “I don’t know; does Devon know how to kiss yet?”

  “Funny,” he joked. “Have a good day, Davina.”

  “Bye, Trevor.” I was smiling as I hung up the phone. Okay, so Carol had said he had a sense of humor, and I was starting to see it now. I guess she had been right when she said I would have approved of him.

  I sighed and put thoughts of Trevor out of my head as I did a little bit of work.

  And that’s how the next few days went. I got a good night's sleep each night, then woke up to multiple texts from Trevor about how many times Devon had woken up during the night. While I didn’t speak with him each morning on the phone, we would text back and forth during the day.

  I knew that Lucy was now watching Devon during the day, and I popped down on the first day to make sure everything was going well. Devon was sleeping peacefully, and Lucy went on and on about how handsome and nice Trevor was. Yeah, I already knew those things, and I sure didn’t need her help pointing them out.

  During the afternoon, I would work in Carol’s apartment. I had most of it done except her bedroom, and I was hesitant about going in there and doing it, but I only had two more days off and knew I needed to get it done by the end of the weekend. Saturday, I’d be tied up with the wedding, so between today, tomorrow, and Sunday, I would need to get it done.

  I stood at the door, taking a slow fortifying breath before I tried to take a step forward. I quickly spun around and walked away. I can’t do this room. I picked up my phone and typed a text to Trevor.

  Call me when you have a second. I need help.

  It wasn’t two minutes later when my phone rang. “What’s wrong? Are you alright?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Why do you sound worried?”

  “Because you told me to call you and that you needed help. I thought something was wrong.”

  “I’m okay, I’m just—” I paused, feeling stupid. “I just needed someone to tell me I could do it. I have to pack her bedroom. I haven’t been able to walk in there, much less pack it.”

  “Ah,” he replied softly. “I know it’s hard, Davina. I wish I could be there to help. If you want to wait until I get off, I can help you. I only have another hour here, and then I am going to get Devon. I can swing up to her apartment and at least get you through the door.”

  “You’d do that?”

  “Of course.” He hesitated. “That’s what friends do. They help each other.”

  “Thank you, Trevor. Maybe it will be easier if you are here when I go in. I think it might be.”

  “Great, then I can do that. Have you eaten? I could pick up lunch.”

  “I am hungry, but how about I make us a sandwich. I made a roast yesterday, so I can make roast beef sandwiches.”

  “I’m not going to turn that down. I’ll let you know when I’m leaving here.”

  “Thanks, Trevor. I really appreciate it.”

  “As I said, that’s what friends are for. See you in a little while. I have to get back to my class.”

  “Sorry for bothering you. I’ll see you later.” I hung up, feeling only a little stupid for texting him.

  I gathered my stuff and decided to go back to my place until I heard from him. I also wanted to change my clothes and maybe pull a brush through my untamed hair. It was only fair that I look presentable for the man. I mean, that’s what friends do for each other, right?

  Chapter Fifteen

  Trevor

  It had been a whirlwind of a week, and I was more exhausted than I had been after any six-month tour. Devon required around-the-clock attention, and I was doing my best to make sure that he had it. While still working, trying to find a suitable long-term solution for childcare, and starting the process of looking for a house. How did couples manage this? I was about to lose my mind doing it by myself.

  Lucy had been a godsend, but I knew that I couldn’t rely on her forever. I had interviewed three nanny services, and next week I would start the process of speaking with a few possibilities from the service I had ultimately selected.

  Even during all of that, my mind was constantly thinking about Davina. She was always there, always just on the verge of coming to the front of my thoughts. I’d never had a woman who had commanded so much of my mental attention before, and in a way, it bothered me. Maybe if she had wanted to be more than friends, it wouldn’t have irked me as much, but she didn’t.

  I’d been careful to keep our relationship on firm friend-zone territory, especially after her comment earlier in the week about changing her shirt and Devon not being there. Man, the woman had caused all kinds of perverse fantasies to fill my head that day, one of which included honey and nipples.

  Our conversations during the week had been kept to messages, and I enjoyed our mutual fun of sparring back and forth a few times a day. She constantly had me laughing about something, but when she told me to call her and that she needed help, I could think of nothing else but being there for her.

  That’s why I was now carrying a sleeping baby up to the third floor. I wasn’t going to be able to stay long, though. I had made arrangements to drop Devon off with Lexi, and I was going to spend the afternoon with a real estate agent looking at houses. But I would do what I could for Davina before I had to go.

&n
bsp; I knocked on the door, and a moment later, it opened. For a few seconds, the two of us stared at one another, and I had the instantaneous urge to pull her into my arms and kiss the hell out of her—but I didn’t.

  “Hey,” I said.

  “Hey,” she replied almost shyly as she stepped back to hold the door open. The second I was inside, she took Devon’s car seat from me. “Oh, my god! He grew!”

  “He did?” I said, staring down at Devon.

  “Yes, look how big he is now.”

  I chuckled. “It hasn’t even been a full week yet, Davina.”

  She mock glared at me. “Yes, I know that, but babies grow a lot at this age.”

  “I guess.”

  “I want to hold him so bad,” she said softly.

  “Yeah, well, he just fell asleep, so I wouldn’t bother him just yet.”

  “Fine,” she sighed. “I have our lunch ready.”

  I glanced at the pile of boxes and then scanned the room. She had moved the furniture around to make room for the growing pile. “You’ve done a lot.”

  “She had a lot,” she replied drolly.

  I took a seat at the table where she’d set out two sandwiches on paper plates and a bag of chips along with two cans of sparkling water.

  As we ate, we were mostly quiet, peeking at one another once in a while around small talk of the food and what I’d been doing at work. When we were done, I found Davina staring at Devon.

  “I didn’t realize I would miss him as much as I do.”

  I chuckled softly. “Yeah, I get it. I didn’t think I would miss him being at work, but I do. I come home every night and sit there staring at him.”

  “He’s a special little boy to have you as a father.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  She glanced at me and then looked away quickly. “I mean, he’s lucky that you care about him. A lot of men wouldn’t have wanted to take on the responsibility.”

  “Yeah, I guess.” We grew quiet, and I was tempted to reach over the table and touch her but held back. “So, should we get started?”