The Christmas Baby (2 page)

“Sorry, Will,” he murmured. “You’re stuck with me.” At least Brian had been left with his brothers. Poor Will only had him, a total stranger who might, or might not, be his father.

F
AITH
M
C
C
LAIN SQUINTED
, trying to decipher the scrawl on the paper in front of her.
Bolos
? Wasn’t that Spanish? No, she decided, the word was
books
. It was really unfortunate that one of the most prolific clients for the secretarial service her office provided had such lousy handwriting. And unfortunate that she had to be the one to transcribe it.

Along with secretarial help, the leasing office of the high-rise University Tower building in Corpus Christi, Texas, offered an answering service for its tenants. Thankfully, the lines weren’t usually very busy, but today the phones had been ringing nonstop.

Faith stifled a yawn as she reached for her coffee mug, forgetting it was empty. Her baby, Lily, had been fussy the night before and Faith was running on about four hours sleep. Maybe another cup of coffee would fix her up, she thought. No, that would just make her more wired.

The phone rang again and she picked it up. “University Tower. Faith McClain speaking. How may I help you?”

“Ms. McClain, this is Jane from Noah’s Ark Day Care. You need to come pick up Lily. She’s running a temperature of a hundred and two.”

Again
. Faith’s heart sank. She’d already taken a day off this week because her baby was sick. But she’d thought it was just a cold. Lily had seemed well enough to go back to day care. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

She hung up, sucked in a breath and squared her shoulders, prepared to face her boss, Stephanie Lawson. Stephanie wasn’t a bad boss, just a little impatient. And the pay was decent, even if she did have to commute to Corpus Christi from nearby Aransas City. It would be easier if she moved to Corpus, but she couldn’t afford it. She’d rather raise Lily in a smaller town, anyway.

No, the real problem was that Faith was a single mother and had no one else in the world to depend on. Stephanie had warned her earlier in the week that she wasn’t happy about all the time off Faith seemed to need. Lily had had a string of illnesses ever since she’d gone into day care. The center tried, but sick kids were a fact of life.

Faith tapped on the door and entered. Her boss looked up and smiled. “Can you show a client one of the vacant offices around one? I’m trying to get these bank deposits finished and don’t want to take the time.”

Her face must have given her away. “Not again. What is it now?” Stephanie asked, frowning.

“The day care called. I have to go pick up Lily.” She pushed her glasses back up her nose and waited for the reaction. She had a feeling it wouldn’t be good.

Stephanie tapped her pen, then went back to the checks spread over her desk. “We discussed this earlier this week. I’ve got far too much work to do today to have you going off the clock.”

The leasing office was busy, especially with the secretarial and answering services, so Stephanie’s complaint wasn’t entirely unjustified. “I’m sorry. I could take some work home with me and bring it back tomorrow.”

“No,
I’m
sorry.” She laid down her pen and looked at Faith. “I need you here, not at home. This isn’t working, Faith. I need someone I can depend on. Not someone who takes off every other day.”

“Lily’s day care won’t keep her if she’s running a fever. I don’t have a choice.” Her stomach hurt. She needed the job. If she was fired she wasn’t sure that unemployment would cover her rent. Not if she was going to buy food, too.

Stephanie pushed her chair away from the desk. “I don’t have a choice, either. I’m afraid I’m going to have to let you go.”

“You can’t give me another chance?” She hated to beg, but for Lily’s sake, she’d do it.

Stephanie shook her head. “I’ve given you a number of chances. Nothing’s going to change, Faith. Not when your child is ill so often.”

She knew her boss’s mind was made up. She’d seen this coming, after all. “All right. I’ll get my things.”

Stephanie followed her into the outer office. “You’ll receive severance pay and unemployment. You’ll be all right, I’m sure. I’ll give you a good reference. When you’re here you do your work very well.”

“Thank you.” Faith started gathering the few personal items she had there. The job hadn’t been her favorite, but it had been far from the worst. And it had paid the bills. “Do you need me to work until you find my replacement? After Lily can go back to day care, I mean.”

“No, I’ll get a temp.”

“All right. I’ll be in touch about that reference. And I’ll take Mr. Tyson’s work home and finish it. I’ll drop it by tomorrow.”

“Thanks, I appreciate that. Good luck, Faith.”

She’d need it. She picked up her things and walked out the door.

Forty-five minutes later, she sat in Dr. Jay Kincaid’s examining room with Lily. Luckily, his nurse had managed to squeeze them in, and the doctor walked in shortly after they arrived.

“What seems to be the problem?” Dr. Kincaid asked as he washed his hands. He had to speak loudly to be heard over Lily, who was crying as if her heart were broken. Faith smoothed her hair, wishing she could help.

“I think she has another ear infection. I kept her home earlier this week but I thought she just had a cold.”

“Hello, beautiful,” he said to the baby. “You get prettier every time I see you.” He began the examination and Lily quieted almost immediately, kicking her feet and waving her chubby hands.

Faith figured he said that to all his young patients, but with Lily’s blond curls and big blue eyes, Faith agreed she was a striking baby. Unfortunately, her own hair wasn’t nearly as pretty as her daughter’s, being more mousy dishwater than golden-blond. And it needed a cut so badly she probably looked like a poorly groomed poodle.

Unlike the man taking care of her child. Tall, blond and handsome, she knew a lot of women in town were disappointed that he was so devoted to his wife and family. “I wish I had your magic. Do they always quit crying for you?”

He chuckled. “No way. And my own son has a set of pipes you wouldn’t believe.”

Along with two older stepdaughters, Dr. Kincaid had a fourteen-month-old son. “How are your wife and kids?” Faith knew them slightly, since they went to the same church. She had only moved to Aransas City from Corpus Christi after Lily’s birth. Faith’s roommate had suddenly decided to get married and move out. She’d had to find a cheaper place to live quickly. Aransas City was close by and the housing was cheaper.

“They’re good. Thanks for asking.” He looked in Lily’s throat, listened to her chest and checked her ears.

“She’s only six months old. Is it normal for her to be sick so much?” Faith couldn’t remember how many times they’d been in Dr. Kincaid’s office in the past few months.

“One of the hazards of day care,” the doctor said, putting down his otoscope. “Your diagnosis was right. Lily has an ear infection. I’ll give you a prescription for an antibiotic. Don’t let her go back to day care until she’s been fever free for a full day. Will that be a problem?” He pulled a prescription pad out of his pocket and began to write.

Dr. Kincaid knew all about her situation. “Not anymore. I lost my job today.”

He tore the sheet off the pad and handed it to her. “I’m sorry, Faith.”

“Me, too.” She sighed, determined to think positively. “I need another job. Have you heard about anything around here? If I didn’t have to commute, it would be great.”

“No, but I’ll let you know if I do.” He washed his hands and added, “The holidays will be here before too long. Maybe there will be some seasonal work over Christmas. Although a lot of that will be in Corpus.”

She nodded. “I’ll look into that if I don’t find something here.” Not that she held much hope, but at least she could try. “Thanks for everything, Dr. Kincaid.”

“Y
OU DON
’
T KNOW
of any job openings around here, do you?” Jay asked his wife, Gail, when he arrived home. He stopped and sniffed as he tossed his keys on the kitchen counter. An unidentifiable smell filled the air. Not exactly a bad odor but not good, either.

“No. Why?” Gail pulled a casserole out of the oven and wrinkled her nose. “I think I forgot one of the ingredients. It’s supposed to be fluffy.” She turned to her husband. “Does this look fluffy to you?”

It was as flat as a tortilla but he didn’t say that. He laughed. “I didn’t marry you for your cooking abilities.” He turned her around and took her in his arms. “But your kissing abilities are phenomenal.”

Gail returned his kiss before looking up at him and arching a brow. “Flatterer. But I’m better at cooking than I used to be.”

Jay didn’t answer, just kissed her again.

“Oh, Jason must have heard you come in,” Gail said as the voice chanting
Daddy
interrupted them from the other room. “Will you go get him? He’s in his playpen in the den.”

“Absolutely.” When he returned holding their son, he told her, “Faith McClain needs work. Her baby is sick again and she lost her job. She was a secretary in a leasing office in Corpus Christi.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. I know what it’s like to be a single mom, but at least I had my family. I don’t think she has a soul who can help her. She just can’t catch a break, can she?”

“Apparently not. I’ll ask around and see if anyone knows of any openings. I don’t think she’s picky.”

“My real estate office might have something. It won’t hurt to ask.”

The phone rang and Jay picked up. “Hello.”

“You’ve got to help me. I swear, Jay, I don’t have a clue how to do this.”

“Brian?” Jay didn’t think he’d ever heard his brother sound so frantic. “What’s going on? I can hardly hear you.”

“He won’t stop crying. I’ve tried everything. At least, everything I could think of. He just keeps screaming.”

“Who? That sounds like a baby. Are you at one of your girlfriends’ houses?” Surely someone hadn’t left Brian alone with an infant. He was fine with older kids but knew nothing about babies.

“Don’t I wish. No, the baby you hear screaming bloody murder? He’s my son.”

“I
PUT
W
ILL
in the playpen you brought with you, but tomorrow I’ll see if we can borrow a crib. He’s down for the count,” Gail said, coming back into the living room. “The poor little guy is totally exhausted.” She looked at Brian as if expecting a comment.

“You’d be exhausted, too, if you’d screamed your head off for most of the last nine hours.” He’d never thought of himself as a nervous person, but every nerve he had was totally shot. He held out his hand, surprised it wasn’t shaking.

“It’s only a seven-hour drive from Dallas,” Jay said.

“Not when you’ve got a crying baby in the car and you have to stop every ten minutes to change him or feed him or whatever.” He mulled that over. Maybe the kid was sick. “Is it normal for a baby to cry so much? You should look him over again, Jay. I think he’s got something wrong with him.”

Gail laughed and took their son from Jay. “He’s teething, Brian. And he’s got diaper rash. Jason would be crying, too, in that situation.” She glanced at her watch. “Speaking of Jason, I’m going to give him a bath before Mel and Roxy get home from dance class. Their father is dropping them off in about an hour.”

Brian rubbed his temples. Who knew diaper rash was such a big deal? “I put that white crap on him. It’s supposed to clear it up.”

His brother stared at him. “How did you know that? As far as I know, you’ve never changed a diaper in your life. You sure as hell never changed one of Mark’s or my kids.”

Brian lifted a shoulder. “I read about it on the Internet.”

“That’s kind of scary,” Jay said chuckling. “Everything I needed to know about child care I learned on the Internet.”

“You wouldn’t think it was so damn funny if you were an instant dad,” Brian said sourly. “I think I’ve aged ten years in the last three days.”

“I’m not laughing. Much. But seriously, how sure are you that you’re the father? I mean, you said she never even mentioned being pregnant to you.”

“I’m sure. I’ve got the paternity test results to prove it. Besides, he looks like me.”

“Yeah, he does. Except you had blond hair as a kid and his is dark like yours is now.”

“Whatever, other than hair color, he’s a carbon copy of me as a kid.”

“So, what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know.” He took a sip of beer. He’d hardly had a chance to think since he’d found out about Will. These past few days he’d felt as if he’d been struggling not to drown. Not conducive to big decision making. “My job…it’s the perfect job for a single guy. But for a father? How am I supposed to take care of a kid when they send me to China? Or London? Or Argentina?”

“Good point.” Jay was silent for a moment. “I thought you were back in the States for good?”

“Yeah, so did I but my boss changed his mind. He keeps saying it’s just one more assignment, but I’m not counting on that.”

“You could quit the job. Start your own business. You’ve said before you’d considered doing that.”

Yeah, he’d thought about starting a computer troubleshooting and consulting business, but he’d wanted to do it in his own time, not be forced into it.

“Or you could give Will up for adoption,” Jay continued.

Brian stared at him. “What part of ‘this is my kid’ did you not understand? I’m not giving him away to strangers.”

“Technically, you’re a stranger, too.”

Through no fault of his own. And that grated. “I’m his father. He’s my responsibility.”

“I figured you’d say that, but I thought I’d ask.”

“He’s already lost his mother.” Brian shut his eyes, trying not to remember the haunting cries of “Mama” that he’d been hearing since he picked Will up from Kara Long’s. “I’m not giving him away and I’m sure as hell not dumping him in the system.”

“Okay, okay,” Jay said. “I just said it’s an option.”

“Not for me. What am I going to do?” He got up and paced. “I don’t know how to take care of a kid. It’s a miracle he survived the past few days.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. You did okay. Babies are difficult. Especially when you’re new at it. If it weren’t for Gail, I wouldn’t have had a clue what to do with Jason.”

Brian shook his head. He’d never felt so incompetent in his life and he sure as hell didn’t like it. Give him a computer any day. They might be frustrating at times, but he knew what to do with one. Besides, worst came to worst, you could always reformat the sucker’s hard drive and start over. You couldn’t do that with a baby.

“If you’re worried about finances, I can help you out. It’s going to take time to get your business off the ground—if you decide to start your own, that is.”

Brian smiled at his brother. “Thanks, but money’s one thing I don’t have to worry about. I’ve had a great-paying job since I got out of school and no one but myself to spend the money on.”

Gail came back in with Jason and handed him to Jay. “He wants to kiss Daddy good-night.”

Brian watched the three of them. They looked so calm. So happy. So together. They were a family, along with Gail’s daughters, Roxy and Mel. You sure couldn’t say that for him and Will. But he needed to think of practicalities. “I can’t take care of him alone. I’ve got to have help, and a place to live. We obviously can’t stay here forever.” Mel had given up her bedroom for Brian and Will, which was fine for a few nights, but not long-term.

“You’re not going back to Dallas? What about your job?” Gail asked him.

“I’ll have to go back to arrange to move both Will’s stuff and mine, but no, I don’t think I’ll stay there. Most of the family is here. Even Mom and Walt aren’t in Dallas much anymore,” he said. His mother and her second husband traveled often these days. “If I’m going to start my own business, it might as well be down here.”

It wouldn’t be all bad. He’d get to spend time with his brothers and their sister, who’d found them recently after a twentysomething-year absence. Miranda, or Ava as she now called herself, had married Mark’s next-door neighbor and was living in Aransas City, too.

He’d never imagined settling in a small town, though. Why would he when he’d lived all his life in Dallas and a series of exotic locations? But he hadn’t had a child to consider then.

“I think moving here’s a great idea,” Gail said. “And I can help you out with finding a place to live. A family in our neighborhood was recently transferred and had to move unexpectedly. The house just went on the market. If you like it and want to buy it, I’m sure they’d be open to you renting it until you could set the closing date.”

He rubbed his neck and scowled. “What’s the catch? Is it ugly? Or needs a lot of work?”

Gail laughed. “No, it’s a perfectly nice house. And big. I guess you’re just lucky.”

He didn’t feel so lucky. But he knew better than to say that aloud. “Thanks. Can you get me in to see it?”

“First thing tomorrow,” she promised. “As for Will, you don’t just need help, Brian. You need a nanny.”

“A nanny?” He stopped when he noticed that Jay and Gail were looking at each other as if they’d just discovered fire. “You mean, someone to live with us? Why can’t I just put him in day care?”

“Because you don’t know jack about taking care of a kid,” his brother said with brutal honesty. “Child care isn’t the only thing to worry about, either. You’ve got to make a home for him, Brian. And you’ll probably have to work some irregular hours if you’re starting a new business. Having a nanny just makes sense.”

True on all counts. “So now I have to interview potential nannies? Great. How the hell am I supposed to do that? I don’t know anything about hiring a nanny.”

“Don’t worry about that. We know just the person to help you out.”

“Faith McClain,” Gail said, turning to him enthusiastically. “Oh, Brian, she’ll be perfect. Tell Brian about her and I’ll be right back,” she said to Jay and left to put the baby to bed.

“So who is this ‘perfect’ nanny?”

“One of my patients. She’s a single mother who just lost her job. I think she’ll jump at the chance. It would mean she wouldn’t have to put Lily in day care anymore.”

“A single mother? With a baby?” Another baby? He wasn’t used to
one
yet. Not good. Not good at all.

“Yeah. She has a six-month-old little girl.”

Brian sat down. It was that or fall down. He stared at Jay incredulously. “You want me to live with a woman I’ve never met before, my ten-month-old son I met for the first time just three days ago and a six-month-old baby? Are you out of your ever-lovin’ mind?”

T
WO DAYS LATER
, Brian knew he was the one who’d lost his mind. Jay, Gail and all their kids had given him the run of the house so he could interview in peace, but he had a cowardly urge to call Gail and beg her to handle the whole thing. He resisted, in part because he knew Gail wouldn’t do it. Though she had helped him with Will, she had also made it clear that Brian needed to learn how to take care of his son by himself. Which meant that he, not his sister-in-law, would be the one to hire the new nanny.

Faith McClain showed up on time with baby in tow. She perched on the couch, a cloth over her shoulder and her baby positioned over it. Apparently Faith hadn’t been wearing the cloth earlier, Brian noticed, because there was a big stain of something yellow—he didn’t want to know what—on her other shoulder.

He’d taken her in to see Will right away. As far as he could tell, Will liked her, but then the kid seemed to like all women. Just like his dad, Brian thought, hiding a smile. Faith carried both babies into the other room while he carried the playpen. If they let Will explore like he wanted to they’d never get finished with the interview. Will wasn’t walking yet, but crawling sure got him everywhere he wanted to go. And into everything he wanted to get into, Brian had already discovered. Gail had told him not to worry. The house was “baby proof,” whatever that meant.

As for Will’s prospective nanny, Brian didn’t know what he’d expected but it hadn’t been this mousy little blonde whose big brown eyes looked at him as if he were a hunter and she a rabbit.

She placed Will in the playpen then turned to Brian. “Mr. Kincaid? Is there anything else you’d like to know? I can get you a reference from my last job. My other references are on the resume I brought with me.”

He remembered the paper in his hand, the list of questions his sister and sisters-in-law had helped him come up with. He glanced at it again, then tossed it down. “I don’t need references. You’ve got a great one from my brother and his wife. Jay and Gail think you’ll be perfect for the job.”

“But you’re not so sure,” she said shrewdly.

So, she was perceptive. He smiled. “No, I think you’ll be fine. It’s me I’m not sure about.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Look, Faith, if this is going to work, I think we need to be up-front with each other.”

She seemed startled but then nodded. “Is it a problem for you that I have a baby, too? I really do believe I can handle both of them. I wouldn’t have applied for the job if I didn’t. Will won’t be neglected, Mr. Kincaid, I can promise you that.”

“If I’d thought you’d neglect him you’d be gone by now. First thing is, call me Brian. It’s going to get on my nerves to have you calling me Mr. Kincaid all the time.” He took a deep breath and continued. “Until five days ago, I didn’t even know I had a son. Then his mother died, her lawyer called me, and bam! I’m an instant daddy. It rocked my world, to put it mildly.”

Her brown eyes widened. “She never told you?”

“Nope. Not a word.”

“Maybe she didn’t think you’d care.”

Brian stared at her, a little surprised by the comment. “If so, she was wrong.” He wouldn’t have ignored his responsibilities. But Adrianna had taken that choice out of his hands.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. But you did say you wanted us to be honest with each other. Not all men are anxious to…take responsibility.”

There was a story there, Brian sensed. “Whatever her reasons, I wasn’t told. Which is why you’ll notice I know nothing about babies. I’ve never been married, never lived with a woman. So it’s going to be a big adjustment for me to live with not only you but two babies, as well.”

“I can understand that.” She put her sleeping daughter down on the couch. “I’ve never lived with anyone, either. At least, not until I had Lily.”

“What about her father?” He gestured to the baby. “Is he going to have a problem with this arrangement?”

Faith grimaced. “Lily’s father? He took off the minute he heard I was pregnant. He’s definitely not in the picture.”

Tough break for her, but it was one less complication for him. Which was good since things were complicated enough already. Another thing that was good: Faith was clearly nothing like the women he dated. A sexy, gorgeous woman living with him, distracting him and making him wish she weren’t working for him, wouldn’t have been smart. Plain, sweet Faith McClain was just the person to take care of his son.

“So, Faith, do you want the job?” He offered his hand.

Slowly, she put her hand in his and shook it. She had a nice handshake. Firm, not limp like so many women’s.

“Yes, I do. I think we can make it work.”

“I’m sure we can,” he said, lying through his teeth.