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“Excuse me?”
She cringed. Had she said that out loud? “I said—” she stalled “—it’s nice to know you have a conscience about these things.”
His low laughter was rich. “Thank you, Quinn. I’ll try not to be too wounded by your astonishment.”
With clamped jaws, she gingerly lay Tina on the changing surface. “I’m sure you’ll heal, sir.” She busied herself unsnapping Tina’s pink romper, trying to look as though she knew what she was doing. Considering the fact that she was frightened to death, she was amazed and gratified to notice her fingers hardly shook.
Tina seemed so fragile. She didn’t want to break any tiny arms or legs or fingers or toes. As she meticulously worked her way toward diaper removal, Mr. Delacourte hovered at her elbow. Though he’d vowed not to touch, as she maneuvered, she brushed his belly and chest with her arm. He didn’t shift away. She supposed he felt he needed to get a good, close look so he wouldn’t miss a thing, and her elbow would just have to deal with grazing his body.
She wished she were across the room, or even better, in another state! “Uh, did you make such a close inspection when your other nanny did this?”
“I was busy with work. You’re my teacher, Quinn.”
This was a break. At least he wouldn’t be able to tell when she fouled up royally. She prayed she had enough innate intelligence and maternal instinct so she wouldn’t harm the child in her fumbling efforts.
She grasped the baby by one foot and lifted, but that didn’t work very well. Tina tipped funny. Still, with this lopsided glimpse, Lauren knew she had a mess on her hands. Trying to hide a grimace, she made a quick survey of the tabletop and spotted some Tot-Mops. She plucked one from its pop-up box. Swallowing hard, she began to clean Tina’s tainted little backside. She worked carefully and slowly, grimly determined. When she’d seen these little damp squares of tissue used on TV, it hadn’t taken seven of them to do the job! Luckily a covered wastebasket sat nearby. She could open it with her foot, so she quickly disposed of the yucky things.
“A diaper, please?” she said through gritted teeth. The last thing she wanted was a cloth diaper.
He held one out.
“Just—put it down.”
When he obliged, she closed her eyes and counted to ten. Let me be able to do this! She released Tina to squirm on the plastic surface and eyed the diaper with hostility. The dreaded thing was more oblong than square. That was a stupid shape for a diaper! A shawl, maybe.
She sucked in a breath, then blew it out. It was now or never! She made a snap decision and folded it, creating a triangle—more or less. Mainly less. Not happy with the weird shape, she made another fold. This time, it was no less weird, but smaller. It might work, though it looked like it had been in a head-on collision with a bigger, stronger triangle.
Holding onto her bravado, she raised both of Tina’s legs in one hand and scooted the diaper under her. Quickly she lifted the middle point up between Tina’s legs and folded the other points around her middle to meet the anchoring point. There was a fairly huge overlap. A pessimistic person might even say the thing was a complete failure. However, not having the luxury of pessimism, Lauren boldly retrieved the fasteners from the place she’d pinned them on her sleeve, and affixed the ends in place. Tina’s diaper looked like it had wings.
“That’s interesting,” Mr. Delacourte murmured. “I don’t remember seeing her in anything like that before.”
Lauren’s bluster was a painfully thin subterfuge, but she had no choice but to forge on. “It’s a new fold.”
“What’s it called, the Boeing 747?”
Her lips twitched with wayward humor, but she refused to allow him to see. Instead she concentrated on getting Tina into her plastic pants and romper. “Where shall I put the soiled diaper, sir?”
“There’s a pail in the bathroom, on your right.”
She peered in that direction and nodded, then presented him with his daughter. “Please hold her for a moment, while I dispose of it and wash my hands.”
His expression was priceless, though irritating. He seemed as startled by being offered his child as he might be if she’d asked him to hold her spleen. “Haven’t you ever held her?”
He frowned slightly. “Not—often. I’ve been busy.”
He’d been busy! All the time and money she’d spent these past six months trying to find Tina, longing to be near Tina, and he’d been busy! She imploded with rage and suffering so acute she could hardly contain herself. This man had housed, fed and clothed her precious niece for nearly half a year, but he had scarcely held her? Lauren redoubled her vow to get the child out of his indifferent clutches. The selfish playboy was merely warehousing her, not raising her!
Maintaining her poised masquerade was nearly impossible, but she struggled to appear professional. She handed the child to him as gently as her mood would allow. “I don’t understand why you want to learn to diaper her, when you—”
“As I said before, Miss Quinn,” he cut in, “it’s not your place to understand why I choose to do anything. Is that clear?”
“Crystal clear, sir,” she murmured, stiffly.
He was the master and she the servant. Period. If the great and powerful Dade Delacourte had an urge to learn to diaper Tina, the reason was not Lauren’s business. She had a sinking feeling that, whatever the reason, the urge would be fleeting—just like any culpability he might feel. Ultimately Tina would be relegated to the care of a series of nannies and nurses, while receiving a very unsavory moral education.
The innocent baby had to be rescued—and quickly.
Dade left the nanny and her charge to their privacy and went upstairs to unpack. Alone in his room, he berated himself for snapping at the woman. It wasn’t her fault he’d been saddled with a child his brother fathered. It wasn’t Quinn’s fault Dade felt like a damned failure.
Dade caught sight of himself in a wall mirror and his gut clenched. For a moment he stared at the grim facade, then lurched away. The vision held too much pain. Even his own reflection reminded him of his identical twin, and how badly Dade had unknowingly neglected him.
It didn’t seem like eleven years since he’d taken over his father’s small electronics firm, welcoming its challenges and opportunities. Unlike himself, Dade’s identical twin, Joel, never found his niche in the world. So Dade had sustained his brother’s wander-lust lifestyle, mopping up after him when he screwed up. In retrospect, all the paid fines and advances in allowances seemed more like a betrayal to his brother than real assistance.
So now, at his leisure, Dade was free to suffer great guilt. He spent his days and nights eaten up with regret for plunging all his efforts and passions into building the company, rather than taking more personal care to curb his brother’s heedless behavior.
His masculine retreat of weathered wood, earth tones and simple furnishings held no peace for him. The wide-plank flooring was so solidly built, it made no revealing sounds as he paced.
“I should have made you come home, take a job with the firm,” Dade muttered, jerking a hand through his hair. “I should have made you be responsible for your actions.”
How could he have let his only family slip so negligently through his fingers? And how quickly, ruthlessly, it was done. On a rainy country road, Joel barreled drunkenly off a cliff to meet a fiery end. Such a tragic waste.
“I’m sorry, Joel.” Dade dropped wearily into a leather armchair. “I’m so sorry.”
In an ironic twist, Dade didn’t actually lose his entire family that night. Though he wouldn’t know it until half a year later—when Joel’s daughter was born.
He pictured the baby, napping downstairs, and frowned. The last thing Dade wanted was the responsibility of another man’s child, yet he couldn’t abandon little Christina. Taking her in was one more “fix” of Joel’s lamentable life, a huge one—a last one—but ultimately, Dade’s burden to bear.
His brother was gone, and it was obvious the striking blonde, in the hospital photograph, had no interest in the child. He had heard nothing from her. No demands for money or position. Over the past few months it had become clear that the woman had wanted nothing but to be rid of the child. To that end, she had schemed and plotted, devising exactly how best to force Dade into accountability, since he was the man she thought to be the father of her child.
Though she was wrong about his paternity, she was not wrong about his obligation.
His grief for all that had been lost was as bitter as his fury at himself. He had forfeited his self-absorbed independence with the shocking arrival of his brother’s child. Yet, it was no one’s fault but his own.
“I failed you, brother,” he muttered. His knuckles whitened as he clutched the chair arms. “In the name of all that’s holy, I will not fail your daughter.”
CHAPTER THREE
LAUREN was out of her element when it came to taking care of an infant. Fortunately Braga, the cook, had received the baby’s food menu and schedule early, and the baby’s formula was ready when Tina woke from her nap. The menu included “solid” food, so when Braga asked which “solid food” did Nanny prefer, Lauren had a momentary panic attack, and blurted that she was of the school of thought that a baby should have only a bottle at midafternoon.
Braga, a rotund, bulldog of a woman in her mid-fifties, didn’t even blink at Lauren’s stiff-lipped pronouncement, and indifferently handed over the warmed bottle. With a tiny sigh, Lauren thanked providence for the small reprieve. Her Solid Food Ordeal would be put off until sometime tonight. Right now, her main problem was mastering The Bottle.
She decided to take her niece out onto the acres of redwood deck that surrounded the ocean side of the house. Not necessarily because the day was balmy, but because she thought she would have more privacy to make any blunders in feeding a baby.
The sun shone pleasantly, not overly warm, but Lauren decided a tiny person’s skin might be pretty sensitive, so she settled with Tina in a shaded, cushioned lounge chair. To Lauren’s surprise and pleasure, the chair rocked.
She managed to get Tina to take the bottle without much problem. Luckily Tina seemed to be a good eater. Relieved, Lauren breathed deeply of the ocean-scented air. How pleasant it was there, with a picture-book view and gentle breeze. The only sounds were the distant sough of the ocean, and the cry of gulls as they swooped and soared.
In such vast, idyllic privacy, Lauren decided to try out a lullaby. After all, she was a music appreciation teacher. She should know lullabies. She began to sing and rock as Tina contentedly took her bottle. After Lauren sang the only verse she knew of “Rock-a-bye Baby” twelve times, she began to get a little sick of it. Besides, who in her right mind would rock a baby in a treetop!
She began to hum one of her favorite compositions by Debussy. Lauren had never considered herself much of a singer, but she could carry a tune. She figured at just under six months of age Tina wouldn’t be too picky.
The baby appeared fascinated by Lauren’s face and the sound of her voice. Lauren grinned. Something about the sight of those big blue eyes, so wide and rapt, sparked a creative bent in her soul, and she started ad-libbing lyrics. “Oh—Oh, no—not a tree! We don’t want to be hauled up in a tree! We’re tired of falling—out of treeeeeeees.”
“I didn’t realize Clair de lune had words.”
Lauren jerked around to see Mr. Delacourte framed in the open door to the living room. He’d changed into blue shorts, deck shoes and a white polo shirt. He was marvelous looking, breathtakingly so, from a great pair of legs to his masterfully chiseled face. A smile lurked in dazzling smoky-gray eyes. Once again he was laughing at her.
She hid her embarrassment at being caught spouting such an inane song, and returned her gaze to Tina. She was surprised that he recognized Clair de lune. But since it was a sensual melody, she supposed he’d used it for a few seductions in his time. “I—I made up the words.”
“Really?” The smile spread to his voice. “Sounds like some of my college roommate’s stuff.”
“Thank you.” She had a feeling his remark wasn’t a wholehearted compliment, but she didn’t intend to let him know. “Your roommate was a musical genius, I gather.”
He grinned. “My roommate thought so.”
She peered his way, telling herself his dimpled smile had no effect on her. “Actually there’s a school of thought—that babies should hear the classics early and often.” She didn’t know if there was such a school, but if there wasn’t, there should be.
She stroked Tina’s downy hair as the baby sucked out the last of her formula. Lifting the empty bottle away, Lauren placed it on a small, glass-topped table beside her chair. “Tina’s encouraging expression got the better of me,” she added honestly. “I felt the urge to combat any negative suggestions that she allow herself to be—”
“Dropped from a tree?”
Lauren eyed him again, exasperated by his obvious mirth. “Well, if you ask me, it’s a stupid lullaby.”
“It always seemed stupid to me.” He moved to the railing and gazed out to sea. Lauren’s glance trailed over him. Being a pragmatic woman, she told herself Dade Delacourte looked exactly like any other man in his mid-thirties. Well, perhaps any other really good-looking man in his mid-thirties.
His dark hair fluttered in the breeze, shiny-clean and soft. It was only hair, she reminded herself. And he was only a man, like billions of others. Broader around the shoulders, squarer of jaw and appealingly tall, a wayward imp in her brain taunted. With to-diefor legs and drool-worthy dimples. Not to mention, he’s richer than practically any man in the country! She shook her head to squelch the disturbing imp.
Mr. Delacourte didn’t look like a heartless womanizer. Maybe that was the problem with heartless womanizers. They didn’t wear warning signs, and their claws didn’t show. All one actually saw was the pleasant manly trappings.
Much later than she should have, Lauren tugged her attention away from his broad back. It was a shame she couldn’t see his claws, even sadder that there were no outward signs of his negligent heart.
How unfair!
Lauren frowned as she lifted Tina to her shoulder and began to pat. She knew this was how one burped a baby. A person couldn’t make it into her mid-twenties without at least seeing a baby being burped. “Okay, Tina. Do it for Aun—” She cut herself off. How could she have started to say Auntie Lauren, with Dade Delacourte right there! Was she going noodley in the head? She coughed to cover her mistake. “…for Quinn.”
She patted and patted. After a minute, a very un-ladylike trumpet bellowed out of the infant. The deep belch took Lauren so by surprise, she burst out laughing.
Dade turned, looking puzzled. “What’s funny?”
Lauren pursed her lips and shook her head. No nanny worth her salt would laugh at a burp, no matter how much it sounded like an off-key toot of a French horn. “Nothing.” She swallowed a giggle, making sure her features registered businesslike reserve. “Her burp—is quite—musical.”
“Is that what you’d call it?” He flashed a grin and her pulse grew fitful. He shifted around to face her, and leaned against the rail. “Are you saying she has talent, Miss Quinn?”
“I’d give that burp an A-plus—for volume, anyway.” Lauren batted down an urge to smile at him, reminding herself why she was here and exactly who and what this man was. “Does she get her burping talent from you?”
His amusement vanished. For an instant his gaze rested on the child, his features vaguely troubled; then he turned away.
His reaction startled Lauren. “Uh, I didn’t mean to offend you.” Good grief, didn’t the man have a sense of humor? Apparently he could laugh at her, but woe be it to anybody who dared joke about him!
“Did you find everything satisfactory in your rooms, Quinn?” he asked, his voice low and controlled.
She absently patted Tina’s back, watching him. Evidently there were rules about nanniness she needed to commit to memory. Like, “Don’t kid with your employer.” Well, that was fine with her. The less casual chatting between them, the better. “The rooms are fine, sir.”
“Good.” He didn’t turn.
Beeeerrrrrtttthhhh!
Tina’s second showy belch made Lauren jump. She experienced another titter of laughter, but hid it under a manufactured coughing fit. She repositioned Tina into the crook of her arm, smiled at the baby and began to rock. “Where did you learn your manners, sweetie?” she whispered.
Something flitted into Lauren’s peripheral vision. Even before she registered what she saw, her adrenaline surged. She snapped her gaze up to fasten on the flitting thing. A wasp! Her sister, Millie, was terribly allergic to wasp stings, and at four-years-old had almost died from a sting. What if Tina had inherited the same allergic reaction?
The wasp swooped too near the baby. Lauren bent forward to protect Tina with her body. “No!” She swatted at the insect. “Get out of here you devil!”
“Excuse me?”
Lauren didn’t have the time to concern herself with Mr. Delacourte’s sensibilities. Let him think she’d called him a devil. It wasn’t as though the thought had never crossed her mind. She crouched over Tina, peeking around to see where the wasp was. She whacked at it, but missed again. “Get away!”
The winged pest dived out of her range of vision, but a second later she knew where it went from the stinging at her nape. “Ouch!”
“Damn!”
Lauren hardly had time to register the growled curse. She found herself relieved of the baby and tugged from the chair. A large hand gripped her upper arm. “Are you allergic, Quinn?”
“No—not particularly—it just stings.” Once she had her bearings, she realized Dade held the baby against his chest with one arm and hauled her with the other. “I’ll be okay,” she said. “Just make sure Tina’s safe.”
“That wasp won’t bother anybody now.”
Once inside, Dade led Lauren to the kitchen and coaxed her to sit at the breakfast table. “Take the baby.” He handed Tina back and strode toward a cabinet.
Lauren winced at the stinging in her neck, but regained enough of her wits to glance around. Besides Dade, the baby and her, the kitchen was empty. Yet the place was redolent with the rich scent of roasting beef. Tentatively she touched the smarting bump, and winced. “Where’s the cook?” she asked.
“Shopping for tomorrow’s meals.” Dade retrieved a box of baking soda from a cabinet and poured some into a cup, then added a little water.
“What’s that?”
“It should take the sting out.”
She stared. “You know a remedy for wasp stings?” She wouldn’t have thought he was the type to know such homespun tidbits. She figured a man like Dade Delacourte would be more likely to know the gross national product of Uruguay rather than a balm for insect stings.
“I spent summers on my grandparents’ farm in Vermont.” He glanced her way, his brows knit. “When they died, they left the place to me. I moved the barn here and turned it into my house.” He dropped the spoon into the sink and returned to her.
“Really?” Lauren murmured. Sentiment? She supposed even womanizers could have fond memories of grandparents. But this sentimental side of him surprised her. If that’s what it was. Maybe his reasons were purely narcissistic or, just as likely, some kind of tax write-off. Who knew? “It’s—very nice,” she said, meaning it. No matter why he’d moved the barn all this way to create his rustic haven, it had turned out wonderfully.
“Thanks.” He scooped some of the white goo onto his fingertips. “Lean forward.”
With great reluctance, she did as he commanded. Though she wasn’t as allergic to wasp stings as Millie, they stung like crazy and made a good-size welt.
Earlier that afternoon, while Tina napped, Lauren had swept her hair up off her neck with a big clip. Now she regretted the action for two reasons. First, it had made it easier for a wasp to sting her neck, which brought on the second, and most troubling regret—Dade Delacourte’s fingers gently brushed sensitive skin as he smoothed warm paste on the wound.
