Sweet and Sassy Daddies

by Natalie Ann

“I don’t know. She wouldn’t leave her name or a number, but she said it was important to talk to you once you were back.”

  “Okay.” I laughed, thinking about the call I’d received on my cellphone for the last ten days. “Must not be too important if she hasn’t left a number for me to return her call.”

  “I’m sure she will call back today; I did tell her you’d be in the office sometime this morning.”

  “Let me know when she does.”

  Alice nodded and slipped back out the door, but not before she sent Gregory a nervous smile. We all glanced at Gregory, who was grinning at the door as it closed.

  “You tapping that?” Jake asked gruffly.

  “What?” Gregory said quickly and shook his head. “No!”

  “Yeah, well, make sure you don’t,” Jake muttered. “I can’t afford to lose Alice if you piss her off.”

  Everyone laughed, and then the conversation veered away from women and on to my trip, where I gave them all the details. I shared the things that worked, what didn’t, and what I thought we should add to our classes to help the future civilian contractors that were tasked with going overseas to rebuild the areas.

  The storm continued to vibrate the office building angrily, and once the lights flickered as if they were going to go out, but they stayed on. We were sequestered to the conference room for over two hours before Alice poked her head in again. “Trevor, you have a visitor.”

  “Tell them we are going to be a few more minutes,” Jake growled while I asked a question at the same time.

  “Who is it?”

  “I think it’s the same woman who had been calling you. She said her name was Davina Daniels.”

  I flipped through my mind and couldn’t ever recall meeting anyone by that name. I shrugged. “Okay, well, tell her it will be a few minutes.”

  “You got it.” Alice pulled the door closed.

  We were discussing the upcoming class that was starting next week, and I learned that Harvey and Gregory were going to be helping me, as Alex would be focused on finishing things out around the office before he went on his honeymoon, when a loud crack of thunder sounded, and we all tensed. Memories of bombs and heavy artillery going off flashed through my mind and I’m sure everyone else’s in the room. A sound outside the door grabbed our attention.

  “What the hell is that?” Jake growled.

  Alex peered over his shoulder toward the door. “Sounds like a baby.”

  “Who the hell would bring a baby in here, especially on a day like today?” Mike Johnson, one of our technical advisors, asked.

  Jake shook his head as the baby’s cries continued. “Okay, let’s take a break, find out what’s going on, and then we can get back together this afternoon or tomorrow morning to finish.” He glanced at his watch. “Shit, I have to head out to a meeting now anyway.”

  We gathered our papers, and Alex opened the door; the shrill sound of the baby invaded our space and made me wince. We all filed out, and I was the last one to exit. When I did, I found several of the guys standing in the front welcome area staring down at something. The sounds of the baby crying were replaced with cooing noises from Alex and, I think, Harvey as they talked to the infant. I rolled my eyes as I tried to get past them.

  “Trevor!” Alice shouted my name, and I turned back. “This is Davina; she said she needs to speak with you.”

  I let my gaze slide from Alice past my co-workers to land on a little pixy of a woman with a mop of wildly frizzy brown hair thrown haphazardly up on top of her head and a baby in her arms. I studied her and again had no idea who this woman was or why she would want to speak with me.

  The baby had stopped crying as she bounced it in her arms, looking at me nervously. Alex chuckled as he stepped back from the child and glanced my way, a weird smile on his lips that I completely ignored. What the fuck was he grinning about?

  “I’m Trevor Vaughn, what can I do for you, ma’am?”

  The woman swallowed nervously, glanced at the three men standing next to her, and then opened her mouth to speak, but closed it quickly. She glanced at the men again.

  “Hey, guys, can you give us some space here, please?” I asked them and then thought maybe it might be better to take her someplace private. “On second thought, why don’t we go into the conference room?”

  The wall of men parted as she nodded and looked instantly relieved. With one hand on the stroller in front of her and the other arm wrapped around the infant, she started to push the stroller toward the door we had just come out of. There was an umbrella hanging off the arm of the stroller, leaving a trail of droplets in its wake. The stroller suddenly slammed into the doorframe and the woman jumped slightly.

  “Here, let me get that,” I told her, and she peered at me nervously before nodding and stepping around it into the room. I directed the stroller into the conference room, put it against the wall, and then closed the door.

  A wild flash of lightning lit the room, and then thunder immediately followed it loudly. Damn, that was close. I glanced back at the woman to see her staring at the window, her eyes wide.

  “You said your name was Davina Daniels? I’m sorry, but do I know you?”

  She shook her head quickly as she gave me her attention. “No, we’ve never met, but I’ve been trying to get in touch with you for over a week.”

  I was instantly thankful that we hadn’t met because as I stared into her large whiskey-colored eyes and flushed face, I found myself rather intrigued. If I had somehow met her previously and then forgotten about her, I might have been very frustrated with myself. She was about a foot shorter than me, and as she bounced the baby in her arms, she looked overly frazzled, something that normally didn’t catch my eye. In fact, I preferred women who were more put together, professional even. She was far from a fashion plate in her torn jeans, sneakers, oversized sweater, and messy hair. My eyes strayed to her left hand and found no ring around her finger.

  “Okay, well, you have me here now. What can I do for you, Ms. Daniels?”

  She worried her lower lip for a moment. “Do you remember Carol Cassata?”

  The name sounded familiar, and then a face came to mind as I smiled. “Yeah, of course, I remember Carol.”

  “You were seeing her for a little while.”

  “Well, I’m not sure I’d say we saw each other. We were together for a long weekend once.” That tended to be my normal dating style. Meet a woman, go on a couple of dates, spend a weekend with them, and then move along before they got too attached.

  “Yeah, that’s right. Then you disappeared after that weekend.”

  I cocked my head. “I’m not sure what you are here for, Ms. Daniels. I haven’t seen or spoken to Carol in about a year.”

  “Nine months to be exact—more or less a couple of days,” she murmured, and thunder rumbled again lowly.

  Nine months. The time frame bounced around in my skull, and my gaze dropped to the baby in her arms. No. Fucking. Way. Unconsciously, I took a step back as if someone had just told me they’d found an IED in the center of the room.

  She shifted the baby in her arms and held him out. “This is Devon, your son.”

  Nope. There was no way. I shook my head. “I think you have me confused with someone else.”

  “Oh, no. I don’t.” Her hair whipped wildly around her head as she shook it, and some of her frizzy hair fell from her clip.

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

  She began to blink rapidly as she curled the baby back to her chest again. Her gaze slipped around the room and then landed on mine. In them, I saw pain and sadness.

  “Carol died giving birth to Devon.”

  “What?”

  “Carol had a bad heart, and her doctors didn’t even want her to have the baby, but she was determined. Unfortunately, she didn’t live through the delivery.”

  My gaze dropped back to the child; his little hand had come out from beneath the blanket and was flailing to the
side as if trying to reach for something.

  Davina took a few steps toward me. “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.”

  She held the baby out to me, and for the first time, I stared down into his little face. Was it possible? Could this little boy be mine?

  “I don’t know what to do with a baby,” I said hoarsely.

  “Just hold him,” she said, pushing him closer to me.

  With shaking hands, I reached for the child, and she set the little bundle into my hands. He weighed next to nothing as I took him. I held him, not sure what to do next, and stared into his face. The little guy opened his eyes, staring right up at me, and my heart clenched for the first time in my life as more thunder rumbled around us.

  Chapter 2 – Davina

  I was a nervous wreck as I pushed the stroller through the torrents of rain into the office. What a day to be doing this. The storm was unleashing buckets of rain, and the thunder and lightning were on the seriously scary side.

  A woman much more put together than myself sat behind the desk in the entrance and smiled at me before her gaze dropped to the stroller I was pushing, and one neatly manicured brow rose slightly.

  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 approach
ed 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.