“You’ll have to excuse me,” she told Scott. “I’ll just go see what the little darlings want.”
“I’ll go, too,” Beth said, running to catch up with her mother. In a moment, they were both gone.
Scott was all alone again. All alone, except for the toddler who sat at his feet and watched every move he made, completely absorbed. Scott stared down into the huge baby-blue eyes. Beanie stared back.
“Hi, kid,” Scott said at last.
Beanie stared.
“You need your diaper changed,” Scott noted reluctantly. “Don’t you?”
A beatific smile appeared on the chubby little face. “Aga doo,” he agreed, bouncing his arms.
Scott’s sigh was deep and heartfelt. He raised his eyes to the heavens.
“Why me?” he muttered. “Didn’t I do enough of this? Haven’t I served my time?”
Nobody answered and he rose, looking around for fresh diapers. There was a stack of white, fluffy ones on a side chair. He grabbed a cotton blanket from the floor and laid it out on the couch, then scooped Beanie up and gently put him down on his back on the blanket.
“Hold on, partner,” he murmured to the child. “This will only take a minute.”
He pulled out the pins and took Beanie by the feet, easily lifting him out of the diaper and using the cloth to clean the little bottom at the same time.
“Just like riding a bicycle,” he said caustically as he worked. “It’s a talent you never lose.”
Still holding Beanie up, he flicked in the clean diaper, using one hand to press in the folds. In no time, the child was changed and the dirty diaper was stowed away in the diaper pail in the hallway.
Scott found a bathroom and rinsed off his hands, and then he was back in the living room again, sitting on the couch, with Beanie at his feet, now watching him with even stronger adoration.
“Aga,” the tot murmured.
“Aga yourself,” Scott said back. “Why don’t you go find some nice dirt to play in?”
Beanie merely gurgled and took hold of Scott’s pant leg with his wet hand. Scott watched, his face squinting in distaste.
The crying upstairs had stopped and in a moment, Cathy reappeared. She took in the two of them and reached down to pull her baby up into her arms.
“Now to change you,” she began, but then she frowned and patted his bottom with a practiced touch.
“I thought ...” She held him out and looked at him, then shrugged, obviously deciding she’d been wrong. His diaper was clean and it looked expertly pinned. She must have been mistaken.
Scott sat watching, not saying a word. After all, two could play the teasing game.
Cathy looked at him suspiciously. There was something about that twinkle in his eyes ...
“Everything okay upstairs?” he asked, all innocence.
She sat down, Beanie in her lap. “Yes. Beth is singing to them.”
He nodded, watching her. “How many of ‘them’ are there, exactly?”
She stared at him. “You don’t know?” she asked at last.
He was confused. “Know what?”
Beth had appeared on the landing. Cathy looked up, then set Beanie on his little bowed legs and called, “Beth, would you please take Beanie with you? You two can watch TV in my bedroom; okay?”
Scott could tell she wanted to get the children out of the way so that they could talk frankly, so he waited with her while Beanie negotiated the stairs and disappeared from sight with Beth.
As soon as they were gone, Cathy rose from her chair and came over to sit beside him on the couch.
He smiled. Things were looking up.
She brought a scent with her, a mixture of orange blossoms and soap. It washed over him as she sat down, turning her head so that her hair whipped past his face. He almost reached out and touched it.
She was close now and looking at him conspiratorially, but all he could think of was how pink and full her lips were, how smooth and creamy her skin was. Her arms were bare like her legs. He wanted to touch her, make sure she was real. But when his gaze finally rose to meet hers, he had all the proof he needed.
The blue eyes chilled the air between them in a hurry. “Finished?” she snapped.
“Are you serious?” he responded without missing a beat, his dark eyes laughing at her. He put an arm across the back of the couch and she very deliberately turned to keep herself well away from it.
She sighed, looking at his handsome face. She couldn’t deny to herself that his scrutiny was exciting, that she had felt a seductive shiver as his gaze had lingered here and there. But she wasn’t about to admit it to him.
“I didn’t get rid of the children so that we could fool around,” she told him evenly. “If I’ve given you the wrong impression, I’m sorry. I didn’t want them to hear some of the things I’m going to ask you. And believe me, those things have nothing to do with your love life.”
“Darn,” he said faintly, but he waited for her to go on.
“How much,” she said, watching his reaction intently, “do you know about April Meadows?”
The name didn’t ring a bell. “Who?”
Her shoulders sagged. “You mean you don’t know her at all? She’s your neighbor. She lives in this house.” She frowned. “I can’t believe you didn’t know her. After all, you got to know me quickly enough.”
Scott was becoming more and more confused. “Wait a minute. Who is this April Meadows? There’s been a brunette living here for about a year.”
Cathy nodded. “That’s her.”
“But we never did more than nod and say hello.”
Cathy made a face of disbelief, putting Scott on the defensive.
“She wasn’t my type,” he protested.
Their eyes met and the question hung between them almost involuntarily.
Am I your type?
Scott grinned and answered it, though it had not been stated aloud.
“Absolutely,” he said.
Cathy flushed and tried to hold back the smile that was rising in her.
“We’re getting off the subject,” she said tartly, as much to hold herself in check as to hold him. “The fact is, this is April Meadows’s house, and those three babies upstairs are hers, too. I don’t really live here. But she’s gone. And I’m trying to find her.” She waited a moment to let that sink in.
“You mean those three little babies were abandoned by their mother?” Despite the way he felt about children, that shocked him.
Cathy hesitated. “Well, I’d hate to go that far just yet,” she said. “I’m sure there’s a logical explanation for her disappearance. If I could only figure out what it is. Now tell me everything you know about her.”
His mind search took all of three seconds. He shrugged. “Like I said, I don’t really know her. Maybe one of the other neighbors ...” .
Cathy shook her head. “I’ve asked all up and down the street. I can’t believe how people can live within breathing distance of one another and not know one thing about each other’s lives! It’s amazing. Everyone’s noticed her, but no one knows anything about her.”
Scott nodded slowly, but his mind was on other things she’d said earlier. “Could we backtrack a little? If you don’t live here, what exactly are you doing here? What is your connection to this woman?”
She took a deep breath and nodded, trying to calm the rising sense of panic that threatened to surface. “Okay. I’ve known April slightly for about six months, ever since the triplets were born. I had a temporary job at the hospital at the time and we got to know each other.”
“Triplets.” The word stuck in his throat. “Three little mirror images?”
Cathy nodded. “Almost. They’re beauties. I can’t believe you’ve never seen them, living right next door.”
He swallowed hard. The concept of triplets boggled his mind. “I’m gone a lot.”
“So I’ve heard. Anyway, I do babysitting to help make ends meet and April hires me now and then to watch h
er little ones. This time she was going out of town so she asked if I could stay with them all weekend. I arrived Friday night, waved goodbye to April, and haven’t seen or heard from her since.”
“It’s Wednesday.”
“I know. She was supposed to be back Sunday night.”
Cathy sighed. Just having him notice how long it had been made it the more real—and unreal at the same time.
“I have no idea where she is. She was very mysterious about it. She was going to call me Friday night to give me the number of where she was staying.” She shrugged. “No call. Nothing.”
“You don’t have her cell number?”
“I do. There’s no answer. And believe me, I’ve tried a dozen times.” She sighed. “Until I realized that the phone was here in the house. I found it in the back of her closet. She must have left it here on purpose. Strange, isn’t it?”
His dark gaze became thoughtful. “You think something happened to her?”
She hesitated. “I don’t know,” she said slowly. “That’s what I thought at first. I called hospitals in the area to check on accidents. But I don’t really know where she was headed, so that was pretty useless.’”
Scott shrugged. “There must be someone you can call. A grandmother. An employer.”
Cathy shook her head. “I’ve searched the house from top to bottom. There are no names, no addresses anywhere. As I said, I’ve gone up and down the street asking neighbors. No one knows a thing about this woman.”
“Where does she work?”
“You got me. She never told me.”
Scott leaned back and thought for a moment, then shrugged again. “I guess you’ll have to call the police,” he said.
Cathy took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I don’t want to do that,” she said, looking at Scott and wondering why she felt safe telling him things she was telling no one else.
“There’s something about April. I’ve always had the feeling she was… well…” She made a face. “Not doing anything illegal necessarily, but skating close to the edge. Do you know what I mean?”
He nodded slowly, searching her eyes. “But so what? That’s not your problem. And neither are her kids.”
She twisted her hands together, wondering how she was going to explain this to him. “I don’t quite feel that way. These little babies are so adorable. I can’t bear to think of them being tossed around by some government agency, put in God-knows-what kind of institutional environment. I can take better care of them than any agency can. Until April shows up again.”
He had to admire her commitment, even if it sounded foolhardy to him.
“I think you’re crazy. But if you’re willing to do it, stay.”
His gaze took in her frown and he thought to himself that her staying was the best thing that could happen for him.
“Okay,” she said haltingly, her eyes wide as she stared into his. “There’s one more thing that makes that a bit risky.”
Her eyes really knocked him out. He’d never seen such vivid blue before. He’d seen diamonds with less sparkle. A lock of silver-blond hair tumbled down over one eye and he wanted to brush it aside, to keep, it from obstructing his view of all that blue. A man could drown in those eyes, take a plunge into eternity.
What a way to go.
“What’s that?” he asked, trying to keep his mind on what she was saying, but feeling a bit breathless. “What’s the problem?”
“I’ve been getting these telephone calls. Some man keeps insisting I know where April is and he claims he’ll to show up in person if I don’t tell him where she can be found.”
It sounded like a spurned lover to Scott. But then, what did he know? He was having a hard time thinking logically at the moment. Cathy’s scent was going to his head like the rush of strong brandy. He moved closer to her on the couch, almost involuntarily drawn, as though she cast a spell on him that he couldn’t shake.
“Do you feel threatened by him?”
She made a face. “In a way. I’d feel a lot better if he would just fade into the woodwork and leave us alone.”
“I.,.. I could stay here with you,” he proposed. “Would that help?”
She made a move as though to get back the distance between them, but somehow she never quite finished it.
“Stay here?” she repeated, blankly. “What for?”
“l don’t know. Protection.” He leaned closer. The thought of protecting her was making him feel strong and manly. There was a vague sense of the ridiculous flitting in the back of his mind, trying to tell him he was sinking into absurdity here, but he ignored it.
Enjoying her was feeling so very good.
“Protection?” Her eyes widened.
“Sure,” he murmured. His arm left the back of the couch and his hand dropped to her shoulder. “I could stay here to make sure nothing happened to you. Or the kids.”
She blinked, as though she’d just noticed how really close he was. But she didn’t move away. Instead, her gaze dropped to his mouth.
This was it. He could feel it. She was just too delightful to resist.
This was going to be the kiss that stopped history in its tracks. She looked so good. He felt so tender. The moment was right, and he was going to put their relationship on a whole new footing. He moved in for the kill, sliding toward her across the couch, leaning forward, reaching with his hands, taking the plunge ...
And doing a spectacular face plant right in front of her. It wasn’t until his head hit the pillow that he really believed she’d escaped. Somehow she’d managed to wriggle away before he’d trapped her, leaving him grasping at empty air.
She was quick, he’d give her that. He straightened slowly, gazing reproachfully at where she stood above him, tapping her foot.
“Thank you for dropping by, Mr. Carrington,” she said, turning to stride for the door. “It’s getting late.”
“Is it?”
She flung open the door and stood back, hands on her hips, waiting for him to leave.
Scott came toward her slowly, not sure how they’d swung so quickly from possibilities to flat denial.
“I didn’t mean to scare you,” he began.
“Scare me!” Her eyes blazed. This man had another think coming if he thought she scared so easily.
“No, Mr. Carrington. You didn’t scare me. What you did was tempt me. Like that serpent in the Garden of Eden holding out the apple. And what I’m doing is turning it down.” She gestured for him to leave. “So nice to have met you. Thank you for the apricots.”
“Cathy...”
She smiled as she waved him out the door and closed it behind him. But the smile faded as soon as he was out of sight, and she sank against the cold, hard wood, staring into space.
How was it possible that a strange man could affect her like this? He was right. He had scared her a bit. It was irritating to think she had come close to losing perspective so easily. She would have to be more careful in the future.
Carelessness was what had always gotten her into trouble. She’d married Joey on the spur of the moment, swept off her feet by the handsome baseball player just on the verge of signing a major league contract. She’d had Beth and Barnaby, right away, so sure that Joey would love them the way she did, that it would cement their marriage with love and happiness.
Instead, it had torn them apart, especially when Beanie had come along, a surprise to them both. The children she’d thought of as symbols of their love had been burdens to Joey. As far as he was concerned, they just got in the way.
If she’d been more careful, she would have realized the truth. She’d learned her lesson. She was careful now. Every move was thought out. She would never take for granted again that someone she loved would look at the world the way she did.
She would never take love for granted, either. Love was supreme carelessness. It was just too dangerous to risk.
The annoying buzz of the telephone split the air. She opened her eyes and stared at it, dreading it, l
etting it ring. But then she began to make her way slowly toward it. After all, April could be at the other end of the line. She couldn’t take the risk of missing her.
CHAPTER THREE:
Super Beanie
Cathy took the receiver in her hand and hesitated before putting it to her ear. “Hello?’
A rasping sigh of exasperation was her answer. “It’s you again, isn’t it? Listen, lady, I’m sick of this stupid runaround game you want to play. Where’s April?”
He’d sounded from the first like some gangland hood.
Cathy had had about enough; she’d told him over and over that April was missing. What good did it do to just say the same things over and over if he never believed her?
Okay. This time it would be different. She put on a phony telephone operator voice and said shrilly. “To whom did you wish to speak, sir?”
“You know damn well who I want to talk to.”
“Sorry. There is no one here by that name. Please try again on some other occasion.”
With a flourish, she replaced the phone in its cradle. Staring at it, she willed it not to ring again. Hadn’t he learned by now that he wasn’t going to get anything out of her?
She jumped when the phone sounded, and then she sighed. This man was her albatross, it seemed. Resigned, she picked up the phone.
“Hello,” she said sadly.
His voice was strained and harsh. “Don’t play cute with me, lady. You know what I want. If I don’t get it, right now, I’m going to come over there and terrorize you a little.’”
That was exactly what she was most afraid of. Yelling at her over the phone was one thing. Coming over and yelling at her in front of her children was quite another. Her fingers curled more tightly around the plastic receiver.
“Listen. I wouldn’t play games with you if you would only listen to me. I don’t know where she is. And if you’d just stop making these phone calls, I would stop acting silly.”
“I’m not making these phone calls for my health, lady. I want April.”
Cathy closed her eyes and nodded. “So do I, mister. You don’t know how badly I want her back.”
“Don’t give me that. You know where she is. She wouldn’t go off and leave those three brats with you not knowing. It doesn’t stand to reason.”
The Baby Invasion (Destiny Bay-Baby Dreams) Page 3
