Angel Baby

by Leslie Kelly

  Close to it. Melanie threw her arms around Claudia’s shoulder and squeezed tight. “It’s about time—I’ve been waiting all afternoon!”

  Claudia laughed. “You act as if you haven’t seen me for a year…it’s only been three weeks since I was here for the interview.”

  “But this time, you’re staying. You’re home for good,” Melanie said, nearly dancing in excitement.

  “I still haven’t gotten used to the idea,” Claudia admitted. “It’s happened so fast.”

  “Hey, Paxton’s no dummy. He wasn’t about to take the chance that some other smart company would steal you out from under him. Besides, since it turns out he’s the Sir Galahad who helped you when Sarah was born, maybe he wants to keep you close as evidence of his good deeds.”

  Claudia laughed, then turned back to the car to unbuckle Sarah’s seat. Taking the baby out of the car, she lifted her up into the air and said, “We’re here, babycakes. Our new home town.”

  Melanie reached into the car and grabbed the baby’s diaper bag. Shutting the car door with her hip, she led Claudia toward the house.

  “We’ll let Ryan get the rest of your stuff,” Melanie said, nodding toward the luggage piled on the back seat of the car. “He should be home in about an hour.”

  “You’re sure you don’t mind us staying here for a few days until I find a place?”

  The petite blonde shot her an exasperated look as they entered the house. Dropping the bag on the floor, Melanie put a fist on her hip. “Are you kidding? It’s all Ryan and I have been talking about. He’s been whining about not having a decent card player in the house for so long...be prepared for long nights of penny poker.”

  “Well, as long as you’re prepared for long days of active baby.”

  Melanie reached out a hand and brushed a silky red-brown curl off Sarah’s forehead. She smiled wistfully, and Claudia gladly offered the baby to her friend. Melanie took her and pressed soft kisses on her temple. “I’m definitely prepared. This will be just wonderful for me.”

  Claudia bit the corner of her lip, still worried about her friend’s offer. “You’re sure you want to take on a full-time babysitting job? I thought the idea of you quitting work when you moved away from Milltown was so you could concentrate on your writing.”

  “Look, I write best at night, anyway. Besides, the experts always say to write what you know. How can I write children’s books if I’m not around children? Honestly, Claude, I am so happy to be able to spend time with Sarah. I can’t think of a better job for me,” Melanie said softly.

  Claudia caught the sheen of tears in her friend’s eyes, and knew Melanie was still grieving over the miscarriage she’d had a year before. The fact that she hadn’t been able to conceive another baby weighed on her terribly.

  “I promise we’ll be model house-guests. Sarah will even be helpful...she can find the tiniest Cheerio buried in the thickest carpet.”

  “My goddaughter is a genius!”

  Through the open window, Claudia heard the sound of gravel crunching in the short driveway. Glancing outside, she saw a white pickup truck with the Paxton Construction logo parking on the side of the house.

  Melanie said, “It must be Ryan. He’s earlier than I expected. Why don’t you put him to work getting your stuff while I practice changing diapers for Miss Soggy-Drawers here.”

  Claudia nodded mischievously and leaned toward the open window while Melanie carried the baby out of the room. Grinning, she yelled, “Hey, you, Muscle-Man! Get the lead out...start hauling those bags in here, willya?”

  She couldn’t see Ryan around the corner of the house, but heard his footsteps on the walkway just before he stepped into view. Shock ran through Claudia as she realized she had yelled not at Ryan, but instead at her new boss, Chase Paxton.

  “Oh, no,” she moaned. Claudia rushed to the front door and burst outside. “I’m so sorry. I thought you were Ryan.”

  Chase raised a quizzical eyebrow as Claudia frantically hopped down the front steps and skidded to a halt directly in front of him.

  “I’m glad to know my new foreman has a future as a bellhop,” he said dryly.

  Claudia winced a little, realizing her tiny hope that perhaps Chase hadn’t heard her was dashed.

  “It’s all right, Claude. Where are the bags you need hauled in?” Chase glanced around, spied her yellow hatchback parked in the street in front of the house, and walked toward it.

  “Oh, no, please, we can get it,” Claudia insisted as she rushed after him.

  “Save it, Red. Just catch the door for me, okay?”

  Claudia frowned at the unfamiliar nickname, since she was more of a brunette than a redhead, but didn’t take offense at his gruff tone. She'd gotten used to it in their few encounters.

  Walking back up the steps to the porch, she held open the screen door as Chase bent over to retrieve two large suitcases from her car and carry them across the small front lawn. The late afternoon sun caught blondish highlights in his dark brown hair, and Claudia let her eyes drift over the rest of him. He was dressed casually, in a sleeveless white t-shirt, tight faded jeans, and work boots. Dark sunglasses shielded his velvety-brown eyes. Claudia tried to avert her gaze in case he was looking at her looking at him. But she couldn’t resist watching him walk. Her eyes returned to him of their own volition. She could see the play of muscles in his thick arms, saw the rippling chest in the tight shirt, and her breath caught in her throat.

  Chase Paxton wasn’t a huge man, was probably only two or three inches taller than her five-nine. But he had incredible presence. He exuded masculinity, and against her will, she again reacted to it. Her senses were intensely aware of him, from the sight of his jeans sliding against his calves as he walked, to the intoxicating scent of his cologne. His face, in profile, looked stark and hard, but his full mouth gave evidence of a deep sensuality. A few springy locks of hair tried to curl slightly above his ear, making Claudia wonder if they’d feel as soft as they looked.

  For the first time in ages, Claudia felt a strange warm ache deep in her body, and recognized it for what it was. She was attracted to him. Physically attracted.

  Part of her was overjoyed that the feelings she’d thought would never strike her again had rekindled with such sudden intensity, while another part of her was sad, acknowledging that she truly was getting over Joe’s death. How strange to mourn the end of mourning.

  Not thinking about it, Claudia quickly smoothed her travel-rumpled clothes. Lowering her lashes slightly, she surreptitiously continued to watch him.

  “Gonna stand there all day, Red? Or are you gonna move so I can come in?”

  Claudia flushed. She could feel the hot blood rising into her cheeks as she realized she’d been blocking his path. Chase stood on the bottom step, with one suitcase resting on his bent knee as he stared up at her. She still couldn’t see his eyes through the dark glasses, and wondered what he must be thinking. “I’m sorry, of course, come in,” she stammered as she moved out of his way.

  Chase watched her, and couldn’t help wondering about her sudden skittishness. She looked nervous as hell. Figuring she was still worried he’d been offended at her orders to carry her bags, Chase shrugged and walked up the second step.

  Instead of just staying on the porch and holding the door for him, Claudia stepped into the cool foyer and pushed the door out. Chase stared at her again, noticing that her eyes were glued to his work boots. He wondered at her shyness. The doorway wasn’t very wide, and he had to turn nearly sideways as he carried the bags in the house, forcing him to brush up against her as he passed.

  The contact was utterly electric.

  Her eyes shot up to his face as his chest and hip brushed against hers. Chase swore the color rose even higher in her cheeks. His own body suddenly felt hot as his breaths became choppy.

  They froze right there in the doorway. For a long second, they stood there, chest to chest, just staring at each other. And not for the first time, Chase admitted, at le
ast to himself, that she was one hell of a beautiful woman.

  “Don’t stand there letting flies in, Ryan.”

  Chase jerked his head around as a pretty blond woman came around the corner into the foyer.

  “Oh...you’re not Ryan,” she said, confusion sweeping over her features.

  Claudia quickly let go of the screen door, allowing it to slam shut, and scooted out of the way. Chase set her bags down in the foyer, noting that Claudia was trying very hard not to meet his eye.

  “I’m Chase Paxton, Mrs. Schumacher.”

  A broad smile broke over the blonde’s face, and she eagerly came forward, her hand extended in greeting. “How nice to meet you at last. Ryan talks about you all the time. And, of course, Claudia has told us all about your heroism.”

  Chase pushed his sunglasses up onto the top of his head, glancing toward Claudia. She still wouldn’t look at him.

  She’d felt it, too. He knew it, had sensed it even before he saw the look in her eyes. She was as physically aware of him as he was of her.

  Great. Wonderful. She was about to start working for him and they both had to pick now to acknowledge this attraction between them?

  So, what the hell are we going to do about it?

  “Can I offer you some lemonade, Mr. Paxton?” Melanie asked.

  “No, thanks, I just came by because Ryan mentioned Claudia was arriving this afternoon. I wanted to see if she needed anything.” Chase shifted his attention to Claudia and asked, “Do you?”

  She finally looked at him and forced a tight smile. “No, everything’s fine. I have a large chunk of money to give back to you. Your relocation check was very generous, but there really wasn’t much to move.”

  “You’re not finished moving yet,” Chase replied with a shrug. “You’re still going to need to find a place to live, and that could run into money. Hold onto it.”

  “I don’t need charity, Mr. Paxton,” Claudia said, sounding a little annoyed by the offer.

  He frowned. “I’m not offering charity, Mrs. Warren. Use the relocation money, account for it on an expense report, and we’ll square up when you’re settled. You’re my employee, and that’s the same offer I’d make to anyone I just hired from out of the area.”

  Claudia nodded, as if recognizing she’d been overly sensitive. “Fine. And thank you.”

  Chase saw the pride in her squared shoulders, and realized why she’d reacted the way she had. Here was a woman who would not take anything she hadn’t earned. He already knew she was amazingly resilient—seeing her give birth had certainly proved that. She was also tremendously proud and self-sufficient. All of which just added to her beauty to make her one nearly irresistible woman.

  Chase couldn’t resist letting his gaze fall over her loose brown hair, spread across her shoulders and halfway down her back in a thick, red-tinged brown wave. Her embarrassment had brought a lot of color to her cheeks; her eyes sparkled. He couldn’t resist glancing over the rest of her, acknowledging that she had the longest, shapeliest pair of legs he’d ever seen...and Chase appreciated the white shorts that allowed him to see them.

  Suddenly, behind those sleek calves, Chase saw a little head appear. Tufts of auburn hair curled around a chubby face, and a pair of eyes as green as emeralds peeked at him.

  “Sarah?” he asked wonderingly.

  Chase didn’t like babies. Well, it wasn’t really that he didn’t like them, he supposed, he’d just never been around them. But this one.... “What a little angel,” he whispered, a vortex of emotions swirling through him as he remembered what it had been like to see this human being enter the world.

  The baby had crawled up to her mother, grabbed her leg and was now trying to pull herself up to her feet. Claudia smiled down at her, then looked back at him. “She’s changed a little, right?” she asked dryly.

  Chase couldn’t stop staring at the child he’d helped deliver almost ten months before. How could she have changed this much? Whenever he thought about the baby, he’d pictured a splotchy red newborn with drawn up legs more resembling a frog’s than a human’s. Now, here was a complete little person with a stout, sturdy body, pudgy pink arms, and a face as sweet as an angel.

  Chase realized he was frowning as he stared at her, because the baby looked back at him in silent intensity. Her lower lip slid out the tiniest bit, then a bit more until she was pouting ferociously. He recognized the pout. He’d seen it on her mother’s face during Sarah’s birth. Suddenly, he grinned, and the baby responded with a huge smile of her own.

  “She has teeth.”

  “And she uses them, believe me,” Claudia said with a laugh. “We stopped nursing soon after those broke through...Mommy got one too many bites.”

  It took Chase a moment to comprehend her words. He watched a slow flush rise in Claudia’s cheeks as she realized what she'd just said. The thought her holding Sarah to her breast brought a strange feeling to Chase’s gut. After a few seconds, he decided it was a feeling he didn’t like.

  “I’ve gotta go,” he said abruptly as he turned back toward the door.

  Claudia, still looking a little embarrassed, tried to smile at him. “Thank you very much for coming by. I’ll be at work bright and early Monday morning.”

  Chase glanced at her over his shoulder and said, “You’re sure you don’t need more time? What about the baby?”

  His eyes returned to Sarah, and again she gave him a toothy grin that he just had to return.

  “I get to watch her,” Melanie piped in as she bent and picked Sarah up. “We’re going to have a great time, aren’t we angel-baby?”

  Melanie nuzzled her face toward the baby. Sarah responded by grabbing two fistfuls of her hair, pulling her face forward and biting her on the nose. Claudia quickly tried to release Sarah’s tenacious grip, and Chase laughed as he watched the whole thing from a few feet away.

  Claudia finally extricated the chubby fingers and tickled Sarah’s chin to get her to open her mouth. The baby giggled as Claudia set her on the floor, then she crawled back toward the living room.

  “I’m so sorry,” Claudia said to Melanie. “The doctor says babies this age use their mouths to explore their environment.”

  “I’d hate to see how she explores that cat over there when no one’s looking,” Chase said, inclining his head toward the full grown tabby cat who was glaring at Sarah as she grabbed his tail.

  “Oh, no, you don’t, missy,” Claudia said as she rushed over. “You’ve done enough for one day. Leave the kitty alone.”

  Chase watched Claudia pick the baby up and cuddle her close as she gently scolded her. Her love for Sarah was obvious in her tone of voice, in the tender way she stroked the grasping little hands, and in how she rubbed her cheek against the baby’s soft hair. He was again struck with an unfamiliar feeling...only this time, he realized why.

  Seeing Claudia mother her baby brought forth painful memories of his own mother. Memories he’d just as soon keep buried. He didn’t want to think of the occasional loving moments of his early childhood. They made his mother’s eventual descent into drug addiction, and her senseless death, that much more difficult to bear.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  “Sylvia, you did say Mr. Paxton gave me free reign as far as the computers go, right?”

  Claudia gave the older woman a friendly smile as Chase’s administrative assistant—who was old-school and preferred to be called a secretary—backed her chair away from her desk and turned around.

  “Well, within reason, of course,” the woman replied.

  The secretary didn’t like her. Claudia had sensed from the moment she met her that there would be problems with the gray-haired woman who ran Chase’s office like a battleship, treating her co-workers like Naval cadets. Though this was only her second day working for Paxton Construction, Claudia knew she was headed for trouble with the Sarge, as the receptionist, Annie, and some of the other office workers liked to call Sylvia. The Sarge thought computers were a frivolous waste of money, and i
nsisted on doing all correspondence on an electric typewriter. She’d had her back up from the moment she and Claudia had been introduced. Luckily, the half dozen or so other office employees had been perfectly friendly and had already started giving her ideas on how their own work could be better automated.

  Claudia wasn’t sure how to approach the situation, because Chase Paxton hadn’t been in his office at all since she’d started. Annie had told her he’d been called to Pittsburgh on urgent business, and Claudia was to begin inventorying equipment and putting together a list of requirements.

  “Just wanted to be sure. I need to set up an active workstation for myself, and I don’t want to wait until the new system I’ve requisitioned comes in. So I’m going to do a little piracy on the three older P.C.’s in the storage closet. If you’d like, when I get my new work station, I could give the one I’m putting together to you.”

  The secretary frowned and Claudia sighed. The Sarge was going to be very difficult to pull into the computer age. Frankly, she had to wonder why Chase kept her as his private secretary, considering her techniques—and her title—were a decade out of date.

  “Mr. Paxton knows very well that I won’t have one of those contraptions on my desk,” the woman snapped. “It’s beyond me why he feels the need to spend thousands of dollars on the infernal things, and on you, when good old-fashioned hard work and neat handwriting used to be quite enough.”

  Claudia straightened and nodded at the woman. “I’m sorry you feel that way. But I do understand. It's not easy changing the way you do things, especially when they're obviously working so well. I just want you to know that I’m here to support the rest of you...to make your jobs easier. If that means just staying out of your way, then so be it.”

  The woman’s stiff form relaxed the tiniest bit, and her frown eased.