She waved away the offer. “I’m fine. Go eat.”
He supposed he’d better. He needed sustenance for the evening ahead.
In the lobby, as Kate walked away, Tony noticed how the swell of her figure begged for the curve of his hand. He’d never imagined pregnancy could make a woman so alluring.
What was wrong with him? Getting a divorce was no excuse for indulging crazy impulses. Determined to regain control of his thoughts, Tony headed for the cafeteria to satisfy a different kind of hunger.
Chapter Four
“Joey brought his daddy to school for show-and-tell, ’cause he’s got a cool job.” Brady perched on the edge of the bed, swinging his feet. When he lay still, the twin-size bed swallowed up his five-year-old frame, but he hardly ever lay still unless sound asleep.
“What does his father do?” Sitting beside him, Kate struggled not to check her watch. Although she’d told her son that the baby’s father—she’d long ago explained the surrogacy to Brady—would be stopping by, she’d assured him they had plenty of time for their night-night ritual. By her latest calculations, they had fifteen minutes to go.
The ritual had changed since Quinn’s death. He used to read their son stories, but after he died, Brady had refused to accept Kate as a substitute reader. Instead, she read to him earlier in the day, and had launched a new bedtime tradition of recapping the day’s events. As a result, she’d learned a great deal about the routine at kindergarten, including show-and-tell.
“He’s a fireman,” he said. “What does the baby’s daddy do?”
“He’s a lawyer.” How did you describe that to kid? “He helps people understand grown-up rules.”
“Like don’t speed on the freeway?”
“That’s a policeman’s job.” Kate tried to figure out a simple example. “More like…when you sign your name to a promise, you have to keep it.”
He looked puzzled. “We always have to keep promises.”
“We try our best,” she agreed. “But when it’s a contract in writing, we can be forced to keep our word, even if…” Darn, this was complicated! “…even if things have changed.”
His attention shifted to her tummy. “Why is the baby a girl?”
Since she’d broken the news to Brady, he’d asked the same question over and over, apparently struggling to wrap his mind around the change. Kate gave the same answer now that she had before. “The baby was always a girl. The doctor didn’t figure it out until now.”
“I want a brother.”
“That doesn’t change her gender,” she said patiently. “Anyway, I told you, the baby won’t live here.”
“But I might see him at the park.”
“Might see her.”
“Okay.” Brady yawned and stretched. The fine blond hair tumbling on his forehead reminded her of Quinn’s. So did those slate-gray eyes that occasionally seemed wise beyond his years and at other times brimmed with mischief.
“Tomorrow I’m giving you a haircut.” She kept a pair of clippers handy for that task. “All right?”
“Sure, Mommy.” Sleepily, he slid beneath the covers and pulled them up to his chin. Tucking him in was another task he’d refused to hand over to her after Quinn’s death.
Kate dimmed the lights, leaving the door open a crack. The boy’s bedroom lay directly across from hers, with the bathroom close by. Not much extra space in this house, but she liked its coziness.
In the kitchen, she arranged a plate of oatmeal-raisin cookies, which she considered nutritious enough to meet Tina Torres’s requirements.
She’d enjoyed the class tonight. Kate missed being around people since taking leave from her job a few weeks earlier. And it had been fun exercising with Tony. He had the most delightful, teasing grin. But what had he meant by “a few things we need to square away”?
Restlessly, she smoothed the slipcovers on the living room couch and chairs, and ran a hand over the large chest that did double duty as a coffee table and storage unit. At an end table covered with framed photos, Kate paused.
As always, the sight of Quinn took her breath away. Head thrown back, hair blowing, he laughed at the camera from astride his motorcycle. What a daredevil he’d been, and what a love affair he’d had with anything motorized. The day he took a busted all-terrain vehicle as payment for repairing a boat engine had been a highlight for him.
When he got the ATV up and running, Kate had stood firm against letting Brady ride on it. Quinn had reluctantly agreed that, at age three, their son was too young to be a passenger.
One weekend when her husband felt the urge to blow off steam, he and a friend had trucked it a few hours inland to the desert for a day of tooling around. In what was planned as the last ride of the day, Quinn had zoomed over a sand dune without realizing another fun-loving guy was doing the same from the opposite direction.
The other man had escaped with a broken collarbone. When the ATV overturned, Quinn hit his head on a rock and died a few hours later. A freak accident, the police had called it. Kate had barely made it to the hospital in time to say goodbye.
Her eyes burned as she studied her late husband’s carefree image. Oh, Quinn, you were supposed to be here to watch Brady grow up.
She swallowed the lump in her throat. Until this pregnancy, she’d broken down weeping almost daily, unable even to think about the future. Now, although the sadness lingered, she felt the past receding more and more.
Her gaze skimmed to the newest addition to her picture gallery. Tony and Esther resembled fashion models in their stylish suits, Tony turned toward his wife and Esther facing the camera.
Kate felt a sudden wave of dislike. Esther hadn’t only abandoned her husband, she’d also gone back on a commitment to Kate and the baby. This woman didn’t deserve a place of honor.
But Tony did. Was there some way to delete Esther without damaging the picture?
A toy catalog lay on the floor, where Brady had been cutting out pictures with blunt-tipped scissors. Impulsively, Kate picked up the instrument, clipped a shot of a teddy bear, and taped it over the frame so it blocked Esther’s image. Much better.
The doorbell rang, startling her. She’d meant to listen for Tony’s car on their quiet street. Then she remembered that he drove a super-quiet luxury car. No wonder she hadn’t heard it.
Kate peered into a framed mirror in the dining alcove, and immediately wished she hadn’t. Nothing to be done about her faded makeup, so she gathered her courage and went to admit her guest.
He looked more relaxed, now that he’d eaten. And he must have stopped by his house, because he’d changed into jeans and a polo shirt.
“Hi.” As a precaution, Kate added, “Brady’s in bed.”
“I’ll keep my voice down.” He held out a children’s book. “It’s for Brady.”
Kate read the title. “Ben and Me.”
“It was one of my favorites as a child.”
Too advanced for a five-year-old, she noted as she leafed through it, but Brady would enjoy it soon enough. “That’s very kind of you.”
“Not at all.” Strolling into the living room, Tony gravitated to the photo display. As he picked up the frame, Kate wondered in a rush of embarrassment why she hadn’t waited until after his visit to alter the picture. “Well, well.”
“That was childish of me,” she apologized.
Tony grinned. “I’m not sure marriage to a teddy bear would be legal in the state of California, but it does look cuddly.”
“I can remove it,” she offered.
“Why? Esther’s chosen to be figuratively out of the picture, so why not literally, as well?” He moved to the couch. “Please sit down, Kate. I made a few notes.” From his pocket, he retrieved his smart phone.
Feeling like a kid called into the principal’s office, she chose a chair on the far side of the room. Might as well get this over with.
“You look as if you’re facing a firing squad,” Tony said gently, and shifted to the end of the sofa closest to her. “I’m only tryi
ng to prevent misunderstandings.”
“Making sure I understand the grown-up rules,” she murmured.
“What?”
“Brady asked me what a lawyer does, and I said you make sure grown-ups know what the rules are.”
“As usual, you go straight to the heart of the matter.” He regarded her appreciatively.
Much as she enjoyed his attention, Kate itched to get on with this. “Well, what are the rules?”
He let out a long breath. “First, I’m the father of this baby, and until she signs divorce papers, Esther is the mother. Are we in agreement?”
Kate nodded. She hadn’t indicated otherwise, had she?
Tony studied the small screen. “Second, I respect your expertise as a mother and I welcome your input.” When she didn’t respond, he added, “That means I’d appreciate any advice you can offer about becoming a dad. My parents are both dead and I don’t have any close family to consult. Just a bachelor brother.”
He had a whole hospital full of nurses and pediatricians who would no doubt ply him with suggestions, but that wasn’t the same, Kate supposed. “I’d be glad to help.”
He reached his third point. “Your assistance is purely voluntary. You don’t owe me anything.”
“Got it.”
“Finally, your role with the baby ends with its birth.”
“Her birth,” Kate corrected.
“What did I say?”
“Its birth.” She didn’t mean to be argumentative. “I understand that I’m the surrogate. As long as you provide a good home, I’ll hold up my end of the bargain.” No matter how many doubts she entertained, ultimately she needed to live with the pact they’d made.
He stuck the device in his pocket. “I didn’t mean to sound pompous.”
Best to avoid discussing that subject after he’d just laid a bureaucratic load on her. “Have you thought about a name?” she asked, instead.
“No, I… We can’t go with Arthur anymore, can we?” he teased. “Artemis? Ariadne? I’m joking, by the way.”
“What was your mother’s name?” That seemed the sensible place to start.
“Cornelia,” he said. “I’m not sticking this kid with the nickname Cornie.”
“Grandmothers?”
“Old-fashioned names, both of them. Esther’s family doesn’t count, for obvious reasons.”
“Any other female relatives?” she persisted.
He thrust a hand through his hair, making it haywire once more. “I should have thought of that sooner. I had a little sister who died when she was eleven. Tara.”
“That’s a lovely name.” It fit with Kate’s part-Irish heritage, too. Best not to bring that up, though. “Do you mind if I ask what happened to her?”
He stared pensively into the distance. “She was born with spina bifida. That’s a condition affecting the neural tube, the nerves that run along your spine. She walked with crutches and caught lung infections easily, but she was perfectly normal in most ways.”
“What causes the condition?” Kate had never known anyone with it, although it was one of the conditions her prenatal blood test had screened for. With negative results, fortunately.
“Genetics, or a deficiency of folic acid—vitamin B9—in the mother. That’s one of the reasons Dr. Rayburn prescribed vitamins before you got pregnant, as you’ll recall. In Tara’s case, we never knew the cause. I used to wish I could give her some of my good health.”
“You must have loved her a lot.”
His mouth quirked. “Oh, she drove me crazy. Like any kid, she could be cranky and demanding, but also a real sweetheart. Being six years older, I felt protective. I should have been a lot more protective, damn it.”
His vehemence surprised Kate. “Why?”
“Just…never mind. Too late to change anything now.”
“What did she die of?” Kate hoped this wasn’t too sensitive a topic.
“Pneumonia,” he said tautly. “The antibiotic-resistant kind. Mom never recovered from losing her. None of us did.”
“Is that what attracted you to working in a hospital? Because you understand what it’s like for patients and their families?”
His eyebrows knitted into a firm line. “Now there’s an idea I hadn’t considered. I worked in family law initially, but there was an overlap with health issues that affect families. Things like durable powers of attorney for health care and living wills, malpractice law, how to handle end-of-life issues. I gravitated to that part of the practice more and more, and when this job opened up three years ago, I went for it.”
Kate had run out of questions. Getting back to their earlier topic, she said, “I’m glad you chose the name Tara. It just feels right.”
“To me, too.” His gaze met Kate’s. “Oh! I forgot something.”
Not another rule. “Oh?”
“I’d like to repay you for any time you’re willing to give me, now that the situation’s changed,” Tony said. “Such as meeting with me this evening. And I could use advice setting up my house for a baby.”
“You’re already paying me plenty.”
He handed her the card of a handyman service. “During the next couple of months, if you have any problems with plumbing, electricity or other home repairs, give them a call and have them send me the bill. I’d offer to fix things myself, but that would be more a menace than a favor.”
She might as well accept. Certainly Kate could use the help. “Thanks. I usually do my own repairs but I can’t exactly crawl under the sink anymore.” She wished she had a gift in return, since he’d brought the book, too. Then she remembered. “Cookies!”
From the way Tony’s face lit up, she could tell she’d scored a hit. “Wonderful.” He went with her to the kitchen, where he inhaled with obvious pleasure. “Smells like a real home. I’ll have to learn to bake.”
“It’s easy.” She set the plate on the table. “Dig in.”
“Ladies first.”
“You’re the guest.”
They both said “okay” and reached at the same moment. Their hands met in the middle of the plate.
Tony’s cupped her palm and, as if by instinct, his fingers interlaced with hers. Kate’s gaze fixed on the muscles in his wrist and arm. She felt enveloped and wonderfully sheltered. A moment later, with a trace of reluctance, he released his grip. “Guess we’re both hungry.”
In more ways than one. Oh, how she missed having a man to touch her and share her life. “They’re good cookies,” she mumbled distractedly, and took one.
Tony bit into his and let out a sigh. “Heavenly.”
She let the sweet taste melt in her mouth. “Milk?” she asked when it faded. “Sure.”
Kate bustled about, trying not to think about that brief contact. They were both lonely. That’s all it meant.
“Mommy?” said a little voice as she finished putting away the milk.
Uh-oh. A small, pajama-clad figure stood rubbing his eyes in front of the table. “You’re supposed to be in bed.”
“Cookie?” Brady asked.
Tony regarded the imp with fascination. “Is it okay to give him one?”
“He already brushed his teeth. Besides, he ate several earlier. Too much sugar isn’t good for kids.” She touched her son’s shoulder. “Honey, Mr. Franco and I have grownup stuff to discuss. You should go back to sleep.”
He folded his arms. “My eyes are too wakey.”
“They aren’t going to close while you’re standing in the middle of the kitchen,” Kate pointed out.
Doggedly, Brady held his ground. “Somebody has to tuck me in.”
“But you never let me….”
He was staring longingly at Tony. Kate’s heart squeezed as she realized how much her son missed having a man in the house.
“That was his father’s job,” she explained. “He hasn’t let me tuck him in since he was a toddler.”
“Well, I am supposed to learn how to do these things. Is it okay if I pinch-hit?”
; “Go ahead.”
Tony took a swig of his milk and got up. “Lead on, sport.”
Brady slipped his small hand into Tony’s big one. Those hands are the right size for both of us, Kate thought.
But only for tonight.
In the bedroom, Brady climbed between the sheets. Tony sat down, then realized he couldn’t tug the comforter into place while he was on it, so he stood to complete the task. He pulled so hard that, when he let go, the covers draped over Brady’s mouth. “This is more complicated than it looks.”
Kate chuckled at the sight of the take-charge attorney fumbling with bedcovers. “You’ll get the hang of it.”
The boy made a rude noise with his lips.
Tony folded the edge of the sheets back. “How’s that?”
“Book,” Brady demanded.
Tony look questioningly at Kate. “Is this part of the ritual, too?”
She averted her face so he wouldn’t see the sudden sheen in her eyes. “The daddy part.” From a low shelf, she chose a favorite and handed it to him.
“Where the Wild Things Are.” Tony scanned a page. “I guess that book I brought is for older kids.”
“He’ll grow into it.”
“Don’t talk. Read!” Brady ordered.
“You’re a bossy little guy,” Tony said.
He looked contrite. “I’m sorry.”
Tony brushed a thumb across the boy’s temple. “That’s okay. I get crabby when I wake up in the middle of the night, too.”
Then he settled and began to read, his voice low and firm. Brady’s face softened as he listened to the beloved tale.
The way Tony caressed the words, squeaking some and growling others, clearly gave him as much pleasure as it did her son. Kate could picture him sitting at Tara’s bedside, night after night, delighting them both. He was good at this.
After a while, Brady’s lids drooped and his breathing eased. Tony stopped reading. He observed the sleeping child for a moment before rising and slipping out with Kate.
“He’s adorable,” he murmured.
“He misses his daddy,” she said. “I had hoped my brother-in-law would fill some of the void, but he’s got a high-pressure job and two kids of his own.”
His Hired Baby Page 4
