Stand-In Mom

by Marie Ferrarella

  Leaning so that his body unavoidably brushed ever so slightly against hers, Ike opened the door for her. “This is it.”

  “It,” as applied to creatures and undefinable things, was an apt word for the premises. The quarters were exactly what she might have expected of a man who was accustomed to living on his own. Or of a place that a tornado had recently passed through. She judged that there were more things strewn around on the floor and every available surface than there were in the closets.

  “Sorry,” he mumbled, picking things up as he went and stuffing them under his arm. After a few attempts, they began to fall from the other side. He tossed the whole mess onto a sofa that already had too much on it. “I wasn’t expecting to have anyone up here.” He glanced toward the baby, knowing that Marta would point out that he’d expected to return with Celine. “Anyone who’d be critical, I mean.”

  Her eyes swept over the chaotic room. She would have understood the condition had the mess given the appearance of being fresh. After all, Ike had received not only one shock yesterday, but two. He’d lost his sister and gained a niece to care for.

  But no one went through this many shirts in a day. This mess had a very long pedigree. She picked her way through to the table in the small kitchen. “I’m not here to be critical. I’ve seen pigsties before.”

  He laughed at her deadpan expression. The more he was around her, the more he found himself attracted. He supposed it was a matter of forbidden fruit being more tempting. That, and the fact that he’d already had a single taste of that fruit and knew firsthand that it was very sweet.

  He shrugged out of his coat and began to toss it aside. Because she was here, he stopped and draped it over the back of a chair instead. “You do have a way of turning a phrase, darlin’.”

  She already knew that he shared these small quarters with Luc. Even cleaned up, there didn’t look to be much room for a third occupant, however small.

  Marta turned slowly around in the limited space. According to Sydney, beyond the main living area, which was a combination kitchen and living room, were two small bedrooms. She thought of the crib he’d told her was stored in his parents’ attic. And they had just ordered several pieces of furniture for Celine. “Just where are you thinking of putting everything?”

  “I’m not.” He took Celine from her so that Marta could take off her parka. “Now that I have Celine, I thought I’d move into my folks’ house.”

  She supposed that might make things easier all around. Certainly cut down on the risk of his losing the baby amid the mess. “They won’t mind?”

  A strange smile she couldn’t quite read flirted with his mouth. “They haven’t minded anything for a very long time.” He saw the question in her eyes. “They’ve both been gone for almost fifteen years.”

  “Oh.” That made him an orphan. “Fifteen years?” She thought of June. Hadn’t he said she’d left Hades three years ago at eighteen? “That means that you—”

  He nodded. “Practically raised Junie, yes, I know. Sure as hell—heck,” Ike amended, glancing down at the baby he was holding against him, “hope I can do a better job with Celine.”

  He was making an effort not to curse in front of the baby. She wouldn’t have thought that would occur to him. Marta wasn’t aware of smiling as she took the baby back from him. “Well, at least you seem to be off to a good start. C’mon, let’s see what else you know about babies.”

  The grin that spread across his mouth was nothing short of wicked. She felt something inside her threaten to unravel. “I know where they come from.”

  It was getting increasingly difficult to remain immune to his infectious smile, but she was trying her damnedest. “That doesn’t count.”

  His eyes glinted with silent laughter. “It does in some books.”

  Mustering effort, she gave him a long, hard look she hoped put him in his place. “Not mine.”

  Ike merely inclined his head. His eyes told her he didn’t believe her. “Duly noted, darlin’.”

  Darlin’. Even when he sounded as if he was being subdued, he’d weave that single word through and undermine whatever victory she’d thought she’d gained. The only way to deal with him was to try to focus on the matter at hand and shut out everything else.

  “Sit down.”

  He did as she asked. “Why?”

  She placed Celine on his lap. “Because I want to see you undress her.”

  His expression was bemused. “I’m accustomed to doing that with a somewhat older model.”

  “I’m sure you are.” She suddenly realized that with one hand out of commission, there was no way this was going to work. “You also probably don’t have to make sure their heads are properly propped up, either—unless you’ve gotten them drunk. Here, let me show you.”

  Sitting down beside him on the cluttered sofa, she removed the tiny parka from Celine one arm at a time, careful to switch hands so that Celine’s head and back were supported at all times.

  “To dress her, you just reverse the process.” She paused, looking at his hand. “What are you going to do about tomorrow?”

  “You could stay the night,” Ike suggested. When she drew her brows together, he amended, “Or Luc could do it.” Marta’s expression was dubious. “I’ll talk him through it.”

  “Guess that’s going to have to do.”

  Standing up, she lifted Celine into her arms, patting the baby’s bottom to soothe her. “Now do you know how to give her a bath?”

  “I figure for the first year I’ll just let the cat lick her,” he quipped. “It’s a joke, darlin’,” he added when Marta pressed her lips together. There was no hint of a smile.

  “That would be funny if I was sure it was. All right, why don’t you fill up the sink, and I’ll give her a bath?”

  But crossing to the kitchen, she stopped. Dirty dishes were piled up high in the sink, like a disheveled, listing tower. At least there were no clothes in it, she thought sarcastically. “I see it’s already filled up.” Unable to hold her tongue any longer, she looked at him accusingly. “How can you live like this?”

  He shrugged good-naturedly, turning on the water. “I manage.”

  “Obviously.”

  She had every intention of letting him take care of the mess in the sink himself, she really did. But one-and-a-half dishes later, her impatience got the better of her. His washing with one hand was painstakingly slow. Watching him do it was even worse.

  “Move out of the way. I’ll wash the dishes and get the sink ready.” Positioning the baby so that the transfer went smoothly, she handed Celine over to him. “Here, take your niece.”

  He tucked the baby against him. “Don’t let her frighten you, Celine. She doesn’t bite. She’s really a very nice lady. She just likes to scare people off with her bark.”

  Marta struggled with a smile that wanted to surface as she looked over her shoulder at him. “Hasn’t worked with you.”

  “No,” he agreed. His smile split carefully crafted seams within her. “It hasn’t.”

  She looked back at the sink, moving quickly. “I guess I’ll just have to bark harder.”

  “If you like.”

  What she would like would be for him to stop using that tone of voice with her. The one she was certain he used on other women during seduction. “What makes you think I don’t bite?”

  He drew closer to her, watching in fascination as shadows from the overhead fixture played over her face. “Some things, a man just knows. Call it instinct.”

  Stacking a dish on the rack, she let out a short breath. “I call it overconfidence.”

  “We’ll see.”

  She jumped when she felt his fingers along her neck. Swinging around, she almost bumped against Celine. “Don’t do that.”

  The look in his eyes was innocent. And amused. He probably thought he had her number, she thought, annoyed. “The label was sticking out from the back of your sweater. I was just tucking it in.”

  She tossed her head, as i
f to shake off the feel of his hand. “I can tuck in my own label.”

  He merely smiled. “I’m sure you can.”

  To prevent the fluttering feeling in her stomach from growing to huge proportions, she directed her line of vision to the sink and the suds that surrounded her hands. Focusing was a struggle.

  “Sorry about being late,” Shayne said as he turned on the ignition. It was dark within the vehicle, but he’d seen her face clearly at Ike’s. Marta looked exhausted. “So, how was it?”

  Buckled in, Marta sank back into the seat, wondering how far she’d have to sink to outdistance the weariness that was clinging to her. She couldn’t remember ever feeling this exhausted. It’d been a long time since she had taken care of a newborn. The years in between had made her forget how tiring it could be.

  Or had she had more energy when she was younger? Certainly she’d had little else to focus on except the children she’d been asked to “mind.”

  Not only had she taken it upon herself to care for the baby, but every time Celine had fallen asleep, unable to endure chaos for more than five minutes at a stretch, Marta had straightened up Ike’s living quarters. She’d done the latter despite Ike’s rather vigorous protests.

  “Tiring,” she finally mumbled to Shayne.

  He laughed softly, turning the radio on. Soft, soothing music from another era filled the interior. “Poor Marta, this is a hell of a way to spend a vacation,” he commiserated.

  She managed a smile, though she would have sworn that her face muscles, as tired as she, had lost the ability to function. “I don’t mind. I like being busy.”

  It was true—she preferred it to inactivity. That way she didn’t have too much time to dwell on a life that had gone nowhere. Oh, she was doing very well in her field, had the respect of her students and their parents to the degree that many of the parents specifically requested that she be their child’s teacher.

  But on a personal level, after Alex, everything within her had become as frozen as the terrain they were driving through.

  That’s why she had to keep busy.

  “How’s Ike taking to enforced fatherhood?” Shayne was asking.

  She roused herself from her thoughts. “Better than I would have expected.” She gave the devil his due. “I’ve only been around him a few hours, but he seems to really love that little girl.”

  That didn’t surprise Shayne. He remembered the way Ike had taken care of June. How he’d worried about her. And how hard he took her leaving town the way she had. Ike had never come right out and said how he’d felt, but it was still evident.

  Shayne concentrated on the road, knowing how easy it was to get lost in the dark. He looked for familiar signs. “Ike’s got a great capacity to love.”

  Marta laughed shortly. “So I hear.”

  “No, I mean that he’s never had any woman say a single bad thing against him,” Shayne said after a beat.

  Right. “You’re a man and he’s your friend. You’re supposed to say something like that.” Men stuck up for one another. It was a given. Alex’s friends had known he was seeing other women and they had all covered for him, making sure she didn’t find out. Until she had.

  “No, I’m supposed to envy something like that and I do,” he told her honestly. “Ike hasn’t been a choirboy since he was fourteen years old.”

  Shayne remembered envying that, too, at the time. When they were kids, growing up, Ike had always been the leader. As carefree as his own younger brother, Ben, had been. But beneath all the fun had been a man who could be counted on. That made the difference between Ike and Ben, he thought.

  “He’s had his share of women,” Shayne continued, then laughed as he rethought his words. “Hell, he’s just about had everyone’s share of women. But not a one has ever bad-mouthed him after they’ve gone their separate ways. A lot felt free enough to call on him if they ever needed something.” He looked at Marta, wanting to make her understand. “Ike’s the kind of man people know they can count on for help.”

  Marta knew the signs. She’d been in this position before, when people had tried to fix her up with someone. The difference being, this time she knew the prospective candidate. “You wouldn’t be trying to sell me on him, would you?”

  Shayne shook his head. That hadn’t been his intention. He just wanted her to be fair. “Ike sells himself. I’m just trying to make sure you don’t keep slamming the door in his face before he has a chance to say hello.”

  Without meaning to, she ran the tip of her tongue along her lips. Remembering. “Oh, he’s had a chance to say hello, all right.”

  Shayne thought it prudent not to smile, though he remembered what Sydney had told him about Marta mistakenly kissing Ike at the airport. He could imagine Ike hadn’t been slow in reciprocating.

  “Then I won’t say any more.” He paused a second. “Except to add that I’ve always felt that Ike could do with a really good woman in his life.”

  He was trying to sell Ike, Marta thought. Why? The man didn’t lack for companionship. And anyway, she wasn’t staying on. She was just visiting.

  “I’m sure he feels he’s doing fine just the way he is,” she assured Shayne. “Besides, I’m only here for a couple of weeks. No offense, but this is a really harsh place to live.” From everything Sydney had written, she knew that summers in Hades were no picnic either. Sydney was here because she was in love. But there’d never be anything like that to keep Marta here.

  “That’s the challenge of it.” He looked relieved when he saw the lights of home. “Nothing makes you feel more alive than a challenge, Marta.”

  Chapter Ten

  Marta had come to help Ike make his house more livable.

  At least, that was the excuse she’d grasped at when Shayne had presented it to her, asking her if she wanted to join Sydney, the kids and him. It had been a while since the old LeBlanc house had been lived in, and Shayne had said there were things that were in desperate need of repair. Once Junie had moved out, Ike hadn’t needed the space and had lost the inclination to fix it.

  It seemed as good an excuse as any to hide behind. After several days of playing nanny to Celine while instructing Ike on the finer points of caring for an infant, Marta would have thought that she’d have had her fill of Ike LeBlanc.

  She hadn’t.

  So, here she was, continuing to volunteer her services, all the while learning more and more about this man who had such a special place in the hearts of her best friend and her family.

  Despite herself, and because of Celine, Marta was beginning to see Ike as something more than the two-dimensional man she’d first thought him to be. There was a kindness to him when he held the baby, and there was love in his eyes. It softened Marta’s heart to watch him.

  And, try as she might to deny it, there was something building between them. An attraction she couldn’t seem to shake. An attraction that kept pulling her in. She was beginning to realize that chemistry was a great humbler. With hand outstretched and lightning emanating from its fingers, it summarily did away with noble ideals and principles.

  But, chemistry or not, she insisted silently, if you knew what was behind a magic act, it took the magic away. And she knew what was behind Ike’s magic act, at least where women were concerned. A smile that was empty, bedroom eyes that never went into the kitchen, or any other room where marriages endured. And a wicked mouth that spoke words to make a woman’s heart skip a beat. Expedient words that were no doubt forgotten the instant they emerged.

  Sure, he had a few good qualities, but that didn’t change who he was: a man who seemed determined to make his way through the entire female population of Alaska before heading down to conquer the lower forty-nine.

  Well, he wasn’t going to hang her pelt from his cabin door. If she remembered that, his smiles wouldn’t seem as sexy, his eyes as seductive. And his mouth…well, she just wouldn’t look at his mouth, that’s all. Or be anywhere within its reach.

  It sounded like a plan to her. Al
l she had to do was stick with it, she thought as Shayne parked the car.

  It looked as if half of Hades had decided to show up.

  “What’s going on?” Marta raised her voice so that Sydney could hear her.

  Sydney hooked her arm through Marta’s, already drawing her toward the heart of the crowd. “Ike’s moving in, remember?”

  “Yes, I know. That’s why we’re here. But—” And then it penetrated. “Are they all here to—?”

  “Help,” Shayne supplied the last word for her. “Yes, they are. People in Hades tend to pitch in a lot. It’s one of the nice things about living out here.”

  Probably the only nice thing, Marta thought, but she kept it to herself.

  It wasn’t hard for her to find Ike. He was the one in the middle of a crowd within the crowd. His crowd comprised solely women, both old and young. Why didn’t that surprise her?

  “Doesn’t look as if he’s particularly lacking for help,” Marta murmured.

  Sydney’s hold on her arm tightened just a shade as she continued ushering her through the gathering. “You know how women are when they see a new baby. They cluster.”

  Why was Sydney so determined to make excuses for Ike? It wasn’t as if she couldn’t see for herself what was going on. “The fact that the new baby is in Ike’s arms doesn’t have anything to do with it, Sydney, and you know it.”

  “It has everything to do with it,” Shayne interjected. Walking close to his wife, he made sure no one would jostle her. “They just want to help him.”

  Marta shook her head. “Well, with that much help, he certainly doesn’t need mine.”

  Shayne looked at her pointedly. “I think he does.”

  Marta wanted to protest, and politely but firmly argue the point. But it was too late. Ike had already seen them. Holding Celine, he cut a path for himself and was walking toward them. The cluster of adoring females was left behind to meld into the crowd.