The Littlest Stowaway

by Gina Wilkins

“It never interested me,” was all she said.

  Steve might have pursued that topic further, but a small cry came from the bassinet. Steve peered in at the baby. “I think our peace and quiet is about to come to an end.”

  Annie opened her eyes, blinked a time or two, and then, realizing that she wasn’t being held, let out an indignant squawk.

  “You take care of her and I’ll clean the kitchen,” Casey offered.

  “Deal.” Steve stood and reached into the bassinet

  Relieved that the personal conversation was over for the time being, Casey turned her attention back to more pressing matters. She knew it was nearing the time when she should leave, but echoes of that eerie phone call kept playing through her mind. If Park, or whatever his name was, had found her unlisted number, he could find her home address just as easily. And what about this Claybrook character? Was he someone to worry about, as well?

  “I thought newborns spent most of their time asleep,” Steve said, holding Annie on his shoulder and patting her back as she bumped her wobbly head against him.

  Casey closed the refrigerator and turned to him. “She does sleep a lot. She simply does it an hour or two at a time.”

  “I guess that’s why it seems like she’s awake so much.”

  “She was sleeping pretty heavily when we found her yesterday. She must have been exhausted.” Casey thought about how warm it had been in the airplane and hoped Annie hadn’t been affected. It couldn’t have been good for her to be in that stuffy space for long. She wanted very badly to believe that Janice had been watching to make sure her baby was safe before deserting her.

  Pushing those troubling thoughts to the back of her mind, she remembered one more thing she had planned to attempt this evening. “I suppose we should try giving her a bath while she’s awake.”

  Steve gulped audibly. “Have you ever actually bathed a baby?”

  “No. I don’t suppose you...”

  “Never. So, what’s the plan? I assume she’s too small for the bathtub.”

  She nodded. “The kitchen sink?” she suggested, motioning toward his deep, porcelain double sinks.

  He considered it a moment, then nodded. “That’ll probably work best this time.”

  He made it sound as though they’d be doing this often. Casey frowned. She wanted this situation settled soon—for the sake of everyone involved. They couldn’t go on this way much longer.

  She moved abruptly toward the doorway. “I’ll go get the stuff I bought. I’ll be right back.”

  “There are towels in the linen cabinet in the front bath,” he called after her. Then in a low voice, he added, “You’d probably better bring several. This could get messy.”

  6

  CASEY RETURNED to the kitchen with her arms loaded. She dropped everything on the counter and began to arrange it, trying to look as if she knew what she was doing. Spreading one thick, soft towel on the counter next to the sink, she then folded a thinner one and lined the bottom of one of the sinks with it. She hoped that would keep the baby from slipping on the cool, slick porcelain. After filling the sink with a couple of inches of warm water, she set the plastic bottle of baby soap nearby.

  Laying another towel on the other side of the sink next to a diaper and clean sleeper, she drew a deep breath. “I guess we’re ready,” she said, turning to Steve.

  “You could try saying that with a bit more confidence.”

  She smiled shakily. “I have to admit this makes me a bit nervous.”

  “Have you changed your mind?”

  She shook her head. “Let’s do it.”

  Steve laid Annie carefully on the first towel. And then he stood aside to let Casey remove the baby’s sleeper and diaper. “Okay,” she said, sensing that he was letting her take charge of this operation. “You set her in the sink and support her while I wash her. She’s going to be slippery, so get a good hold.”

  Picking up the naked, wiggling baby, Steve murmured, “You aren’t wearing a diaper at the moment, so show some respect for your elders, will you, kid?”

  Annie made a gurgle that could have been interpreted as amusement, but was more likely just a coincidence. Once Steve had Annie in position, Casey dipped the little washcloth she’d bought into the warm, soapy water and moved in to begin washing.

  Maybe their system wasn’t the accepted method for baby-bathing, but it worked for them. Annie actually seemed to enjoy the experience, going very still as the washcloth stroked gently over her skin.

  Casey had to stand quite close to Steve to reach the baby. Her attention was focused so much on Annie at first, she barely acknowledged Steve’s proximity. And then she gradually began to notice the warmth that seemed to radiate from him. The way he loomed over her, making her aware of his size and strength. The way his big hands so securely cradled Annie’s tiny body, making Casey unable to resist wondering how those hands would feel against her own bare back.

  Stupid thought, she told herself, frowning and concentrating more intently on the task at hand. A likely result of stress, worry and overindulgence in Chinese food. And maybe a carryover from an unexpected kiss that had haunted her all afternoon.

  “She likes this,” Steve murmured.

  Casey cleared her throat “Yes, she certainly seems to. I was afraid she would scream.”

  “You should know by now that our Annie isn’t predictable.”

  Our Annie. The casually-spoken phrase made Casey swallow again. It sounded just a bit too intimate for her peace of mind.

  Steve shifted his weight, his shoulder and thigh brushing Casey as he moved. “Does it seem, um, warm in here to you?” she blurted, feeling heat creeping up to her cheeks.

  “Oh, yeah,” he murmured. “Getting warmer all the time.”

  She dropped the washcloth into the water with a splash. “I think she’s clean enough now.”

  Steve’s chuckle was obviously at her expense. But all he said was, “You want me to lay her on this other towel?”

  She nodded. “Don’t let her slide out of your hands.”

  One hand under the baby’s neck, the other beneath her wet bottom, Steve transferred her with ease from the sink to the waiting towel, wrapping it around her and gently drying the busy little limbs. The tenderness with which he treated the baby brought an increasingly familiar lump to Casey’s throat. She was spending entirely too much time with these two, she told herself. She was finding it more and more difficult to keep her distance from Steve Lockhart.

  “You want to dress her?” Steve asked over his shoulder.

  She nodded and moved to take his place at the counter.

  “Would you like a cup of tea?”

  “It’s getting late,” she answered, sliding a diaper beneath the baby’s bottom. “I need to be going soon.”

  “You have time for one cup of tea,” he said enticingly.

  Carefully stuffing Annie’s arms and legs into the sleeper, Casey conceded. “All right. Thank you.”

  When the sleeper was snugly fastened, she rubbed a dry corner of the towel over Annie’s fuzz of damp, dark hair, then used the soft-bristled baby hairbrush to smooth the fine locks into place. “There you go, sweetie,” she murmured, lifting the sweet-smelling baby into her arms and placing a kiss on Annie’s satiny forehead. “All done.”

  Annie gurgled and stuffed her fist into her mouth. Enough of this nonsense, she seemed to say. Where’s the food?

  Grinning, Steve stuck a bottle into the microwave while he steeped the tea. “She wasn’t about to let us have an evening snack without giving her one.”

  “You think we should be trying to keep her on some sort of regular feeding schedule? She doesn’t seem to have a timetable when it comes to eating.”

  “Give her a break, Casey. She’s so tiny, it’s going to take a lot of formula to put some weight on those little bones. If she thinks she’s hungry, then she probably is.”

  “I wonder what the child-care experts would think of that philosophy.”

  “S
ome of them would say it makes sense. Others would probably think I need a few years of analysis,” he quipped with a grin.

  “Something I always rather believed, myself,” she murmured, making him laugh.

  Steve managed to sip his tea while feeding the baby. But Casey found it hard to relax.

  “You’ve gotten awfully serious. What’s wrong?”

  Steve’s question made her realize that she’d been daydreaming, staring into her teacup. She blinked and made an effort to smile. “I guess I’m getting tired. It’s been a long couple of days.”

  “You’re probably looking forward to getting home.”

  “Yes, of course.”

  Apparently, she’d hesitated a moment too long before answering. His left eyebrow shot up. “You’re not thinking about that telephone call again, are you?”

  “It’s crossed my mind a time or two.”

  “Are you afraid to go home?”

  “Of course not. What a silly—”

  “Because if you are,” he cut in as if he hadn’t heard her, “you’re welcome to spend the night here. You’d be doing me a favor, actually. We could take turns pacing the hallway with Her Highness.”

  She shook her head, refusing to be tempted by his offer. While there was a certain appeal in not going home alone this evening, she didn’t want Steve to think she was a coward who couldn’t take care of herself. She’d been living on her own for a long time. She didn’t need a big, strong male to defend her against bumps in the night. Though it might have been nice, just this once, to know there was someone at her side...

  She spoke firmly. “I don’t need to stay overnight And you don’t really need me here. You managed just fine without me last night.”

  “I can manage,” he agreed. “But if you’re going to lose sleep worrying and I’m going to lose sleep pacing, we might as well lose sleep together, don’t you think?”

  “I’m not spending the night here, Steve.”

  “Not even if I promise to be on my best behavior? I won’t tease you—much—and I won’t kiss you again. Unless you want me to, of course.”

  The last comment reinforced her determination to leave. Of course she didn’t want Steve to kiss her again, she told herself firmly. Not in her rational moments, anyway.

  The fact that she occasionally experienced an irrational urge where Steve was concerned gave her even more reason to flee to the safety of her own apartment. “I’d really rather not But I appreciate your offer. I’m sure you were only being thoughtful.”

  “Of course,” he said, the twinkle in his eyes anything but selfless.

  Now that she’d been bathed and fed, Annie drifted off to sleep again. Casey held her while Steve returned the bassinet to the bedroom, and then they stood side-by-side to put her to bed for the night—at least for the first shift of the night, Steve amended.

  When Annie was settled, Steve walked Casey to the living room, where she retrieved her purse and shoes. “You’re sure you won’t change your mind about staying?” he asked.

  “I’m sure,” she said, her tone firm enough to convince both of them. Her fingers fumbled with the car keys—not a sign of reluctance to leave, she assured herself. Merely clumsiness.

  “You aren’t still worried about that phone call?”

  She slung the strap of her purse over her shoulder. “You’ve persuaded me that there’s nothing to worry about As you said, there’s no reason for the guy to contact me again.”

  “Oh. Well, I’m glad I was able to reassure you.”

  He didn’t sound particularly glad, but she didn’t call him on it She moved to the front door with Steve right at her heels.

  He reached out to place a hand against the door to prevent her from opening it The unexpected move left her crowded between the door and his solid body. Once again she became aware of the warmth that seemed to radiate from him. Oddly enough, that masculine heat caused a slight shiver to course through her.

  “Did—” She cleared her throat “Did you forget something?”

  “Yeah. I forgot to thank you again for everything you’ve done today.”

  She glanced up at him. “That isn’t necessary.”

  “Oh, I think it is. Thank you, Casey, darlin’.” He lowered his head and, before she could pull away, settled his mouth firmly on hers.

  Just like the last time he’d kissed her, the first jolt of contact paralyzed her. The few times she had allowed herself to fantasize about kissing Steve Lockhart in the past, she’d assumed the experience would be merely intriguing.

  Once again, she’d underestimated him.

  It took her several long moments to pull away—probably because it took her that long to convince herself she really wanted to do so. Steve didn’t try to detain her when she drew her head back, but he didn’t move away, either. “You said you wouldn’t do that again,” she accused, her voice shaky. “You said you would be on your best behavior.”

  “That was if you spent the night,” he reminded her with a quick smile. “Since you declined that offer...”

  He lowered his head and kissed her again.

  Maybe she could blame her lack of resistance on shock. She hadn’t exactly cooperated, but she hadn’t pushed him away, either. She didn’t know what excuse she would use for not doing so this time.

  His lips moved slowly, savoring hers, slanting to an angle that allowed him to taste and explore very thoroughly. It was only reflex that made her lips soften beneath his, she tried to convince herself. Only instinct that made her hands rise tentatively to clutch his shoulders. Only hormones that sent her blood coursing hotly through her, causing her skin to go warm and damp and her breath to catch hard in her throat.

  Maybe it was only curiosity that kept her in his embrace a few heartbeats after her common sense kicked in and told her she had to put an end to this.

  Her hands slid from his shoulders to his chest. Her fingers spread and pushed very lightly—but enough to get his attention. He lifted his head, the faint smile on his lips mirrored in his eyes. “I always knew kissing you would be spectacular,” he murmured. “And, as I discovered earlier today, it is.”

  Had he really been so confident? Though the urge to kiss Steve had crossed Casey’s mind a time or two, she had believed she’d be able to avoid the situation.

  It seemed she’d been wrong about that, too.

  Embarrassed already, she cleared her throat and tried to think of something to say.

  What she should have said, of course, was that she didn’t want it to happen again. Ever. That she had no intention of getting involved with him—if that was what he had in mind. She should have made it quite dear that once Annie and Janice were taken care of, the truce was over. She should have told him that no matter how good he looked or how fabulously he kissed, she couldn’t let him distract her from the mission she’d undertaken when she’d left law school to rescue her father’s business.

  What she actually said was, “Um—it’s getting late. I have to go.”

  To her relief—and unaccountable disappointment—he stepped back, putting a little distance between them. “Drive carefully,” he said. “And call me when you’re safely inside your apartment, will you?”

  She looked at him blankly. “Why?”

  “Because if you don’t, I’ll worry,” he answered with a matter-of-fact shrug.

  Even as she nodded and let herself out, she was aware that it had been a long time since anyone had worried about whether she got home safely.

  CASEY HAD DRIVEN only a couple of miles toward her home when she realized that she was being followed.

  She might not have noticed the vehicle at a discreet distance behind her had her nerves not been so on edge—from the call earlier and from Steve’s kisses. But when she made two completely illogical turns and noticed that the car was still behind her, though at a distance apparently intended to allay suspicions, she knew it was no coincidence.

  She snatched up her cell phone and dialed Steve’s number—a number
she’d memorized as easily as he had hers.

  “Someone’s following me,” she blurted, barely giving him time to answer.

  Steve didn’t hesitate. “Come back here. I’ll be waiting at the front door for you.”

  “Should I call the police?”

  “And tell them about Annie? Not yet, Casey. Just get back here and we’ll talk about what to do.”

  “I just headed in your direction,” she said, glancing at the distant lights reflected in her rearview mirror.

  “Stay on the phone until you get here.”

  She heard the baby crying in the background. “What’s wrong with Annie?”

  “The phone woke her. She wants me to pick her up.”

  Casey made a careful one-handed left turn. “Shouldn’t you take care of her?”

  “It won’t hurt her to fuss for a few minutes. Stay on the line, Casey.”

  She didn’t want to dwell on how natural it seemed to have turned to him. How reassuring it was to hear his deep, concerned voice. How implicitly she trusted him to help her. This wasn’t the time to worry about the kisses they’d shared or whether it would be possible to go back to the adversarial relationship they’d maintained before they’d found Annie in his plane.

  There were more pressing matters at hand, she reminded herself with another nervous glance at the mirror.

  “Casey?”

  “Still here,” she assured him. “I just turned onto your street. I see your house now.”

  “Okay. I’m hanging up. I’ll meet you outside.”

  He was waiting on the front porch when she turned into his driveway. Just the sight of him, so strong and solid looking in the soft yellow glow of the porch lights, made the tense muscles in her neck relax a little.

  She would worry about that reaction later, she decided, choosing for now to just be glad he was there.

  Before the trailing vehicle had even reached Steve’s driveway, Casey was out of her car and on his porch. He reached out to pull her close to him and together they watched the other car slow. Casey felt Steve’s arm tense, and knew he was mentally preparing for trouble. She could feel the anger in him, and she suspected it was because she had been frightened.