Unexpected Arrivals (The Unexpected Series Book 2) Read online

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  “It means no one knows how to be a father until they become one.” He laughed. “You’ll figure it out.”

  “Are you serious? I can’t take care of a kid. I have a busy life, and I travel. What am I supposed to do with him then? Pack him in my rucksack?”

  Alex shrugged. “You’ll figure it out. Lexi and I can help you until you get things ironed out.”

  I stared at him and then sighed. “Can you give me a minute to dry off?”

  “I have an extra shirt in my locker,” he said, and I went back to the bathroom we had in the back and grabbed the t-shirt out of his small storage cubby that we called lockers. I didn’t have other pants to change into so this was going to have to do.

  I went back to the conference room, where I found some odd-looking pad lying on the table along with a package of baby wipes.

  Alex was standing near the window. “Looks like the storm is finally passing. Alice and I changed him and found a bottle.” I nodded absently as I retrieved the piece of paper that she’d left for me. My gaze skimmed the page and went right to the phone number for the adoption agency. “What’s his name by the way?”

  “What?” I turned to him and then recalled what he had just asked. “Devon. His name is Devon.”

  “Devon what?”

  I shrugged. “I have no idea.”

  “When was he born?”

  “You’re kidding? You think I should know these things?”

  Alex laughed. “Yeah, a kid’s birthday is kind of important.”

  I sighed as I sank into a chair. “I have no clue, Alex. What the hell am I going to do? I seriously cannot take care of a baby.”

  Alex set the empty bottle down and put the baby upon his shoulder, patting his back as he moved his body slightly back and forth in a rocking motion. “It might seem overwhelming right now, Trev, but I promise it will get easier. You’ll figure it out, and I already told you that Lexi and I could help.”

  “You want to take the baby home with you?” I asked, only half joking.

  Alex grinned. “Lexi would probably love it if she weren’t so tired already, although I promise that we will help you. Does she have other things for the baby, or is this it?”

  “She said that Carol had stuff for him, but I have to make arrangements to meet with her to get it.”

  “Did she at least bring a car seat?”

  I shook my head. “No, she said it’s at Carol’s.”

  “Well, shit,” Alex muttered and walked toward me. “Stand up and take him.”

  “Why?” I asked suddenly, afraid that he would bolt out the door as Davina had.

  “Relax, buddy. I’m going to call Lexi and see if she can stop by the store and grab a car seat for you. Legally, you need to have one to get him home.”

  “Yeah, I guess so.” I stood and stared at the small infant in his arms. “Jesus, he’s so tiny.”

  “He is small, and I’m going to guess that he’s only a couple weeks old.” He held him out to me. “Keep him on your shoulder and pat his back so that he burps.”

  “What if I pat him too hard?”

  Alex grinned. “He’s tougher than he looks, but don’t go slap-happy, just firm taps on his back, rub it a little like I was doing and move around.”

  “You sure you don’t want to take him home to practice with? You could give him back to me in a few years.”

  “Yeah, no,” Alex said with a laugh.

  I took the baby and put him on my shoulder like Alex had and began to pat his back. He wiggled in my arms, rubbing his head on my shoulder, and against my collarbone. I lifted him a little higher, and he nuzzled into my neck. Man, he was a warm little thing, and so damn soft.

  Alex got on his cellphone and called Lexi. I could tell that she was asking a lot of questions, but he told her he’d explain when she arrived later today.

  After he hung up, he turned to me. “You’re lucky she was off this afternoon. She’s heading to the store now to get the stuff.”

  “Stuff? What else do I need besides a car seat?”

  “Well, how about someplace for the baby to sleep?”

  “Can’t I just put him in my bed with me? Maybe prop some pillows around him so that he doesn’t roll off?”

  “No,” Alex stated firmly. “You absolutely cannot do that. Letting the baby sleep with you or on your bed is not a good idea. You could roll over on him, or he could get caught against a pillow and suffocate.”

  I winced. Yeah, I wasn’t attached to the little guy, but I sure didn’t want to hurt him.

  The kid let out a loud belch that surprised both Alex and me, and then Alex grinned my way. “He’s just like his old man.”

  “Hey, watch that.”

  He shrugged and took a seat. “Is he asleep now?”

  I pulled my head back, trying to see his face, and he looked like he was asleep. “I think so.”

  “Why don’t you lay him down in his stroller?”

  “How do I do that?” I stared at the stroller and then Alex.

  He chuckled. “You are clueless, aren’t you? Just lay him down on his back but hold his neck while you do because he’s not strong enough to do that yet, and then cover him with the blanket that is in there.”

  I moved slowly, trying not to jostle him too much and trying to figure out the best way to handle him so that his head didn’t flop around. He began to tense in my hands and stretched his back like a cat while he pulled his legs up.

  “What is he doing?”

  “He’s just stretching. It’s okay; lay him down.”

  I got him down and covered him with the small blanket in the stroller, stepping back slowly and staring at him the entire time. He was so small, so fragile-looking. He had a light dusting of dark hair on top of his head, and his face was round, his nose slightly turned up at the end.

  I’m pretty sure his nose came from Carol. I remember she had a cute little nose like a ski slope. I frowned as I thought about Carol. How could she decide to keep her pregnancy when she knew that it would probably kill her? How could anyone do that?

  As I stared at the child sleeping, I had to wonder if her decision was worth it.

  Chapter Four

  Davina

  I almost fell asleep on the bus on the way home. I was that tired, and the only thing I wanted to do was curl up in bed and cry myself to sleep. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to happen. Luckily, it had stopped raining, and after getting off the bus, I had to walk three blocks to the mechanic’s shop where they had been working on my car all day. It would have been so much easier to drop Devon off and take some of his stuff to Trevor if I’d had the car, but the alternator went out, and I didn’t have a choice but to take the bus.

  Now my car was done, and I drove it the three miles home and rushed up the stairs to my apartment on the second floor. I booted up my desktop computer and my laptop, made myself a pot of coffee, and tried to focus on what was in front of me.

  Thirty minutes later, I couldn’t hold my head up, and I finally decided that I needed a short nap. I’d close my eyes for thirty minutes, an hour tops, and then get back to work. I crawled onto my bed and collapsed, my gaze landing on the bassinet that Devon had been sleeping in, and tears crowded my eyes. One slipped from between my lids and ran down the length of my nose as I drifted off.

  The tinkling sound of my cellphone notifications drifted through my subconscious, and I began to rouse. I rolled to my back, groaning slightly as I moved. I blinked, and then blinked again. Was it dark in here, or was I still sleeping?

  I glanced around, seeing the shadows of my furniture, and my gaze drifted to my bedside table. I shot straight up. “Oh, shit! That can’t be right!” I fumbled around on the bed, looking for my cellphone in the darkness and finally found it. I lifted the screen, and my jaw dropped. It was after midnight.

  “Oh, my god!” I jumped out of bed and raced into the living room, tripping over something in the darkness and al
most falling on my face. I had been so exhausted that I’d fallen asleep for eight straight hours.

  I rubbed my eyes as I woke my computer up. I had a project that was supposed to be completed by nine this next morning, and I still had hours of work to do on it. As the computers ran through start-up programs, I went into my kitchen and poured out the old pot of coffee and made a fresh one.

  Then I grabbed the bag of licorice that I loved to gnaw on while I was thinking and clipped my messy hair out of my face. Back at my desk, I browsed my email, wincing when I saw not one, but three emails from my boss.

  I quickly replied to Scott that the program would be ready by morning and sent it to him as I began to log in to my work program. My cellphone rang a few moments later, and I absently put it to my ear, expecting Scott’s rough and grumble voice. “Davina?”

  The softer, huskier voice tickled my eardrums and made me sit up a little straighter, and then I heard a baby screaming in the background. My eyes popped wide as my body instantly went on alert. “Is Devon okay?”

  “I don’t know. He won’t stop crying. He’s been like this for hours.”

  “Have you tried to feed him?”

  “Of course, I’ve tried to feed him. I’ve even checked his diaper, but it’s dry.”

  I stood and began to pace. “Are you holding him, or is he lying down?”

  “I just laid him in his bed, but I’ve been holding him for hours. I’ve rocked him and bounced him and tried to burp him. I told you that I had no idea what the hell I was doing, Davina. I can’t do this.”

  I stopped in the middle of the floor. Why was this my problem? Why was he calling me? I was not the mother, and this man was not my concern. “Why are you telling me this? What the heck do you expect me to do?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe give me some advice, maybe come over here and help me, or—take him back.”

  I blurted out a laugh. “Yeah, that’s not happening, Mr. Vaughn. Do you know what I did when I got home this afternoon? I passed out for eight straight hours. Do you know how long it’s been since I got more than two hours sleep in a row? It’s been two weeks. It’s your turn now.”

  “Davina, come on, what if something is wrong with him?”

  “Then take him to the hospital,” I snapped back as my email pinged.

  “Maybe he misses you,” he said gently.

  “I doubt that.” His words made my chest tighten. I was all Devon had ever known. Well, except for Lucy downstairs, who had watched him a couple of times for me when I had to go into the office for meetings.

  “Look, is there any way that you can come over here and check on him, or I can even bring him to you. Tell me where you live, and I’ll come over.”

  “Mr. Vaughn, I can’t—”

  “Would you cut the damn Mr. Vaughn shit.” He growled. “It’s Trev or Trevor already.”

  “Okay, Trevor,” I growled. “I’m working right now; I can’t stop what I’m doing and help you take care of your son.”

  He was quiet for a second, and Devon’s screech filled the void. “It’s after midnight; why are you working? Normal people sleep at this time.”

  “Yes, normal people do, and I just told you that I came home and crashed for eight hours. Now I’m late on a project that is due in the morning, and I have to get it finished.”

  “Davina, please!” His voice was urgent. “I’m begging you here. I don’t know what to do with him. Today was the first time I have even held a baby. He’s like an unknown entity to me, and I don’t know how to deal with him. Jesus, I landed back in the US at midnight last night after three weeks overseas, got four hours of sleep, and went to work where my entire world turned upside down when you showed up. I need help, and you have no idea how hard that is for me to say, but I don’t know where else to turn. Please! I’ll pay you!”

  I mulled that over for a moment. He really did sound desperate, and Devon’s agonizing cries were tearing my heart in two. “I don’t want your money,” I finally muttered.

  “Davina—”

  Would it be possible to help him for a little while and still get my project done? Yeah, it wasn’t like I had to write the code from scratch. Most of it was written; it just needed to be strung together and tested. I could do that and help him with Devon, right? “Fine, give me your address.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Yes, now give it to me before I change my damn mind.”

  He gave it to me, and I was surprised to find that it was only about twenty minutes away. “Give me a few minutes to get things together, and then I’ll be on my way.”

  “Text me when you get here. I need to buzz you into the front gate.”

  Just by him telling me that, I had a good idea where he lived. There was a gated community on the other side of town. One of my co-workers lived there, and I’d taken them home once after an office party. It was a nice place, although a bit too classy for my taste.

  “Thank you, Davina. I owe you. I really do.”

  I sighed. “Yeah, you do.” I hung up without another word and started packing up my laptop, then grabbed my backup one and my notebooks with all the notes, charts, and information, and shoved them into my biggest laptop bag.

  Then I looked down at myself and rushed into the bedroom, changing into clean jeans and a long cream-colored cable knit sweater before I ran a brush through my hair and brushed my teeth.

  I stared at myself in the mirror. I still looked hell, but I doubted that he would even notice, especially if Carol had been his type. I was her polar opposite. She had been tall, with beautiful honey-blond hair that fell in classic waves over her shoulders. Her blue eyes had sparkled with life, and her laugh had sounded like a bell tinkling. She had been grace and beauty, and I was functional and bland with uncontrollable frizzy hair.

  Back in the kitchen, I poured a large to-go mug with coffee and added some of my favorite creamer before I grabbed my bag and headed out the door. I let my car warm up a minute as I wondered why the hell I was doing this. I had obligations that needed my attention, and helping Trevor Vaughn with his new baby was not on that list.

  I frowned as I put the car in gear. I was only doing this because I had loved Carol so much, and it wasn’t fair for Devon to suffer because his father was a stupid playboy.

  I remember Carol telling me she had met him at a coffee shop. They enjoyed a cup of coffee which turned into dinner the next night, and then two weeks later, a long weekend at a bed and breakfast in the mountains. She told me it had been a whirlwind romance, and then he had to travel for business.

  When I asked her later if she was ever going to see him again, she smiled sadly and said no. She never would tell me why, but by then she had learned she was pregnant and had a heart condition.

  Had he not gotten Carol pregnant, she would still be here. He was to blame for her death, someone to direct my anger toward, and I needed to keep that in mind. Trevor Vaughn was the reason my best friend was dead, and I would never forgive him for that.

  I drove through the quiet streets of the town and got there in fifteen minutes since all the lights were green, and I was basically the only car on the road. I stopped at his gate and typed one word to him: here.

  A moment later, the gate began to rattle and roll open, and I slipped through as soon as I could. I found his building and parked in an open spot, grabbing my laptop bag and coffee mug before locking up my car.

  I found his door and was about to knock when it suddenly jerked open, and I jumped back in surprise. “Jesus, you scared the crap out of me.”

  “I saw you park. Come in.” I glanced at him as I slipped past; his hair was sticking up in every direction, and he had a shell-shocked look about him. I almost laughed, but a keening wail caught my attention, and I quickly shoved my laptop bag into his hands and ran up the stairs.

  In the living room area near the sofa was a small white bassinet, and I rushed to it, setting my coffee mug on the side table and shrugging out of my jacket. After tossing it to
the couch, I went for Devon.

  “It’s okay, sweet baby. It’s okay. Aunt Davina is here. Come here, honey. It’s okay.” I cooed at him as I curled him against my chest. He continued to cry, but his tears slowly began to subside as I whispered to him and kissed the top of his head, rocking slowly.

  “Get a bottle for him,” I said as I glanced over my shoulder. Trevor was standing at the top of the stairs, his jaw hanging open as he stared at me. “What?”

  “How did you do that?”

  I rubbed Devon’s back, patting it softly, and he let out a burp and fidgeted against my chest. “Shh, sweetheart, it’s okay.” I stared at Trevor. “How did I do what?”

  “Get him to quiet down so damn fast?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. Get a bottle for him.”

  He quickly set my laptop bag to the side and hustled into his kitchen area. There were baby things spread all over the counters, and I chuckled to myself. It looked like my apartment when I’d first brought Devon home.

  Devon continued to cry softly and wiggled against me as I waited. The minute Trevor had the formula in the bottle, he came toward me, a look of awe in his eyes. I took the bottle while adjusting Devon in my arms and then rubbed the nipple against his lips. He latched on immediately and began to suck.

  Trevor stepped closer, and I glanced up at his face. He was staring at Devon, shaking his head. “I’m serious, how did you do that? I’ve tried to feed him four different times, and not once would he take the bottle.”

  I pulled the bottle away from Devon’s lips, and he started to cry immediately. “Here, you take Devon, and let’s see if we can change that.”

  “But he’s crying again.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Just take Devon.”

  He sighed, but took hold of the baby, holding him stiffly. “Go sit down with him.”

  “Where?”

  “On the couch,” I pointed, and he took Devon to the couch and sat down as he began to wail again. I handed him the bottle, and he tried to get Devon to take it, but Devon refused.

  “See, he doesn’t like me!” Trevor growled.