emailed Tina instead, and she hadn’t even told him she was pregnant.
Erica kept screaming and he cemented his focus on his niece instead of the pediatrician, who looked like a model.
Kaitlyn gave him a quick once-over, from his disheveled hair and beard stubble to his worn sneakers. The last time she’d seen him, he’d been wearing a tux, at least part of the time. “Would you like me to take her?” she asked.
The pink shirt Erica wore must have been a giveaway. She sure didn’t have much hair.
Although Erica had shaken up his world, had spit up on him and generally frazzled him, he was nevertheless protective. The thought of handing her over made him uncomfortable. Kaitlyn must have seen that. “You did call for help, right? May I come in?”
The Mommy Club gave all kinds of help—a doctor on call, babysitting recommendations, financial assistance. He didn’t need the financial assistance and he wasn’t sure exactly what help he did need.
Injured pride set in. “I did call. But I didn’t expect...a doctor. You.”
She let the “you” comment pass and glanced around again.
He understood exactly what she saw—a monumental mess. Tina had dropped the baby into his arms yesterday with a diaper bag. While he was still in shock, his sister had returned to her car and carried in a giant package of diapers, two boxes of powdered formula and a pile of one-piece outfits that he’d practically gone through already.
So dirty baby clothes were strewn from here to there. Bottles he’d washed over and over again to make sure they were clean were stationed on every tabletop. Dish towels that were spread across the sofa and chair had mopped up spills when he’d tried to burp the baby.
“Forget you know me,” Kaitlyn said. “Let me see if I can quiet her. After all, I do have experience handling babies.” Somehow she made herself heard over Erica’s din and held out her hands.
Reluctantly he transferred the baby. But in the transfer, his hands brushed Kaitlyn’s midriff and memories of the night they’d lingered in one of the winery’s offices played much too vividly. Including the moment she’d bolted.
Maybe it was Kaitlyn’s gentle smile. Maybe it was the way she held his niece so tenderly. Maybe it was simply the fact Kaitlyn Foster was a woman. But Erica’s crying decreased a decibel.
Adam felt a kick in his gut. In a matter of minutes, with the doc walking and cooing, totally concentrating on the little being in her arms, Erica’s cries died to whimpers.
Adam didn’t know whether to swear or cheer! “How did you do that? She’s been crying practically nonstop since my sister brought her here.”
“It’s a pediatrician’s magic touch,” Kaitlyn joked. She’d joked and bantered with him that night at the winery, and he remembered thinking afterward he’d liked her sense of humor.
He glanced at Erica again and saw how much more contented she seemed. “Don’t all docs learn the magic touch in med school?”
“Not exactly.” She studied Erica’s tiny face and ran her hand down over her little body in an assessing way. “When did she eat last?”
“About an hour ago. But she wouldn’t take much.” He didn’t know exactly how much babies were supposed to eat. He hadn’t even had time to look it up on his phone. He just wished his sister had given him more information before she’d walked out.
“And before that?”
“Probably an hour before that. When she cries, I don’t know what else to do. I feed her.”
“Just like a new parent.”
“Oh, no! I’m not a new parent.”
Kaitlyn eyed him piercingly with that quick denial. “When was she changed last?”
“After I tried to feed her,” he answered a bit tersely, feeling as if Kaitlyn was interrogating him.
All at once, he realized exactly what Kaitlyn was doing. With a scientific eye—he had one, too—she was sizing up the circumstances to see if they jibed with what he’d told The Mommy Club representative. She was looking over Erica as any physician would to determine if there was a medical condition underlying the crying...or something else.
Kaitlyn kept walking, seeming to take in everything again. Not simply the room and his appearance, but the overall mood, too.
He was straight with her. “I called The Mommy Club because I’m acquainted with Jase.”
“He introduced us,” Kaitlyn reminded him, though he needed no reminder. Although Jase Cramer was now the general manager of Raintree Winery, he was also a photojournalist Adam had met on his work travels.
“I’d read his series about The Mommy Club online this summer while I had some R & R in Cape Town and could access a computer. I called the contact number today because I didn’t want to bring in anyone official.”
Kaitlyn’s gaze met his and the room went soundless. Even Erica was silent.
“Do you have a crib or bassinet?” Kaitlyn asked.
“Her car seat is all I have to use for a bed. I was afraid she’d fall if I put her anywhere else.”
A bit of a smile turned up Kaitlyn’s lips, right before she sank down on the couch, holding Erica as if she was used to holding a baby. The sight made his gut tighten. That was simply because he hadn’t eaten for a while, he told himself reasonably.
“Why don’t you tell me why you’re taking care of a baby?”
“That sounds like a social worker asking. I just wanted a little help with laundry and feeding and—”
She cut in. “You wanted a nanny?”
“Maybe. I just don’t know how long my sister, Tina, will be gone, and I’ve never taken care of a baby before,” he explained with exasperation.
As an environmental geologist, he was used to managing crews and research labs all over the world. He was not used to coaxing a baby to sleep.
“I’m not a social worker, Adam, but The Mommy Club is a responsible organization. We assess needs before we try to satisfy them.”
Her gaze met his again, and he felt unsettled in a man-woman way. Awareness. That’s what it was. And he was fairly certain she felt it, too. Or else she wouldn’t have responded to him the way she had when he’d kissed her. If he was honest with himself, the question of why she’d stopped him before they’d both found satisfaction had plagued him for the past year.
“Adam? Tell me how Erica ended up in your care.”
There was no way around it. He’d have to give her at least some of the story.
“I have a sister...a stepsister. I don’t see her much now. I may have told you when we met...” He trailed off, then continued. “Most of the year I’m on a job site in a foreign country. Tina and I were close once, but—” He stopped. Kaitlyn didn’t need that much background. “Anyway, I just returned from Africa a week ago. That’s when I found out Tina had had a baby.”
“How was your sister coping a week ago?” Kaitlyn obviously wanted to get to the heart of the matter.
“She seemed frazzled. She lives in Sacramento, and we’d made plans to get together. If only I’d realized what was going on with her—”
Kaitlyn jumped right in. “What would have been different? Would you have given up your job and come home?”
Tough questions. Would he have done that? Or would he have tried to get her help some other way?
Erica stirred again and gave a little cry. After Kaitlyn readjusted the baby in her arms, she quieted.
“Would you like some coffee?”