The Baby Bequest

Judy returned and handed the huge diaper bag to Evan. He easily hoisted the strap of the satchel over one shoulder.

“Evan, wait,” Arnie called, but Evan kept walking. He managed to snuggle his baby sister closer to his chest, and though that didn’t entirely calm her, at least it took her crying to a low wail. He strode down the hall, then through the front office and the door with the tinkling bell and out into the sunshine, his brothers behind him.

“Evan, wait!”

This time the call came from Claire, the assistant. And that was another thing. Ten thousand dollars to a woman who was an assistant for a year? One short year? Evan didn’t begrudge his father the right to do what he wanted to do with his money, but given that Arnie had tried to sneak the kids away from him everything in that codicil became suspicious.

“Wait!”

This call was louder and stronger and gave Evan the impression she planned on following him forever if she needed to. Rather than take her to the door of the Brewster mansion, he stopped.

“What?” he demanded angrily.

She drew a long breath because she’d been running, and Evan tried not to notice the flush on her cheeks or the way her silky black hair accented her blue eyes.

“Car seats,” she managed to say when she’d finally gotten enough air.

He stared at her. “Car seats?”

“In Pennsylvania it’s the law that all kids under the age of four have to be in a car seat.”

Evan looked at Chas.

“She’s right,” Chas said, juggling the little boy he held in an effort to get him to stop crying.

Evan hesitated a few seconds. “I’m only going three miles up the road,” he said, and turned away from Claire. “I will drive safely and I will drive slowly. Once we get the kids settled, I’ll send Grant out for car seats.”

He felt a tug on his coat sleeve and, annoyed, stopped again. “What?”

“This is ridiculous,” she said softly, infuriatingly calm. “All we have to do is take these kids back to Arnie’s office and get their car seats from Judy’s car.”

Evan didn’t care that what she said made sense. What he felt was fresh and raw. He knew the bottom line for Arnie was probably money, and the thought that someone would use children for profit made Evan sick. Going back for those car seats was a capitulation he knew he couldn’t make. Particularly since he didn’t have any idea what Claire’s involvement was in this situation. She might be innocently drawing him back for car seats, or she might be taking them back to give Arnie another shot at getting the guardianship release signed.

He gave her a cool look. “We’ll stop at the discount store on the outskirts of town. That means we’ll be driving about a mile without car seats, but we’ll get the car seats,” he said quietly, protectively clutching his sister. He didn’t even care when she wiped her wet nose on his lapel. “If you don’t like that, call the police.”

With that he turned away again and started down Market Street toward his sport utility vehicle, which was parked by the curb. Because both Grant and Chas had ridden with him, the three men and their babies stopped when they reached Evan’s truck. He unlocked the doors.

“For pete’s sake, at least let me come to the house and help you get organized,” Claire said reasonably as Evan fumbled with his keys.

“No.”

“What are you going to do with three kids?” she asked.

Evan whirled around to face her. “How old are you?”

Her chin lifted. “Twenty-three.”

“I’m thirty-three. I have ten more years of experience than you. I think that makes me ten years more qualified to take care of kids than you.”

He got into the car and handed his sister to Grant, who arranged both kids securely on his lap. When Evan’s arms were free, Claire caught his jacket sleeve to get his attention again.

“There are seven children in my family. The youngest is six. I’d say I have oodles more experience caring for kids than you.”

Evan didn’t have to worry about closing his door because Claire slammed it in his face. Angry, yet undeniably exhilarated, he pulled his car into the street.

He’d never felt like this before. Stupid and happy. Stupid because he should have accepted Claire’s help since he knew he and his brothers really couldn’t take care of three babies. Happy because he had three kids, and maybe even a chance to make amends to his father.

As long as Attorney Arnie Garrett didn’t have a legal maneuver up his sleeve to wrestle custody away….

Chapter Two

Evan couldn’t stop thinking about Claire Wilson. His anger at Arnie Garrett was so great he felt certain it should have flooded out any other thoughts, but instead, Claire Wilson drowned out judgments of Norm Brewster’s lawyer as if he were only a secondary player instead of the primary culprit.

He kept wondering if it was naïveté that had Claire throwing in her lot with Arnie Garrett, or loyalty to his father, or just plain stupidity.

He couldn’t believe it was stupidity. His father didn’t suffer fools lightly, so he wouldn’t have hired her if she weren’t intelligent. Nor did Evan think it was loyalty, because his father’s will clearly stated that he wanted the triplets raised by his estranged sons. Norm Brewster would insist family be raised by family. If anything, his father would have demanded the boys be found and forced to raise their kin. That was just the Brewster way. So she couldn’t have been helping Arnie out of loyalty to his father, which meant it had to be naïveté.

To a degree, Evan could accept that. Claire was young. And pretty enough that she’d probably been protected from the harsh realities of life by doting parents, idealistic teachers and every man in this county.

He scowled, confused about why that twisted oddly in his gut. The girl was a looker. There was no sense pretending she didn’t have boys knocking down her door….

Furious with himself for thinking about foolish things when he had real trouble to attend to, Evan scowled again and shoved the woman out of his mind as he jogged up the steps of the circular stairway in the foyer of the Brewster mansion.

He and his brothers had accidentally discovered the nursery when they’d gone in search of the birth certificates, the will and its codicil. Eventually they found all three in their father’s safe. Everything Arnie had told them that morning had been verified—including the fact that if the Brewster sons didn’t want custody of the triplets, Arnie and Judy Garrett would be the guardians. As such, Arnie would be the trustee of their holdings in Brewster Lumber, and he would have fifty percent voting power and complete control of the triplets’ money. He’d also be paid a handsome salary. Reason enough, in Evan’s mind, for the man to try to get custody of the children.

When Evan opened the nursery door, a cacophony of crying greeted him like the noise of an off-key symphony. If he hadn’t been so frazzled trying to figure things out—like the kids’ names, how to get them to stop crying, and how to feed them—he would have taken a moment just to absorb everything. Their little faces, the reality that they were his flesh and blood kin, the fact that they were sisters and a brother were almost incomprehensible.

“Give me a damned bottle already,” Grant growled as Evan made his way into the nursery. Fading rays of late-afternoon sunshine poured into the curtainless windows at the back of the room, which was already bright and cheerful with white walls covered with radiant rainbows. Carefully neutral, the nursery had obviously been designed to keep the kids together without insulting Norm Brewster’s sensibilities about little boys being anywhere near pink.

Remembering his father, Evan held back an involuntary smile, which turned into a surge of pain and regret. How he wished he could have these last two years back again. If nothing else, he would at least try to understand why his father had married so soon after his wife’s death…and why he married someone so young…and why he had more children.

“A bottle, Evan,” Chas implored in exasperation, and Evan brought himself out of his reverie, knowing it was pointless to wish for things that couldn’t happen.

Both Grant and Chas sat in rockers, each holding a fussing baby. The third child sat in the crib, clutching the bars, sobbing as she awaited Evan’s return.

“Okay, one bottle for Taylor,” he said, and handed it to Grant. “One for Annie,” he said, using the shortened version of Antoinette. “And one bottle for Cody.”

Taylor almost grabbed the bottle from Grant’s hands and gulped the contents as if she had been on a deserted island without food for the past two days. Little Annie also drank quickly and easily, nearly directing Evan on how to handle the bottle. But Chas had the devil’s time getting Cody to drink. Chas would move one way, Cody would move the other. The nipple bumped his nose. Chas dripped liquid on Cody’s forehead. And all the while the starving baby screamed.

“This isn’t going to work,” Chas growled after he’d finally made contact with Cody’s mouth.

“Yes, it is,” Evan insisted doggedly.

“You can’t raise kids on good intentions,” Chas said as he set his rocker in motion.

“We have more than good intentions,” Evan said, beginning to rock after he was sure Annie was comfortable.

“We don’t know the first thing about babies.”

“Gentlemen,” Grant interjected. “In case you didn’t notice this morning, we had a volunteer to assist us. Unfortunately, somebody insisted we didn’t need her.”

“I don’t think we do.”

“Well, I think we do,” Grant said simply.

“And I think we do,” Chas agreed, then he bounced off his chair. “Aw, damn. He spit up on me.” Turning his head slowly, Chas speared Evan with a withering look. “I know we need help.”

“Then go ahead and call her,” Evan said, refusing to use Claire’s name because he got a fluttery sensation in the pit of his stomach when he realized he’d get to see her again. Which was insane. She was ten years younger than he was. And potentially up to her ears in Arnie Garrett’s scheme to take the triplets.

He couldn’t possibly be attracted to her.

It wasn’t right.

“Uh-uh.” Chas shook head. “You yelled at her, you call her.”

“I agree with Chas,” Grant said, rocking Taylor, who sucked noisily. “You yelled at her, you call her.”

“You boys forget, I don’t think we need her.”

“And you forget, Evan, that Arnie Garrett has a lot to gain if he becomes guardian for these kids,” Chas reminded his brother. “Having a will or even having the law on our side won’t mean anything if Arnie can prove we’re incompetent. I say we call her.”

Evan looked down and saw that little Annie had finished her bottle and was peacefully sleeping in his arms. Taylor was nearly asleep in Grant’s arms, and even Cody had settled down and was drinking heartily.

They didn’t need help from anyone.

This baby thing was a piece of cake….

As she unlocked the door of her apartment that night, Claire could hear her phone ringing. She juggled two bags of groceries and quickly pushed her way into her kitchen, catching the phone on the fourth ring.

“Hello,” she said breathlessly.

“Hello, this is Evan Brewster.”

Claire felt an incomprehensible torrent of pleasure just hearing his voice. Which was ridiculous. He might be a handsome man, but he was a stubborn man, an angry man and one of her new bosses.

Still, her traitorous, disobedient heart skipped a beat. Claire ignored it in favor of more important concerns like why was Evan calling her? Was it to fire her for slamming a car door in his face earlier? Or was it to ask for help? She prayed he was calling for help.

“What’s up?” she asked, trying to sound casual as she angled the phone between her ear and shoulder.

There was a pause. A long one. Finally, Evan said, “We could really use some guidance with the kids.”

Claire released a silent sigh of relief. Thanks to the triplets, it appeared she was keeping her job. Norm had always said they were an unexpected blessing. She was beginning to understand what he meant. “Tell me what’s wrong and I’ll tell you how to fix it.”

“We figured out how to use the disposable diapers, but the same system that works for the girls doesn’t seem to work for Cody. All the things Judy gave us are gone. We don’t know if we’re allowed to feed them anything besides what was in the bottles, and we can’t get them to stop crying.”

Claire grimaced. “This isn’t something we can handle over the phone.”

“I didn’t think so.”

“I’ll be right over.”

By the time Claire drove up in front of the Brewster mansion, it was already nine o’clock. Loyalty to Norm had Claire feeling guilty for visiting her parents and doing her grocery shopping rather than staying home waiting for a call just like this one. But, to be honest, Evan and his brothers had seemed so determined that Claire genuinely believed they’d rather sign a pact with the devil than call someone for help.

Swallowing their pride and admitting their shortcomings in favor of the babies’ needs had quickly, easily raised her opinion of them. But the Brewsters had actually elevated their reputations in her eyes by how protective they were of their new brother and sisters. Regardless of the fact that the babies were the product of a marriage they didn’t condone, the Brewster brothers had accepted the triplets without question or qualm.

Even if they didn’t have a clue how to care for them.

She stepped out of her car and pulled out the box of disposable diapers she’d picked up at the discount store on her way to the Brewster estate. Studying the two-story Tudor-style home, she walked to the front door. Graceful touches of carved wood and stained glass made the mansion the most lush, sophisticated home Claire had ever seen.

Before she rang the bell, the door opened.

“Thank God! Come in! Come in!”

Taking the disposable diapers from her hands, Evan dragged her into the elegant marble-and-cherry-wood foyer. The chandelier sparkled radiantly, giving the entry an unnaturally bright glow.

“Where are they?” she asked simply.

“Upstairs. Follow me.”

Having changed from his suit into jeans and a T-shirt, Evan looked even more attractive than he had that morning at Arnie’s office. His informal clothes defined muscles hidden by his conservative black suit. Once again, Claire had to remind herself that this gorgeous man was her boss. She occupied her mind by studying the dark wood paneling as he led her up the winding stairway to the landing and down the hall, then opened the door to a huge, airy, colorful nursery.

“Oh,” she breathed, first in sympathy for the kids, who had cried so hard and so long they looked exhausted, then in appreciation of the beautiful room with hardwood floors and wood trim and walls decorated in a rainbow motif.

Also dressed in jeans and T-shirts, Grant and Chas sat in two of the three rockers, clumsily holding the girls. Behind them were three identical cribs and behind the cribs were three uncurtained windows trimmed in the same oak as the rockers.

“Where’s Cody?”

“Cody’s in a round thing,” Evan said as if that explained everything.

“A round thing?” Claire echoed, confused.

“I found some round thing with wheels that’s got a seat in the middle. When I first put him in, he stopped crying and started sort of walking around, but that only lasted about twenty minutes, then he was howling with the girls again.”

“Okay,” Claire said, recognizing Evan had put Cody in a walker.

“You get Cody,” she said. “And sit in the third rocker. For now, we’ll just run through some of the basics.”

Nodding obediently, Evan slipped around Chas’s rocker and lifted Cody from the walker. Claire noticed all three kids wore pajamas and decided that was a step in the right direction—as long as they’d figured out how to tighten Cody’s diaper.

“The first thing you need to know is that babies like to feel secure. So check the way you’re holding your child. Make sure the baby can tell that you’re not going to drop him or her.”

Evan tossed her a completely exasperated look. “These kids need sleep.”

“And they also need love, attention and affection,” Claire said angrily, marching over and arranging Evan’s arms around Cody in such a way that the baby would feel both protected and loved. The second her hand made contact with his forearm, though, he started as if she’d given him an electrical shock. Their eyes met briefly, then both quickly looked away.

“Whether you guys understand this or not, you’re complete strangers to these babies,” she continued as she moved to Chas and manipulated his arms around the baby he was holding. “They have to get to know you or they won’t sleep. They probably won’t even stop crying,” she said, jerking Grant’s arms until she had them folded properly around the little girl. “In fact, I’m going to suggest that each of you take a child, one child, and be responsible for that child’s care, so that baby gets a sense of being special, being important and feeling secure.”

When all three kids were properly positioned, she stepped back. “Now, keeping your hands and arms around the baby just like I fixed them, bring the baby up to your chest and cuddle her or him.”

All three of the Brewster brothers did as they were instructed.

“When you cuddle a baby,” Claire continued, “rub your cheek against the baby’s cheek and whisper soft things. Just tell her that you love her.”

“This is weird…” Grant began, but Claire silenced him with a look.

“These kids have been with strangers for the past two days, and,” she added softly, “they lost their daddy, too. And their mom. What each one of them needs right now more than anything else is a little bit of love.”

Crossing her arms on her chest as if daring them to disagree, Claire watched all three shrewdly as—after casting surreptitious glances at one another—each Brewster cuddled his child. As she’d instructed, they rubbed their cheeks on the babies’ cheeks, they whispered endearments.

“Pat their backs,” Claire encouraged quietly, because the sleepy children were calmer now.

“When was the last time you fed them?”

“We gave Taylor the final bottle right before Evan called you,” Chas whispered. Though the little girl he held still sniffed and hiccuped, her crying had stopped and her swollen eyes were closed.

Claire swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. She could feel every iota of these babies’ pain. She missed Norm, too. But on top of that, these kids were lonely and afraid, with strange people for the second time in only two days. “Have the other two eaten?” she asked, her voice soft and tender.

Evan nodded. “Everybody has had a bottle in the past hour.”

“Then they’re ready for bed,” Claire whispered, motioning to indicate that all three children were breathing deeply and evenly. “But putting them into a crib is a very tricky thing, so we’re going to do this one baby at a time.”

The brothers nodded.

“Grant, you first. Stand up slowly,” Claire said, walking over to the first crib. When Grant joined her, she said, “Bend at the waist so that your baby doesn’t leave the warmth of your body until she’s almost at the mattress.”

Though his moves were awkward, Grant did exactly as he was told.

“Gently place the baby on the mattress and slide your hand out from under her carefully…and slowly, so you don’t disturb her.”

As if disarming a homemade bomb, Grant slowly, cautiously slid his hands out from under Annie. Claire motioned for him to take a few steps back, and he did. The baby continued to sleep. Grant sagged with relief.

Next, Claire motioned for Chas to do the same thing. She quietly repeated the instructions, and, as Grant had, Chas also went limp with relief.

Before Claire could motion to Evan, he was already on his way to the last crib. Without any direction from her, he laid Cody on the soft mattress, eased his hands and arms from under the child, stepped away, and then breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Claire had an odd intuition about the way Evan didn’t wait for her help, almost as if he didn’t want to risk her touching him again. Deciding she was putting too much meaning on things that probably had none, she clicked on the baby monitor and motioned for all three men to come out of the nursery. One by one they filed out into the hall. Claire gently closed the door behind them. Placing one finger on her lips, she cautioned them not to say anything and then directed them downstairs.

All four tiptoed down the circular stairway, through the foyer and into the all-white kitchen at the rear of the house. Collapsing on the stools in front of the counter, the brothers groaned.

“Parenting’s not exactly as easy as it looks,” Claire said with a laugh.

“How the hell do you know so much about kids?” Grant asked incredulously.

“She’s got six brothers and sisters,” Evan replied before Claire could. Though she realized he knew the answer because she’d told him as much that afternoon, she felt a strange jolt of joy that he not only remembered but took the liberty of answering for her as if they were longtime friends.

“You’re kidding,” Grant gasped.

“Nope,”

Claire said, then walked to the counter to inspect the empty bottles. Again, she told herself not to make a mountain out of a molehill. She knew what was happening. She found Evan attractive and she wanted to think he found her attractive, too, so she was grasping for straws. “My youngest brother is six. Started first grade this year. Cute as a bug.”

“But you don’t live at home. Your phone number is listed under your name, not your parents’, and I recognize that address as being part of a house converted into apartments,” Evan observed, getting comfortable on his chair.

“I’ve been on my own since college,” Claire informed him casually as she inspected the contents of the cupboards. Her heart had speeded up when she realized he not only remembered everything she told him but now knew where she lived.

But she stilled her thumping heart by reminding herself that he’d called her because he’d needed to get care for the babies. Then she told herself that even if he was attracted to her and she was to him, neither one of them could act on that attraction. First, he was her boss. Second, they had a ten-year age difference. Third, he was rich and she was poor. Dirt poor. Talk about nothing in common…

As she had hoped, she found baby food, formula and vitamins. She pulled out all three and set them on the counter. “It would have been hard for me to move back in with my family after college, but, also, my being home would have disrupted them. David was only about a year old when I left for school. He doesn’t remember me being home. Kelly doesn’t want to give up half her bedroom.” She shrugged carelessly. “Having my own apartment suits everyone.”

“You didn’t move out because you hate kids?” Evan asked watchfully.

Claire laughed. “Heavens, no. I love kids.”

All three men visibly relaxed.

“And I’ll help you,” she said with another lilting laugh. “Look here. These are prescription vitamins. Do you know what they tell you?”

“Yeah, that the kids don’t eat right,” Chas said, frowning.

“No, that the kids go to a pediatrician,” Claire contradicted. “And see,” she added, showing the men the label. “Right here is their pediatrician’s name.”

“Ah,” Chas said happily. “That’s good.”

“That is good,” Claire agreed. “Just by reading this label you’ll know the dosage to give them, and the doctor to call to find out where they are with their immunizations.”

“Immunizations?” Evan echoed, narrowing his eyes at Claire. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Remember I told you that I was going to hit the basics with you?” Claire asked sweetly.

They nodded.

“Well, somebody get a notebook, because I think you’re going to want to be writing some of this down.”