Читать книгу Texan's Baby - Barb Han - Страница 11

Chapter Five

Dawson urged Melanie to put her head on his shoulder as he leaned deeper into the sofa, tabling his anger for now.

If they were going to coparent, they were going to have to learn to work together. None of that could happen in her current condition and his former state of mind. She was run-down, skittish and exhausted, and he couldn’t help feeling partly to blame. As it was, he’d been throwing a lot of subtle anger at her. Not that he wasn’t still mad.

Right now he acknowledged that it was more important to set his own frustration aside and do what was right for Mason. And that involved making sure his mother took better care of herself.

As soon as he figured out what to do about Sprigs so they could set this ordeal behind them, Dawson would take the necessary steps to ensure that Mason had everything he needed. First order of business would be figuring out an appropriate amount of child support. Melanie was stubborn. She’d argue about taking the money. He could see that it was important for her to feel as though she was taking care of her son.

Dawson could tighten his own belt enough to swing paying her bills.

A noise shot straight through him. He held steady, and that was a good thing, because that small, honking-like-a-duck sound came out of Melanie.

She was asleep on his shoulder and that shouldn’t give him satisfaction.

It did.

* * *

MELANIE WOKE WITH a start and quickly scanned the room. Dawson was pacing in front of the window, holding Mason. The image of him shirtless, with their son against his chest, could melt a glacier in Antarctica. She wouldn’t be able to erase that picture for a long time, and maybe a little piece of her heart didn’t want to. “How is he?”

“His fever is down and he hasn’t coughed again.”

“That’s great news.” Maybe life could be like this? Dawson could pitch in to help share some of the load. His mother was wrong. He looked pretty happy holding his son. “I should change his diaper.”

“Changed it when he woke up. That wasn’t as easy as it looks. On the internet they use a baby doll to demonstrate. This little guy doesn’t hold still.” Dawson seemed pleased with himself.

Melanie had worked so hard at creating a life for herself and Mason without really including others. She’d moved to Houston to get away from Dawson, but that had also separated her from her family and any help they could give. Her sister was busy with college in Austin. Maybe it was time to let someone else in. “Did you get any sleep?”

“No.”

“I can take Mason for a while. Let you get some shut-eye.” She made a move to get up.

Dawson waved her off.

“Not necessary. I don’t need that much rest. Plus, I was doing some thinking. We should talk.” He paused—so not a good sign—and she prepared for the bombshell he was about to drop.

“Mind if I get a cup of coffee first?” she asked, needing to put off the conversation until she had enough caffeine inside her to handle what was sure to come next. A discussion about Dawson in their life, permanently.

“You don’t drink coffee,” he said.

“I need caffeine and I’d kill for a toothbrush right now.”

“You’ll find that and toothpaste in the bathroom. Pepsi’s in the fridge. I had the store manager cut up some limes and there’s ice in the bucket.” He motioned toward the counter. Sure enough, ice and a glass waited.

“Seriously?” Okay, now she knew she was dreaming.

A few minutes later, clean teeth sealed the deal. This felt too good to be real life.

“That’s still how you like it, right?” he asked as she walked into the room.

“Yeah. I just didn’t think—”

“What? I’d remember?”

“That you’d care.” She pulled out the baggy of wedge-sliced limes from the pint-size fridge.

“If you doubted my feelings before, then you don’t need to anymore. I’m ‘all in’ with everything connected to this little boy.” His tone was laced with just enough ice to send a chill rippling down her back. It wasn’t much, not enough for someone who didn’t know him to pick up on, but she knew.

He bounced the baby on his knee and Mason was too happy for her to ruin the moment by shooting a zinger back. Besides, she didn’t want to start a fight in front of him, and since she was about to have her favorite drink courtesy of Dawson, she decided to let his comments slide as she fixed her soda.

Ice in a glass, followed by Pepsi and then the lime and this was shaping up to be the best morning she’d had in a long while. She took a sip and could’ve sworn she heard angels sing. “I slept crazy-good on that couch last night.” She glanced at the clock. “Correction, this morning. Thanks for seeing to Mason.”

“He needed his breakfast and you have to take better care of yourself.”

So much for polite conversation.

Melanie decided nothing would ruin her first Pepsi. She walked over to the small table and chairs nestled in the corner rather than sit in the living area.

Not having to rush around to change Mason’s diaper and fix him something to eat left her feeling a little useless. This should be a glorious time. Had she forgotten how to have an easy morning? This wasn’t exactly a normal situation. She tried her best to ignore the big presence on the chair, but he seemed intent on sweating her out.

“Okay. Fine. What did you want to discuss?” she asked.

Dawson was on his feet. He made a beeline toward her, and her pulse beat faster with every step he came closer. She set her Pepsi down in time to receive Mason.

“Do you smell that?” he asked, turning his attention toward the appliances.

“No. What?” She sniffed near Mason’s diaper, grateful that wasn’t the kind of scent he was talking about.

“Did you leave anything on in the bathroom?”

“Like what? There’s only a hair dryer in there. I think you’d hear it.” She glanced around the room, and must’ve seen the smoke at the same time as he did.

Dawson raced toward the door to the hallway and placed his hand on it. “It’s hot. We’re not going out that way.”

“That’s not good.” Melanie tamped down the panic rising in her chest.

“No. It isn’t.”

“Why aren’t the smoke detectors going off?” She motioned toward the sprinkler on the ceiling.

“Good question. The control panel might’ve been disabled,” he said with a frustrated grunt.

“This can’t be related to us, can it? How would anyone know we were here?” she asked.

“I thought we’d be safe all the way out here. Whoever set the fire might’ve located your car in the parking lot.” Dawson disappeared into the bathroom and she heard water running. Melanie found a phone and called 9-1-1.

It took two minutes in total to report the fire.

Dawson returned a few seconds later and placed the towels at the base of the door, sealing off the room. “We’re not getting out that way, so that means we have to use our other option.”

Melanie glanced around the room as Dawson disappeared into the bedroom. She had no idea what options he was talking about.

“I’m going to close this door so I don’t scare the baby when I break the window,” he said as he appeared in the doorway.

“Okay. I’ll gather up supplies.” She let Mason stand by himself at the coffee table. He was a good walker but could get ahead of himself and end up on his back side.

Melanie spent the next five minutes packing the diaper bag.

A crash sounded as the sirens blared in the distance.

Dawson appeared in the room a moment later. “We can’t leave until the firemen get here. There’s no way to get him down safely. This whole scenario makes me think someone’s trying to flush us out.”

“I hear the sirens.” Smoke was creeping in through the vents causing Melanie to cough.

Dawson picked up Mason and held him tight to his chest. “Let’s bring him in the other room where the air is clear.”

The little boy angled his body toward the floor, started wiggling and winding up to cry.

“He wants down. What should I do?” The big strong Dawson looked at a loss for the first time since this ordeal had started last night.

Melanie held out her hands, trying to see if her son would come to her. Mason let out a whimper and shook his head.

“Come on, baby.”

His answer was still no.

She located her keys in the diaper bag and jingled them. He took the bait this time and angled his body toward her.

Dawson jumped into action the second they hit the next room. He wet towels and stuffed them under the door to prevent smoke from filling the bedroom. And then he paced.

The next ten minutes waiting for the firemen to arrive were excruciating.

Dawson was signaling the firefighters in the lot as they roared up to the building.

Once they were discovered, it didn’t take but a few more seconds for a safety ladder to be placed against the wall and a fireman to climb the rungs.