Читать книгу This Baby Business - Heatherly Bell - Страница 13

CHAPTER FOUR

A THOUSAND OR so years later, Carly had changed Grace’s diaper about five hundred times, give or take, and fed her all three bottles. Levi had better get his cute ass here on time, or someone was going to blow a gasket. At this point she really couldn’t say whether it would be her or Grace. Possibly both.

Oh, yes, because Carly had cried at times right along with Grace. Turned out to be kind of cathartic. It had been a while since Carly had had a good cry. She’d always been guided and driven by her emotions, despite her attempts to think with her head and not her heart. She was a full-grown, twenty-six-year-old woman who’d always struggled in school, seen her career go up in flames, lost her mother from a sudden heart attack and had her father nearly confined to a wheelchair due to a hip injury. Carly considered herself a survivor. But today she’d been reduced to sobs because of a helpless baby.

As it turned out, Grace did sleep. Occasionally, that was, and only when the spirit moved her. It seemed to move her every half hour for about forty-five minutes, give or take. Carly had tried to get work done during that time, but she was so tense and exhausted that all she could do was sit and stare at the blank screen. Where to begin? Practice safe sex. Don’t have a baby until you’re ready to be tortured by a fifteen-pound human with a set of lungs that should belong to a six-foot-three male. But probably her audience wouldn’t appreciate that. All of her readers were already stuck—correction, blessed—with babies.

Regardless, Carly had made it through the day, and she couldn’t help believing she deserved an award for that. A badge or a trophy. Something. She’d certainly received an education. This baby business was so much harder than it appeared from a distance. Right now her living room looked as if someone had stood in the middle of the room and thrown everything she owned up in the air. She hadn’t had a shower yet. She’d barely eaten any breakfast, much less lunch. In fact, she hadn’t even managed to change out of the clothes she had on since this morning.

“When your daddy gets here, if he so much as thinks about judging me...I’ll—I don’t know what, but it won’t be nice.”

The good news was she’d narrowed down her favorite brand of diaper with Grace’s help. The bad news? She still had to write the blog post, because they didn’t write themselves. The fact that she’d struggled all her life with the written word, fighting and working around her dyslexia, meant that it would take her twice as long as it had ever taken her mom to write a simple blog post.

Interesting. Carly had dared to set Grace down on the activity blanket that a brand-new baby start-up had sent her for a review. She hadn’t made a noise in about five seconds. Might be a record. She kept blinking as if she couldn’t quite trust her eyes. She seemed fascinated by the plastic mirrors sewn to the blanket, as if she’d just found a friend she wasn’t sure she liked or hated.

“I guess that makes two of us.”

Carly wasn’t sure that she liked Grace. She was way too loud, for one thing, and had the manners of a chimpanzee. Once today, she’d looked Carly straight in the eye and spit up all over her shirt. Carly thought for sure Grace had been aiming for her eye and missed. She’d been changed twice and now wore a red velvet dress that a new baby fashion company had sent Carly.

But Carly had learned something significant today when she’d pulled out Mom’s baby bible during one of Grace’s power naps and tried to get through some of the entries in it. Crying wouldn’t hurt a baby. Grace would still be in one piece when her daddy came to pick her up.

And because Carly wasn’t actually Grace’s mother, just the babysitter, in a few minutes, her clueless dad would pick her up. Carly would be able to give her back. She’d take a shower, clean up her house, write her blog post and go to bed, where she would sleep without interruptions. She had an end in sight.

Maybe, just maybe, Grace could help her a little bit longer. Just until she got Mom’s company in the black. Because Grace could go a long way toward solving her authenticity issue. She could turn Carly into a serious baby expert.

She wasn’t sure Levi would be interested in her proposition, but why couldn’t Carly just fill in until he found a new babysitter? She was right next door. Easy. And good grief, if Levi even went through half of what she’d been through today, he needed her help. She would suggest—no, demand—that he allow her, a bona fide baby expert (in training), to help him.

Incredible. It had to have been four whole minutes and Grace was still on her belly, blinking into the mirrors. She gurgled, reached out with her chubby hand and tried to grab it.

“You like that, don’t you? It’s something new. I think I’ll give it a five-star review, since it’s kept you quiet.”

The doorbell rang.

Levi. Right on time. Great. Carly shot up from her chair, but she didn’t know if she should take Grace with her to answer the door. What if something happened to her in the two seconds Carly would be out of the room? And what would Levi think? But if she picked Grace up now, she risked opening the door with her crying again. That also wouldn’t look too good.

The doorbell rang again. Impatient man!

Carly picked Grace up off the blanket again like a delicate china plate, taking the blanket along.

“Please don’t cry, baby. I need to make a good impression. You don’t know this, but you and I could be partners. I know you don’t like me, but to be fair, the feeling is mutual. You threw up on me and I know you were aiming for my eye. Don’t even try to deny it.”

So far not a peep from Grace, who had a piece of the blanket in her mouth and seemed to be gumming it. She was going to write a glowing review for this blanket and title it Lifesaver.

Carly opened the door to Levi, as suspected, and watched as his gaze went immediately to Grace. The way those blue eyes lit up gave Carly a little smackdown right in the chest, but then he noticed the dress.

“You changed her?”

“Do you like it?” When he didn’t answer, she waved him inside. “It’s a new dress and my gift to you both. And also, she spit up on two other outfits.”

“Uh, thanks. And sorry. Welcome to my world.”

Grace’s little legs kicked and pumped double time with some serious action at seeing Levi, and Carly handed her over.

“Hey, baby girl.” His love-struck smile was quite a sight.

Carly cleared her throat and got ready to tell a big fat lie. “She was perfect today.”

“Yeah?” Levi checked Grace out from head to toe as if to make sure she wasn’t missing any parts.

Carly tried not to feel insulted. “Do you like the dress?”

“Sure, it’s...nice.”

“But?”

“Not too practical.”

This was interesting information she could use, so she walked to the kitchen to get a pad of paper and pen from the counter. “So how would you rate it, say, on a scale of one to ten? If you were going to judge the dress, for instance?”

His eyes narrowed slightly. “I appreciate the dress. I’m not judging it.”

“No, of course not. I...didn’t mean to imply that.”

She made a note on the pad of paper. Appearance: ten out of ten. Practical use? She needed Levi for that, because at the moment he had more experience with babies than Carly did. When it came to her own clothes and sense of fashion, Carly always erred on the side of appearance versus practicality. She’d once lost the feeling in her feet for a day because of a gorgeous pair of paisley-patterned five-inch-heeled Louis Vuitton boots, but it had been worth the agony.

She could see it would be different with a baby.

“It’s just that she looks uncomfortable.” He shifted her from one hip to the other.

“You’re so right. There was something bothering me about the dress, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.”

Liar. She was completely useless. Practical use: five out of ten. Six out of ten? She didn’t want to be unfair. “No one makes cute, stylish and comfortable clothes for babies, do they?”

“But...she really seems to like this blanket.” He removed a corner of it from Grace’s mouth and handed it to Carly.

If this all worked out, she would need the miracle worker again tomorrow.

Levi picked up the car seat and diaper bag from the foyer. “Thanks again. We should get going.”

“Wait!”

She’d pretty much shouted the word, but rather than appear startled, he seemed slightly amused by her, his mouth twitching in a half smile. “Right. Sorry, I forgot to pay you.” He set the car seat down and, impressively juggling Grace, pulled a wallet from his back pocket.

“No.” She put out her hand to stop him. “Today was a freebie.”

Slow down, you don’t need to scare the man off. Take your time and do this right.

“Freebie?”

“How about... How about a drink of water before you go?”

“I’m just next door.” Levi tucked his wallet away.

“This will only take a minute. How about a beer?” She led the way to the kitchen, hoping with any luck he’d follow.

He did. And stood in the framed opening of the kitchen entryway, holding Grace with an easy assurance she envied. Like a real pro. “Actually, do you know any babysitters you could recommend?”

Sometimes, when opportunity knocks, you shouldn’t just open the door. Open the door, go make a pot of coffee and bake some cookies. Maybe it will stay awhile.

She swallowed and gave him what she hoped was her best, most dependable babysitter smile. “Me.” She twisted off the top, then handed the beer to him.

He accepted it. “But you said just for today.”

She waved a hand in the air, in a pay-no-attention-to-me-before-noon move. “That was before. Okay, here’s the thing. I can help you, and let’s be honest here, you need me.”

He studied Carly, took a swig of his beer, but didn’t say a word. Maybe Rookie Daddy had finally wised up and decided he shouldn’t leave his baby with a complete stranger. He got points for that.

Carly chose her next words carefully. “I kind of have this baby advice website.”

“I heard.”

Of course. If he worked at the airport, he worked with Cassie. And Cassie was an old friend of the family. Carly let out a breath. “I’m running the baby website RockYourBaby, but I don’t have any kids of my own.”

“Heard that, too.” He quirked an eyebrow, and in that single move Carly realized he was less than thrilled with the fact that she hadn’t come out with the whole truth this morning.

But she hadn’t exactly lied. What did her mom’s accountant say? Emphasize the positive, ignore the negative. Sell it! “But I’m still a baby expert.”

“Uh-huh.” He didn’t sound too convinced.

“Look, all I’m saying is that I can watch Grace until you find a new sitter. If you’re not sure about me, I’d be happy to give you references. I’ve lived here in Fortune all my life, and I’m extremely reliable. I’m always home. Besides, I’m right next door.”

“And how will you watch her and run your company?”

This suddenly felt like an interview, and she wished she’d prepared better. She’d done too much assuming that Levi would immediately take her up on this idea. But she’d become better at selling in the past few months, out of sheer necessity. If she told a little white lie every now and again, no one was the wiser.

Balance. It was all about balance. She’d do it as mothers all over the country did. Like the readers of her blog did. Like her mother had.

“I can handle her. I’m great at time management.” Boy, the lies kept coming, didn’t they? Getting easier, too. “And also, Grace—and babies everywhere, in fact—happens to be a big part of my career. Because babies are my business.”

She did a chin lift on that one, as she’d noticed Jill do on a number of occasions when she wanted to make the point that she was hot shit.

Levi seemed to notice and maybe even appreciate the new confidence. His shoulders lowered, and he gave her another one of those slow, sexy smiles. “It would be a big help to me. I’m out of the air force recently. Originally from Texas.”

Hence the drawl. She pictured hot and humid plains, oil, ranches and cowboys. Levi didn’t look like a cowboy, even if he sort of sounded like one. And something told her that it was just a matter of time before Levi knew a lot of people in the area—mainly those of the female persuasion.

“I know a lot of people in Fortune,” Carly said. “I’m practically a fixture here. And I can try to find you the perfect babysitter.”

“A grandma type?”

“Sure, if that’s what you want.”

“I want someone who really likes kids. Someone who will stick around for a while. I don’t need a whole lot of help, except for when I’m at work. But maybe she needs a woman’s touch.”

When he threw another one of those protective glances at Grace, and this time rubbed his jaw against her little semibald head, Carly’s knees went weak. “Yes,” she managed to squeak out. “Good idea.”

“There’s another problem.” Levi shifted Grace in his arms. “I can’t pay you much right now. That seemed to be an issue for Annie.”

“No worries. Pay me what you can, when you can.” In fact, any money at all would be welcome.

Maybe she should pay him.

“Are there any grandparents nearby?” she asked conversationally and got herself a beer.

“No one nearby. My parents are out of the country right now, working with the World Health Organization.”

“Impressive. How long have they been doing that?”

“All my life, really, but there’s more time for it now that they’re retired.”

“If I can ask, how did you lose your wife?”

He cleared his throat. “You must mean Grace’s mother. Car accident. And we were never married.”

“Oh. I guess I...misunderstood.” Not a sad widower, then.

“No more than most people do. I guess I should wear a sign or something.”

She laughed and brought her hands together. Mentally cracked her knuckles. Maybe she’d asked enough questions, and it was time to move in for the pitch. “So here’s my offer to you. I’ll watch her for you during the week and a few nights, too, if you’d like.”

“Really?” His eyebrows went up on that one.

“Sure. Why not?” She set her beer down. “I just want most of the nights free so I can catch up on any work I can’t get done during the day. But maybe you want to go out sometime with the guys. Or your girlfriend.”

He smiled. “Are you sure? She’s kind of a...handful.”

“She’s adorable.” She threw what she hoped was a loving look in Grace’s direction. At least she seemed to be happier in her father’s arms. He didn’t even have to walk around the house and pace and jiggle to keep her quiet.

“What about your husband? Will he be cool with a baby around some of the time?”

She caught Levi staring at her lucky ring. Oh, damn. She’d nearly forgotten. She’d had the ring all through high school and design school and wore it as much as a week before a major test for the extra good juju. It wasn’t anything fancy, a simple gold ring that she liked rubbing and twisting around her finger like a worry stone. But these days it fit on only the ring finger of her left hand.

“I’m not married. This is just my lucky ring.” And lately, she needed the extra luck.

He set his half-finished beer on the counter. “I’ll tell you what. Why don’t we both take the weekend to think about it?”

Seriously? He didn’t want to jump on this opportunity to have the owner of RockYourBaby babysit his daughter? How had she failed to sell this to a desperate man?

You have to apply yourself, Carly. Try a little harder. I know you’re not stupid.

The words of every teacher she’d ever had growing up reverberated in her mind. This was a challenge, like RockYourBaby was a challenge. Like reading and writing had been for so many years when it felt like no one understood how hard she did try. All she had to do was work harder. Smarter. It might take her twice as long as someone else, but she’d get it done.

“Sure, sure. I understand. Why don’t you check out my website over the weekend and tell me what you think?”

“It’s a deal.” Levi smiled one last time, then he and Grace were out the door.