She's My Baby

“What if you what?” Garrick turned and glanced back at her.

Leila’s mind went blank. “I don’t know. What if I break her…or scar her for life or something? That happens a lot in my family.”

When he chuckled, she snatched back her hand and struggled to extinguish a spark of anger.

He sensed he’d offended her and turned toward her with another breathtaking smile. “You’re going to be fine,” he reassured. “Women have been taking care of babies since Adam and Eve. That’s what they were put on this earth for. It’s in your nature.”

“What?”

“It’s in your nature,” he repeated.

Leila stared at him. “What kind of sexist pig are you?”

Garrick blinked. “Excuse me?”

“It’s in our nature?” She stepped back. “Is that the best you can do? I’m standing here telling you that I could potentially emotionally scar a little girl and your response is a flippant ‘It’s in my nature’?”

“Well—”

“You know. Never mind.” She marched over to the door and held it open. “Thanks for your so-called help.”

He stared at her; but when she lifted her head and refused to meet his gaze again, he shrugged and strolled toward the door. When he reached it, he stopped and contemplated whether he needed to apologize; but there was something about the firm line of her jaw and the height of her nose that made him reconsider.

“Merry Christmas,” he said, and walked out.

The door slammed as soon as he crossed the threshold. Garrick looked back and shook his head. “At least Scrooge was sane.”

Chapter 4

Samantha Owens sobbed behind the wheel of her fifteen-year-old beat-up sedan. Her guilt weighed down her shoulders while the hole in her heart expanded. It had been nearly thirty minutes since she’d left Emma at her sister’s house—the longest thirty minutes of her life.

“You did the right thing,” the devil on her shoulder repeated—or was it the angel? She was so mixed up, she couldn’t tell them apart anymore. Frustrated, she dropped her head against the center of the steering wheel, and then jumped when the horn blared.

She sat up and glanced around Leila’s quiet neighborhood. Leila’s front door jerked open and for a moment, Samantha feared the worst. Instead, a handsome stranger emerged and then jumped when the front door slammed behind him.

A classic Leila move.

However, the neighbor seemed more amused than angry as he strolled with a confident swagger across the street. He was quite a specimen and she wondered whether he and her sister were more than just neighbors.

Sam dispelled the notion and refocused her attention on Leila’s McMansion. “I did the right thing,” she concluded, starting the car. “Bye, Emma. Mommy loves you.”

Garrick returned home and made a beeline to the kitchen for a pot of coffee; but after a morning with the unforgettable Leila Owens, maybe he needed something with a little more kick.

“Was a simple ‘thank you’ too much to ask for?” He shook his head and reached for his favorite can of Santo Domingo coffee. “Come to think of it, she probably never said the words before.

“She’ll need me again,” he assured himself. “Undoubtedly needing help warming a baby’s bottle. Career women.” He shook his head.

The doorbell rang.

He stopped and turned with a smug smile. “Surprise, surprise,” he mumbled as he donned a sweatshirt. He headed toward the front door and opened it with a flourish. “And what can I do for you now, Leila?”

“Merry Christmas!” Orlando and his family shouted at him with armloads of wrapped gifts.

Startled, Garrick jerked back in surprise. “Oh, uh, Merry Christmas to you, too. Uh, come on in.” He stepped back and watched them enter one by one.

“Uncle Garrick, were you surprised?” his three-year-old niece, Omara, asked.

Garrick knelt down to her level. “I sure was, honey. I can’t believe you were able to keep a secret from me. It must have been hard.”

“Real hard.” Omara blinked her long, black, curly lashes and slid her arms around his neck. “I got a ’nother surprise for you.”

“You do?” He gathered her into his arms and stood. “What kind of surprise?” He closed the door.

“I gotcha a present.”

“Oh?” Garrick rounded his eyes as wide as he could get them. “I looovve presents.”

Omara giggled.

“Uh, who is Leila?” Tamara asked, sliding out of her coat.

“What?”

Tamara glanced at her husband. “Isn’t that what he said when he answered the door?”

Orlando shrugged. “I didn’t catch the name.”

“Well, I did.” She walked over to her brother-in-law and met his gaze with her hands firmly jammed onto her hips. “Who is she? And think twice before lying to me. You know I have my ways of finding the truth.”

Garrick chuckled at Tamara aka the human lie detector. “Calm down. It’s not what you think.”

“You don’t know what I’m thinking.”

“You don’t,” Orlando piped in. “Nobody does. Nobody wants to know.”

Tamara turned her narrowed eyes toward him.

“Just trying to help my brother out.” He shrugged and returned his gaze to Garrick. “You’re on your own, bro.”

“I just want to make sure there isn’t another woman in the picture before I send him out on a date with one of my best friends. That’s all.”

“Then you can relax.” Garrick led them out of the foyer and toward the living room. “Leila is just my crazy neighbor across the street.”

Tamara perked. “You’ve already met your neighbors?”

“Just the one…and I’m already regretting it.”

Leila was ready to pull her hair out by the roots. Who knew something so tiny could be so loud…for so long? “Give me a few more minutes and your bottle will be ready,” she reassured.