The Road To Love: Love by Degree / The Rain Sparrow

He didn’t wait for a response.

* * *

THE DOORBELL CHIMED close to six o’clock, just as Ellen was gathering up her books and preparing to leave for the library.

“That’ll be Michelle,” Derek called excitedly. “Can you get it, Ellen?”

“No problem.”

Coloring books and crayons were arranged on the coffee table, along with some building blocks Reed must have purchased that afternoon. From bits and pieces of information she’d picked up, she concluded that Reed had discovered it wasn’t quite as easy to find a baby-sitter as he’d assumed. And with no other recourse, he and Danielle were apparently taking over the task. Ellen wished him luck, but she really did need to concentrate on this stupid term paper. Reed hadn’t suggested that Ellen wait around to meet Danielle. But she had to admit she’d been wondering about the woman from the time Derek had first mentioned her.

“Hello, Ellen.” Blonde Michelle greeted Ellen with a warm, eager smile. They’d met briefly the other night, when she’d come over to watch the movie. “This sure is great of Derek’s brother and his girlfriend, isn’t it?”

“It sure is.”

The four-year-old boy was clinging to Michelle’s trouser leg so that her gait was stiff-kneed as she limped into the house with the child attached.

“Jimmy, this is Ellen. You’ll be staying in her house tonight while Auntie Michelle goes out to dinner with Derek.”

“I want my mommy.”

“He won’t be a problem,” Michelle told Ellen confidently.

“I thought there were two children.”

“Yeah, the baby’s in the car. I’ll be right back.”

“Baby?” Ellen swallowed down a laugh. “What baby?”

“Jenny’s nine months.”

“Nine months?” A small uncontrollable giggle slid from her throat. This would be marvelous. Reed with a nine-month-old was almost too good to miss.

“Jimmy, you stay here.” Somehow Michelle was able to pry the four-year-old’s fingers from her leg and pass the struggling child to Ellen.

Kicking and thrashing, Jimmy broke into loud sobs as Ellen carried him into the living room. “Here’s a coloring book. Do you like to color, Jimmy?”

But he refused to talk to Ellen or even look at her as he buried his face in the sofa cushions. “I want my mommy,” he wailed again.

By the time Michelle had returned with a baby carrier and a fussing nine-month-old, Derek sauntered out from the kitchen. “Hey, Michelle, you’re lookin’ good.”

Reed, who was following closely behind, came to a shocked standstill when he saw the baby. “I thought you said they were nine and four.”

“I did,” Derek explained patiently, his eyes devouring the blonde at his side.

“They won’t be any trouble,” Michelle cooed as Derek placed an arm around her shoulders and led her toward the open door.

“Derek, we need to talk,” Reed insisted.

“Haven’t got time now. Our reservations are for seven.” His hand slid from Michelle’s shoulders to her waist. “I’m taking my lady out for a night on the town.”

“Derek,” Reed demanded.

“Oh.” Michelle tore her gaze from Derek’s. “The diaper bag is in the entry. Jenny should be dry, but you might want to check her later. She’ll probably cry for a few minutes once she sees I’m gone, but that’ll stop almost immediately.”

Reed’s face was grim as he cast a speculative glance at Jimmy, who was still howling for his mother. The happily gurgling Jenny stared up at the unfamiliar dark-haired man and noticed for the first time that she was at the mercy of a stranger. She immediately burst into heart-wrenching tears.

“I want my mommy,” Jimmy wailed yet again.

“I can see you’ve got everything under control,” Ellen said, reaching for her coat. “I’m sure Danielle will be here any minute.”

“Ellen...”

“Don’t expect me back soon. I’ve got hours of research ahead of me.”

“You aren’t really going to leave, are you?” Reed gave her a horrified look.

“I wish I could stay,” she lied breezily. “Another time.” With that, she was out the door, smiling as she bounded down the steps.

CHAPTER THREE (#uf7b8ab33-98c7-58ae-8584-8fcd71c58a23)

AN UNEASY FEELING struck Ellen as she stood waiting at the bus stop. But she resolutely hardened herself against the impulse to rush back to Reed and his disconsolate charges. Danielle would show up any minute and Ellen really was obliged to do the research for her yet-to-be-determined math paper. Besides, she reminded herself, Reed had volunteered to babysit and she wasn’t responsible for rescuing him. But his eyes had pleaded with her so earnestly. Ellen felt herself beginning to weaken. No! she mumbled under her breath. Reed had Danielle, and as far as Ellen was concerned, they were on their own.

However, by the time she arrived at the undergraduate library, Ellen discovered that she couldn’t get Reed’s pleading look out of her mind. From everything she’d heard about Danielle, Ellen figured the woman probably didn’t know the first thing about babies. As for the term paper, she supposed she could put it off until Sunday. After all, she’d found excuses all day to avoid working on it. She’d done the laundry, trimmed the shrubs, cleaned the drainpipes and washed the upstairs walls in an effort to escape that paper. One more night wasn’t going to make much difference.

Hurriedly, she signed out some books and journals that looked as though they might be helpful and headed for the bus stop. Ellen had to admit that she was curious enough to want to meet Danielle. Reed’s girlfriend had to be someone very special to put up with his frequent absences—or else a schemer, as Derek had implied. But Ellen couldn’t see Reed being duped by a woman, no matter how clever or sophisticated she might be.

Her speculations came to an end as the bus arrived, and she quickly jumped on for the short ride home.

Reed was kneeling on the carpet changing the still-tearful Jenny’s diaper when Ellen walked in the front door. He seemed to have aged ten years in the past hour. The long sleeves of his wool shirt were rolled up to the elbows as he struggled with the tape on Jenny’s disposable diaper.

Reed shook his head and sagged with relief. “Good thing you’re here. She hasn’t stopped crying from the minute you left.”

“You look like you’re doing a good job without me. Where’s Danielle?” She glanced around, smiling at Jimmy; the little boy hadn’t moved from the sofa, his face still hidden in the cushions.

Reed muttered a few words under his breath. “She couldn’t stay.” He finally finished with the diaper. “That wasn’t so difficult after all,” he said, glancing proudly at Ellen as he stood Jenny up on the floor, holding the baby upright by her small arms.

Ellen swallowed a laugh. The diaper hung crookedly, bunched up in front. She was trying to think of a tactful way of pointing it out to Reed when the whole thing began to slide down Jenny’s pudgy legs, settling at her ankles.

“Maybe you should try,” Reed conceded, handing her the baby. Within minutes, Ellen had successfully secured the diaper. Unfortunately, she didn’t manage to soothe the baby any more than Reed had.

Cradling Jenny in her arms, Ellen paced the area in front of the fireplace, at a loss to comfort the sobbing child. “I doubt I’ll do any better. It’s been a long while since my brother was this size.”

“Women are always better at this kind of stuff,” Reed argued, rubbing a hand over his face. “Most women,” he amended, with such a look of frustration that Ellen smiled.

“I’ll bet Jimmy knows what to do,” she suggested next, pleased with her inspiration. The little boy might actually come up with something helpful, and involving him in their attempts to comfort Jenny might distract him from his own unhappiness. Or so Ellen hoped. “Jimmy’s a good big brother. Isn’t that right, honey?”

The child lifted his face from the cushion. “I want my mommy.”