The Baby Bequest

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.