Two Hearts And A Baby

CHAPTER SIX

Kincade was in his car on the expressway to his office when he realized he never even told her vital information.  Like his son’s name, where she could reach him, when he would be home, things like that.  Damn how could he be so stupid but then he wasn’t used to all this.  When he got home, he would write down everything needed for the nanny to take care of his son while he was gone at work.  He suddenly felt strange would he really want to try and raise his son or was it just a passing thought.  This was something he would have to think on but not right now first was to get to his meeting with Slade. 

            Luck was not on his side today because the second he walked into the office he became waylaid by the last person he wanted to see today, “Kincade you’re late and that’s not like you is everything all right.”

            It was Christina and he felt no qualms about being rude to her right now, “Everything is perfect unless you consider I woke up this morning to find out I have a son.  The next blow was the mother was killed and left him to me”

            Christina was completely stunned over the fact he would be so rude to her, and her next thought was he has a son.  He brushed past her and into his office where Slade Douglass was already there and looking at the scale model of his building.

            “Sorry I’m late Slade it’s been one hell of a morning,” Kincade confessed as he dropped everything onto his already cluttered desk.

            “That’s fine Cade not a problem.  I was just admiring the latest changes you’ve made to my building,” Slade flipped over his shoulder while continuing to look at the model.

            “Yes, it’s great I think the changes were perfect for what you had in mind,” he moved over to stand by Slade.

            “Hmm, I think the building is perfect now.  When will we be able to start building this masterpiece,” Slade finally turned to Kincade and saw a very frustrated man?

            “We can begin on the actual building in a week if that is satisfactory with you,” Kincade shuffled around on his desk looking for his date book.

            Of course, Slade pulled out his digital planner and after a second, they came up with a date and time which meet both their schedules.  Slade left shortly after with a promise from Kincade they would talk about what happened this morning.  Unfortunately, Kincade’s day had just begun, and it turned out to be a very hectic and frustrating one all due to him opening the door this morning to a social worker and a baby.

Faith spent most of her morning feeding, burping, and changing her nephew still not knowing his name.  Her leg was hurting and wished she could take her pain medicine, but it always made her sleepy.  With taking care of a baby, she couldn’t go to sleep because it was necessary to keep her wits when Kincade got back.  Gabe was currently sleeping, and her stomach grumbled reminding her she hadn’t had anything to eat since leaving the hospital.  Hobbling into the kitchen, she began rummaging through cupboards in the hopes of finding something to eat.  In the pantry, she found some canned food and picked out a can of beef stew.  She opened it and turned the heat on when she heard a noise coming from the garage.  Kincade was home from work this made Faith nervous.

            What was she going to do about her nephew?  He had a right to raise his son but so did she, she’d been with Julie throughout the entire pregnancy.  Maybe he wouldn’t want to raise his son but in turn, if he did, she wanted to be a part of her nephew’s life.  Kincade came in through the front door, which he usually doesn’t do but knew his son would be in the sitting room.  The place was noticeably quiet except for the sounds he heard coming from the kitchen.  It was probably the nanny in there, so he stepped into the sitting room and found his son sleeping.  Gabe looked sweet and adorable in his little blue outfit then he noticed some auburn curls were peeking out from under his little hat. 

The little bundle gurgled then opened his eyes to look directly at Kincade.  It was as if his son was staring straight into his heart.  He knew in this moment he would never be able to give up his son.  Knowing he had never been particularly good with children but from what his sister said neither had her husband when they had their first child, Stephanie.  Gabe whimpered unexpectedly so Kincade went over leaning down he picked up a pacifier lying by his cheek then put it in his mouth.  Gabe quickly latched down on it and began to suck his eyes slowly closed again in contentment.

“My, my you do have some skills,” Faith said as she stood in the doorway watching him.

            She still couldn’t catch her breath every time she looked upon him.  It was even worse when he stood up turned and locked those violet eyes on her he realized this was the first time he looked closely at the woman he’d let into his house this morning.  She was tall with long sienna hair and dark indigo eyes.  She was leaning on some crutches, which he hadn’t noticed this morning when he let her in.  He looked at her closely and saw she had some bruising on her face you could see more on her arms.  Especially where her shirtsleeves didn’t cover them, also she had on a funny cast which covered her left knee.  She wore a skirt that stopped at the top of the cast where you could see more bruises on her legs, and some scattered cuts.  He looked back up to her face and knew he’d seen her before but were.

            “What happened to you,” he saw pain cross her lovely face.

            “Car accident,” she flatly replied.

            “I’m sorry was it bad,” he just stared at her.

            She didn’t smile, “Yes in more ways than one.”

            “We’ve meet before,” he was still searching his mind for were.

            “Yes, Christmas time in Nordstrom’s,” she filled in for him.

            “That’s right you helped me pick out the blouse for my sister,” she tried not to smile at his reaction, “Funny how the Nanny Help would send you here I wanted to get your number.”

            “Yes, but your girlfriend called.”

            He looked sheepish, “Yes but at that time we’d only had a couple of dates, so she wasn’t my girlfriend.  However, it’s not important now I don’t know if I can have you be a nanny for my son right now in your condition.”

            She chuckled, and it sent tingles through his entire body, “The Nanny Help called after you left to say they couldn’t send someone till next Monday.”

            All color drained from his face, and she took satisfaction in it, “You found out who I was and came here then I mistook you for a nanny they sent.”

            “Your sort of right you did mistake me for a nanny.  I also came looking for you but not for a date I didn’t know you were the guy from Nordstrom when I showed up.”

            “Oh, my God I let a stranger in my house to care for my son while I just took off.  You could be a killer or a kidnapper.”

            “I could’ve been but I’m not,” she smiled.

            He looked up at her again, “Then why are you here what do you want.”

            “Well Mr. Jordan I came for my nephew.”

            She took more satisfaction in the look that crossed his face, “Your Julie’s sister.”

            “That’s right,” she flatly stated.

            “You were in the car with her,” dawning finally came to him.

            Again, pain crossed her face, “We were on our way to her doctor’s appointment.”

            He had the urge to get up and take her in his arms but didn’t, “Do you want to talk about it because I’d really like to know what happened.”

            Faith hobbled over to the loveseat sitting down, “We were driving toward the doctor’s office it had been raining so the roads were slick.  We were excited about this appointment because the doctor would set the day for Julie to have her labor induced,” she got a faraway look and continued, “There was a loud blaring horn we looked up to see this truck hydroplaning toward us.  I tried to get my seatbelt off, so I could get in front of Julie to take the brunt of it, but I couldn’t.  The truck hit us there was so much pain then another car hit us, and I blacked out.  I woke briefly at the crash site and asked about Julie they said she went into labor, and they took her to the hospital.  When I woke from surgery, they told me she died.”

            This time Kincade stood and went to her she didn’t notice the tears falling down her cheeks, but he did.  Sitting down he put his arm around her, “I’m sorry Faith.”

            She looked up at him with a stunned look on her face, “How do you know my name.”

            He chuckled, “Julie talked about you all the time.”

            Faith began to heavily cry this time, so he pulled her against his chest.  She cried into his chest for a good ten minutes before she was quiet.  Leaning back, he considered her tear-streaked face and felt an urge to kiss her but knew better.

            “A little better,” he smiled.

            “Yes, thank you but I feel like a fool sitting here crying getting your shirt all wet,” she chuckled when he looked down at his shirt to see a big wet spot.

            “It’s all right so why did you come here.”

            “I realized my sister’s child survived so after I buried Julie, I went to find out about him.  They said the state took him and I should speak with them.  I did this morning when they released me from the hospital Nancy Shudder told me Julie had a Will.  She left my nephew to you and if you were unable or unwilling to take care of him then he would go to me so here I am.”

            “I see, so you’re hoping I won’t want my son and just hand him over to you,” he wasn’t angry but was shocked over this situation.

            “Yes, I was angry at Julie for doing this when I was the one who stood by her this whole time.”

            “Whoa, wait a minute I would’ve been there for her if I’d known,” his hackles were up.

            “I know, I begged her to tell you, but she made me promise never to tell you.  God, I wish she had, maybe things would have turned out differently,” Faith wanted to get up and pace but knew she couldn’t.  Her leg was hurting from all the moving around she’d been doing today.

            He seemed surprised by her statement and said, “Maybe, but sometimes things happen for a reason.  We may not see it now, but it’ll reveal itself in time.”

            “I hope so anyway while I’ve been sitting here in your house taking care of my nephew, I realized something.  Instead of taking him away from you because obviously, Julie wanted you to know him we should try and help each other.”

            She surprised him with her statement causing him to say, “How do surmise we can help each other.”

            “Well, I can’t go back to work just yet and you need someone to watch him so why don’t I be his nanny.”

            “This is true are you sure you can in your condition,” he wasn’t so sure.

            She scoffed at him, “Obviously, I can since I’ve been doing so all day he isn’t harmed or dead.”

            “I’m sorry you’re right.  You’ll come here every morning at 7:30.”

            “I was thinking I could move in here for a little while so together we can help with him.  I can get up with him at night, so he doesn’t disturb your sleep for work.”

            He thought for a minute and realized she was right.  He knew nothing about babies, and she seemed to be good at it.  She could teach him how to take care of Gabe so when she left, he would be efficient.

            “I think your right since I know nothing about taking care of babies.  You can teach me and when you are able to work again, I won’t end up killing him.”

            Faith chuckled, “That would be a good thing but one more thing.”

            “Yes,” he hesitantly said.

            “What is his name,” she sincerely asked.

            “Gabe Jordan,” he replied.

            Faith began to cry again, “What’s wrong,” he asked.

            “Our Father’s name was Gabriel, she shortened it to Gabe,” she looked over at her nephew.

            “That’s quite a coincidence my Father’s middle name is Gabriel,” he also looked over at his son.

            “Then it’s settled can you take me over to my condo, so I can pick up a few things and we can grab Gabe’s stuff seeing as we have everything for him.”

            “Yes, should we go now,” he stood to move toward his sleeping son.

            “I actually heated up some beef stew I found in the pantry would you like some,” she got to her feet easily and grabbed her crutches.

            “Sure, may I ask something,” he followed her out of the room.

            “Yes,” she entered the kitchen with him.

            “How sever where your injuries.”

            She grabbed another bowl from the cupboard where she had found them.  Spooning out the stew, she answered him, “I had a piece of glass penetrate my left shoulder which I had some physical therapy on.  I bashed up my knee but not too bad, so I didn’t need an actual cast.  This brace is what they put me in soon I’ll have physical therapy.  I had some internal bleeding due to the windshield shattering it cut me up.”

            He watched as she sat down next to him at the table with her bowl of stew, “And Julie.”

            He spooned a mouth full of stew waiting for her to answer, “She was hit in the stomach by the steering wheel which sent her into labor.  When the windshield shattered a large piece of glass stabbed her right above her stomach and it punctured several organs.  They got Gabe out first, so they could work on Julie, but they weren’t able to save her.”

            Faith suddenly didn’t feel very hungry anymore, so she went to stand up to take her bowl to the sink, but he was faster, “Here let me do that.  I’m sure your leg is hurting from all the activity you’ve been doing today.”

            “Thank you,” she hesitantly smiled.

            He washed the bowls out then put them in the dishwasher as he turned, he asked, “Did they give you some pain medication.”

            “Yes, but I really hate taking it.  However, I may have to take a small dose of it tonight.  I won’t take too much so that way I can take care of Gabe,” she replied.

            “Its fine just let me know if you need to take more and I’ll get up with him,” he smiled at her, and her heart did a flip-flop.

            Man, he was extremely attractive just like she remembered from their encounter.  It was a good thing they had never exchanged numbers.  He was saying something, “You know I saw Julie on Thanksgiving in a*****e she ran from me now, I know why.”

            “That explains why she was acting funny when she returned home,” Faith smiled a little.

            Again, Kincade was stunned at how attractive she was so much more than Julie.  It’s not that he hadn’t been attracted to Julie, but Faith just had something her sister didn’t.  She exudes fun and excitement right now though she was sad.  He was positive she would be the life of the party and would be deeply passionate.

            “It’s so amazing,” he blurted out.

            “What is,” she looked confused.

            “How different you and Julie look for being sisters you look nothing alike.”

            She chuckled a bit, “Julie looked like our Father where I look like our Mother.”

            “That explains it should we go get Gabe’s stuff,” he began walking toward her.

            “Yeah, it’s getting late,” she watched him walk up to her.

            He reached out and took her hand then helped her to her feet.  He handed her the crutches, so they could get going he turned and walked toward the sitting room.  She followed him, and he was situating Gabe in his car seat.  He figured out how to buckle him in with no trouble she was impressed. 

He turned and saw her, “Are we ready.”

            Again, she couldn’t help smiling, “Yep.”

            She followed him out of the front door then hobbled down the stairs to the garage where they got into a pickup truck.  As they got into the truck, she realized how surprised she was by the fact he owned a truck, but today’s been full of surprises.  He looked over at her as they drove down the street, he could see she was astonished.

            “You’re surprised I own a truck.”

            She blushed, “No and yes I’m not surprised you own a truck however I am surprised it’s an older one.”

            He chuckled, “This truck belonged to my Grandfather.  It’s a 1957 Chevy pickup an old workhorse.”

            She smiled, “It’s in really decent shape.”

            “Thanks, I try to take loving care of it because my Grandfather loved it so much.”

            “I understand,” she replied.

            “Do you want to give me the address to your place,” he looked over at her again.

            “You took Julie home didn’t you,” she asked.

            “Yes, but I didn’t know you lived with her,” he looked sheepish.

            “Yes,” was her only response.

            They lapsed into silence for a while then Kincade suddenly remembered something she said, “You said something about physical therapy when are your appointments?”

            “I have one on Wednesday and one on Saturday.”

            “Do you need me to take Wednesday off?”

            “If you could that would be perfect.”

            Kincade thought for a minute, “Actually that’ll work because the state woman is coming on Wednesday so tomorrow when I go to work, I’ll tell my boss about it.”

            “That worked out well,” she smiled then looked out the window as he continued to drive.

            Soon they came to the condominium and Faith felt sick to her stomach this would be the first time she’d been home since the accident.  She hoped she could handle this without turning into a blubbering i***t.  He parked in a spot close to their place and shut off the truck Faith slowly scrambled out while Kincade unlatched Gabe’s car seat.  He scooted out himself then turning back in he grabbed Gabe by the time he reached the door Faith was just staring at it.  She remembered the last time they were together here they had sat in the nursery putting the crib together.  Julie sat in the rocking chair while Faith finished the last touches then Julie began to hum a soft lullaby and she joined in neither one expecting the next morning would destroy everything.

            “You don’t have to go in I can bring everything out for you,” he softly said from behind gently setting a hand on her shoulder.

            She felt a tingle go through her body from the gentle touch, “No I have to, so I can move on besides, you don’t know what I need to bring.”

            He could tell she was trying to make light of the situation, so he let it be.  She put the key in and turned the lock then pushed the door open he watched her hobble into the front area, so he followed.  This was the first time he’d ever been inside usually he dropped Julie off and she went in quickly.  It was a quaint place with very stylish furniture you walked into a living room off to the left was the kitchen/dining room.  Going down a hall it would take you to the bathroom and some bedrooms.  He wondered where the women planned to put Gabe when he was born looking over, he saw Faith standing in the middle of the room.

            “Faith are you alright,” he set Gabe down next to the couch then walked over to her.

            Faith was trying hard not to cry the place smelled of Julie’s perfume and she looked at the pictures of them on the wall.  She didn’t hear him approach but heard from a distance him ask if she was all right.  No, she wasn’t all right, her mind shouted what was she going to do now that her life was turned upside down.  She felt some strong warm arms wrap around her and the dam broke again.

            “Oh, God, I miss her so much,” she sobbed.

            Kincade turned her around in his arms and for the second time this day, he allowed her to cry into his chest.  She was trying so hard to be strong for the sake of Gabe and her dignity, but she didn’t have to with him.  Together they would help each other first with Gabe and second with her shattered life.  Faith realized she was again crying against his chest and pushed away.

            “I’m sorry,” she wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

            “It’s all right you lost your sister and with that everything you’ve known for so long.”

            “I need to be strong for Gabe,” she insisted.

            “You are entitled to your grief and we’ll both be helping with Gabe,” he was firm on the last part.

            “We’ll see,” she answered before hobbling down the hall to the bedroom at the end.

Kincade shook his head as he watched her go, she was going to be a stubborn one yet heartbroken for a little while.