That McCloud Woman (17 page)

Didn't
matter, he told himself. The fact was she wanted children. And Jack didn't. Not
his. And not anyone else's.

He
glanced toward the opposite side of the room where Alayna knelt, putting
together the frame of the crib. Her hair was still mussed from their
lovemaking, and she was still wearing his shirt. He found it hard to believe
that they'd made love less than an hour ago. And it hadn't been just sex,
either. They'd made wild passionate love, something Alayna had thought herself
incapable of.

The
fact that he'd proven to her that she could please a man should have made him
feel good, since that was the gift he'd wanted to give her. But for some reason
he felt bluer than blue.

At
that moment she glanced up and caught him looking at her. A slow knowing smile
curved at her mouth and turned her eyes to smoke. "What are you looking
at?"

Jack
lifted a shoulder and crossed to her. "Just admiring your shirt."

He
took the wrench from her and tightened the bolt, accomplishing in two seconds
what Alayna had failed to do in ten minutes. She laughed, rocking back on her
hips and wrapping her arms around her knees. "Want it back?" she
teased.

Jack
glanced at her and was tempted to strip the shirt from her, pull her into his arms
and make wild passionate love to her right there on the nursery room floor.

Instead
he snorted and tossed the wrench into the toolbox. "You've got a stork
delivery due this afternoon, remember?" He pressed his hands against his
thighs and pushed himself to his feet. He stood over her, his hands braced
against his hips. "So what's next on your list, boss lady? Laundering the
sheets, or sterilizing baby bottles?"

Jack
stood at the second floor nursery window with his arms folded across his chest,
watching the circus on the lawn below. It seemed a delivery from the stork was
a family affair for the McCloud family. All three of Alayna's cousins had been
called to witness the event. He'd recognized Sam and Mandy right off when they
had driven up, and he figured the woman who had just arrived driving a sporty
Porsche must be their sister, Merideth.

He
whistled low under his breath when he saw the car door open and a long, curvy
leg appear. He let his gaze travel up the leg and to the face of the woman as
she stood, pushing back a mane of blond hair. Seemed beauty ran deep in the
McCloud bloodline, he reflected. Every single one of the McCloud women was a
looker.

Then
it hit him. Merideth McCloud. The movie actress. He hadn't made the association
until he'd gotten a full view of her face. And what a face! In person, she was
even more beautiful than she appeared on the theater screen.

He
watched a smile spread across her face, then she was racing across the lawn and
toward Alayna. When she reached her, she threw an arm around Alayna's shoulder
and pressed her cheek close to hers as she looked down at the baby. Two
beautiful faces. Two beautiful women. But in Jack's estimation, Merideth didn't
hold a candle to Alayna's beauty.

"I
don't know why they're making such a fuss. It's just a stupid baby."

Jack
glanced down, unaware that Billy had slipped into the room and was standing
beside him. The boy stood with his arms folded across his chest, his posture
the mirror image of Jack's. Jack recognized the resentfulness in the boy's
stance, and slowly forced his own arms to his sides. He turned his face back to
the window.

"You
don't like babies?"

Billy
snorted. "All's they do is cry, burp and pee."

Jack
bit back a smile. "You were a baby once," he reminded the boy.

Billy
folded his arms more stubbornly across his chest. "Yeah, but nobody made
all that fuss over me. Not that I'd want 'em to," he added quickly.

Jack
glanced down and saw the thrust of the boy's lower lip, the resentfulness in
his stance. "You don't like hugs and kisses?" he asked.

"Heck,
no! Kissin' and huggin' is for sissies."

Jack
lifted his shoulder and turned his gaze back to the window. "Personally I
kind of like hugs and kisses."

Billy
snapped his head up to look at Jack. "You do?" he asked doubtfully.

Jack
nodded. "Sure do."

Billy
turned his head back to stare out the window. "Alayna gives me hugs and
kisses sometimes," he admitted reluctantly. "I guess hers are all
right." He frowned. "But she'll forget all about us now that the
stupid baby's here."

Jack
heard the bitterness in the boy's voice. But he heard the fear, too. "I'm
sure she'll be busy with the baby, but she won't forget you're here. Molly,
either. She'll probably even need your help."

"I
ain't changin' no stinkin' diapers."

Jack
chuckled. "I doubt she'll ask for your help with that chore." He
turned his gaze back to the window, folding his arms across his chest again.

He
felt a slight pressure against his side as Billy eased closer. They stood there
together, looking down below and watching as the baby was passed from one
expectant set of arms to another. Gradually the weight of Billy's body against
Jack's side increased.

Jack
suspected that the boy was feeling left out, and was worried about his place in
the order of things now that there was a baby in the house. The hell of it was,
Jack was feeling much the same emotions.

"Have
you ever done any carpentry work?" he asked offhandedly.

Billy
looked up at Jack, then snorted as he turned his face back to the window,
scowling. "I'm just a kid. Remember?"

Jack
lifted a shoulder. "Never too young to learn."

Billy
glanced back up, his eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Learn what?"

"A
trade. I could use some help around here. Of course, you'd have to be pretty
strong for the work I'm needing done."

Billy
bent his arm at the elbow and pushed up a sleeve, showing his muscle.
"I've got big muscles," he said proudly.

Jack
curled his fingers around the small swell on the boy's arm and tried to hide a
smile. "Yep. That's pretty big all right. Think you could swing a hammer?"

"Shoot,
yeah," Billy bragged.

Jack
gave Billy a slap on his back that aimed him toward the door. "Well, let's
get to it, then, before somebody comes looking for us and wants us to change a
diaper."

"Here?"

Jack
nodded as he knelt beside Billy, holding the lattice panel in place. "Yep.
That's the spot. Just give the nail a tap to set it in the wood."

Billy
lifted the hammer and thumped it against the nail. When he released the nail,
it fell to the ground. He turned to Jack, scowling.

Jack
chuckled and picked up the nail, passing it back to Billy. "Try it again.
Only this time, hit it a little harder."

With
a sigh of frustration, Billy put the nail back into position. Narrowing his
eyes in determination, he lifted the hammer and swung. It hit the wood, missing
the nail entirely.

"Again,"
Jack instructed patiently.

Billy
swung again, harder this time. Slowly he released his grip on the nail. He
grinned when it stayed in place.

"Perfect,"
Jack said. "Now you can drive it into the wood, but be careful that you
don't bend the nail."

Catching
his lower lip between his teeth, Billy lifted the hammer with both hands and
pounded it against the nail. He missed the nail a couple of times, and hit the
wood instead, putting a few dents in it. But Jack figured a few dents in the
wood didn't matter. Billy was busy and he was happy, and he didn't seem to be
fretting over the baby any longer, which was what Jack had hoped for when he'd
suggested that Billy help him with his work.

Billy
rocked back on his heels and looked up at Jack. "Is that good
enough?" he asked uncertainly.

Jack
shot him a grin. "Couldn't have done it any better myself."

His
chest swelled with pride, Billy stood. He stuck the end of the hammer into his
jean pocket, trying to use his pocket in the same way that Jack used the loops
on his tool belt. Unfortunately his pocket wasn't deep enough and the hammer
fell to the ground dangerously close to Billy's feet.

"Guess
we're going to have to get you a tool belt," Jack said as he stooped to
pick up the hammer.

Billy's
eyes widened in excitement. "Really? When?"

Jack
slipped the hammer into the loop on his own tool belt. "Next time I'm in
town."

"Cool,
dude!"

Chuckling,
Jack playfully ruffled the boy's hair. "Yeah, cool."

Jack
heard the cries before he even reached the house.

Man,
that kid's got a set of lungs!

He
opened the back door and stepped inside the kitchen. Alayna stood at the stove,
stirring something in a pan while she jounced the screaming baby on her
shoulder. Her hair was mussed and she was wearing the same blue robe Jack had
seen her in that first morning when he'd come to the Pond House to work.

At
the sound of the door closing, she turned and offered him a tired smile.
"Good morning."

Jack
tossed his cap to the counter. "Good morning."

She
turned back to the stove and continued her stirring, raising her voice to be
heard over the baby. "We're having oatmeal. I hope that's all right."

"Oatmeal's
fine," he said, raising his voice, as well.

He
watched her whack the spoon against the side of the pan, then lay it aside. The
baby screamed even louder. Alayna sighed wearily and patted the infant on the
back as she crossed to the refrigerator for milk. Jack noticed the droop of
Alayna's shoulders, the heaviness of her step, the shadows beneath her eyes. He
quickly gathered bowls and utensils and crossed to the table.

"Did
you get any sleep last night?" he asked.

Alayna
smiled weakly as she set the milk on the table, then sank wearily into a chair.
"No," she said, dipping her head to look at the baby. "Meggie
cried all night."

"Is
she sick or something?"

Alayna
lifted her head to look at him and he saw the circles beneath her eyes, and the
tears that brightened them. "Mrs. Lindstrom, the social worker," she
added in explanation and sniffed, "says she has colic. I gave her the
medicine they left with me, but it didn't seem to help."

Jack
wasn't sure what possessed him, but he found himself rounding the table and
holding out his hands. "Here. I'll take her for a while."

Alayna
sighed gratefully as they made the exchange, wiping the stray tear from her
cheek. "Thanks, Jack." She pushed herself to her feet. "Just
give me a minute to get the oatmeal, then I'll take her back." She
shuffled her way to the stove, retrieved the pan of oatmeal, then shuffled her
way back to the table as if her feet were weighted with lead. She yawned
hugely, then covered her mouth with her hand when she saw Jack watching her.
"Sorry," she murmured in apology.

"I'd
say you're due."

He
watched as she scooped oatmeal into their bowls as if the spoon alone weighed a
hundred pounds, then shuffled her way to the sink where she deposited the empty
pan. She turned, holding out her arms as she crossed back to him. "Here. I
can take her now."

Jack
shifted the baby to his left shoulder and away from Alayna. "She can
scream in my ear as easily as she can scream in yours." He gestured for
her to take her seat. "Go on and eat your breakfast."

Alayna
hesitated only a moment, then moved to her chair. She sank down onto it,
propped her elbow on the table and her cheek on her palm. She sprinkled sugar
over her oatmeal. "I had no idea a baby could cry this long."

"She's
got a set of lungs on her, that's for sure."

Alayna
tried to smile, but decided it required too much effort. She stirred oatmeal
around her bowl, too exhausted to even lift the spoon and take a bite. She
watched Jack as he shoveled spoonfuls of oatmeal into his mouth while
alternately patting the baby's back.

"You're
pretty good at that," she said, surprised by the ease with which he
handled the baby.

With
his spoon halfway to his mouth, Jack froze. He forced himself to carry the
spoon the rest of the way, slowly chewed the food, then swallowed. "What's
so hard about holding a baby?"

Alayna
shrugged. "Nothing, I guess, though I've rarely seen a man hold an infant
with such ease, especially a crying one."

Jack
laid aside his spoon and shifted the baby to his lap, stretching her out across
his thighs. He rubbed his hand over her back, throwing in a pat now and again.

After
a moment, the baby burped, hitched a shuddery breath, then grew quiet.

Alayna's
eyes widened as she stared at the baby. "How did you do that?"

Jack
watched the movement of his hand across the infant's narrow back and remembered
another time he'd handled a baby in such a way.

"My
son had colic," he said in a voice so low Alayna had to strain to hear it.