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“Take a paternity test then,” I hissed back and wiped my hands over my face. I knew I looked like hell after two weeks of taking care of a newborn, dealing with my grief and everything else in my life, and I just didn’t care.
“Are you seriously just going to drop him in my arms and walk away?”
I turned to face him and collect my umbrella from the back of the stroller. “Mr. Vaughn, I’m sorry for doing this. I really am, but Devon is your son. I honestly cannot take care of him; I wish I could. If I were in a better time in my life, maybe I could have, but if you don’t want him, you can always put him up for adoption.” The words were like a knife in my chest. I could not imagine someone else raising my best friend’s child, but then again, I didn’t know Trevor Vaughn either, and I was going to leave Devon with him.
He stared at me like I was nuts, and I shook my head. “All I know is that Carol wanted me to get him to you. I’m sorry about that. There is a note from her in the baby’s bag. Maybe it will explain more to you about why she did what she did.” I stepped forward, touching Devon’s soft cheek with my fingers before I placed a kiss on his forehead.
I stepped back, staring into the confused beautiful blue eyes of the man in front of me. “I have to go. Good luck, Mr. Vaughn.” I let my gaze drop to Devon and wanted to snatch him back from the strong arms holding him but knew this was the best. “Take care of him, please.”
I turned quickly and burst from the room, rushing to the door as my eyes filled with tears. I had grown to love the little guy so much, and as I swiped the tears away from my cheeks, I prayed that Trevor Vaughn would take good care of him.
Chapter Three
Trevor
Istared at the door, and then the baby in my arms began to wiggle. His face scrunched up, and he started to wail. “Oh, hell, no!” I growled and ran toward the door.
Alice and Alex were standing at the front desk, and both of them turned to me.
“What’s going on?” Alex asked.
I rushed to his side. “Take this.” I pushed the baby into his arms and then rushed out the door after Davina. She must be crazy to think I could take care of a kid.
The elevator was going down, so I hit the stairs and practically jumped from landing to landing. When I arrived on the first floor, I looked at the elevator to see the doors were already closing again, and I spun around, catching sight of Davina’s small figure walking out the lobby door as she fiddled with her umbrella. I bolted after her.
“Davina!” I yelled as I reached the other side. Her head was hidden under the black waterproof material, and she was walking faster than I had expected her little legs could carry her. “Davina!” I called again as the rain began to saturate me.
She must have heard her name the second time because she twirled around. I slid to a stop in front of her, just out of reach of the poking umbrella tips. “You can’t just drop a kid off at my office and walk away. What the hell am I supposed to do with him?”
“Raise him,” she hissed my way as she swiped at tears on her face. “He’s your son!”
“I don’t know how to raise a kid. I travel to dangerous places, live in a one-bedroom apartment. I don’t know the first thing about raising a child.”
“Yeah, well, I am sure there are plenty of books you can buy that will help you, or support groups or something.” She tossed a hand wildly in the air and spun away from me, rain racing off the umbrella and onto my face. I grabbed her arm and stopped her as I wiped the water away.
“Are you serious? You think I should learn how to take care of a baby through a support group or books? What kind of a woman are you?”
Her whiskey-colored eyes widened. “How dare you say that! The kind of woman I am has nothing to do with your obligations, Mr. Vaughn. I fulfilled my obligation! I promised Carol that I would bring Devon to you. I did that.”
“But what am I supposed to do now?”
“I don’t know! Do you think I knew what to do with a baby when I had to bring him home?” She shook her head. “I had no clue. I’ve never been a maternal person, and I don’t have any kids of my own, so I had to figure out how to take care of him all by myself. Maybe your current piece of ass can help you.”
I jerked back. “That was uncalled for.”
She closed her eyes, rubbing her hand over her face. She lifted her eyes to mine, and they looked sad and utterly exhausted. “I’m sorry. You’re right, that wasn’t very nice. I haven’t slept much the last two weeks that I’ve been taking care of him, and I work full time and take classes. It has been overwhelming for me.”
I stared down at her as rain dripped from my face, and a flash of lightning crashed nearby. The thunderous noise that followed made my spine stiffen as her face paled. Suddenly I wanted to pull her into my arms and comfort her, but that was wrong on so many different levels. “I’m sure it has been,” I said softly. I glanced around the busy street. “I guess I should thank you for doing that.”
“Doing what?” she asked as she tipped her head to the side, and an errant lock of kinky hair fell away from her smooth complexion.
“Taking care of him, finding me.”
“It’s what Carol wanted.”
I nodded, not sure what else to say. “I’m sorry that I snapped at you, but I’m seriously at a loss right now, Davina. I have no idea what to do with a baby. I have no siblings, so I don’t have any nieces or nephews; none of my friends have small kids.”
She sighed. “I know it’s going to be hard for you, Mr. Vaughn, but Devon needs to be with his father. If you really can’t take care of him, there is a number for a good adoption agency on the list that I left in the stroller.”
