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.
“Pat their backs,” Claire encouraged quietly, because the sleepy children were calmer now.
“When was the last time you fed them?”
“We gave Taylor the final bottle right before Evan called you,” Chas whispered. Though the little girl he held still sniffed and hiccuped, her crying had stopped and her swollen eyes were closed.
Claire swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. She could feel every iota of these babies’ pain. She missed Norm, too. But on top of that, these kids were lonely and afraid, with strange people for the second time in only two days. “Have the other two eaten?” she asked, her voice soft and tender.
Evan nodded. “Everybody has had a bottle in the past hour.”
“Then they’re ready for bed,” Claire whispered, motioning to indicate that all three children were breathing deeply and evenly. “But putting them into a crib is a very tricky thing, so we’re going to do this one baby at a time.”
The brothers nodded.
“Grant, you first. Stand up slowly,” Claire said, walking over to the first crib. When Grant joined her, she said, “Bend at the waist so that your baby doesn’t leave the warmth of your body until she’s almost at the mattress.”
Though his moves were awkward, Grant did exactly as he was told.
“Gently place the baby on the mattress and slide your hand out from under her carefully…and slowly, so you don’t disturb her.”
As if disarming a homemade bomb, Grant slowly, cautiously slid his hands out from under Annie. Claire motioned for him to take a few steps back, and he did. The baby continued to sleep. Grant sagged with relief.
Next, Claire motioned for Chas to do the same thing. She quietly repeated the instructions, and, as Grant had, Chas also went limp with relief.
Before Claire could motion to Evan, he was already on his way to the last crib. Without any direction from her, he laid Cody on the soft mattress, eased his hands and arms from under the child, stepped away, and then breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Claire had an odd intuition about the way Evan didn’t wait for her help, almost as if he didn’t want to risk her touching him again. Deciding she was putting too much meaning on things that probably had none, she clicked on the baby monitor and motioned for all three men to come out of the nursery. One by one they filed out into the hall. Claire gently closed the door behind them. Placing one finger on her lips, she cautioned them not to say anything and then directed them downstairs.
All four tiptoed down the circular stairway, through the foyer and into the all-white kitchen at the rear of the house. Collapsing on the stools in front of the counter, the brothers groaned.
“Parenting’s not exactly as easy as it looks,” Claire said with a laugh.
“How the hell do you know so much about kids?” Grant asked incredulously.
“She’s got six brothers and sisters,” Evan replied before Claire could. Though she realized he knew the answer because she’d told him as much that afternoon, she felt a strange jolt of joy that he not only remembered but took the liberty of answering for her as if they were longtime friends.
“You’re kidding,” Grant gasped.
“Nope,”
Claire said, then walked to the counter