Hart's Baby. Christine Pacheco

leaving?” Nick chuckled. “All right, Mother, show me out.”

      Zach moved toward the couch and his mother. Cassie, debating what to do, bit back her urge to jump in and care for her nephew. Swallowing a nervous lump, she saw Zach accept the unhappy bundle.

      Billy seemed so small in Zach’s large arms. And Zach appeared as uncomfortable as any first-time father.

      But she knew from experience how incredible it was to hold your own flesh and blood in your arms, feel the warmth, experience the headiness of blind trust.

      If only Zach could bond with Billy like she had, see what she saw.... For a few seconds, her body forgot its basic functions.

      In Zach’s arms, Billy quieted.

      “It’s okay, big guy,” Zach said. “We’ll have that bottle in a sec.”

      She’d never heard such mellowness from a big man before. Nuances ran through his rich voice as he dropped it to a level she hadn’t imagined possible. For a frightening moment she wondered how she might respond if he spoke to her in that same gently hypnotic tone.

      He glanced in her direction then, his harsh expression tempered by wonder.

      Her breath caught, and hope flared for the first time since she arrived. His heart might be encased by distrust, but he did have one, nonetheless.

      Even as Cassie watched, steel edged back into his features. If she hadn’t seen the look on his face, she might have doubted his ability to be a sensitive man. Now that she had... Her tummy tightened. Now that she had, she believed Billy might have a chance.

      Margaret pushed on the top of her cane and said, “Nicholas, dear, lend your mother a hand.”

      A patient look passed between the brothers, then Nick took two steps and proffered his arm.

      When they approached Cassie, Nick and his mother stopped. “It was a pleasure to meet you, ma’am,” Nick said. The words were polite, yet a cold undertow rippled beneath them.

      No matter how outwardly accepting the Harts might be, she still had a long way to go. Success would be measured in tiny increments.

      Still, she and Billy had advanced slightly, evidenced by the fact that Zach now held his nephew.

      Billy fussed again, galvanizing her into action.

      “If you’ll excuse me,” she said.

      She moved toward Zach and offered to take the baby.

      Shaking his head, he instead said, “Give me the bottle.”

      “The bottle?”

      “I would assume that’s why he’s exercising his vocal chords.”

      Her hand shook as she offered the bottle. She’d had precious little help since Billy arrived in her life. Receiving it from unexpected quarters made her nervous.

      Zach ended up squirting formula on Billy’s face. Closing his eyes, he screamed.

      “Like this,” Cassie said softly, placing her hand over Zach’s. The heat from his hand jolted her, igniting nerve endings. They looked at each other, the communication having nothing to do with the child and everything to do with simmering awareness.

      Wresting her thoughts back under control, she gently moved his hand. Together they stroked Billy’s lip with the nipple. He continued to cry, then suddenly stopped and latched on, sucking with greedy abandonment.

      Zach’s smile of triumph rocked her down to her toes. For an instant the connection between them seemed real and honest, tempting.

      Her senses in a whir, she released her grip on Zach, moving away to grab a cloth from the diaper bag. When her breaths weren’t as quick, she returned to wipe the drops of milk from Billy’s face. His eyes fluttered open, then blissfully closed again.

      “His eyes look like yours,” Zach observed.

      She tamped down her first reaction to toss back his words, telling him babies didn’t resemble anyone. “Jeanie’s were the same. It’s the one feature we shared.”