At nine when he went into the nursery to say goodnight to Gino, Whitney was already there. He was neither surprised nor concerned when she kept the slightest bit of distance between herself and the baby. He knew why she hesitated.
Still, he and Whitney were the baby’s guardians and because of work that day they hadn’t spent as much time as either of them wanted to spend with the baby, so he excused Mrs. Tucker.
“We’re okay here. So if you want to go to your room, that’s fine.”
When she was gone, Darius sat on the rocker, bottle in hand. “Hey, little guy.”
From her spot beside the crib, Whitney said, “He’s really getting to know who you are.”
Darius couldn’t help it. He smiled. “I know.”
“And you’re really beginning to like him.”
Darius looked up at her. “You were right. It hits you like a ton of bricks.”
Her blue eyes softened and became distant. “Yeah.”
He hadn’t meant to bring her child to her mind, but with the two of them caring for a baby, it was very hard not to. Of course, if he kept the conversation specific to Gino, maybe he could avoid that.
“Remember how we were talking about him not getting a car on his sixteenth birthday?”
“Yeah?”
“Well, that started me thinking about some weird things.”
“Like what?”
“Like how am I going to tell him about our dad. Or whether or not I should even tell him about our dad.”
Whitney bristled. “You can’t not tell him about his own father.”
“No, but I could be judicious. You know … tell him the good stuff and temper the bad.”
She took another step closer. “That won’t work if your brothers decide to tell him the truth.”
“I’ve been thinking about that too. My dad wanted us to behave like brothers. And, as you can see, Cade and Nick more or less deserted me.”
“So you’re going to keep Gino away from them so they don’t tell him about your dad?”
He shook his head. “No. I’ve actually been thinking of inviting them up to the house. Maybe once or twice a year, so they’ll have a chance to get to know him. There are four of us who are brothers, not just me and Gino. They might not want any part of me. But they’re Gino’s big brothers. I think they should be in his life.”
She nodded. In front of the rocker now, she stooped down. “In some ways, that’s going to make his life tough.”
Darius frowned. “Seeing his other brothers only a few times a year?”
She caught his gaze. “No. Having three adult brothers. I know you might not get this yet, but this kid is almost forty years younger than you are. And the distance between his age and that of his other two brothers is almost as great. There are three of you who will expect him to meet your standards.” She passed her hand lovingly over Gino’s soft black hair. “Three of you who will criticize his dates, expect a say in where he goes to university.” She shook her head then ran her index finger down Gino’s cheek. “I’m guessing he’s going to rebel.”
Cautious, hardly breathing, Darius watched her. She didn’t seem to realize how lovingly she was caressing the little boy. She appeared mesmerized, as if she’d waited all her life for a child and now that she was with one, she couldn’t stop herself.
“In one way or another all three of us rebelled.”
She looked up at him with a soft smile. “Really?”
“I attended Wharton instead of Harvard.”
She gasped as if mocking him. “Wow. I’m surprised your dad survived the blow.”
“Hey, to him it was a big deal. Harvard was his alma mater.”
“What about the other two?”
“Nick got married at seventeen.”
Her eyes widened. “Now, that’s more like it!”
“And Cade refused to go to school at all. He bought a ranch with his trust fund and worked it.”
“Okay. Cade wins. That’s rebellion.”
“Yeah, but when his oil interests got into trouble, he needed our dad. That still sticks in his craw.”
She laughed and rose from in front of the rocker. “‘Sticks in his craw?’”
“He’s a Texan. It’s like they have their own language down there.”
With the baby asleep, Darius rose from the rocker and laid the little boy in his crib. After covering him with a green blanket, he leaned down and kissed his cheek.
From the corner of his eye, he watched Whitney lick her lips. He pulled away from the crib. “Want to kiss him goodnight?”
She pressed her lips together and shook her head slightly. “I need to get ready for bed.”
He let her walk out of the nursery, but he had seen the longing in her eyes.
Could it be that he’d made a mistake in running interference for her? Could she actually need to be around Gino, not away from him? Would that help her take the next steps in her recovery?
Tuesday morning, he got to the nursery before Whitney, and when she arrived he dismissed Mrs. Tucker again.
As he fed the baby his bottle, Whitney started off standing by the crib, but ultimately gravitated to the rocker. Again, she stooped in front of it, watching Gino as he ate.
He thought about that all morning at work. He didn’t know if the change was because she’d told him about her family, or if she was simply growing more accustomed to Gino, but that child drew her. And for every bit she was drawn to the baby, he felt drawn to help her adjust.
If nothing else, they shared custody of Gino. She was his partner. And he needed to help her.
When they stepped into the house that evening, Mrs. Tucker met them to take their coats. “Chinese for supper tonight,” she said then walked away with their garments.
“I see your love of food precedes you. I’ve never had a housekeeper announce the menu at the door, unless she knew somebody was truly interested.”
She laughed. “I am!”
Darius pointed up the stairs. “Baby first. Food second.”
She didn’t hesitate. Not only did they always put Gino first, but she was actually eager to see the little guy. She wasn’t entirely sure what had happened, but with Darius in the room, it was no longer excruciating to be with the baby. There were painful minutes. She still made comparisons in her head. But Darius was like a layer of protection.
They walked upstairs together and the second they stepped into the room, Gino bounced up in the crib and held his hands out to Darius.
“Look how cute!” Darius said, laughter bubbling through his voice. “He wants me.” He strode over and Gino all but leapt into his arms. The baby squealed, a sound that was half-joy and half-annoyance as if he couldn’t wait the two seconds it took for Darius to snag him out of the crib.
Whitney’s chest squeezed. Not with pain or fear or even a remembrance of her own child, but with happiness. Staying at this house hadn’t been her first choice for how they’d share custody, but it was now clear that being here had been the right thing for