The SEAL’s Surprise Baby by Leslie North

13

“Anderson!” Violet calling his name brought him out of a light sleep. Something wasn’t right. He checked his surroundings and heard her call for him again, her voice fainter this time. He reached for the gun he’d left on the coffee table and charged up the stairs.

When he reached the top, he saw her sitting on the hall floor with her head tucked between her knees. Was she injured? He looked for blood, some sign that she’d been attacked.

“What’s wrong?” he said, coming to a stop and dropping down in front of her.

“I’m light-headed and feel awful.” She tilted her head up; her face was pale. “I can’t reach Nate. Will you get him out of bed?”

“Of course, but first you.” He shoved the gun in his waistband so he could put an arm behind her back and one under her knees and lift her from the floor.

“I can walk,” she murmured weakly, but her head rested against his chest.

“I don’t think so.” He carried her into the master bedroom and set her down gently on the bed.

“It’s probably just a virus,” she said as she dropped her head onto the pillow. “Maybe if I sleep for a while, I’ll feel better.”

“You need to stay in this bed for the rest of the day,” he said, keeping his tone gentle.

“Can’t do that. Moms don’t get sick days.”

“This one does. Consider yourself off the clock,” Anderson said. He heard Nate’s babbling through the monitor. “Let me get him, and I’ll be back to check on you. Don’t move.”

When he returned to her twenty minutes later, Violet was curled on her side, sound asleep. She looked delicate and fragile, which wasn’t her norm, and his heart hurt at the sight. Overcome by tenderness, he leaned closer to kiss her forehead. Her skin felt dry and too warm.

He retreated from the room, thinking about what he could do to make her feel better. He was rarely sick himself, but he figured she’d need fluids and something to treat what seemed like a fever.

“Looks like we’re going to the store, buddy,” he said to Nate. Grocery shopping with a baby seemed a daunting task, but he could do it. He made sure Nate had on a fresh diaper, grabbed the bag Violet always carried for him, and headed to the car.

“Good morning,” Kelly called. She was powerwalking down the sidewalk.

“Hello,” he responded as he strapped Nate in his seat.

“Early-morning trip?” Her pace slowed.

As much as Anderson knew that her question came from friendliness, it still made him uncomfortable. He didn’t like to reveal details about his and Violet’s lives. He had to say something, though, since it looked odd that he was leaving with the baby so early in the morning.

“Violet’s under the weather today,” he explained. “We’re going to get some supplies.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Her face was instantly filled with concern. “Is there anything I can do?”

“No, I’ve got it. Thanks,” he remembered to add. Part of him wished he could ask her to watch Nate for him, but he wasn’t about to hand his child to anyone he hadn’t run a full background check on.

Anderson drove to the nearest store, singing loudly and off-key to keep Nate entertained. Once they arrived, he realized the boy was too small to be put in a shopping cart seat—he’d probably slide out a leg hole.

The problem made Anderson hesitate. How did other parents do this? He looked around, but no one else had a baby at the store.

“Going to have to figure this out,” he muttered to Nate. After a minute of debate, Anderson opted to carry him, which limited his purchases. He managed to buy Tylenol and Gatorade and hoped that combination would make Violet feel better.

He wasn’t gone long, but when he returned to the safe house, he found a small plastic container waiting on the front steps. He approached it cautiously and saw the contents were frozen. Unexpected packages were not usually good things in his world, but the attached note erased his concern.

Homemade chicken noodle soup—good for any illness. Take care.

He didn’t have to guess who it was from. He made sure to smile and wave in the direction of Kelly’s house, knowing that she’d be watching for his reaction to the gift.

“I guess it’s nice to have people who care about you,” he muttered as he got Nate, his purchases, and the soup through the front door. He put Nate in the playpen and dashed up the stairs to check on Violet. He was glad to see she was still asleep. Since he might have his hands full with Nate when she woke, he left a bottle of Gatorade and some pills on the nightstand for her.

When he went back down, Nate had fallen asleep in the playpen. Now what? Anderson put his hands on his hips and looked around. He was out of tasks, and there was nothing he could do to ease their situation. He couldn’t hunt down the bad guy, he couldn’t patch the data breach, and no one needed him at the moment.

There must be something. He checked the encrypted phone. No messages, which meant nothing had changed. Next, he looked at his personal phone. He had a missed call from Patrick, which must have come in while he was at the store.

It would be good to talk to someone on the outside, get a different perspective. Anderson was feeling a little lost. Like he wasn’t as in control as he should be—a sensation he hated. Violet’s illness was part of that, but everything about their predicament had him feeling more apprehensive than usual.

Since he didn’t trust his own phone, he dialed Patrick’s number on Wiffy and was glad when his longtime friend picked up.

“Hey, man, good to hear from you,” Patrick said. “How’s it going?”

Anderson brought him up to speed on what had happened since he and Violet arrived at the safe house. He stuck to the facts, skipping over anything personal.

“What’s really got you so worried?” Patrick asked after listening in near silence.

Anderson hesitated for a second, but he should have known Patrick would sense he wasn’t getting the whole story. With a sigh, he admitted the truth. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to protect them.”

“Violet and your son?”

“Yeah.” Anderson had gotten used to the idea of having a son, but it hit home again when Patrick said the word. “Violet’s been in this kind of situation before, but Nate…”

“Kids change everything,” Patrick agreed. Patrick had recently made a lot of changes in his life. First he married, and then his six-year-old daughter had come to live with him and his new wife. “But the rewards are worth it.”

“I don’t know about that,” Anderson said and immediately felt guilty when he looked at his son sleeping in the playpen. Parenting was more challenging than he’d imagined, but the kid was… Aw, hell, he didn’t know what to say about his relationship with Nate. He just knew that he felt inadequate, and that was enough to frustrate him, to make him doubt. “What if I screw it up?”

“You can’t think that way,” Patrick said. “Hey, do you remember when we were at Boy Scout camp?”

Anderson had only gone to the camp one time, the summer he was eight. Camp cost money, so his parents refused the other years. They’d let him stay in the Boy Scouts until he was twelve, though, even if their motivation wasn’t the same as most parents’. Scout meetings had been held twice a week and always included snacks. His mom and dad had seen it as childcare and a free meal. Even then, Anderson had understood their game and known to hide it. He’d never eaten more than the other boys and maintained the fiction that his parents were working and that was why they didn’t attend any events with him.

“Not among my finer moments,” Anderson said.

“What are you talking about? You led an expedition into the woods.”

“I got us all lost.” The ill-fated nighttime trek was to hunt ghosts, after listening to countless ghost stories told around the campfire. Spirits never frightened Anderson, because he’d learned early on that things in the physical realm were plenty scary. Other kids had been afraid, though. A kid named Bobby had clung to him and cried, howling that they were all going to die.

“Yeah,” Patrick said, “but you also got us back to camp. We panicked. You didn’t.”

“I got my ass chewed out,” Anderson said. The camp counselors hadn’t been happy with him, but to the other kids, he’d been a hero. At least for a day or two.

“They had to do that so other kids didn’t wander off,” Patrick said, “but they were proud of you, too. I heard them talking about it. You surprised them by staying calm and taking control.”

“What’s your point, Patrick?” Anderson demanded, tired of the trip down memory lane.

“You know what my point is,” Patrick said. “You’ve got the right stuff in you to deal with any problems. Keep your cool, use your brain, and you’ll be all right.”

Anderson didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t used to getting pep talks from his buddies. Usually, talks like that weren’t necessary. He knew his capabilities. With his SEAL team, everyone understood their roles and performed them. But this situation was different from any he’d been in before. It involved a child that was his and a woman he cared about more than he should.

“Thanks. I’ll call you with updates,” Anderson said and ended the call before Patrick could say more. His buddy had made it sound simple, but Anderson’s problems were well beyond simple. “Aren’t they, buddy?” he asked Nate as he looked into the playpen where the child stared up at him.

Nate pointed both index fingers toward Anderson and then fisted his hand and moved them toward himself. Wait a minute. That looked a lot like the sign for “come.” Was it a fluke? Just an incidental movement? Anderson had shown Nate that sign and even used it with him several times, but had the baby picked it up for real? Anderson waited and watched. A few seconds later, Nate repeated the gesture.

“You got it.” Anderson leaned closer and was rewarded with a huge baby smile that melted his heart. Why did the kid have to do that? Anderson didn’t know, but he couldn’t resist it either. He picked Nate up and got a pat on each cheek. “Do you mean kiss? It’s supposed to be on your face, not mine, but I get your point.”

For the first time, Anderson kissed his son’s face. He’d seen Violet do it frequently, but he’d held back. But it was just the two of them now. No one to see. He pressed his lips to the boy’s cheeks, surprised at their softness and the baby smell that came from him. Anderson knew it was just the scent of shampoo, but there was something special about it.

“Okay, now what are we going to do, because we can’t bother Mama today. We probably should check on her, though. Promise to be quiet.” Anderson carried Nate up to the bedroom and peeked in. Violet must have woken at some point, because the Tylenol and half the bottle of Gatorade were gone. That was a good sign. With the rest she was getting, he hoped she’d recover quickly.

“New diaper for you,” he said to Nate after they crept out of Violet’s room, “and then… something.”

Anderson spent the next hour keeping Nate happy. They went to the windows, looking for birds and butterflies. Then Anderson dug through the basket of toys in the living room. Nothing lasted for more than a few minutes before Nate tossed it aside, seemingly dissatisfied. When he started to fuss, Anderson looked around, desperate for a solution, and spotted the carrier that Violet sometimes used. He adjusted the straps to fit him and put Nate in so the boy was chest to chest with him. The baby was instantly soothed.

“Good deal,” Anderson said, “and my hands are free.” He paced the house looking for little tasks he could do. He jotted some notes in his notebook, all the while telling Nate what he was writing. The sound of his voice helped keep Nate happy. In the kitchen, Anderson reorganized the pantry and the refrigerator, arranging like items together.

He was idly putting puzzle pieces in place and telling Nate that his mama was going to be mad about him working on the puzzle without her when he realized that Nate had fallen asleep against him.

“Finally out, huh?” Anderson asked softly and smoothed a hand over Nate’s head. Carefully, Anderson took off the carrier and got Nate out. He knew that he should put his son in the playpen or his crib for a nap, but there was something about holding the boy that captivated him. He’d learned lots about kids recently, and one of those things was that sleeping babies were perfect little works of art.

He'd just sit with him on the couch for a few minutes before putting him down. Anderson reclined on the sofa with Nate resting on his chest and felt an unexpected contentment come over him.