LITMIR.BIZ

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almost seven.” Whit dropped down next to Mallory and rested a hand on her thigh. “If you’d shown up five minutes later, I wouldn’t have answered the door.”

      Kevin eyed the spread on the floor. “Is it your anniversary?”

      “No.” Mallory tightened the robe’s sash and moved closer to her husband. “Whit found out today he’s going to design a multimillion-dollar home for a prominent corporate CEO. We’re celebrating.”

      Kevin offered his hand to his brother-in-law for a shake. “Congratulations.”

      Whit smiled with pride. “Thanks. I beat out a dozen other architects, so I’m pretty happy about it. I’ll begin working on the design in a few weeks.”

      “Sounds like a good deal,” Kevin said. “Who is this tycoon, anyway?”

      Mallory sighed. “Let’s cut the chitchat, you two. And Kevin, what are you doing here?”

      “He wants to borrow one of the girls,” Whit said before Kevin could respond.

      Mallory scowled. “What for?”

      Now came the nitty-gritty. The explanation that might take a while. With that in mind, Kevin selected the club chair across from the sofa and prepared to confess. “I’ll try to be brief.”

      “Good idea,” Whit said. “We have to get back to the celebration and you’re not invited to watch.”

      Kevin launched into the details of his reunion with Leah, learning about Carly and his most recent proposition. He concluded by saying, “She hasn’t agreed to move in with me yet, but even if she doesn’t, I still want to learn how to take care of the baby. That’s why I’m here.”

      As soon as the astonishment left Mallory’s expression, she leaned forward and folded her hands in her lap. “Does this mean the two of you could possibly get back together?”

      Obviously he’d been born into a family of frustrated matchmakers. “No, it doesn’t. She’s not interested.”

      “Even after you told her about your illness?” she asked.

      “I haven’t told her, and I don’t intend to.”

      Whit shook his head. “You’re making a huge mistake, bud.”

      Maybe so, but Kevin didn’t intend to complicate matters any more than they already were. “I have my reasons for keeping the information to myself.”

      “I can’t imagine what they might be,” Mallory said. “If she knew why you broke it off with her, then I’m sure she would be willing to give you another chance.”

      Kevin was too mentally stressed to get into his motives now, especially since he’d already hashed them out with Kieran that morning. “Take my word for it, telling her wouldn’t matter. But I still want to do right by my daughter, and that’s where the twins come in.”

      Mallory folded her arms across her middle. “First of all, as much as I’d like to loan you a child, Lucy and Maddie are with Mom and Dad for the night. Secondly, they’re potty-trained, off the bottle, on solid foods and out of a crib. In fact, they’re going on three, not three months. I kind of doubt they’ll be of any help, unless you need all the particulars about the latest and greatest cartoon characters.”

      Damn. He hadn’t considered that his nieces were beyond the infant stage. “That just goes to show how much I know about kids.”

      Mallory came to her feet and waved a hand at him. “Come with me. I have an idea.”

      Whit groaned as Kevin followed his sister out of the den and into the hall. They traveled several feet before reaching a bedroom decorated in shades of yellow and green, twin beds—not cribs—set out on opposing walls. Mallory crossed the room, picked up a doll and two miniature diapers from a shelf, turned and offered them to him. “You can practice with Sally Sweetness, who happens to be anatomically correct. If you’d like, I can give you one of her play bottles. Fill it up with water, stick it in her mouth, and in a matter of minutes, she’ll wet her diaper and you can change it.”

      Not at all what he’d had in mind. “A doll isn’t the same as the real thing, Mallory.”

      “It’s a start, Kevin. Or you could wait another few weeks for Logan and Jenna’s baby to arrive.”

      He didn’t have weeks to wait for the birth of another niece or nephew. Not if he wanted to prove to Leah that he could care for Carly now. He took the doll from Mallory and stuffed the diapers in the pocket of his slacks. “I’ll make do with this.”

      “I just remembered something else that might help, so wait here,” Mallory said as she left the room. She returned a few moments later, this time with a book that she held out to him. “You’ll find everything you need to know about babies in here.”

      He took the book and flipped through the pages, complete with illustrations. “It’s all covered in here?”

      “Yes, but if you have any questions, call me. You can also call Mom. After all, she’s raised six kids.”

      Not something he cared to do. “I don’t want to tell Mom and Dad yet. Not until I know for certain if Leah’s going to go along with my plan.”

      Mallory inclined her head and studied him for a moment. “You don’t want Mom hovering, which is why you came to me instead.”

      His sister knew him too well. “You could say that. I want to do this on my own, or at least for the most part. But I have to admit, it’s pretty daunting.”

      She patted his arm. “You’re a smart guy, Kevin. And don’t let anyone fool you into thinking that men don’t have instincts when it comes to their children. All you have to do is listen to those instincts, and love your child.”

      The odd thing was, Kevin already loved Carly, even though he’d only held her one time. “I’ll remember that.”

      Mallory studied him a few moments before saying, “Believe it or not, I think you’re going to make a good father, Kev.”

      Then his sister did something totally unexpected—drew him into a hug. The moment seemed awkward at first, at least to Kevin. He’d built a lot of walls during his adulthood, even when it came to his family. Especially when it came to family. But he welcomed the renewed closeness with his siblings, now more than ever.

      After Mallory released him, Kevin smiled self-consciously. “Wish me luck with convincing Leah that moving in with me would be the best thing for all three of us.”

      Mallory grinned. “You don’t need any luck, Kevin. You only need to turn on that charm you’ve always used to your benefit.”

      Kevin didn’t feel all that charming lately. “That was the old me, Mallory. I’m not sure that person exists anymore.”

      “Oh, I think he does. Only he’s a better version of that person.”

      Kevin sincerely hoped he had become a better person. More important, he hoped that Leah would eventually recognize that. “Thanks, Mallory.”

      “Not a problem. Again, if you decide you need my help with anything else, let me know. Only next time, call before you drop by.”

      Kevin could think of one thing he really needed—a miracle. Nothing short of that would convince Leah to move in with him.

      “PLEASE go to sleep, sweetie.” Leah recognized how foolish she sounded, pleading with a thee-month-old infant. But she was growing more desperate by the minute, as well as losing what little coherency she had left.

      No matter what she’d attempted in order to lull her baby to sleep—from a drive around town, feeding her several times and rocking her for what seemed like hours on end—nothing had worked.

      Using all her medical knowledge, she’d examined Carly from head to toe, taken her temperature and determined that her

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