Tina Leonard - Daddy's Little Darlings Read online

“Not until he realizes it.” Danita gave her daughter a jaundiced look.

  Daphne shook her head. “I’m not going to mention his mother. I don’t even want to talk to Alex.”

  “You’re not going about this the right way, Daphne Way,” her mother warned. “You oughta think about how you’d really feel if Alex decided to give you what you say you want.” Danita rocked in the chair. “Don’t think you’d like it as much as you think you would.”

  “I don’t think I would like it!” Daphne cried, distressed. “I think it’s the only way. How can I stay married to a man who promised his father he would give him a son?”

  “Bah. Alexander doesn’t know girls from boys except for that which dangles tweenst their legs.”

  “Mother!”

  “Well, it’s true. Reckon if you’d dressed Alex Junior up in a blue onesie and booties and told Alexander it was a boy, he’da not known the difference. Sure as heck never held his own child, I’d be willing to bet.” She stared at the baby in her arms. “Wish I’d thought of dressing you in blue sooner, tyke.”

  “Mother!” Daphne repeated, her tone more shocked than before. “I would never dress my daughters up to fool Mr. Banning. Children should be treated equally, no matter their sex.”

  “Well, you like to do things the hard way, Daphne, not that I’m suggesting we shoulda done it. I’m just saying I wish I’d thought of it sooner.” Her expression was serious. “Maybe it would have kept the chauvinistic old idiot from calling his lawyer in.”

  Daphne’s skin turned chilly. The baby allowed Daphne’s nipple to slide out of her mouth in a satisfied, sleepy movement, but Daphne’s insides were nowhere as content. “Lawyer?”

  “Yep.” Danita reached for Miss Magoo and traded her for a quiet, wide-eyed Alex Junior. “Nelly told me he’s got the lawyer in there right now, and she heard him tell Sinclair he’s changing his will.”

  “Oh, my,” Daphne breathed. “Wonder what he’s up to?”

  “I have no idea.” Danita competently diapered the baby and moved her to a crib. She gazed at the two sleeping babies, making certain their blankets covered them just so. “Don’t think he’s too happy with Alex, though. Shot blanks as far as the old tyrant is concerned.”

  “Mother, Mr. Banning is your age,” she protested mildly. But her mind was going at a nervous clip. Surely Alex’s father wouldn’t punish him through his will just because his only son had given him nothing but grand daughters? “This baby never eats,” she murmured, too un settled to stay on one subject. “All she does is gaze around.”

  Danita came over to stare at the baby. “I know. She hardly cries, either. Won’t surprise me if she sleeps through the night tonight, while the other two give us a run for our money.”

  “You think there’s some thing wrong with her?” Daphne’s heart jumped wildly with worry.

  “Nope. Think she’s got her daddy’s mild-mannered constitution.” Danita took the baby from Daphne and changed its diaper. “Maybe you need a clean bottom before you eat, tyke.”

  Daphne pulled her night gown together as she considered her mother’s words. Alex didn’t have a mild-mannered constitution, as far as she was concerned. Or maybe it was where she was concerned.

  Or maybe it was some thing she brought out in him.

  Certainly, she had been drawn to Alex’s rock-solid steadiness from the start. He was so stable, where she tended to float with the planetary alignment of the day. How could a son like Alex not please his father, even one as demanding as Alexander?

  By not giving him what he’d re quested on his deathbed, an annoying little voice reminded her. She was Alex’s only failing. But he was like his mother, Sabrina, too kind to allow the poor farming family down the way to be left out of Christmas festivities. It hadn’t been her nature.

  It wasn’t Alex’s nature to throw the poor farming family out now just because he’d gotten sold a bill of goods he hadn’t needed.

  “What am I going to do?” she moaned, her mind feeling turned inside out.

  “I don’t know, Daphne Way. All I do know is you’re in a bit of a pickle this moment.” Her mother bustled about the room, then put the baby in Daphne’s arms. Alex Junior gazed at her with wise, somber eyes.

  “What do you think she wants?” Daphne asked her mother helplessly. “She’s waiting for some thing, but I don’t know what.”

  Danita scratched her head. “Tell you the truth, I don’t think she knows what to do with those big bosoms of yours. I think that baby’s kinda over whelmed.”

  “That’s one way she’s not like her daddy, then.” Daphne’s face flamed.

  “Didn’t reckon so.” Danita squinted at the baby. “You know, that ‘un toots constantly. She’s like a little bag of wind letting off a valve. Think it makes her too un com fort able to eat.”

  “What am I going to do?”

  “Maybe only a bottle is gonna do for that one, Daph.” Danita sat on the bed. “I gave her some soy formula earlier, and she seemed to like it just fine. Those two babies, they appear to prefer the breast, but this one—”

  “Mom!” Daphne ex claimed. “I am not feeding this child soy formula. She’s going to need all the extra help she can get. Breast milk is better, especially when she’s so tiny.”

  “Yes, but that baby doesn’t want to feed. You want a hungry, colicky baby who for whatever reason can’t tolerate your milk, or one that’ll grow up just fine on soy?” Her mother shot her an impatient look. “Daphne Way, you’re gonna have to learn to com promise one day, and by your daddy’s long johns, at whose knee you learned this stub born-ness, it ain’t gonna be easy. But you’re gonna have to learn to do it or you’re gonna end up one unhappy lady.”

  “I just don’t want to put a latex nipple in my baby’s mouth,” Daphne protested. “As small as she is, she needs all the natural protection my breast milk can give her.”

  “I agree. I’m just saying maybe it’s not going to work with this one.”

  “I find it hard to believe the child that most resembles its father wouldn’t be attracted to my breasts,” Daphne grumbled. “Would you mind bringing me a bottle of the soy, then? I’m determined to prove you wrong.”

  “Fine by me.”

  Danita exited the room and returned about five minutes later to hand her a warm bottle. Daphne sighed in long-suffering patience, barely touching the nipple to Alex Junior’s lips. The baby continued to stare at her. “See? This baby just doesn’t want to eat anything.”

  A nice, long burst of wind erupted from the region of the baby’s diaper. Daphne met Danita’s eyes in amazement. To her astonishment, the baby let out a demanding wail. Daphne lowered the bottle to Alex Junior’s lips, and the baby began suckling with enthusiasm.

  “She would have taken my breast if she hadn’t already seen the bottle,” Daphne said without much conviction.

  “Maybe.” Not even bothering to appear convinced, Danita walked to the window and stared down. Some thing below had obviously caught her attention.

  “What is it?”

  Her mother nodded at someone or some thing on the ground. “I’m not sure. Here,” she said, reaching for Alex Junior, “let me take this ‘un. Nelly’s had a yen to feed one of these babies, and she and I can have a nice chat.”

  Danita snatched the baby from her before Daphne had a chance to argue. “Brush your hair, Daphne,” she commanded, “and don’t forget your teeth.” Then she hurried from the room.

  Daphne’s mouth dropped open. “For heaven’s sake!” What had gotten into her mother? She got out of bed and ran to the window, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Just a lot of cars, which were always parked at the Banning mansion. She wondered if her mother had seen the Banning solicitor leaving. Maybe that’s what she wanted, to hurry off to pick Nelly’s brains about whatever Mr. Banning had been revising in his will.

  She shook her head and went into the bathroom to comb her hair, tied it with a green ribbon, then took a moment to brush her teeth and wash her face.
She felt so much better, she decided to step in front of the full-length mirror on the back of the door. It would be so nice if her stomach was beginning to shrink, though she’d never again have the body Alex had fallen in love with in the first place….

  “Daphne?”

  She gasped at the sound of his voice in the bedroom and slammed the bathroom door firmly closed. “Yes?”

  “Uh, do you have a second?”

  “No!” She’d left her night gown and panties on the other side of the door when she decided to peek in the mirror.

  There was silence for a moment.

  “I’d like to talk to you.”

  She closed her eyes at the soft huskiness of his voice. “I’m listening.”

  “I mean face-to-face. I don’t want to wake the babies.”

  “Oh.” She thought rapidly. “Well, come back in five minutes.”

  “Okay,” he said, his tone uncertain. “Better yet, why don’t you meet me on the front step in five? I really need to speak with you.”

  “Oh, okay.” Maybe it had some thing to do with his father’s will. If Alex suggested she move out with him, some where far away, like Alaska, she would do it in a flash. Anything not to have to live under his father’s disapproving eye—

  No. That wasn’t right. She would never force Alex to choose between her and his birth right. “I’ll be right there.” Waiting to hear his foot steps as he walked away, Daphne told herself that the fact she’d agreed so readily to meet him wasn’t a sign that her self-control was weakening. Dangerously.

  “TROUBLE’S BREWING up there,” Nelly intoned.

  Nelly, Sinclair and Danita sat around a chopping block table in the middle of a large, well-organized kitchen. They took turns holding Alex Junior, their faces morose.

  “Mr. Banning’s changing his will, Alex is determined to win a woman who don’t want him, and Daphne’s not about to bend. We got girl babies out the wazoo that the old man finds unacceptable, all named after ugly creatures except Alex Junior, but she back fires like an old jalopy. What else can go wrong?” Danita inquired, not looking like she expected anyone to have an answer.

  She cradled the baby closer. “I think Alex just brought home a gift.” Her voice conveyed her worry.

  “A gift!” Nelly and Sinclair stared at her.

  “Yes, bless him, an expensive one. I’m pretty certain it’s for Daphne, ‘cause I saw him on the grounds outside and he motioned me to keep quiet.” Danita sighed heavily and stared at the baby, who gazed at her as if she was listening to every word.

  “Gifts are good,” Sinclair said cautiously. “Wouldn’t you both agree?”

  “Gifts are good,” Danita agreed, “but Daphne doesn’t want gifts right now. She wants reassurance, and money can’t buy that. Unfortunately, if my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me, Alex brought home a doozy. I’ve got a funny feeling. Trouble’s brewing.”

  Chapter Five

  “What do you mean, this is for me?” Daphne put a trembling hand over her heart as she stared at the Rolls-Royce limousine and the respectful chauffeur standing beside it. Surely Alex was joking—

  “You need your own driver and car.” Alex grinned, obviously proud of his gleaming present. “This is big enough to fit all the babies into, and a few of their friends when they’re ready for play mates.”

  “I…I—” Daphne closed her mouth, too astonished to speak. She looked from her happy soon-to-be ex-husband to the long, shiny limousine. “I don’t know what to say.”

  The chauffeur wasn’t going to say anything. He’d ducked his cap at her respect fully, then kept his eyes fixed forward as if he were a guard at Bucking ham Palace. And Alex wasn’t saying anything as he waited for her to express her happiness. But she wasn’t! Was some thing wrong with her, that she couldn’t appreciate the thoughtful ness behind his gesture?

  “Alex,” she whispered frantically, carefully watching to see if the chauffeur’s gaze would flicker. It didn’t, so she continued. “Can I talk to you? Alone?”

  “We are alone, Daphne.”

  By his standards, she supposed they were. Glancing guiltily toward the silent driver, she whispered, “Is he allowed a break? I mean, can he go get a cup of coffee or some thing?” She met Alex’s eyes nervously. “I don’t think I can communicate with a uniformed guard in my vicinity.”

  “Okay, Daphne.”

  Alex directed the driver toward the back entrance where he could find the kitchen. She kept her gaze focused on the grass at her feet, embarrassed.

  “What is it?” Alex asked after the chauffeur was gone.

  She didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but she couldn’t live with a driver who looked like Mussolini and a tank transporting her and her brood! “Alex, you can’t be serious that this is for me.”

  His eyes were gentle as he looked at her. “Why not? Don’t you like it?”

  “Well…well, actually no.” miserably, she shook her head.

  “Daphne, you’re not supposed to be driving for a while,” he said reasonably. “And you have to have a way to get the babies around.”

  “I…guess so.” Sniffling, she realized she was trying not to cry. Why hadn’t she considered the difference in their life-styles when she’d fallen in love with Alex?

  It wouldn’t have done a bit of good if she had. Drooping, she said, “I appreciate what you’re trying to do for me. I’m so sorry, Alex, but…I can’t accept your gift.”

  “Why not?”

  Daphne forced herself to look up. “It’s just not me in the least.”

  “How do you know, if you haven’t given it a try?” He pulled her into his arms. “Daph, listen. I want the best for you. I want you and the girls safe. This is the way all the children from the best families live. They go to the best private schools. They have the best doctors and clothes and everything.”

  “I’m from one of the best families,” Daphne interjected. “I really consider mine one of the best I’ve ever seen.”

  “I know,” he said hurriedly. “I shouldn’t have put it that way. I meant, uh—”

  “I know what you meant,” Daphne interrupted impatiently. “I just want you to think for a minute. You and I have different ways, and it doesn’t necessarily mean yours is always going to be better.”

  “What can you possibly find to object to about having your own car?” Alex’s tone was brisk. “You and the children will have privacy and security this way.”

  “And they won’t see the world, and the world won’t be able to see them!” Daphne snapped. She tried to struggle out of Alex’s hold, but he wouldn’t allow it.

  “Have you ever considered that the babies could be targets of kid nap ping attempts because of the family they come from?”

  Her skin prickled all over. She stared at him. “Of course not!”

  He pulled her to the Rolls, opened the door, sat on the seat and pulled her into his lap. “Daphne, it’s not uncommon for very wealthy children to—”

  “Don’t say it!” she cried. “Alex, this isn’t what I want! I can’t even think about my babies being in danger.” The tears that clouded her eyes couldn’t be helped.

  “I can’t, either,” he told her, holding her tightly, yet gently. “Or you, for that matter.” He took a tense breath. “I’ve thought a lot about how I could show you that I care about you, and yes, even entice you into staying married to me. But what I always come back to is that I’ve got four beautiful ladies I have to look out for, and while it may feel like I’m smothering you—or trying to buy you—I’m really trying to protect you.” He hesitated for a second. “It’s not unusual for a man to give the woman he marries a car, Daph. You can’t go around in your mom’s old VW forever.”

  It was a vintage sixties bug, completely in tune with her life-style—as it had been. She glanced around the smooth, expensive interior of the car. If she didn’t know better, she’d think the smoky glass of the windows was bulletproof. “Alex, I can’t live like this. I’d rather move back into my apartm
ent. I want my children to grow up normally, in public schools and public parks, not in a fishbowl with Mafia-tinted windows.”

  They saw things so differently. It hadn’t been this way, this divisive, when they’d fallen in love. All she’d known was that Alex Banning was a man who kept her happy, a man who made her feel alive and that all was in order.

  Now she was all out of whack, all internally askew.

  Lightly, her fingers traced the luxurious seat. There was any number of electronic functions she could push at her slightest whim. There was enough room inside to throw a party. Still, she felt like a genie in a bottle, and she needed to escape.

  Alex stared at her, obviously disappointed and worried. Her mother had said she needed to com promise, and she hadn’t wanted to do much of that in order to keep Alex at arm’s length. But Danita was right. She really wanted him, and even if they weren’t right for each other, she didn’t want him wearing the unhappy expression he wore right now. She loved him too much, in spite of their differences.

  “Alex?” she said softly.

  “Yes?” His voice was hopeful, even eager.

  “I’m going to suggest a com promise.”

  “You’re not.” He sounded sardonically surprised, which made her grin.

  “If I let you give me a car—and that’s my part of the compromise,” she said with a wicked smile, “I’d like to suggest some thing I’m sure you’ll find a little bit novel.”

  “Only a little bit?” He raised his brows.

  “Well, maybe.” She got out of his lap and pulled him toward the mansion. “Come on. I’ve got to change.”

  AN HOUR LATER, Alex found himself on a used-car lot, seated next to Daphne, who was at the steering wheel of a Chevy Suburban. The babies wailed or slept in their carriers, positioned on bench seats in the huge vehicle, which Alex couldn’t see being practical at all. Nelly, Sinclair and Danita fit themselves around the baby carriers as best they could. A salesman stood outside the door, staring at the commotion.

  Alexander Senior glowered from behind the salesman. He’d claimed to want to come along because he needed to get out of the house, but Alex sincerely wondered if his father was enjoying his predicament.