herself. “That’s my girl—just let it happen. Just let your eyelids get heavy and fall into place. Everything will still be waiting for you when you wake up again. I promise,” she added in a soft, melodic whisper.
Several minutes went by. Gabby was fairly sure the baby had fallen asleep.
Just to be certain, Gabby remained standing beside the crib a little longer. She didn’t want to take a chance on the infant waking up and wailing again.
Gabby didn’t know how anyone else dealt with a crying baby, but she was not partial to the school of thought that chose to ignore the infant for the first few minutes of a crying jag. She instantly picked up Cheyenne any time she heard the baby crying, feeling that it was important to make the infant feel secure and safe. To her way of thinking, picking Cheyenne up when she cried accomplished just that.
So Gabby continued to linger, humming a fragment of a lullaby and massaging Avery’s tummy until the sound of the baby’s even, steady breathing told her that she really was asleep.
Holding her breath, Gabby quietly tiptoed out of the bedroom, then eased the door closed. She paused for a moment longer, listening at the door.
Satisfied that Avery was indeed fast asleep, Gabby hurried off. She still had a niece to reclaim—not to mention a dour head of security to rescue.
Chapter 2
T revor wasn’t where she’d left him.
Gabby blew out a breath as a sliver of frustration zipped through her.
But then, what did she expect? Dead River’s head of security wasn’t the type to stand still or be pigeonholed. And although, even after all this time, she didn’t know a great deal about him, she did know that he was unpredictable.
Her fault, Gabby told herself with a sigh. She shouldn’t have assumed that since she’d left Trevor standing outside the front of the house, holding her niece, that when she came back, he’d still be there, waiting for her with the baby in his arms.
With her hands on her hips, Gabby impatiently scanned the immediate area in hopes of spotting the man.
She didn’t.
The tall, silent ex-cop was apparently nowhere in sight.
“Okay, Mr. Head-of-Security,” Gabby said, addressing the air, “if you’re not going to be here, waiting for me to come take my niece off your hands, just where would you be?”
Gabby glanced over her shoulder at the house she’d just left. It wasn’t as if she could just do a quick sweep of it, looking for him. The house where she and her family lived was huge, with several wings stretched out across the property. The actual number of rooms within the house had never been pinned down. She could be wandering around for hours, especially if Trevor didn’t remain stationary himself.
Hours? She could literally be playing hide-and-seek with the man for the rest of the month and not stumble across him as long as he was moving around, too.
Gabby chewed her lower lip, frustrated. She should have asked him to stay put, but it had never occurred to her that, since he was holding her niece, he would not just eagerly wait for her to come back so he could be freed of his charge.
No good deed went unpunished, right? Gabby thought sarcastically.
Still looking around the immediate area, Gabby debated what the man’s logical move would be. She sincerely doubted that he would have taken Cheyenne back to his room in the employees’ wing. Somehow, she saw Trevor as wanting his room to remain off-limits to people— any people—unless they were specifically invited. Moreover, something told her that she definitely wouldn’t make that most likely extremely short list.
That left where?
His office! The idea just suddenly occurred to her.
Gabby headed there immediately, mentally crossing her fingers that she was right. Because if Trevor wasn’t there, she really didn’t have the foggiest where he might be and it was getting close to feeding time for Cheyenne. She wanted to find the infant before then.
The little girl had a
Several minutes went by. Gabby was fairly sure the baby had fallen asleep.
Just to be certain, Gabby remained standing beside the crib a little longer. She didn’t want to take a chance on the infant waking up and wailing again.
Gabby didn’t know how anyone else dealt with a crying baby, but she was not partial to the school of thought that chose to ignore the infant for the first few minutes of a crying jag. She instantly picked up Cheyenne any time she heard the baby crying, feeling that it was important to make the infant feel secure and safe. To her way of thinking, picking Cheyenne up when she cried accomplished just that.
So Gabby continued to linger, humming a fragment of a lullaby and massaging Avery’s tummy until the sound of the baby’s even, steady breathing told her that she really was asleep.
Holding her breath, Gabby quietly tiptoed out of the bedroom, then eased the door closed. She paused for a moment longer, listening at the door.
Satisfied that Avery was indeed fast asleep, Gabby hurried off. She still had a niece to reclaim—not to mention a dour head of security to rescue.
Chapter 2
T revor wasn’t where she’d left him.
Gabby blew out a breath as a sliver of frustration zipped through her.
But then, what did she expect? Dead River’s head of security wasn’t the type to stand still or be pigeonholed. And although, even after all this time, she didn’t know a great deal about him, she did know that he was unpredictable.
Her fault, Gabby told herself with a sigh. She shouldn’t have assumed that since she’d left Trevor standing outside the front of the house, holding her niece, that when she came back, he’d still be there, waiting for her with the baby in his arms.
With her hands on her hips, Gabby impatiently scanned the immediate area in hopes of spotting the man.
She didn’t.
The tall, silent ex-cop was apparently nowhere in sight.
“Okay, Mr. Head-of-Security,” Gabby said, addressing the air, “if you’re not going to be here, waiting for me to come take my niece off your hands, just where would you be?”
Gabby glanced over her shoulder at the house she’d just left. It wasn’t as if she could just do a quick sweep of it, looking for him. The house where she and her family lived was huge, with several wings stretched out across the property. The actual number of rooms within the house had never been pinned down. She could be wandering around for hours, especially if Trevor didn’t remain stationary himself.
Hours? She could literally be playing hide-and-seek with the man for the rest of the month and not stumble across him as long as he was moving around, too.
Gabby chewed her lower lip, frustrated. She should have asked him to stay put, but it had never occurred to her that, since he was holding her niece, he would not just eagerly wait for her to come back so he could be freed of his charge.
No good deed went unpunished, right? Gabby thought sarcastically.
Still looking around the immediate area, Gabby debated what the man’s logical move would be. She sincerely doubted that he would have taken Cheyenne back to his room in the employees’ wing. Somehow, she saw Trevor as wanting his room to remain off-limits to people— any people—unless they were specifically invited. Moreover, something told her that she definitely wouldn’t make that most likely extremely short list.
That left where?
His office! The idea just suddenly occurred to her.
Gabby headed there immediately, mentally crossing her fingers that she was right. Because if Trevor wasn’t there, she really didn’t have the foggiest where he might be and it was getting close to feeding time for Cheyenne. She wanted to find the infant before then.
The little girl had a
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