Page 38 of Daddy's Unexpected Gift

“No, ma’am. I do not provide childcare. This way, please.” I shouldn’t have gotten so much pleasure as Wayne shut her down. He would hold Georgie long enough for me to take a short bathroom break, but he did not do much more with her. Nor should he. It wasn’t his job.

I grabbed Georgie, who giggled as if this were great fun.

“You are a complete mess.” I accepted that any mess on her was going to get on me and didn’t even try to keep her stickiness off my clothes.

It was easier to hose her off in the shower. I left our clothes in a pile on the shower floor. I pulled on a more casual pair of loose jeans and another button-down before getting Georgie into another cotton dress. Barefoot, but not wanting to keep Ms. Stanholt waiting, I padded across the penthouse to the kitchen, grabbed a bottle already made for the day for Georgie, and carried her into the living room with me.

“Everybody is less sticky this way,” I announced as I sat. I held Georgie tucked up against me. She cuddled in and drank her bottle. I think this morning had been entirely too stimulating for her and she was ready to settle down for a bit.

“I see in your file that you were to establish an emergency plan. How is that coming along?”

I shrugged. “Fine, I guess. There is a list on my refrigerator—much to Wayne’s dismay—listing the two closest ERs, and emergency phone numbers.”

“Why don’t I have a copy?”

“Because that was something I pulled together after my last meeting with Cecelia, per her instructions.” I leaned forward, hindered slightly by the baby tucked into my side. “Where is Cecelia?”

“Miss Harrison has been reassigned to a client better suited to her skill set.”

“She was doing a perfectly fine job with us. Georgie liked her.” My gut clenched. I wanted her back. “I found her to be more than competent and acceptable.”

The stern woman harrumphed again.

“Have you taken”—she flipped through the folder— “Georgie to the pediatrician yet?” Really? She hadn't bothered to learn Georgie’s name?

I shook my head. “No, I haven’t.”

“She’s been to the zoo, but not the doctor?”

“Do you eat sushi, Ms. Stanholt?” I asked.

“I don’t see how this is relevant.” She rolled her eyes at me.

I stared her down and raised my eyebrows while I waited for her to answer.

“No, I do not eat raw fish.”

“Have you been to France? Paris?” I asked.

“Yes, but how is that relevant?”

“You’ve been to Paris, France, but you don’t eat sushi?”

She was fully confused. “Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?”

“That’s exactly what you sound like when you ask if she’s been to the zoo before the doctor. A is not relevant to B. What would have been nice is your noticing that she hasn’t been to the doctor since I gained custody. And instead of trying to shame me for taking her to see some flamingoes and tigers, you should have handed me any medical records you may have for her.”

Peggy Stanholt pinched her face and squirmed with indignation. Had she huffed out a, ‘well, I never,’ I would not have been shocked.

“Georgie has an appointment next week,” I continued. “It would have been nice to have been able to provide something more than her date of birth. I should probably get a copy of her birth certificate. I don’t even know where she was born.”

Ms. Stanholt flashed me a look of concern. “Is that an issue?”

I was already tired of fighting this woman, and we hadn’t been talking for very long. This wasn’t some meeting to make sure I had what I needed. This was a tug of war. I wanted Cecelia back.

“Ms. Stanholt, I understand that I am seen as a temporary guardian while the lawyers of my late sister’s estate exhaust themselves finding Georgie’s father based on some cryptic piece of information my sister left. I have come to accept that Argene possibly did that so that after her death, I wouldn’t find out that she had no idea who Georgie’s father actually was. My sister kept secrets from the family and from me. I sense this might be her last one. My understanding is that while a ‘father’ was mentioned, his name was not. Knowing what I thought I did of Argene, it’s not unreasonable to ask the location of the baby’s place of birth.”

“As a temporary guardian, I don’t see how that is a concern.”

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