Page 19 of The Duke's Surprise Heir

Then she realized what she was thinking. Forgetting her responsibilities was why Kyle was in this world. She’d forgotten to be responsible. She no longer had that option.

“I should…get to work.” She stepped back, clasping her hands together as if she needed to stop herself from reaching out.

“Right,” Edward replied, shifting Kyle to his other hip. He’d been about to kiss her. He’d forgotten her desire to avoid a sexual relationship with him and he’d just let that issue fade out of existence for one moment.

Their current situation came back to him with a thud.

Turning, he gestured to the office area. “I had one of my people deliver a new laptop this morning. Everything is connected to Linx. I was going to set up a new user name and password for you so that you weren’t logging in under your own name, but I wasn’t sure how to do that. Normally, human resources handles any new employees and sets them up with computer access.”

He watched as Macie rubbed her palms against her leggings. Was she fighting to ignore the sexual tension as well?

Interesting. He’d have to figure that mystery out when he wasn’t in pain from needing her.

He continued, noting that tell-tale sign for later consideration. “I’ll be in the great room with Kyle. Let me know when you need to feed him again. But I can also give him another bottle.”

And then he walked out, his mind whirling with questions.

Not to mention, his son…he still loved thinking that…needed a fresh diaper.

“You’re sort of a mess!” he said to Kyle who tried to take Edward’s nose with his tiny fist. “Yeah, you can be charming, but your cuteness is obliterated whenever I have to change one of those dirty diapers, my man.”

He did the deed, keeping his nose as far from the mess as possible. He’d learned the hard way to keep something over the little guy’s groin area. Being sprayed with urine wasn’t something he wanted to experience a second time.

When Kyle was cleaned up and a fresh diaper neatly strapped on, Edward took Kyle back to the area with the toys. “You need some new stuff, don’t you?” he said to the infant, handing him a red, plastic circle.

His fascinated observation of his son was interrupted by Ms. Kealy stepping into the great room with a piece of paper in her hand.

“I’m off to get supplies, Yer Grace,” she announced, bustling towards him. “Can ye take a gander at this list and see if there’s anything else ye might need?”

Edward stood up, Kyle in his arms and the red toy in Kyle’s hands. He took the list and skimmed it, but shook his head a moment later. “I’m relying on your knowledge of babies, Ms. Kealy,” he told her. “I’m new to this dad thing.” He rested Kyle on his hip, feeling more confident now with the little man. “If there’s anything else that you think you might need, just get it. I don’t care about the cost. Charge it to the household credit card and go wild. He’ll need clothes and diapers, formula, and…and something to hold him?”

Ms. Kealy nodded. “All on the list, Yer Grace. I’ll get as much as I can.”

“Why don’t you take my SUV?” he offered. “You might need the extra space.”

Ms. Kealy hesitated, then eyed the list and nodded. “Aye. That would be a good idea.” A moment later, she bustled off to the kitchen to get the keys.

Because of the size of the house, Edward didn’t hear the garage door open or close, but he moved to the front of the house and watched as Ms. Kealy drove the big, black SUV down the driveway. Then he gazed down at Kyle who was still trying to shove the red teething ring into his mouth. Unsuccessfully, thank goodness.

“Okay, so what are we going to do while we wait for her to come back?” he asked his son. “How about a walk down the trail? You are looking a bit pale, my boy. Perhaps a bit of sunshine?” Then he saw the rain clouds and changed his mind. “Or maybe you would like to go out and meet the horses? I’m sure that they’d be fascinated by you as well.”

Since his stable master and his team were off on Sunday, he thought that it would be pretty safe to take Kyle out to the stables. Most of the horses were in the pastures by this time of day. One person came in on Sunday morning to clean out the stalls and feed the horses, then release them out into the pasture and another person arrived in the evening to feed them again and stable them for the night.

Edward grabbed a raincoat and, with Kyle wrapped up in his arms, went out to the stables. And he’d been right. Kyle was fascinated by the horses. What was even more interesting was that the horses, including his personal favorite, Sanford, were just as curious about the small human that had been brought out to their midst. The horses all hurried to the fence line, eager for the treats that Edward always brought for them. Then they sniffed Kyle, enduring the most adorable scene where Sanford snuffled the boy’s tummy and Kyle grabbed onto the horse’s muzzle and giggled. The two seemed to fall in love instantly as Edward watched with amazement.

Edward could only assume Kyle had that effect on everyone!

Chapter 8

Macie looked up from the computer, stretching sore muscles. She’ hadn’t made any progress today. She’d been trying to find new cargo weight issues, but so far, all of the flights to various parts of the world had landed within the expected range of fuel usage.

She’d noticed Ms. Kealy returning from wherever she’d gone earlier. But Macie had only deepened her focus on the task, relieved that Kyle had a fresh stack of diapers. The kid went through them at a terrifying rate!

In the back of her mind, Macie wondered if Edward was passing along the diaper changing duties to his housekeeper, but thought it was unlikely. Ms. Kealy had been gone for several hours. Kyle didn’t hold back on soiling diapers for that long.

“I need food!” she whispered to the office.

Stepping into the hallway, Macie ran into Ms. Kealy. “Oh goodness, ma’am,” the housekeeper greeted her with a laugh. “That boy of yours is simply marvelous!” She bustled down the hallway, heading back to the kitchen. “I got him plenty of supplies, including a basinet so that he’ll have a safe place to sleep. He also has new toys, several fresh outfits that I’ve already washed.” She moved to the fridge and began pulling out ingredients. “I also got a few extras, such as a bouncer and a new car seat. The car seat is already installed, so if ye need to head out for any reason, his lordship will be protected.”

---