When he awoke, Nathan was all alone in his large bed. Donna and Josh were not even in the room. He didn’t like that feeling. He didn’t want to wake up alone anymore. He still had to ask Donna to move in with them. He’d best get on that in case she had other plans.
After breakfast, it was noticeable that Josh wanted to spend his time with Donna mostly. Nathan excused himself and went into his office to read more of Jillian’s diary:
It’s been two months, and he is making remarkable progress in his growth and development chart. The nurses say he is average. But I’m his mom, and I know he is developing faster than other babies his age. Not only does he smile, but Josh is laughing now, Nathan. It is the sweetest sound you’ve ever heard.
I am so sorry you missed it. I don’t know how I will make it up to you, but perhaps when my parents film him, I can try to make him laugh without them finding out.
Even though it’s only been a couple of months, our little man loves the water. I mean, he never cries when he’s being bathed. But now that he can laugh and smile, you just know. I think he’s got a bit of the Aussie spirit you have in you. You know what I’m talking about.
I am so sorry you are missing these milestones. I will do my best to make it up to you, I promise.
Love, Jillian
Nathan quickly flipped the remaining pages, and nothing fell out of the book. He would assume Jillian had taken photos, yet there were none in the book. This bothered him.
At first these new thoughts angered and frustrated him. But, after taking some deep breaths, he calmed down a little. He could be as angry as he wanted, but that wouldn’t get him anywhere.
He thought rapidly, and was finally able to alleviate some of his stress by hoping the pictures of all Josh’s firsts were still in Jillian’s room. She had said her parents were filming Josh. Surely she would have taken and kept multiple pictures of their son’s growth, his first birthday, what he looked like as a newborn.
Perhaps it would be in her father’s office? Relaxing, Nathan carried on reading her notes to him:
OMG, he’s crawling. He’s such a little terror. He’s all over the place. I can’t keep up with him, Nathan. My mom’s also having a hard time too, keeping up with the little man. He’s so active and such a cutie, but gets into so much trouble.
I thought I’d put this in my diary. I have put you in my will. I made a will. And you are his guardian if anything should happen to me. I hope nothing does, but if anything should happen to me, Nathan, I want you to know that I did make a will. You are his father: it’s on the birth certificate, which is with my lawyer.
You will get custody of our son, even if something happens after you get out of prison. But you know what? Nothing is going to happen to me, because this little guy needs me, and I need him. We will get you, I promise.
Well, Jillian had lived up to her part of the deal. It was a deal Nathan knew nothing about, it was one she had created herself. He had received custody of Josh.
He closed the book, and leaned back in his chair. It was almost becoming harder to read her entries. Seeing all the things he’d missed almost made him angry again. Nathan also noticed that Jillian was no longer signing her entries with ‘love’ or ‘fondly’. Heck, she wasn’t even putting her name down. He sat there for some time pondering, before Donna knocked on the door. “Come in.”
“Hey, Josh wants to go to the park. Did you want to come with us?”
He did and he didn’t.
Even though Nathan should be spending more time with his son and getting to know him a little better, there had been something eating away at his subconscious. He needed to make a call, and maybe it was the perfect time with Josh and Donna going out for a bit.
He shook his head no. “You two go and have fun. I will go another day, but I think he needs this time alone with you, Donna.”
Who knew that his wink was going to make her blush.
Donna smiled at him, with beet-red cheeks. “Alright. We’ll be back before his nap.” Then she closed his office door, leaving him alone.
After a few minutes, he ran a hand through his hair, which was still too long. He definitely needed to get it cut...maybe after they’d moved. Picking up the phone, Nathan dialed a number and waited for someone to pick up.
Finally, after four rings, someone did pick up. “Hello...” they said with an annoyed voice.
“Hey, Nat, how are you?”
Nathan and Natasha’s relationship had gotten a little better after he moved out of her apartment and she had married Damon. However, their relationship wasn’t as close as his was with Tillie, their younger sister.
“I’m good. Just was putting a Bundt cake in the oven when you called me. Kelly’s down for a nap, and Damon’s at the office. Why? What’s up with you?”
He couldn’t get straight to the point because she might ask questions. He’d make conversation for a bit until his sister had to go. “Just been busy finishing with a project.”
After some time of pointless chatter spent catching up on recent life, Nathan could feel the oncoming tension. And rightly so, as they’d never been that close. Since Natasha was a busy new mom and ran her own small successful bakery, he probably shouldn’t keep her on the phone too long. “You remember the children’s book that Mom used to read to me?”
“Yeah...”
“I can’t find it in the boxes you packed for me.” He didn’t want to give himself away, but he did want the book. When he was a child, their mom used to read it to him nightly, and it helped Nathan fall asleep. He was hoping it might work with Josh.
“Hmm... I’ll look when I have a free minute. Is everything alright?”
He could hear worry in her voice, and he didn’t want her to fret over him when she had more important things to worry about. “No, but a buddy at work was having trouble with...his child...and I thought it might help. It worked for me as a kid.”
Once again, there was another pause.
“Hey, I don’t know if you care...but I was reading in the papers that one of your friends died in a car accident,” Natasha softly said, as easily as she might bake a cake.
Nathan had a feeling she was talking about Jillian, but he wasn’t going to say anything in case Nat wasn’t talking about her. “That sucks.”
“Yeah, well, it was mentioned in the papers that she left behind an orphaned child, and there was no father.”
He could hear a buzzing noise in the background. Then his sister added, “I thought you might like to know, since I think you went out with her...”
“I’ll have to read the paper, and look into that.” Okay, he needed that book, but she didn’t know where it was. “Well, Nat, when you find the book, could you call me back because my employee really needs it.”
“Yeah, not a problem...” There was another pause, and Nathan figured he might as well end the call. Then Natasha spoke again, “I wonder what will happen to the child? It never mentioned a funeral in the paper.”
“Where was the article?”
Nat clicked her tongue a few times. “It was in the paper Dad used to read all the time. I think it was in last Friday’s paper, a week ago.”
Hearing his sister talk about their father, and his love for the newspaper, made his heart skip a beat. And she was just telling him now? What if it had been someone Nathan really got along with?
“Speaking of which, did Dad ever tell you where he put the will? I know they made one. Mom told me so when we moved back to Canada. They were revising their will, and that I was the executor to it. So I was just wondering if you ever saw it or if Dad might have mentioned something,” Natasha said. “I cleaned and boxed all their things after they died, and I never came across it. I did see the fairy tale book you’re asking for.”
That was the million-dollar question. Where was their parent’s will? What the hell had he stolen from his father’s office on the night their parents died?
“No, Nat, I never saw their will. Dad never said anything to me about it. Sorry,” Nathan spoke with compassion in his voice.
“Well, I’ll look for the book tonight and get back to you on it.”
Their call pretty much ended after that. She had to put something else in the oven, and said she’d heard Kelly waking. That was just as well since he heard his front door open.
Coming out of his office, he saw Donna carrying a sleeping Josh. She gave him a slight smile, and headed for Nathan’s room. He put his hands into his pockets and followed her, stopping at door frame where he leaned up against it. It warmed his heart to watch how gentle Donna was with his son. One could almost say she was mothering Josh, and he had no problem with that.
He supposed he would have to find a woman to marry one day. She would become Josh’s stepmother, and possibly love him how Jillian had loved their son. For now, Josh had Donna. And Nathan planned to do whatever he could to keep her in their lives. They were going to have to start packing soon. Next Sunday, they were moving into their newly-renovated home in Maple Ridge. He should really have that talk with Donna.
Watching her tuck Josh in and give him a kiss on the cheek, he knew she was good for Josh. Since she had been here, Josh was smiling more and more every day. He had been saying more words, even if they’d been sporadic. It was a lot better than Josh simply being silent, as he had been at first.
*****
When Donna finished with Josh, she looked toward the door and saw Nathan mesmerized by her. He had a silly grin on his face, and his eyes looked warm and inviting. She came up to him and put her finger to her mouth, indicating that he needed to keep quiet. She and Josh had gone to the park that was nearby. Josh seemed to like that one the best. She had to smile to herself when she was pushing him on the swing, because Josh had laughed a little.
Closing the door slightly, she then placed her hand on Nathan’s shoulder to guide him into the kitchen.
“So how did it go? I had thought you’d be longer.” Nathan had gone to pour them each a cup of coffee.
She took the cup from him. “He played really hard.” Donna smiled. She was starting to love spending time with Josh, taking him to the park.
“Well, I see you tired him out.”
“Yup, Josh couldn’t make it home, and was dragging his feet. So I carried him into the apartment, and well, you know the rest.” Taking a sip of coffee, she added, “But I’ll have you know that your son laughed.”
Nathan’s eyes widened. He had a pleased grin on his face. “He did? I missed it...”
Donna came up to Nathan, putting her right hand on his left bicep. “I think he’s coming out of his shell.”
Nathan wrapped his arms around her while looking down into her eyes. “It’s all thanks to you!”
Donna smiled and felt her heart warm. She believed him. She had seen huge leaps with Josh since she had arrived to visit Nathan. She was sorry that Nathan had missed Josh’s little laugh today. However, she knew in her heart that it was the start of positive things to come. Soon, his little boy would be laughing all the time.
With her arms now wrapped around Nathan’s waist, she squeezed him with the hug she was returning. Feeling the warmth, safety, and buzz of desire, she didn’t want to step away to answer her cell phone. Dammit! Why was her cell phone buzzing now, of all the times? She really was craving more of Nathan! She wanted more of this domestic bliss!
While walking home, she could hear her cell phone alerting her to a text. Unfortunately, it didn’t beep just once...but many more times. Then when she was at the door to Nathan’s place, her cell started to ring. Seeing the number made her body go cold. After that call, which she hadn’t picked up, it seemed the caller still wanted to talk to her.
Leaving Nathan’s warm embrace, she walked over to where she had left the diaper bag, which had her wallet and cell phone. “You didn’t by chance talk to your sister, did you?”
She looked at Nathan, and his expression told her all she needed to know. Yes, he had spoken to Natasha. Sending him a sharp and annoyed look, she accepted the call from her brother.
*****
Nathan didn’t like the glare Donna sent his way. He knew who was calling her by the harsh look he was given, so he thought it wise to leave her to her very protective brother. Fricken Natasha!
Heading back into his office, he quickly called Manny to see how things were coming on the renovations. Manny told him that he would like a bit more time, especially since they were going to have to wait on some of the materials Nathan had requested. He had no choice but to go with it.
Staring out his window and seeing the skyline of buildings, he let his mind wander.
Dammit! He’d missed Josh laughing again.
His son really did need Donna in his life. Last night, they had both put Josh to bed after the nightmare he’d had, and while both of them were sleeping with Josh in the middle, Nathan didn’t feel his son kicking or thrashing in his sleep like the other nights. It was just Josh and him in the bed. Maybe he should let Donna put Josh to bed?