Santa Soldier Bear - Meg Ripley Page 0,14

I’ll go out to the store later to get you something that fits you a little better. And some clothes, too. For right now, I think I have some clothes Lucas has grown out of. He won’t mind if you borrow them.” Anytime she’d dealt with little ones, she’d always chattered at them about what she was doing. She’d later read that it was good for their language development, but Melody enjoyed doing it regardless.

“Who’s that?” Melody turned. Lucas was standing in his crib, gripping the side of it with one hand and pointing at the newcomer with the other. “You have a baby, Aunt Mel’dy?”

“No, it’s not my baby,” she admitted, though even speaking that simple truth broke her heart a little. The baby was calming down now that she had a clean diaper on, and Melody was already falling in love with her. There was just something so enchanting about babies. It was like they could reach inside and touch her heart with their tiny fingers. They were so soft and warm and sweet, the kind of qualities you didn’t always find in adults.

“Who’s baby ‘dat?” Lucas pressed.

She couldn’t blame him. He’d just woken up to find a new child in his room. But that was a very hard question to answer at the moment. “Well, she’s just a baby I’m watching for a little while.”

“You not gonna watch me?”

Clothed in an old onesie that sagged off her little behind, Melody lifted the girl off the changing table. She cradled her against her chest and brought her over for Lucas to see. “Of course I’ll still be watching you,” she assured him as she reached out to touch his shock of dark hair. “Nothing between us will change. This little girl needs my help right now, that’s all.”

“Name?”

Lucas had always been inquisitive. Most of the time, Melody admired that about him. She loved to see how bright and interested he was, but right now, it was making her life harder. Melody hesitated. If there had been any sort of note in the baby seat, she hadn’t seen it. She’d have to go back and check. For the moment, perhaps it was best to just make something up. “Her name is…”

“Ruby,” said a voice behind her.

Melody turned to find Roman standing in the doorway. He held up the yellow blanket that had been wrapped around the baby, and Melody could see there was a name embroidered on it. “Ruby,” she repeated as she gazed down at the sweet little bundle. With her dusting of blonde hair and her big blue eyes that were still full of tears, having a name to attach to that precious little face just made Melody fall for her even harder. “Such a pretty name.”

“I can play with Ruby?”

“Maybe later. Right now, she needs some breakfast.” And a thorough checkup. Melody hadn’t noticed anything wrong with Ruby—not even a diaper rash—but she knew it was best if the doc had a look at her. “Roman, will you please help Lucas out of his crib and bring him downstairs? My arms are kind of full.”

He hesitated before taking a step forward. Roman moved to the side of the boy’s bed and reached in, helping him down to the floor. He let go once Lucas was on his feet, but the tot immediately reached back up. Lucas held his hand as naturally as if Roman had been his father as they headed out of the room.

Despite the strange situation she’d just found herself in, Melody smiled as she headed back down the stairs to the kitchen. Roman was a big guy, a burly soldier, the type of man who’d probably killed and saved numerous lives during his career in the service. He exuded a quiet strength that Melody admired, but she couldn’t help but find it a little funny that he seemed intimidated by a toddler. Not everyone had spent their teen and college years babysitting, though.

“I know, Ruby, I know,” she crooned as the baby began screaming all over again. “I think I’ve got a bottle in here somewhere for you.” Working with one hand and holding Ruby with the other, Melody quickly flipped through the cabinets. She was grateful that Lucas had only recently stopped using a bottle and that they’d stashed them away instead of getting rid of them just yet. There was even an unopened can of formula, much to her relief. “Almost there, baby girl. Almost there.”

“Melody!” Emersyn came rushing into the