His gaze narrowed in my direction. "You're a bit of a smart ass, aren't you?"
I shrugged, a look of absolute innocence on my face. "First I'm hearing of it."
He glared at me for a long moment, grunted, and then turned on his heel.
While Xavier was gone, the baby cried, and I took a break to wash out some new bottles and prepare one for her. I still had no idea how old she was or even if she should still be sucking down formula, but I had a feeling that convincing Xavier to talk about it would be harder than anticipated.
"I have my tools," he said, holding up a shiny red metal box that looked brand new.
"Okay." I sat on the floor and crossed my legs beside the baby's carrier and fed her the bottle. "Have you looked at the envelope yet?"
He glared at me again, shrugged, and pulled out a box cutter to rip the heavy plastic straps from the box holding the brand-new crib.
"I'll take that as a no," I sighed, disappointed for a reason I couldn't explain. "Does this mean we have to keep calling her baby girl?"
He didn't even dignify that question with an answer.
"Okay, great. Come on, Cosette, let's gobble up this food so I can help your dad, whose name is Xavier, set up your bed."
His hands flexed in anger, or maybe it was just anxiety. I had a feeling there weren't many people in his life who called him out on his bad behavior.
"Okay, sweetheart, up you go." I grabbed a burp pad, tossed it over my shoulder, and settled Cosette in for her post-meal burp. She did not disappoint. "Oh yeah, that's worthy of every frat boy from here to the Atlantic, honey." I tossed my head back and laughed as she let out another one. "Just perfect."
"Are you going to help or what?"
"I am helping. Someone has to feed and burp Cosette, don't they?"
His nostrils flared, but he turned back to the box in silence while I settled Cosette back in her carrier and put on music.
"Okay. I have the different pieces all organized, so if you tell me what you need, I'll hand it to you and hold things while you tighten them. Unless you want to be the designated holder?"
"No, thanks."
"Didn't think so." Xavier was...exactly as handy as I would expect of a growly mountain man, and we managed to get the crib put together much quicker than anticipated. The changing table and the swing took a few more hours, but we got them put together and settled them in the third and final guest room. "Good job, Xavier. Really good."
He let out a huff of laughter. "Yeah, thanks."
He was mocking me, but I let it slide since he did most of the hard work putting together the baby furniture. "Right. I'm going to see about dinner." Xavier's fridge looked like what you'd expect of a modern bachelor, stocked with the basics like eggs, milk, and bread. The freezer held a lot of meat: steaks, pork chops, and chicken quarters. And potatoes. Lots and lots of potatoes.
Since he seemed like a steak-and-potatoes kind of guy, that's what I went with and got to work peeling and chopping russet potatoes. I set Cosette up on the table and kept up a steady chatter while I cooked.
"You just have to use a little bit of the starchy water to whip the potatoes. It makes 'em creamy without adding too much extra fat." I smiled, and she kicked her feet adorably. "Just you wait until you taste these bad boys; you're gonna squeal with delight, little girl."
"Give it a rest," he growled at me from the kitchen doorway.
"I wasn't talking to you at all, actually." I didn't know what his problem was, but there was no way in hell I was going to let him take out his frustrations on me. "Be mad about the situation, but don't be mad at me, Xavier. I'm just the hired help."
"Yeah, well, remember that." He stormed off again in a swirl of a bad mood and attitude, and the only good part was that he looked damn fine when he walked away.
"Don't ever let anyone tell you that we're the moody sex, Cosette. It's the men. They are about one hundred times worse than us on our worst, most emotional week of the month. Remember that, yeah?"
She made a few gurgling sounds that put a smile back on my face.
"Yeah, you get me, Cosette. You really get me." When dinner was done, I set two plates and piled them with food. I had no clue where Xavier was, so I shouted, "Dinner!" and sat down to eat my steak while it was still warm and juicy.
Xavier could eat or not eat; it wasn't my concern.
Chapter 9
