The Marine's Virgin Lover
Read The Marine's Virgin Lover Online
Authors: Leslie North
Tags: #Literature & Fiction, #Genre Fiction, #Coming of Age, #Romance, #Contemporary
By Leslie North
Contents
Chelsea Andrews looked up at the beautiful log cabin as the limousine came to a stop in front. They had been steadily climbing for the last ten miles, high into the Rocky Mountains outside Denver, and she had wondered at their final destination.
The circumstances were highly unusual, but her agency had vetted her new employer and Chelsea couldn’t pass up the opportunity this job presented. She had been hired for a six-month term, the normal agency fees had been doubled, and got she to travel outside the United States. Her job – to care for a single infant. Compared to helping care for her five-month old nephews, a single child would be a walk in the park.
She had been told to pack only one suitcase, as her employer would be providing anything else she might need. A limousine had picked her up at the agency over an hour ago, and she had grown curious as they travelled out of the city. Now that she was here, she was amazed that such a structure could exist in the middle of nowhere.
She was so lost in gazing at her surroundings, that when the driver opened her door, she didn’t immediately recognize that he had done so.
“Miss Andrews?”
Turning her head towards the noise, she blinked as the open door met her vision. Scooting over, she edged out of the vehicle, letting the driver take her elbow until her legs were firmly under her.
“Thank you. What is this place?” she asked the driver.
“This is Mr. Bresi’s mountain home. Please head on inside and I will bring in your luggage and supplies.”
Snapping her thoughts back to the immediate present, she stretched her back and then walked purposely towards the front door. As she stepped up on the porch, the doors opened and an older gentleman stepped out to welcome her. She took in his appearance as she stepped past him; his hair was dark and wavy, with just a hint of grey at his temples. His olive complexion and startlingly brown eyes attested to his Mediterranean heritage, as did his slight accent.
“Miss Andrews. Welcome to my home. Please come inside.” Marco gestured for the young nurse to enter ahead of him, wondering if the agency had indeed sent him a competent nurse. She looked to be just out of high school, but her resume indicated she would soon be twenty-six. Time would tell and if she proved inadequate, he would simply replace her.
Chelsea entered the rustic looking structure and then gasped at the luxury she found herself surrounded by. Everywhere she looked, there were the obvious signs of extreme wealth present. Stopping in the foyer, she did a complete circle, trying to take it all in at once. Whoever Marco Bresi was, he was evidently very well off and liked to surround himself with the very best. She immediately stood up a little straighter, determined to make sure her services were equal to his expectations.
“Miss Andrews, come sit with me for a minute,” Marco gestured towards a room containing a large rock fireplace and several seating arrangements. He waited for her to sit before he sat down.
“Miss Andrews….”
“Chelsea, please.”
Marco inclined his head, ”Thank you. Chelsea it is. I know the agency picked you because you have experience working with newborns, but could you please tell me about those experiences?”
“Sure. My sister gave birth to twins several years ago, and as her husband was stationed overseas at the time, I moved in with her and helped care for my nephews. I also worked in the neo-natal department of a large hospital for three years.”
“What made you leave the hospital environment?” Marco asked.
“Originally, I left to help my sister. Several weeks after my sister gave birth, we received word that my brother-in-law was killed while on a routine patrol. His military benefits weren’t much and I felt I needed to help my sister out financially. I started working as a private nurse because it pays more.” Chelsea hoped she hadn’t said too much; thinking about the last five months brought mixed emotions – sadness, joy, amazement and despair. The ability of one’s emotions to change so rapidly often made her wonder how some people could be so unemotional. Everything in life created some emotion within her.
“Thank you for your honesty.” She had answered his questions honestly and without prevarication. She also seemed to be very emotional, but in a controlled way. Marco appreciated that and he found himself intrigued by the young woman in front of him.
Assured that she possessed the requisite skills needed for the job, he stood up, “Let me show you the rooms that have been designated for you and the nursery and then we can go over any questions you may have.”
“That sounds fine.” Chelsea followed Marco through a long hallway, which opened up into a sitting room with several doors leading to other rooms off of it. The first room had been set up as a nursery, complete with crib, changing table, rocking chair, and various other pieces of furniture.
“This is the nursery. Your personal room is right next door,” he said, opening what turned out to be a connecting door between the two rooms.
Chelsea stepped through the open doorway and smiled at the beautifully appointed room, complete with a canopy bed, standing mirror and large window. “It’s gorgeous.”
“I’m glad you like it. The doorway to your right opens up into your private bath and beyond that is a stairway, which leads to the balcony outside and lower level of the home.”
Chelsea couldn’t believe the luxury that had been set aside for her use. “I will have to take some time to explore.” Turning around, she walked back into the nursery and then frowned at the obvious signs that a child had yet to reside there. “I’m sorry, but I thought I had been hired to care for a newborn. The agency didn’t have many details, but I assumed the urgency with which I was summoned meant the child was in need of immediate care.”
“You didn’t assume wrong. In fact, I am leaving in approximately fifteen minutes to collect the child.”
Chelsea let this information sink in and then asked a question that was starting to bother her, “Will the parents be returning with the child?”
“Unfortunately, that will not be possible.”
Assuming that the mother had died, Chelsea murmured a heartfelt “Sorry” before letting the subject drop. Marco didn’t seem inclined to explain the circumstances around the mother’s demise and she hesitated to bring up something that had happened so recently.
“I’ll leave you to get settled in. Bruno, my head of security, will be bringing in a list of supplies that were recommended by the physician. Please feel free to let him know if there is anything else you require.”
“Okay. The child is healthy?”
“As far as I know the child is in perfect health. I am trusting you to ensure that remains to be the case,” Marco replied with a smile. “I’ll leave you to it. When I return, it will be my pleasure to introduce you to your new charge.”
Chelsea smiled and watched as he turned on his heel and walked away. Several seconds went by before Chelsea remembered that she still didn’t know if the baby was a boy or a girl. Hurrying to the doorway, she called out, “Mr. Bresi?” but when she looked down the hallway, she saw that he was already gone. Shrugging her shoulders, she decided to take his advice and unpack her suitcases, which a rather large man had just delivered. She wanted to be able to devote all of her attention to the motherless child when it arrived.
Trent was looking through the nursery window at a very healthy baby girl. He quickly took a picture of her through the nursery window and then turned, heading towards his wife’s room. They had planned on a normal delivery, but at the first sign of distress, the doctor had changed the plan and performed a C-section.
Brianna had been taken to her room after leaving the surgery suite. Walking down the hallway, he looked again at the snapshot he had taken of their daughter. Brianna had gotten a quick glimpse of their daughter right after the delivery, but had yet to hold her child.
As soon as she was settled, the nurses had promised to bring their daughter down to the room. Trent couldn’t wait to see his wife holding their child for the first time.
Entering her room, he was happy to see her looking relaxed and pain free. “Hey, momma, how’re you doing?”
Brianna gave him a tired smile, “Good. Can I see her? Is she okay?”
Trent leaned down and kissed the mother of his new child, “She’s perfect, just like you. The nurses are going to bring her down in a few minutes.”
Brianna smiled, “I can’t wait to see her.” Leaning her head against Trent’s side as he gingerly sat on the side of her bed. She couldn’t believe that their child was finally here.
Trent pulled his phone from his pocket, “I took a picture of her a few minutes ago, look.” Trent handed his phone over and watched as Brianna got a look on her face of pure love. There was nothing more beautiful than a mother looking at her child. Well, maybe a mother looking at her child while she held her child would be better. He would decide that point in a few minutes.
Brianna looked tired, yet radiant. Trent had been amazed at how quickly things had moved once they arrived at the hospital. The C-section had not been in their plans, and Trent was already making a mental list of the items that needed to be taken care of before Brianna and the baby returned home.
Brianna would be on bed rest for at least a day, and then under restrictions for several weeks while her stitches healed up. He needed to call his housekeeper and have her set up a temporary nursery/master bedroom on the main level. Brianna’s mother would appreciate that as well.
Trent and Brianna had brought her mother to live with them and he had hired the best physical therapist money could buy. Brianna’s mother had made remarkable progress after her stroke, but still found stairs an impossibility. Having her new grandchild on the main level would no doubt bring a smile to her face.
Seeing Brianna’s eyes close, he smiled and leaned over, kissing her on the top of the head. When several minutes passed and the nurses didn’t arrive with their daughter, Trent pushed the call button.
The nurse entered, expecting to see the happy couple cuddling their newborn daughter and was shocked to find them still waiting on her arrival.
“Hi, Darcy is it?” Trent asked, reading the nurses name from her tag, “I was wondering if you could check on our daughter. I was told they would be bringing her down and my wife hasn’t had a chance to hold her yet. C-section.”
Darcy swallowed and quickly replied, “Just let me go check on that for you. I’ll be right back.”
Darcy literally ran to the nursery window. Tapping on the glass, she got the head nurse to exit, “Where is the Coldwell baby? They’re asking for her to be brought down to the mother’s room.”
“The grandfather took her fifteen minutes ago,” replied the head nurse, already starting to panic.
“No, he didn’t,” Darcy emphasized that with a shake of her head. “I just came from that room and they don’t have their baby, and there’s no one else in the room.”
“Call security immediately and ask for a Code Pink. They’ll lock down the hospital and seal the exits until the baby can be found.”
“Who’s going to tell the parent’s that their child is missing?” Darcy asked, silently praying it wasn’t going to be her.
“I’ll go. Ask security to pull the surveillance tapes and bring them up immediately. I’m hoping that the parents can help identify whoever is posing as the child’s grandfather.”
Darcy nodded and ran back to the nurse’s station to make the call.
Stephanie Belkins had worked as the head nurse for the newborn nursery for fifteen years and had never had a child abducted. It just didn’t happen. As she approached the mother’s room, she saw a security team approaching with a laptop loaded with recent surveillance footage. Thank goodness the security office was only one floor below labor and delivery.
“Stephanie, I understand we have a missing newborn.”
“I’m afraid so. I need you to pull the tape from the last thirty minutes of the hallway outside the nursery. The man is posing as the child’s grandfather.” Taking a deep breath, she released it when the tape appeared on the screen. “The parents are in this room, but they don’t know what has happened yet. I’m going to explain the situation and ask them to identify that man. As soon as they do that I need you to find him and the child.”