Chapter 6

The nursery was light and airy. Everything was white, even the walls and the crib. It was the prettiest nursery that Lori had ever seen. 

It had white walls, white walls with a painting of a rainbow on one of the walls. The floor was covered in a thick white rug, there was a large mahogany wardrobe which Lori presumed served as the closet. There was a changing table next to the door and a drawer next to a large cream couch, a rocking chair was next to the window and the baby's crib was in the middle of the room, where Emilia slept peacefully. 

Her crib was white, all white, save for the yellow blanket that was hanging  at the edge of it. 

Lori took a peek, the baby was fast asleep. Her heart tugged as soon as she saw her and she felt the overwhelming need to hold her. She never had the chance to hold her son. But this baby, this baby she could hold. 

Emilia looked so peaceful in her sleep, her long dark lashes rested on her chubby cheeks and she pouted when she slept. It was a beautiful sight. And Lori felt her eyes blurry with tears. 

A few moments later Grace led her out of the room. 

"I know she looks peaceful now but wait till she wakes up in the night! She has quite the voice!"

Grace said as soon as they reached the hallway and they were out of earshot.

"You must be hungry. I will get you something to eat."

Grace said and Lori nodded.

They were almost at the staircase when Lori stopped abruptly. 

What was that?!

She asked herself as she touched her breasts. The front of her shirt was mildly wet, specifically where her nipples were placed. 

Grace turned to wonder why she stopped. 

She looked at her shirt and smiled.

"That... That has never happened before!" 

Lori said as she covered the front of her shirt, her cheeks red with embarrasment.

Grace shrugged. 

"It's the hormones I guess. They can really get to you. I guess seeing the baby caused it."

Lori nodded. 

Yes, hormones. That seemed to be the only logical explanation for it.

"I'll go change."

She said and she turned back and walked away. 

Back inside her room, she found the breast pads that Grace had gifted to her a long time ago. They were in the bottom of the bag full of pumping supplies she had gotten her. She had never had to use them before but now she did. 

She sighed as she put on a new bra and then a new blouse. 

If this happened every time she saw the baby then it was going to take some time getting used to it. 

Back downstairs, she found her way to the kitchen where Grace was waiting for her with a plate in hand. 

"So, what would you like to eat? I made mashed potatoes, I have a chicken that's cooling off on the rack and some green beans."

Lori shrugged. 

"That all sounds very good. I won't mind some."

Grace nodded as she went to check on her chicken on the other side of the kitchen.

"So Grace, any tips for me? Since you used to take care of Emilia."

Lori asked and Grace chuckled. 

"Oh I have plenty!"

She said as she picked up a knife and started carving the chicken. 

"Emilia is like pretty much any baby. She does every baby thing possible. She sleeps, she eats, she poops, she cries."

"She doesn't sleep through the night, it's hard but she doesn't. We've tried everything."

Grace commented. 

"She's a pretty happy baby but  sometimes she can cry for hours without wanting anything, like at night, but most times when she cries she needs something."

"She loves being outside. I used to take her for walks around the house during the day and she would get so calm, especially if she was crying before."

Lori nodded, taking mental notes. 

"Overall I think you'd do great. I am available to show you how and what to do though."

"Oh thank you Grace."

Lori said as she placed a plate of herb roasted chicken, gravy, green beans and mashed potatoes in front of her. 

Wow! Lori thought. 

A meal that was not ramen or toast. Her stomach would be very happy. 

She didn't know if Grace thought she had experience with kids. But she didn't, she didn't have that much. She remembered taking care of a baby as a teenager, their neighbour's eight month old baby that she watched for a few weeks. 

But that was about all the experience she had. She remembered how to change a diaper, but it had been so long, she was sure she would get the hang of it. 

The truth was she had not bothered to learn many things, many things about being a mother or caring for a baby because she had put her son up for adoption. She wondered if Grace knew that, if Grace would treat her the same if she knew the truth. 

If Mr Caine would treat her differently if he knew the truth, if he would even want her to be his daughter's nanny. 

Lori ate her meal in silence, While Grace talked and talked on about Emilia, she was still pretty young, only a few weeks old. So there was not much to be known about her other than the fact that she was a newborn. 

But Lori was appreciative of the tips that Grace was dropping, almost as if she knew that she was really going to need them. 

After Lori was done with her meal, she went to check on Emilia again, at this point she was already awake and stretching. Her small head was moving as she was taking in her surroundings and the woman in front of her. 

"Heyyy!"

Lori said as quiet as she could muster.

"Hey little baby."

She whispered as she stretched her hands into her crib and very gently picked her up. 

She fit snugly in her arms, so snug, almost like she belonged there. Emilia was awake now, her eyes were bright blue, the same blue like her father's and they stared at her with all the intensity a newborn could muster. 

Lori patted her head gently as she cradled her softly. She seemed calm, very calm. And she smelled good. So good!

Lori sniffed her gently and cooed. 

Oh that baby smell. 

That lovely intoxicating baby smell. 

"You're just the cutest."

Lori said as she touched her nose. 

Someone walked into the room at that moment and Lori turned quickly thinking it was Grace but saw Mr Gabriel Caine there instead. 

He stood at the doorway for a while, almost as if he was studying her. 

"Good evening Mr Caine."

Lori said and the man nodded. 

He filled up the entire doorway, he was that huge. 

"Ms Wyatt. I'm glad you took my offer."

Lori nodded. 

How could I refuse?

She said in her mind but kept mute. 

"I'd like to see you downstairs so we can establish some ground rules."

Lori nodded. 

"Okay. I'll be there soon."

She said, wondering if she had to take the baby along since technically she was now the baby's nanny. 

Mr Caine turned, about to leave then peeped in again. 

"And, she needs a diaper change."

He said as he closed the door gently behind him. 

Lori looked at the closed door and then the baby.

There's no way she needed a diaper change. she thought as she set the baby down on the changing table and opened up her onesie. 

She undid her diaper and turned away when the smell and the sight hit her. 

Okay! He was definitely right! 

How did she miss that?!

She asked herself as she picked up a clean diaper that was already on the changing table. 

Piece of cake. 

This should be a piece of cake. 

It wasn't a piece of cake! But she managed to get through it. Remove diaper, use baby wipes, baby powder and fresh new diaper. 

That was what she did. 

After a while, she went back downstairs with the baby and found Mr Caine waiting for her in the living room, he was seated on the sofa still in his work clothes, his phone in his hand.

Grace walked in at that moment, rushing towards Lori. 

"Oh honey! Support her head! You always want to support her head."

Grace said as she took the baby from Lori and placed her in the bassinet in the living room. 

Lori turned to Mr Caine, her cheeks tinged with color. 

"Please sit down Lori."

He said and Lori noticed this was the first time he was using her first name. 

"Did you sign the contract I gave you?"

he asked and she nodded. 

"Yes, I did. I left it upstairs."

She had forgotten all about the contract, it was still in her suitcase. 

"Should I go get it?"

She asked and Mr Caine shook his head. 

"Oh no! No need. You can always get that later."

"Like I said i'd like to lay ground rules."

Lori nodded. 

"Throughout your contract, you will function as a live in nanny, you are entitled to at least ten days off for a paid leave in a month of your choosing."

"I'm  sure that's included in the contract, I'm just mentioning it again."

Lori nodded. That was true, it was mentioned in the contract. She doubted she would be taking the leave though. There was nothing else left for her. She had no family, no friends to spend her days off with. 

"You are not allowed to take Emilia out of the house without my permission."

Lori nodded, then a question came to mind. 

"What if she's sick?"

She asked and he shrugged. 

"You call and tell me first, then I give you the permission to leave."

Lori nodded. 

"No visitors allowed. You're not allowed to bring in your friends, family or any lovers you have over. It is prohibited."

 Lori nodded again. 

"No problem with that."

She murmured. 

Gabriel heard what she said, but decided to make no comment. 

"There are certain rooms in this house that are prohibited, please, don't attempt to open any doors to any room that is locked." 

Strange. What did that mean? She asked herself but didn't say anything out loud. 

"Also, don't go into the woods, my staff has reported the presence of wild animals in there."

Lori nodded. There was little to no problem following that rule. She wasn't going to go there, at least, not with her new busy schedule. 

"Is there anything else Mr Caine?"

She asked and he shrugged. 

"I don't think there is. If you need anything and I am not around, Grace would provide it for you."

After that, he stood up and walked out of the living room, leaving Lori, Grace and the baby.