*Published* Accidental Babies (SAMPLE)

Chapter 4

'What's that ruckus over there?'

Jason looked up from the files he had been reviewing and looked in the direction his cousin, Cameron Ballard, indicated. A tall woman was arguing with one of the security guards. She was standing protectively in front of a stroller with two seats and was gesturing to the pouring rain outside. Suddenly, a ball shot from the stroller and fell to the floor. The woman paused their argument and picked the toy up, returning it to the child inside.

The woman looked very familiar. As did the stroller. Without consciousness, he was walking towards them. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw Daphne and Tanner in the stroller, brows furrowed, looking at the security guard. April and the security guard had stopped arguing when he was within sight but April's expression was livid. The twins hadn't caught sight of him yet and he saw Daphne throwing her doll in the direction of the guard but, alas, it fell short. He felt amusement bloom in his chest, even as his heart melted slightly at her show of loyalty. He realised he made a good choice in hiring April.

'May I know what is going on here?'he asked placidly. The guard was looking unexpectedly smug. 'Mr Worden?'

'This woman, and her children,'he said, spitting out the last two words, 'will not leave the building, Mr Halloway. I've tried to force them out but she won't budge. And those monsters keep attacking me with their toys.'

'But clearly, it's raining quite heavily. Why would you do so?'he asked, perplexed at the guard's attitude. April looked ready to argue but he shot her a restraining look. She stepped back, picking up Daphne's doll, but shot him a fulminating look. Which shocked him slightly.

'Because you hate children,'the guard said matter-of-factly. Jason felt his jaw drop. He might not like children in the past but he's certainly changed his opinion of them with the advent of his own. And he had never hated them. 'You fired one of your managers because he brought his wild kids here. And you've always glared at any children you find in the lobby.'

'Really? You did that?'April asked disappointedly. He didn't know why but he didn't like disappointing her. He felt a wild need to reassure her of his good character.

'Da,'Tanner suddenly cried, waving his arms at him, asking to be picked up. He felt a smile tug on his lips as he unbuckled him and drew him into his arms. Daphne asked to be picked up too so he unbuckled her as well.

'Are you attacking unsuspecting security guards, Tanner? Not good of you to do so, little man.' Tanner just sent him a drooling smile and laid his head on his shoulder. He pressed a kiss on Daphne's head when she threw her arms around him. 'You too, princess?'

'See, he can't possibly hate children,'April told the stupefied security guard.

'Th-they're yours?'he croaked. Jason shot him a cold glare even as he nodded.

'Yes. Now, please pack your things. I don't need someone who abhors children working for me,'he said frostily, trying to avoid the twins' reaching hands. April took Daphne from him, her brows slightly furrowed.

'Surely you don't have to fire him? The job market is so difficult right now. I don't want his unemployment to rest on my head,'she said, looking beseechingly up at him.

'But he insulted you. And the twins,'he sputtered, surprised by her plea. He'd thought she'd be happy, vindicated even.

'Oh, the twins don't know what he's talking about. They were just angry at him because he was shouting at me. Right, baby girl?' She directed the last sentence to Daphne while rubbing her cheek against Daphne's. Daphne smiled and continued playing with her doll. 'See, they're fine. If you need to satisfy your manly pride and all that, you can get him to do the graveyard shift for, like, a month or so.'

'My manly pride?'he asked in disbelief. She nodded absently. Realising that they'd gathered an audience, he let the guard go but his gaze told the man that they'd have a reckoning at a later date. His sharp glare dispersed the audience, leaving only his cousin. Who was looking very amused. He cleared his face and prepared to introduce them. 'April, this is my cousin, Cameron Ballard. Cam, this is my nanny, April Saunders.'

'Hello,'April said, handling a raucous Daphne. She wanted to be put down but April managed to appease her with a biscuit. Her voice had an unsettled edge that made him look at her in concern. 'The two of you are very good-looking. You must have had your share of women in the past. Well, until you got married that is. Your wife must love you very much to have beared 3 children for you. Or is it 4? She's pregnant with another one, right? I hope she can give me some pointers because I'm very much new at this. But I do like the twins. They're very likable. Even when they latched on to me when we first met, they did it with such a charming smile, who could have resisted.'

'April,'Jason said sharply, cutting her off. Tanner had grown interested in his tie so he loosened it enough to not choke him while the boy played. She looked up at him guiltily.

'I'm blabbering, aren't I?' At his befuddled nod, she let out a deep sigh. 'It's just that I'm a bit high-strung. I've never been in an argument before. Obviously, I'm a person who avoids confrontation but the guard. Well, he was just unreasonable. Wanting to throw the twins out while it's still raining. I thought others would have helped if your distaste for any children but your own hadn't been known.'

'Well, I'm glad the issue has been resolved,'he said comfortingly, adding a silent, 'for now.' He still had to educate the guard on the proper ways to treat children. All children. 'Now, let me drop the three of you home. And it looks like I have to change as well.'

'Oh, you don't have to do that. The rain has stopped and I'm sure the twins would like a walk back. They had been very excited on the way here,'April said earnestly. 'From the way they acted on the way here, I gathered they hadn't been out a lot. So this will be a good start. Maybe, when we are back at your apartment, we can discuss where exactly I can bring the twins so that they can enjoy the air and probably play as well.'

Jason was startled by her observation but couldn't refute it. His children were more energetic, happier, even after the debacle with the security guard. He was glad April had noticed that and was working to rectify it. He didn't want his children to have the childhood he did and knew April was a good start to prevent it.

'That's a good idea, Ms Saunders,'he said, noticing how her cheeks flushed at his praise even as her eyes lit up. It made her look very sweet. And delectable. And her eyes brightened to look like the sky just before dawn. He wanted to praise her more just to get that look. Maybe if he kissed her?

'How about we walk you back, April?'Cameron said, bringing him out of his reverie. 'I would like a place to rest and Jason needs to change. It's a win-win.'

'Considering that you live barely half an hour outside of the city, it does not entitle you a resting stop at my house,'Jason said drily even as he fought to suppress the anger at Cameron for making the suggestion. Why would he want to spend time with an attractive woman? He was a married man, for goodness sake. Surely he wouldn't be coming onto April? And why did a burst of flame explode from his chest at the very thought? Surely he wasn't jealous? Or angry that Cameron was hogging all her attention?

No, Jason wasn't attracted to April. She wasn't his type. He liked them petite and slim, not tall and voluptuous. So he shouldn't care that she was sending all her genuine smiles to Cameron but only looked politely at him. She wasn't his type. And he shouldn't care that she'd spoken more with Cameron than she had ever spoken to him. Even if this was her first day. She wasn't his type.

'So, let us all walk back. I have a meeting later at 5 and Tanner has utterly ruined my suit,'he said abruptly. Ignoring April's surprise and Cameron's amusement, he placed Tanner back into his seat, buckled his children in and started to push the stroller out, inclining his head to anyone who passed, even when they were gaping at him.

Even as his chest burned with a feeling he was not willing to identify, he reminded himself she was not his type.

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Mr Halloway had acted strange, April decided as she prepared the twins' dinner. Since it just required opening a jar of baby food, it didn't take long. Her thoughts returned to Mr Halloway as she walked out to the dining room, where she had left the twins. He would not leave Mr Ballard alone with her. When he had to change, he had asked his cousin to look for some document. She had been busy taking the twins out of their coverings so she hadn't noticed. He'd also stayed close to her when Mr Ballard had said goodbye. Not noticeably close but closer than was appropriate for an employer and an employee. She did notice the amused glint in Mr Ballard' s eyes but hadn't known the reason why. She still didn't know why.

She was glad that the twins were still occupied with their toys. She'd noticed that as long as she didn't leave them alone for any longer than 10 minutes, they wouldn't make a fuss. Putting their bibs on them, she proceeded to feed them. Only to have all their dinner over her a few minutes later.

'Don't you guys like your food?'she inquired, puzzled. They didn't answer her, just avoided the spoon. She looked at the bottle, thinking she got the wrong flavor, Mr Halloway had specified which flavor for each meal of the day, but it's chicken and rice. It shouldn't be that objectionable. Until she took a whiff of it and promptly gagged. 'What the hel-heck is this? People actually feed this to babies? Why am I feeding this to you? This is an outrage! I shouldn't feed this to you. But what are you guys going to have for dinner? Maybe there are recipes suitable for peeps your age. Hold tight, little guys while I go and look up homemade baby food.'

She went to take her smartphone, still stunned by the awful taste of that baby food. How did it even get pass quality control? Knowing there were some websites dedicated to making baby food, she looked it up, giving the twins half a banana each to occupy them.

After deciding on a recipe, she lugged the twins to the kitchen, knowing it would take at least half an hour, and started preparing the dish. She'd decided on a chicken and apple dish, since that was what they were scheduled to eat anyway. She'd also decided on keeping to the "four day rule", as advised by the website, as this was the first pure chicken that they had eaten. The chicken in the baby food jar did not count. Luckily, the kitchen was well-stocked. She didn't want to make any changes to the recipe since it was her first time using it. And on babies too.

The twins were fascinated. They were raptly watching her chopping and cooking. As luck would have it, she'd cooked rice for her dinner so the twins didn't have to wait any longer for their dinner. She felt bad enough about delaying their dinner as it was but she could not, in good conscience, feed them that successfully commercialised nuclear waste.

She allowed them a taste of the chicken along with some sauce to see if they liked it. She watched them chew with their currently present teeth. Since she'd made sure the chicken was in extra small pieces, they were able to get through it quite fast. From their faces, she saw that they liked it. Pleased, she prepared to bring them back to the dining room but Tanner demanded another spoonful. Then Daphne.

In the end, she fed them in the kitchen. And that was where Mr Halloway found them when he returned.

AN hi guys. Here's another chapter. I hope you like it. I did do some research on the homemade baby food and they looked easy enough.

Truthfully, this chapter was inspired by the baby food challenge. I have never had any baby food before so cannot really vouch for it. But, from the reaction in the video, I don't want to even come withing smelling distance of it.

So, anyway, hope you guys like it. Please VOTE and COMMENT. It would really help to motivate me. Thanks :)