stopped, shifting Cassie to her hip while the door rocked on its hinges behind her.
Just as she’d expected, she found Mrs. Baker standing at the kitchen’s center island, her hands white with flour, her eyes glued to a television set on the counter opposite her. Pursing her lips, Merideth marched across the room and with an angry stab of her finger, punched the power button. The screen went black, the room silent.
Mrs. Baker turned from the screen to Merideth, her eyes widening in surprise when she saw Meredith, obviously unaware of her presence before that moment. “What do you think you’re doing?” she blustered indignantly.
“Turning off the television.”
Mrs. Baker narrowed her eyes suspiciously, shifting her gaze from Merideth to the baby and back again. “How did you get in here?”
Cassie started to cry again and Merideth bounced her on her hip, trying to quiet her. “I walked right in the front door, the same as any kidnapper or murderer could do.”
Her expression turning sour, the housekeeper gathered her apron in her hands and wiped the flour from them. “And what gives you the right to march into a private home unannounced?”
“I rang the bell twice, but you were so engrossed in Vanna White flipping letters,” she said with a dramatic wave of her hand toward the television set, “that I guess you didn’t hear.”
“An unlocked door gives you no right to just barge in.” She shook a finger at Merideth. “John Lee’ll hear about this, I assure you.”
“No need. I’ll tell him myself. And while I’m at it, I’ll tell him how you were watching television and ignoring the baby’s needs.”
Mrs. Baker’s mouth dropped open. “I was not ignoring the baby!”
“You most certainly were! She was in the den crying her heart out. I could hear the poor thing all the way from the front porch.”
At that moment, the back door swung open, and John Lee stepped into the kitchen. In the midst of dragging off his hat, he froze when he saw Merideth holding the baby.
“What are you doing here?” he asked in surprise as he tossed his hat onto the counter top.
“That’s exactly what I was trying to get out of her.” Mrs. Baker huffed and shot an accusing look at Merideth.
Ignoring her, Merideth turned on John Lee, having to raise her voice to be heard over Cassie’s crying. “This woman is totally irresponsible. When I arrived, Cassie was in the den in her playpen screaming her lungs out while she—” she pointed an accusing finger at Mrs. Baker “—was watching TV in the kitchen. She is incompetent and lazy and I want her fired immediately!”
Seeing the color rise on his housekeeper’s face, John Lee quickly crossed the room and took Merideth by the elbow. “Excuse us for a minute, Mrs. Baker,” he said apologetically, as he propelled Merideth toward the swinging door. “I’ll take care of this.”
Merideth dug in her heels, but John Lee shoved her kicking and fussing ahead of him. Once in the den, he spun her around to face him. “What in the hell do you think you’re doing?” he whispered angrily. “Do you realize how hard it is to get good help these days?”
“Good help!” Merideth cried. “Why, that woman—”
John Lee clamped a hand over her mouth. “Don’t you say another word,” he threatened. “I’ll be lucky if she doesn’t quit over this.”
Merideth ripped his hand from her mouth. “You’ll be lucky if she does quit!” she returned furiously.
Firming his lips, John Lee caught her by the elbow again and marched her down the hall to the master bedroom. Once inside, he slammed the door behind him and fisted his hands on his hips. “Let me tell you something, Miss High-and-Mighty McCloud. I need Mrs. Baker. Without her help with Cassie, I don’t know what I’d do.”
Merideth shifted the baby to her shoulder and frantically patted her back, trying to calm her. “You’d find someone better. Someone conscientious. Someone without a television addiction.”
Shooting Merideth a scathing look, John Lee took the baby from her. Holding Cassie at arm’s length, he jounced her up and down, puckering his mouth sympa-thetically as he looked up at her. “Whatsa matter, darlin’? Is all this yellin’ upsettin’ you?”
Merideth snatched the baby right back from him. “For heaven’s sake! She isn’t some football you can toss around.” She cradled the baby to her chest, tucking the infant’s head beneath her chin and rocking slightly while she glared at John Lee. “And I can tell you what’s wrong with her. She’s wet. She’s dirty. And probably hungry. And that witch in the kitchen totally ignores her.”
John Lee narrowed his eyes. “Don’t you start in again with me,” he warned.
“As if anything I said could penetrate your thick skull.” Turning her back on him, Merideth paced the room, patting and comforting, trying to calm Cassie. A huge beveled mirror covered the wall opposite her from floor to ceiling, offering Merideth her reflection and that of the black velvet comforter and cowhide throw that stretched across the king-sized bed behind her. She knew without looking that she’d find a similar mirror on the ceiling. She also knew their purpose. She shifted her gaze to a huge impressionistic painting of bold red slashes. After staring at it a moment, she realized she was looking at a nude woman’s reclining form.
The entire room screamed of seduction.
She glanced over her shoulder to scowl at John Lee. “I suppose this is your room?”
“Yeah,” he said defensively. “You got a problem with that?”
“Yes, I do, though I imagine the caliber of women you entertain here probably find this hedonistic display highly erotic.”
John Lee wasn’t at all sure what she’d just said, but by her tone, he figured he’d just been insulted. “I’ll have you know—”
Merideth shifted Cassie to the opposite shoulder, cutting him off with a dismissing wave of her hand. “Don’t bother me with the details of your sordid sex life. Just tell me where the baby’s room is so that I can change her.”
Scowling, John Lee gestured toward a door. “Through here.”
Merideth followed him into the adjoining room, which proved to be an extension of the den of iniquity she considered his bedroom. An entertainment center lined one wall and a sleek black leather couch, deep enough to sleep on, another. Framed photographs hung above the sofa and Merideth focused in on the largest, a picture of John Lee surrounded by a group of big-busted cheerleaders, each of whom seemed intent on offering him the most daring view of her cleavage. By the broad smile he was wearing, Merideth could tell he had been enjoying himself immensely.
“Disgusting,” she muttered under her breath and brushed past John Lee, heading for the crib parked in a comer of the room.
She laid the baby down, her expression and her tone softening perceptibly as she turned her full attention on Cassie. “That’s okay, precious,” she soothed, drawing a clean diaper from the bag hanging on the side of the crib. “Merideth will take care of that old wet diaper.”
As
