“Laurel Hudson,” she murmured. It was a wrench to let go of Linus with one arm for even as little time as it took to shake the doctor’s hand and when she did, Linus managed to grasp her mask and pull it aside. “I’m sorry he doesn’t want to cooperate where the masks are concerned.” She hastily straightened it.
“Babies like to see a person’s full face. Can’t blame them for that.” He touched his own mask. “These should soon be unnecessary, too.”
“Thank you for taking care of him.”
“This is my work,” he said, a smile in his eyes. He pressed his hands together, almost prayerlike. “I understand you’ve had a long journey.”
Laurel looked toward Adam. “An incomplete one, still.” She cradled Linus with both arms once more. He’d moved from playing with her mask to yanking on her hair. “Until we know he’s going to be okay.”
“A few more days of testing,” Dr. Patel said. “Then we will be more certain of it.” He patted the baby’s back. “Meanwhile, I’m sure you’re aware that we encourage mom and dad to stay here.” He spread his palms, encompassing the spacious room. “The bench there pulls out into a bed. It’s not a five-star resort, of course, but it serves the purpose fairly well.”
He gave Adam a wry glance. “It may be a few inches too short in your case. We also have a laundry area where you can take care of your personal needs, and a family kitchen. You can bring in your own food. Have meals together if you wish. Linus has no dietary restrictions. In all regards beside the obvious, he should be treated as a typical infant of his age.”
He lifted the chart that had been sitting on the counter and pulled a gold pen from his lapel pocket. “The more normal Linus’s life remains, the better off he’ll be.” His pen scratched across the page as he spoke. “And of course if you aren’t able to stay overnight, we’ll take excellent care of him until the day that you’re finally able to take him home.” He closed the chart with a soft snap. “Do you have any questions?”
She shook her head. “Thank you.”
“The nurses will check on him regularly,” he said. “If his temp stays normal by this evening, I think it’ll be safe for you to discontinue the gowns and mask.” Then he bowed his head slightly and left. He pulled the door closed after him.
Laurel looked over at Adam. “I’m staying.”
“Figured as much.” He pushed off the rocking chair and started for the door.
She felt a quick bolt of panic. “Where are you going?”
“To get your stuff from the truck.”
“Oh, right.” She felt foolish then. “Thanks.”
He pulled open the door and left.
The room felt suddenly very large and very empty without him.
She pressed her cheek against Linus’s forehead and scooped a plastic ball out of the crib before she sat down in the rocking chair.
“That’s your daddy,” she whispered. The ball was really just a brightly colored hollow shell with dozens of holes for inquisitive little fingers to latch onto. She waggled it in front of Linus. He grabbed it and eagerly tried to fit it into his mouth—a hopeless endeavor considering its size. “He’s pretty amazing,” she whispered, “but you’re going to find that out for yourself before long. He’ll never ever let you down.”
Linus smiled toothlessly and pitched the ball at her face.
She caught it with a little laugh.
And then she cradled him to her and cried.
Chapter Fifteen
Laurel was lying on the floor with Linus when Adam returned to the room, and even though he could tell she’d been crying, her eyes were brilliant. “He can roll over!”
“That’s great.” He set her tote on the bench that could turn into a bed. A bed that, for all he knew, she’d be sharing with Eric.
He cordoned off that thought and pulled out his wallet and extracted his credit card and several bills of cash.
She looked confused. “What’s that for?”
“In case you need anything for Linus. I doubt Eric’ll let him go without anything, but he’s my son.” He set it all on the bench next to the tote. “I’ll come back tomorrow when I can.”
She looked even more bewildered. “But you...you’re leaving?”
“Laurel, I can’t stay here with you and him.”
“But we need you!”
“It’s been a long day. On top of several long days. The only thing you need to do is focus on Linus.”
“I...see.” But she clearly didn’t. “What about you? What do you need to focus on?”
Not losing his mind entirely. But that was like closing the coop after the screaming banshees had already escaped. “You want a laundry list?” He held up his hand. “The rental car needs to be turned in. Provisions doesn’t have a manager on site right now with me here and Ashley out sick. I’ve got to figure out the medical insurance mess to make sure everything going on here continues going on here. I need to let Dr. Granger know you’re safe and get a damn book or something so I don’t feel like a complete ass when it comes to knowing when my son is ready to start eating real food!”
Her jaw had dropped. She suddenly reached down and scooped up Linus and plopped him in Adam’s arms. “Shut up, Adam. Just shut up and hold your son. You don’t have to be the one who always fixes everything all the time. Sometimes—like right now—you can just be.” She pushed at him and he was so surprised by her vehemence that he actually let her.
He felt the edge of the chair against his legs and sat.
She propped her hands on her hips and he realized then that she hadn’t rolled down her sleeves after using the sink outside the room and the scars on her inner arm stood out, vivid and pink.
“It’s going to get too crowded in here.”
“This is bigger than the Captain’s Quarters,” she said irritably. “Stop hunting for excuses
