Numb, I answered it. Ellie’s voice rocked me back to reality.
“Why aren’t you answering your text messages?” she snapped. “Something is wrong with Shane. He’s in the hospital in Jackson City.”
My hair streamed behind me in bright, burning banners as I ran to the hospital elevator and jabbed the button three times. The hospital was a forty-five minute drive up the canyon, all the way into Jackson City. The drive had felt like a short eternity.
“Come on,” I muttered. “Level three.”
The speed of light wouldn’t have been fast enough as I waited for the stupid elevator to arrive. The moment it opened, I rushed inside and jammed a finger into the circular three. What felt like another eternity later, the doors chugged back open and I spilled onto the pediatric floor. Nurses and visitors whirled past me as I followed Ellie’s directions, found the right door, knocked gently, and slipped inside.
Maverick stood at the end of a crib in a quietly subdued room. Bethany sat in a rocking chair holding a bundle of blankets with a clear tube trailing out the bottom. Her eyes were bloodshot and cheeks tearstained. Behind them, Ellie and Devin lurked by the window. Tension filled the room.
“He’s okay,” Bethany said when she saw me. She sniffled. “Just some breathing trouble. They’re doing a few tests. He’s stable on oxygen right now.”
Relieved, I collapsed onto a chair. “He’s not going to die?”
“No.” Bethany shook her head firmly. “He’ll be fine.”
Maverick stiffened, his nostrils flaring. He leaned over, whispered something to Bethany, then strode out of the room. At the door, he looked at Devin, jerked his head to the hallway, and disappeared. Devin filed out, leaving the three of us and Shane behind. The moment they disappeared, Bethany melted back into the chair.
“Finally,” she muttered. “I thought he’d never leave.”
Ellie shrugged at me when I sent her a silent question. Bethany and Maverick rarely fought. Something was clearly wrong, however. When I looked back at Bethany, she leaned her weary head against a hand.
“Bethie, you okay?” I asked.
“Yeah, just tired and emotional and postpartum. Maverick and I . . . I’m fine.”
“What’s going on with Shane?”
Bethany gave me a brief update. Shane had been a little congested over the weekend, and it had been getting worse. Wasn’t eating. Seemed limp and restless. Jada, Pineville’s family doctor, had sent Bethany to the ER just in case. His oxygen levels were so low when he arrived that they’d admitted him immediately.
“A virus, probably,” Bethany said. “He’s so little he needs extra help, that’s all. I think he’ll be okay. Now that he’s on oxygen, he’s nursed better. That alone has helped because I’m not engorged. Squirted him right in the eye on accident.”
She managed a pathetic attempt at a smile, but I felt only concern as I studied the two of them. They were both exhausted. The smacking, suckling sounds that issued from the blanket every now and then reassured me.
“Why were things so tense?” I asked.
Bethany’s jaw tightened. “Maverick blames me because I took Shane with me to the grocery store on Friday. He thought we should leave Shane home for the first three months of his life, but I can’t deal with that. I’m going crazy at home, being cooped up all winter long. It was just the grocery store.”
Ellie rolled her eyes. “Mav is being overprotective,” she said. “That’s all. He’s stressed about a house he’s working on. Renovations have been double his original estimate. Devin and Mav left to get some dinner, then Devin and I’ll head back to Pineville.”
The machines beeped overhead with colors and numbers I didn’t understand, but Bethany’s relative calm and the lack of hovering nurses helped me relax.
“Okay,” I whispered.
Bethany eyed me. “How was book club?”
“Fine,” I said too quickly.
Ellie folded her arms. Her gaze darted around the room uncomfortably. She’d always hated hospitals. Bethany studied me through slitted eyes, but had to readjust Shane, which bought me time to change the subject. Within minutes, a more companionable prattle had filled the room, banishing the tension.
When Maverick returned with bags of food, Ellie and Devin took some and headed out. Shane had nursed himself to sleep, so Bethany stood up and passed him to me. I gratefully accepted the warm, sleeping bundle as she stretched her arms out and readjusted her bra.
“Stay with Shane for a bit?” she asked. I nodded. Bethany motioned Maverick out into the hall with a firm nod and pursed lips. He sighed as she followed him out.
Shane let out a little mewl as I got comfortable in the chair, then smacked his lips and settled back to sleep. My heart stirred. Forget romantic love. Being an auntie was way better. I pressed a gentle kiss to his tiny forehead and stared at the oxygen tubing that led to his nose.
“Don’t ever do this again,” I whispered as I ran a finger around the shell of his ear. “Or we’ll have words later.”
My phone dinged with an email alert that I ignored. When ten minutes passed and Bethany and Maverick hadn’t returned, I dug my phone out of my pocket. The words Pinnable Employment on the preview screen made my stomach seize.
“Sweet baby pineapple,” I whispered, frantically putting my password into the phone. Within seconds, I speed-read through the words.
We regret to inform you that we have not chosen you as a candidate . . .
My phone clicked as I closed it. I set it gently on the side table near the rocking chair, then leaned back. Heat rushed into my eyes all at once. What now? What could possibly go wrong now?
This entire month had been nothing but obstacle after obstacle after obstacle. What next? Anything else you want to throw at me, universe? I almost yelled. A wordless, bubbling response surged through me. It felt like rage but tasted like bitterness, and I almost let it go. Instead, I pulled it into check. It simmered there beneath the surface.
Seconds later, Bethany
