A Doctor For The Nanny. Leigh Bale

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       Chapter Two

      Eva didn’t sleep much that night. Aunt Mamie helped her move her things into the bedroom adjoining the nursery, but she tossed and turned, fretting that she wouldn’t hear the baby if he woke up. But she did, her eyes popping open wide the moment he began to fuss. Snatching up her bathrobe, she skedaddled for his room.

      Peering at him in the darkness, she took a deep breath and tried to settle her nerves. Okay. What should she do first? His diaper. He might be wet and need changing. She hadn’t done it before, but no big deal. With only a small lamp to see what she was doing, she retrieved a disposable diaper, then copied what she’d watched her aunt Mamie do on numerous occasions. Everything went fine until the plastic tabs got stuck on her fingers. She fought with them for a moment, finally getting the diaper sealed in the right place. Hmm. Not bad.

      Until she picked up the baby and the diaper fell off. Eva groaned and tried again. Cody just cooed at her and waved his arms, as though cheering her on. Finally she got the thing attached so it would stay put.

      Once Cody was re-dressed she carried him to the kitchen. They’d installed little green night-lights in the hallways so they didn’t have to turn on every light in the house and wake up everyone. Martha Rose said the baby would go back to sleep easier if he didn’t have lots of stimuli.

      Padding barefoot across the cool tiled floor, Eva opened the refrigerator and squinted at the bright light. She snatched out a bottle and quickly shut the door. Thankfully, Martha Rose had made up several bottles before bed. All Eva had to do was warm up one. A simple task for anyone but her. What if she got it too hot or too cold? She’d never done this before and felt mighty uncertain. Concentrating, she tried to remember what Martha Rose had told her to do.

      “A pan of hot water,” she said to Cody, moving about the dark room with ease.

      Balancing the baby with one arm, she worked fast, setting the bottle in the pan of hot water and waiting several minutes while she rocked Cody and sang to him. Aunt Mamie had showed her how to test some drops of milk on her wrist to make sure the temperature was just right. But Eva’s hands shook as she picked up the bottle and offered it to little Cody. He latched on to it ferociously and she jerked in surprise. Then she chuckled.

      “You sure are hungry, aren’t you, little man?” she said softly.

      She walked back to his room and sat in the comfy gliding chair. He sucked greedily as she rocked him in the dim light. She hummed a lullaby, trying not to stare at his adorable chubby cheeks. But she couldn’t resist. He was the cutest, sweetest thing she’d ever seen.

      Toward the end of the bottle he fell asleep and she placed him in his crib. As she stared down at his cherubic face, she couldn’t help feeling proud of her accomplishment. Nor could she fight off a feeling of absolute love as it pulsed over her in shocking waves. She’d do anything to protect this innocent baby. Anything to keep him safe. She’d promised herself never to love another man. If she didn’t love, she couldn’t be hurt. But she’d already broken that vow. And there was no sense in trying to fight it. Because she loved little Cody Stillwater like her own.

      After walking back to her room, she curled beneath the warm covers, feeling happy and satisfied. Maybe if she couldn’t have kids of her own she could love other people’s children. Maybe she could do this job after all.

      Early the next morning she wasn’t so sure. She was awakened by Cody’s cries. Within moments she’d pulled on her fluffy bathrobe and was standing beside his crib. Seeing her, he waved his little arms and smiled, effectively melting her heart.

      “Good morning, sweetheart. Did you sleep well...?”

      The question died on Eva’s lips. She stared. And swallowed hard. Reaching down, she flipped Cody’s downy blanket aside. He panted happily, completely oblivious that anything was wrong. But a horrified gasp erupted from Eva’s throat.

      A rash, bright red and hot to the touch, covered the baby’s face. A quick inspection of his tiny body told her it went no further. Just his cheeks. What a relief. But she must have done something wrong. Something bad.

      A gush of panic rose in her throat, bringing with it a deluge of memories. Costly mistakes she’d made recently that had taken hours of work and lots of money to repair. But Cody wasn’t a broken piece of equipment or a ruined batch of bread dough. He was a human being. A little innocent person who was depending on her to take care of him. Making an error with him could be catastrophic.

      She held out her hands as if to offer reassurance. “Okay, sweetheart. Don’t worry. We can fix this. I’ll take you to the doctor. Give me just a minute to get dressed.”

      She scrambled for the doorway, hurrying to pull on her clothes. She splashed water on her face, ran a toothbrush around in her mouth, then jerked a brush through her long, tangled hair.

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