The Sergeant's Unexpected Family. Carrie Nichols
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Название: The Sergeant's Unexpected Family
Автор: Carrie Nichols
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Короткие любовные романы
Серия: Small-Town Sweethearts
isbn: 9781474090704
isbn:
He ignored her outstretched hand. “I got it.”
He crouched again and put her sneakers on and tied the laces.
“Thank you.” So much for all her plans to demonstrate how she had everything under control, how she wasn’t looking for charity, how she was a strong, twenty-first-century woman. Brody needed to see her as Elliott’s mother, not as someone he needed to take care of, or worse, pity. Never again would she allow anyone to cluck over her and murmur, “You poor thing,” as those caseworkers had done. She and Brody were close enough in age to be considered contemporaries, equals.
“Someone’s been waiting to see you.” A nurse around Mary’s age came in carrying Elliott, who was babbling to a teddy bear clutched in his hands. He glanced up, and as soon as he spotted his mother, he burst into tears and reached for Mary.
Brody rose to his full height of several inches over six feet and stepped aside, but Mary wasn’t aware of his presence as she reached out to enfold Elliott in her arms. Ignoring her protesting muscles, she clasped onto his warmth, the stuffed animal crushed between their bodies, and rained kisses into his dark hair. Sobbing in earnest now, Elliott clung to her, his chubby fingers clenched around the soft flannel of her shirt. She rubbed his back in soothing strokes. “Shh, it’s okay, sweetie, Mommy’s here. Mommy’s got you.”
He lifted his head, tears clinging to his lashes, and sucked in air in short sobbing bursts. She could still hear the crunching noise as cars collided, feel the impact, and he was so young he wouldn’t understand what had happened. “Mommy’s here, sweetie.”
Mary’s brow furrowed as she spoke to the nurse over Elliott’s head. “Are you sure he’s okay?”
“Physically he’s fine. He’s had quite a fright. I ’spect he’ll be emotional and clingy for a few days. He’s not at the stranger-anxiety stage yet, so he did well with us until now.” The nurse rubbed a hand over Elliott’s riot of dark curls. “He’s just happy to have his mama.”
Brody watched the tearful reunion, his brows drawn together in a frightening glower. Her stomach clenched. Had she been wrong about him? Maybe he wasn’t the person she’d imagined him to be. She’d been wrong about Roger, so it shouldn’t be a surprise if she’d be wrong about Brody, too. Maybe this was a wasted trip.
“Brody?” An elderly woman with a purple volunteer button pinned to her chest appeared outside the opening to the curtain. “There’s a phone call at the desk for you.”
“For me?” He jerked his head back and turned to the newcomer. “Tell them I’ll be right there.”
The woman left, and he glanced back to Mary. “Wait right here. I’ll go see what this is about.”
“As if you wouldn’t want to wait for him.” The nurse sighed, then leaned toward Elliott. “Are you going to let me fasten you into your seat, sweetie?”
Elliott clung tighter, babbling something that ended with a hiccup.
“We’ll let him settle for a few more minutes,” the cheerful brunette said.
Mary hugged him close, needing the contact as much as he did. She tugged the toy clear of where it was wedged between their bodies and held it up. “Who’s this? Have you got yourself a new friend?”
“One of the police officers on the scene must’ve given it to him.” The nurse removed the sheet from the gurney and rolled it into a ball. “The women’s group at the church collected donations last year to buy enough stuffed bears so each of our deputies would have several in their cruisers for emergencies involving children.”
Mary’s throat clogged as she recalled the glimpse she’d had of a state trooper cradling her son while paramedics put her on a stretcher. “I’ll be sure to thank them.”
The nurse tossed the discarded hospital gown onto the sheet. “People around here stick together and help one another. It’s a wonderful community. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.”
Mary envied the other woman’s ties to a community. Would she and Elliott be accepted, grow roots here, if she found employment and decided to make Loon Lake her permanent home? “Do you have Uber around here? Or should I call a cab?”
“No Uber that I know of.” The nurse picked up the pile of laundry. “But don’t worry, I’m sure Brody will take you wherever you want. Did you have someplace in mind?”
“The nearest motel, I guess.” What else could she do? Driving back to Connecticut or anywhere was out of the question until she could rent a car.
“Oh.” The nurse paused, adjusting the bundle in her arms. “I’m not sure the doctor will agree to that.”
Mary had been digging one-handed in her purse for her phone, but the nurse’s words halted her search. “Why can’t I go to a motel?”
“It might take a day or two for the effects of the concussion to go away, and it’s best that you not be alone during that time.”
“But, I—”
“That’s no problem. Mary and Elliott will be coming home with me,” Brody said from the opening in the curtain.
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