An Accidental Mom. Loree Lough

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      He looked over his shoulder to where his son sat, deep in concentration as he colored on construction paper, and nodded. Lily couldn’t help but notice how his entire demeanor changed at the mere sight of the boy. He stood taller and smiled. Not that half-baked grin he’d been tossing around since he’d come home, but a genuine, full-faced, two-dimpled smile. If anyone doubted Max’s love for Nate, they need only see him now to believe how much his son meant to him.

      Lily frowned. “He looks a little pale today. I hope he isn’t coming down with something.”

      Max’s wide grin faded. “His appetite has been off the past week or so. And he isn’t sleeping well, either.”

      “Probably just having trouble adjusting to the climate,” Cammi offered. “The Texas Panhandle is very different from Illinois.”

      “Yeah, maybe.” But Max didn’t seem convinced, as evidenced by his worried expression. He faced them suddenly and whipped out his order tablet. “So, what can I get you ladies?”

      “What, no waitress today?” Lily asked, grinning.

      “Flat tire or something,” he said. “So I’m ‘it’ until she gets here.”

      Cammi was on her feet in no time. “You handle the cash register,” she told him, tying an apron around her waist. “I remember from our high school days what happens when someone puts a food-laden tray in your hands.” Closing her eyes, she looked at the ceiling. “Anyone wearing a white shirt when you walked by was in trouble!”

      A quiet thump captured everyone’s attention.

      A woman got to her feet, knocking her plate on the floor when she did. “This little boy just fell out of his booth!” she shouted, pointing.

      Max was beside his son in a heartbeat. “Nate?” He gave the semiconscious boy a gentle shake. “Nate, what’s wrong?”

      Lily stood behind him, one hand on his shoulder. Nate’s brown eyes looked even darker in his ashen face. Hearing his long, ragged breaths, she said, “We need to get him to the hospital, now.” She gave Max’s shoulder a squeeze. “I’ll bring my car around and meet you out front in a minute.”

      Max’s worried eyes met hers briefly before he turned his attention back to Nate.

      Lily grabbed her purse from the table and raced for the door, dialing her cell phone as she went.

      “Don’t you worry,” Cammi told Max. “Andy and I will handle things here.” She met the cook’s eyes. “Right, Andy?”

      “You bet,” he said with a jerk of his spatula.

      Cammi held open the diner’s door while Max hurried to Lily’s waiting car. “I’ve already called ahead,” she said, buckling the seat belt over him and Nate. “They’ll have someone waiting at the E.R. entrance.”

      “Thanks,” he said, as she got behind the wheel.

      It didn’t escape her notice that there were tears in his eyes when he said it.

      Tires squealing, she pealed away from the curb.

      Lily glanced at Max, who held his son close. Worry creased his handsome brow and made his jaw muscles bulge as he stared through the windshield. She reached across the seat to pat his hand. “Don’t worry,” she said. “Everything will be fine. He’s in the Lord’s capable hands.”

      Max grunted, then pressed a kiss to Nate’s temple.

      Pay him no mind, Lord, she prayed. He’s just had a rough go of things lately. But even as the thought formed, Lily knew better; Max had been nursing his grudge against the Almighty for a long, long time. But she didn’t have to worry. The God she had come to know had a great capacity for love, infinite patience, boundless mercy; He wouldn’t hold Max’s anger against him.

      Now, if only she could convince Max of that.

      “Don’t worry, Mrs. Sheridan,” the nurse said, “your little boy is in good hands. Dr. Prentice is the best pediatric cardiologist in the area.”

      Lily started to correct the woman. “I’m not—”

      “Thanks,” Max said, sliding an arm around her waist. “That’s good to know.” And once the nurse left Nate’s E.R. cubicle, he added, “We can set her straight once Nate’s out of harm’s way. Right now, I’d rather she put her full concentration on doing her job.”

      Lily nodded, feeling an odd mix of confusion and gratitude. For years, she’d dreamed of being Mrs. Maxwell Sheridan…but this wasn’t the way she’d pictured it happening.

      Dr. Prentice blasted through the pastel-striped curtains, clipboard in one hand, stethoscope in the other. “So who do we have here?” he said, wiggling Nate’s toes. He draped his stethoscope around his shoulders and slid a pair of black-framed half-glasses from his lab coat pocket. “Says here your name is Nathan,” he said, squinting at the chart. “Okay if I call you Nate?”

      Smiling feebly, the boy nodded.

      Dr. Prentice balanced the glasses atop his balding dome. “Well, Nate, we’re gonna run a few tests, see what put you in here. And once we find out, we’ll do everything we can to make sure it never happens again. Whaddaya say to that?”

      The smile broadened slightly as Nate gave another nod.

      The doctor faced Max, held out a hand. “I see you’ve already signed the necessary consent forms, so there’s no reason to keep him waiting.” He winked at Nate. “We’ll get you home fast as we can, okay?” Waving Lily and Max nearer, he perched on the corner of the gurney and addressed his comments to Nate. “Here’s what we’re gonna do: First, we’re gonna show you all sorts of neat machines. X-ray, electrocardiogram, echocardiogram. Nate, m’boy, you’re gonna feel like you’re the star of a science-fiction movie!” He wiggled the boy’s toes again. “Now, I know you’ve seen all this stuff on TV, so I really don’t need to tell you that not one of these tests is gonna hurt, not even a little bit—right?”

      A look of wide-eyed fascination brightened Nate’s pale face.

      “After we’re finished with the big gizmos, we’ll do a couple of blood tests. Ever stick yourself with a pin, kiddo?”

      “Yessir. And once, when my dad and me were fishing, I got a fishhook stuck in my thumb.” He showed the doctor a tiny crescent-shaped scar.

      “Man,” Dr. Prentice said. “How’d you ever get the hook out?”

      “Dad cut the sharp part off with pliers.”

      “Wow. Bet you cried buckets.”

      “I didn’t cry at all, did I, Dad.”

      Max grabbed Nate’s hand. “Not a single tear. You were tough as nails.”

      “I’m impressed,” the surgeon said. “And that run-in with the fishhook? I can absolutely guarantee the blood tests won’t hurt nearly as much! Just a teeny tiny pinprick, one for each test. You think you can handle that?”

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