Colton Baby Homecoming. Lara Lacombe

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СКАЧАТЬ bassinet for the baby. It’ll probably take me a moment to track it down.” She deliberately tilted the monitor around so it faced Sam. Recognizing the gesture as the olive branch it was, Sam offered her a tight smile.

      “We’ll keep Ridge company until you get back.”

      Darcy slipped out the door, her palms sweating. She’d never done anything like this before. Even though she knew giving Sam access to patient information was the right thing to do in this particular case, it still made her nervous.

      “He’s a police officer, not some random stranger off the street,” she muttered. Besides, she knew a judge would grant him access to the records. She was just cutting through the red tape, she told herself, and hopefully shortening the time it would take to track down the baby’s mother. It’s the right thing to do. And it was. But Darcy had always been one to follow the rules and this departure from the norm made her feel jittery.

      “Everything okay in there?” asked George, the other doctor on shift tonight. “I heard there was quite the ruckus earlier.”

      Darcy tried to smile but it must have come across as more of a grimace, as George frowned slightly at her expression. Get it together, she chided herself. Stop acting strange! “We’re doing okay,” she told him. “Someone found an abandoned baby earlier tonight, so we have the police in there now.”

      “Oh, man.” George shook his head. “Is the kid okay?”

      “Yeah. We got lucky. I’m trying to track down a bassinet for her now.”

      “I think I saw one floating around here earlier.” He tapped the desk as if he was trying to remember, then he snapped his fingers. “Yep. Give me just a second.” He trotted off and returned a moment later pushing a Plexiglas crib. “Here you go.”

      “Thank you,” she said. This time, her smile was genuine.

      “No problem. Want me to call CPS for you?”

      “Ah, no. I’ll let the police handle that.”

      George nodded. “Let me know if you need any help.”

      She waved at him and headed back to the exam room, trying to pace herself so as to give Sam the time he needed to look at the patient records. Had she been gone long enough? Hopefully so—she didn’t want to have to do this again.

      When she opened the door, three faces turned to greet her. Sam was standing next to Ridge, looking down at the baby. The computer monitor had been returned to its original position, and Sam offered her a nod of thanks. Annabel stood in the corner, her phone pressed to her ear. She offered an absent wave and moved to make room for the bassinet.

      “How’s she doing?” Darcy asked quietly.

      “Seems to be fine,” Ridge said, his voice low and soothing.

      “Are you ready to put her in the crib?”

      He glanced down at the baby, his expression softening. “I suppose so.”

      Ridge stood and moved back and forth for a moment, instinctively falling into the comforting sway deployed by anyone holding a baby. Then, moving slowly and carefully, he deposited the sleeping bundle onto the mattress. He straightened back up but remained standing by the crib, apparently absorbed by the sight of the infant stretching in her sleep.

      Once again, Darcy was struck by Ridge’s actions. To her knowledge, Ridge had never spent time around babies before. Yet here he was, stepping into the role of caregiver as if he’d been born to it. And for a stranger’s baby, no less.

      Annabel snapped her phone shut and walked over to join her siblings by the bassinet. “We have a problem,” she said shortly.

      Ridge raised one eyebrow. “What’s that?”

      “CPS can’t get here tonight—the storms have washed out several of the roads leading into Granite Gulch.”

      “Great,” Sam groaned. “So what are the options for tonight?”

      “She’ll have to stay here,” Darcy replied. “I can admit her and have her sent to the nursery.”

      “Will she be alone?” Ridge asked.

      “Not really,” Darcy said, touched by his apparent concern. “The nursery is staffed 24/7, so she won’t be unattended. Just let me put in the order...” She logged back in to the system, but what she saw made her frown.

      “What’s wrong?” Ridge asked. “Is there a problem?”

      “The nursery is full,” she replied, peering at the screen as if she could change the information displayed there by staring at it long enough. “I don’t believe it.”

      “How is that possible?” Sam said.

      Darcy shook her head. “We’re short-staffed, which means we can only take on so many babies in the nursery. They’ve already got the maximum allowed number there now.”

      “So what are our options for tonight?” Annabel said.

      Ridge stared down at the baby, his expression calculating. “I’ll take her.”

      “What?” The word erupted from Darcy, Sam and Annabel at the same time.

      “You can’t be serious,” Sam said.

      “You don’t know the first thing about babies,” Annabel protested.

      Ridge looked from one sibling to the other, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “Like you said earlier Sam, how hard can it be?”

      Both Sam and Annabel turned to face Darcy, their expressions pleading with her to make their brother see reason. “Can you explain this to him?” Sam said.

      “Uh, well,” she began, feeling suddenly pressured. “Babies are pretty demanding,” she started. “They need to be fed every couple of hours, which means you won’t get much sleep.”

      “Sleep is overrated,” Ridge replied.

      “You don’t have any supplies,” Annabel put in. “Formula, diapers, a place for her to sleep. You have none of the things babies need.”

      “Be reasonable,” Sam added. “You’re way out of your depth here.”

      “I can’t leave her,” Ridge said simply. The words took all the air out of his siblings and they both leaned back on their heels, staring at Ridge as if they’d never seen him before.

      “I know it doesn’t make much sense,” Ridge went on. “But this baby is my responsibility now. I’m going to take care of her until we find her mother.”

      Annabel turned to Sam. “Is this even legal?”

      He pressed his lips together, considering. “I’m not sure. But given the circumstances, I don’t know that we have another choice.”

      “So it’s decided then,” Ridge said, sounding determined. “I’ll take her home with me tonight. We can regroup in the morning.”

      Sam СКАЧАТЬ