Maybe This Time - By Joan Kilby Page 0,59

so she slept on a cot in the baby’s room while I took the couch. She just left a few minutes ago, had to go to work.”

“I see.” He left the room and Emma lay back on the pillow. It was foolish to feel disappointed. Darcy had never claimed to be good with babies. Playing with them, yes, but he avoided the hands-on work. For a few minutes she’d begun to hope he’d started to bond with Billy. God knows, her poor child needed someone. She knew that on some level she loved Billy. Where was the warm, fuzzy feeling she was supposed to feel when she held her baby?

A tiny frown creased Billy’s brow as he concentrated on sucking. He seemed to glare at her above the bottle as if to say, You’re a nurse. You should have known better than to get so sick and not ask for help.

She was still bone-tired and weak as a kitten. Emma reached for the water and drank thirstily. Next to the glass was her phone. She checked for messages. There were a dozen or so awaiting her attention. In a little while she would call Alana, but at the moment she didn’t feel up to talking to anyone, not even her sister.

She could still feel Darcy’s touch on her forehead. Had she imagined his fingers lingering in a brief caress? Darcy might be helping her and Billy, but only because he was a good, kind, generous man who couldn’t bear to see anyone suffering. It didn’t mean he would fall in love with her again. Or with their son. She knew how good Darcy was at guarding his heart.

She adjusted Billy more comfortably in her arms and pushed the blanket back from his face so it didn’t get in his way. Then she closed her eyes. A few moments’ rest...

She must have slept because the next thing she knew, Darcy knocked on the bedroom door then eased it open. “Emma, Sienna’s here.”

“Come in.” Billy was sleeping still, snuggled into her arm. She and he must look the picture of a perfect mother and baby. Only she knew how false that was.

Dr. Sienna Maxwell entered and placed her black bag on a chair. She removed her navy suit jacket, revealing a crisp white blouse tucked into a navy skirt. Her mass of red curly hair was pulled back into a ponytail.

“I’ll leave you to it,” Darcy said.

“Can you wait until I’ve examined Billy and then you can take him with you?” Sienna said.

“Sure.” Darcy sat on a chair in the corner, his hands linked between his knees.

Sienna opened her black bag and got out her stethoscope and blood pressure cuff. She perched on the edge of the bed. “Hey, Emma. Let’s have a look at this little man and see what he’s fussing about. Then we’ll check you out. You’re looking better than you did the other day.”

Emma relinquished her hold on Billy. “He always fusses. Mostly at night when he’s colicky. But with this cold he’s even worse.”

Sienna undid a few snaps on his sleeper, inserted a thermometer beneath his armpit and held his arm in place while she listened to his chest. Billy woke up and immediately began to fuss. Sienna checked the temperature then turned him over and listened to his back. She shone a penlight into his eyes, passed her fingers gently over his fontanel and peered down his throat.

Sienna hung her stethoscope around her neck. “He’s congested and a bit dehydrated, but his temperature is down. It is just a cold and not a secondary infection.”

“That’s good.”

“Keep up his fluids, supplementing breast milk or formula with cooled boiled water with a solution to replenish his electrolytes.” She wiped the baby thermometer and put it away in its case. Then she strapped the blood pressure cuff onto Emma’s arm. “Darcy said you were having trouble nursing him. How’s your milk supply?”

“Not great. And now with this cold I’m afraid it’s drying up.”

“Cold?” Sienna shook her head. “You have pneumonia. Get some rest, give the antibiotics another day or two to kick in fully and your milk will likely come back. Sometimes these things resolve themselves with time. Is there anything else you wanted to ask about with regard to Billy?”

Emma hesitated. She hadn’t told anyone she hadn’t bonded with Billy. She especially didn’t want to say anything in front of Darcy. Being a mum was such a big part of who she was that not to be able

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