floor to the staff member. She smiled, as if she were completely used to such a delay. He’d watched enough waiting room drama when his mother was sick to know she probably was.
Jasmine shifted impatiently as the nurse waited for all the sisters to gather around her. Then she said, “I wanted to assure you it’s just a sprain...” She glanced around, meeting everyone’s gaze. “It’s a bad one, though. The doctor can explain more, if one of you would like to come back and speak with him.”
“You, Jasmine,” Willow said. “You’ll remember more of the details than I will.”
The nurse nodded, but Royce stepped forward. He kept his voice low, but firm. “Is there any possibility we could all go back with you? I realize the rooms are small, but the little one isn’t going to do well without her mother.”
The nurse took one look at Rosie and Royce could see her refusal melt on her tongue. “Poor baby. Is it a fever?”
“Just a low-grade one,” Jasmine rushed in to answer. “From teething. She isn’t sick.”
“Oh, but that makes babies miserable, doesn’t it?” The nurse cooed at Rosie for a few moments, gaining a gummy grin; Royce spotted just a hint of a tooth breaking the front skin. “Of course you need to be with your mama.” Some semblance of a stern look returned to the nurse’s face, but it lacked conviction. “But if it gets full in there, you’ll have to wait across the hall.”
“Not a problem,” Royce said, eager to go now that he’d gotten his way.
The last thing he wanted was to split up the three women or find himself alone with the baby in his arms, which seemed to be drawing out all kinds of emotions he didn’t want to handle.
Rosie was really good while they met with the doctor and received his instructions. After all of his experiences with his own mother, Royce knew that physical therapy wouldn’t be easy for Auntie, but would be worth it for her to get fully back on her feet at her advanced age.
The half-jiggling, half-bouncing motion Royce’s body had adopted worked wonders, but before long a little whimper erupted. A streak of panic burned through Royce, but he refused to let it show.
It almost slipped through when he found the women watching him. Royce had an uncomfortable feeling they were finally evaluating his child-holding skills and finding him lacking.
“What?” he asked in a soft tone.
“Aren’t you the guy Jasmine said didn’t care about anything but business?” Ivy’s blue eyes dropped to the baby in his arms.
He wasn’t offended. “I’d say that would be an accurate description.” Did he owe them an explanation? Did he even have one for why he was here right this moment?
* * *
As they stood around the tiny cubicle where Auntie lay in the hospital bed, Willow dug into the diaper bag she held. “Here,” she said, holding out a ring-shaped toy. “Let’s try this. Want me to take her?”
Royce took the toy but shook his head. “Actually, I want you to go get your car and pull it around to the entrance.”
Willow glanced around. “But they haven’t discharged Auntie yet.”
“I’ll help your sisters take care of that,” Royce assured her. “You just bring the car around.”
Willow nodded uncertainly, then kissed Auntie and went for the car.
Jasmine watched her go. “Why is she getting the car so early?”
“Because we’re leaving,” Royce assured her. “I want you to get Auntie dressed.”
When she opened her mouth to question him, Royce simply shook his head. “Just do it.”
Turning away, he went to find the nurse at her station. She watched him struggle with the now squirming baby; her teething ring was no longer keeping her occupied. “I know you have a lot going on around here,” he said, “but we need to get this one home before we have a full-blown scene.”
His only knowledge of babies was of them crying in restaurants and stores. He had no idea what would set Rosie off, but he’d use her to their advantage in getting Auntie released sooner.
The nurse cooed at Rosie, nodding her head. So at least he was right in one sense.
“I have my hands full with the ladies...all the ladies,” he said with a smile. “Could you possibly help us out and get Ms. King released before things go downhill?”
Seeing the nurse snap into action, Royce had to wonder how much more he could accomplish in life if he had a baby as his wingman.
Less than twenty minutes later they were headed for the car. It was unprecedented in Royce’s experience with hospitals, but he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Willow was right up front, waiting for them.
The nurse who had wheeled Ms. King out got her settled into the front passenger seat with minimal effort while Jasmine supervised. Then Jasmine turned to look at him. She shook her head. “I can’t believe you managed that.” A gorgeous touch of pink lit up her pale cheeks. “And managed Rosie. That was incredible.”
“Only to be thwarted by something as simple as a child’s car seat,” he replied as he nodded toward the contraption in the back seat.
Jasmine’s eyes widened and she smiled. “Right. These things look way more complicated than they are. After all you’ve done, though, I think we’ll overlook your shortcomings on that score,” she said, taking the baby from him.
There was the sassy woman he’d come to know.
In two minutes, she had Rosie deftly strapped in and content with her pacifier. Closing the door, Jasmine again gifted him with a smile. Maybe he was tired after the morning drama. Maybe he was still feeling the effects from holding the tiny, innocent child in his arms. Whatever it was, this smile snuck through his usual defenses and hit his heart with unerring accuracy.
“I still don’t know how you managed it,” Jasmine said. “I was so focused on Auntie and my sisters and taking care of them. But we are very, very grateful.”
And that’s when he stupidly ran off at the mouth before thinking. “I’m glad to know all of my experience came in handy. My mother had a very long stay at this hospital before she died here.”
Jasmine sucked in a deep breath as she saw Royce slip through the coffee shop door. Her stomach churned, forcing her to leave her café au lait untouched. She had no idea how to act after their last encounter.
No idea how to return to business as usual.
The week he had been out of town since Auntie’s fall should have helped give her some perspective. Frankly, it hadn’t. Because her thoughts of Royce had turned very personal and she had no idea how to combat that. Except to only talk about business.
She could do that, right?
But
