first,” she pointed out. “But they learn.”
“No, women are endowed with maternal instincts.”
“Endowed?” she asked, laughing.
“You know what I mean. And I’m serious. I really don’t know what to do.”
“You’ll learn, Garrett, and before you know it, you’ll be a great father.” At least she hoped he would be. All he really needed was to get off to a good start. To do that he needed—”Why don’t you have your sister take a look at Sophie? Make sure she’s in good physical shape, and then go from there.”
His worry lines eased a little, and a hopeful smile appeared. “You’re right. I’ll take her to see Paige today. Thanks, Libby.”
“You would have thought of it yourself.” Before he could deny it, she hurried on. “I’d better be getting home. I’m working the night shift, too, and Noah will be home from school soon.”
He nodded. “Thanks again.”
“Any time.” But something kept her from taking that step away. Surely she could do something else for him. She wouldn’t have to get involved, just offer a little support.
“Garrett?”
When his gaze met hers, she saw that his usually bright eyes were clouded with worry. “If you need some help—you know, a question about food or clothes or whatever—let me know.”
His eyes cleared, and then his smile slowly appeared, spreading wide. “Yeah. Yeah, I’ll do that.”
Good grief! she thought as she hurried down the hallway toward the main door. Was she out of her mind? The less she was around Garrett Miles, the better. But, fool that she was, she’d just offered to help.
Chapter Two
Garrett had hoped the waiting room of the small medical clinic where his sister was the only physician would be empty. He should’ve known it wouldn’t be, but hope seemed to be the only thing he had left. He was worried. Sophie hadn’t spoken a word since Tootie had taken charge of her at the city building nearly four hours earlier. Even now, as she and Garrett stepped inside the waiting room of the clinic, she was silent, holding his hand with a grip a wrestler would admire while she clung to her teddy bear with her other hand.
Don Fulcom, the husband of one of the nurses, sat in a chair, thumbing through a magazine. He looked up as Garrett and Sophie crossed the room. Garrett nodded in greeting and guessed the man was probably there to pick up his wife.
“Hello, Garrett,” Cara Milton said from the other side of the receptionist’s window.
Garrett noticed she was trying hard not to stare at Sophie, and he tried just as hard to ignore her obvious curiosity. “Is my sister free?”
She turned to look into the hallway behind her before answering. “Not quite yet, I’m afraid, but she shouldn’t be too much longer.” She crooked a finger at him, and he leaned closer, hoping she wasn’t going to ask him about Sophie. Instead, she asked, “Would you like to wait in her office?”
He looked down at Sophie, so small and silent next to him, and he nodded.
Cara smiled as he crossed to the door that led from the waiting room into the hallway and on to his sister’s office. He knew full well that he and Sophie would soon be the talk of the town, especially when, before he was completely out of earshot, he heard a whisper.
“I wonder who that little girl is?” Cara was saying to Don Fulcom.
Garrett didn’t wait to hear the answer and doubted Don even had one. With a sigh and a shake of his head, he took Sophie into Paige’s office.
“Do you want to sit down?” He pointed to two chairs facing a worn desk that was stacked with medical files and journals.
Sophie hesitated, before climbing onto the chair closest to the wall.
Knowing that news spread fast in Desperation, Garrett wanted to be the one to tell his sister he was a father. Not that he had any idea of how to do it. She’d probably ask questions, and he knew so little, except that Sophie was the result of a relationship with a young woman he’d once thought he might be in love with. It had taken a few months for him to know the real Shana, and once it became clear that she wasn’t the kind of person he’d thought she was, he broke it off. A month and a half later, he moved to Cincinnati, where he lived with his sister until he was hired by the City of Desperation.
Nervous, he leaned a hip against the edge of the desk, crossed his arms, smiled at Sophie and waited. He’d learned quickly that trying to have a conversation with a four-year-old who didn’t speak—for whatever reason—was pretty much futile. Hopefully Paige could give him a clue as to what was going on, and then he would do whatever was needed to correct the problem. It was that simple.
Several silent minutes later, he heard Paige’s voice outside the small office. As the door opened, he pushed away from the desk and gave Sophie what he hoped was an encouraging smile.
“Cara told me you needed to see me?” Paige made it a question as she stepped into the room. For a brief moment, she looked only at Garrett, but when Sophie shifted in the chair, Paige looked down. “Well, hello there!” she greeted Sophie. “I didn’t see you.” Kneeling to Sophie’s level, Paige smiled and stuck out her hand. “My name is Paige. What’s yours?”
When Sophie didn’t answer, but placed her hand in Paige’s, Paige looked up at Garrett, who managed to swallow his nervousness enough to speak. “Her name is Sophie,” he answered.
The confusion in Paige’s eyes didn’t make him feel any calmer, nor did her next question for Sophie. “And who do you belong to?”
His nerves were like pins sticking him when Sophie slowly looked up at him. He had no choice but to answer.
After all, that’s why he was there to see his sister. “She belongs to me.”
Paige slowly turned her head to stare at him, her surprise bordering on disbelief.
“She’s my daughter.”
Paige’s mouth opened, as if she was going to say something, but instead, she closed it and turned back to smile at Sophie. “And how old are you, Sophie?” she asked.
To Garrett’s surprise, Sophie held up four fingers.
Standing, Paige turned to him and spoke softly. “I’ve always wanted a pretty little niece.” More quietly, she added, “Is there anything I can do to help?”
Relief washed over Garrett, and he leaned against the desk again. The activities of the afternoon had definitely tested him. At the moment, he wasn’t sure he was passing.
“Are you all right?” Paige asked.
He nodded and stood straight. “I’m good.” After glancing at Sophie, he turned back to his sister. “I’d feel better if I knew Sophie is okay.”
Paige smiled at his daughter. “We can do that.” When she opened the door to step outside, Fran Simpson, the other nurse, was in the hallway.
