one question triggered several more.
“Has she visited the clinic before?” he asked.
“Just a moment. I’ll check.” Millie turned to her computer and, after a brief search, said, “It doesn’t appear that she has.”
Jeremy really ought to let it go, but he couldn’t seem to do that. Not when Kirsten Allen had reminded him of the woman in his dream.
Hell, she even had a baby …
Surely it had been a coincidence, a fluke of some kind.
But during the short time that he’d spent with her, his blue funk had actually lifted—and it had yet to return.
After getting off the city bus at the intersection just a few blocks from Lone Star Lane, Kirsten carried little Anthony home, hoping to get back before her brother Max learned that she’d taken his son to the clinic.
Their relationship had always been a little shaky, more so right now. He resented what he called her interference in his life. Truth be told, she knew she’d clearly overstepped her bounds by taking Anthony for a medical evaluation, but she’d been desperate to find out if he was healthy, or if he had any undiagnosed problems that needed to be treated—a condition that could be serious.
Things like well-baby checkups and immunizations could wait until Max decided it was necessary, but her maternal instincts had kicked in and she felt compelled to make sure that Anthony’s mother hadn’t neglected something important.
And that was definitely possible. A couple days ago, Courtney, her brother’s ex-girlfriend, had dropped off the precious little baby at Kirsten’s house, announcing that Max was his father, that she’d grown tired of motherhood and that it was his turn to parent.
Kirsten had never liked Courtney, although she’d always kept her opinion to herself. But it had been difficult to hold her tongue when the flighty young woman handed the baby to a surprised Max, offering him only a car seat, a small package of disposable diapers and a bottle of formula. Then she’d taken off without even looking back.
It was safe to say that Anthony would probably be better off without Courtney in his life, especially since he was young enough not to be traumatized by her desertion. In fact, Kirsten couldn’t understand how Max had gotten involved with a woman like her in the first place—or what he’d ever seen in her.
Still, she had to give her brother credit for stepping up to the plate. He might have been young and footloose in the past, but he had accepted responsibility for Anthony.
And, of course, so had Kirsten, which was why she’d taken him to the clinic today. But since the wait had been longer than she’d expected it to be, she would just have to be content to know that, from a physician’s perspective, the baby boy appeared to be healthy.
Of course, a more thorough exam might reveal otherwise, so she still felt a twinge of uncertainty.
She knew that Max would see reason eventually and come to the conclusion that an appointment for a well-baby checkup was necessary. But that only made Kirsten think about immunizations, a subject Courtney had never even broached.
And that was another reason she’d insisted that Max try to find Courtney and quiz her about those kinds of details. Of course, her insistence had been her first misstep. But old habits were hard to break. They were both adults now, and she really needed to remember not to push Max too hard, not to mother him.
He’d gotten tired of answering to his big sister about every little thing in his life, which she hoped was due to maturity rather than stubbornness. So he’d refused to look for Courtney, claiming that he could take care of the baby on his own.
Kirsten had her doubts, though. And that was why she’d snuck out to see a doctor while Max was job hunting. She knew he’d be upset if he learned that she’d taken on a parental role with the child and that he would accuse her of interfering and running his life again.
Of course that shouldn’t surprise her. He’d been rebelling against her advice and instructions since he’d been a teenager. But this was different. Surely he would see that, wouldn’t he?
When it came to the baby’s health and welfare, he needed to put the past behind him and listen for a change.
As Kirsten reached the front door of her house, she dug in her purse for her keys, then she let herself inside.
“Are you ready for a bottle?” she asked Anthony, as she left the diaper bag in the entryway. The baby had been eating every three to four hours, so she figured he would be hungry soon.
Once in the living room, she put his blue shawl on the carpeted floor, then laid him down. “I’ll be back in a minute, precious.”
Anthony started to fuss, so she hurried to the kitchen and fixed him a bottle out of powdered formula and purified water.
She wished she had more experience with babies, that she’d done some babysitting as a teenager, but she was completely out of her league with that sort of thing.
The first couple days were hard, with her and Max learning through trial and error, but they were both finally catching on. In fact, she was really enjoying having a baby in the house. It made her wonder what it would be like to have a family of her own someday.
After carrying the bottle back to the living room, she picked up Anthony and settled into the overstuffed chair near the window. As she placed the nipple to his lips, he eagerly latched on, sucking and gulping as though he was starving.
Actually, now that she thought about it, he did have a hearty appetite, and that was definitely a sign of health. But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t try to sneak him back to the clinic again the next time Max would be gone for a couple hours. Hopefully, her car would be out of the shop by then, and she wouldn’t have to ride the city bus, which had taken up way too much time.
Thank goodness she’d returned to the house before Max did.
At least she’d gotten a physician to at least take a quick look at the baby, even if it wasn’t what you’d call a real exam.
She couldn’t believe that she’d actually stopped a doctor in the parking lot today and asked him to look at Anthony. She’d been so anxious—and thinking with her heart instead of her head, which she was prone to do.
But then the handsome physician with surfer-blond hair and soulful blue eyes had looked at her as if they’d met somewhere before, and she’d been knocked off balance. There was no way they’d ever crossed paths. She would have definitely remembered a gorgeous hunk like him.
Looking back, she wished she would have asked his name, but she hadn’t been thinking straight.
In fact, he’d probably thought she was crazy, which was too bad. It would have been nice to have put her best foot forward when meeting the handsome orthopedic surgeon, a man who’d been exceptionally kind to her. After all, he hadn’t needed to take time to talk to her, but he had. He’d even reached out and caressed Anthony’s little cheek, right there in the parking lot.
Too bad she’d had a bus to catch so she would beat her brother home.
As Anthony guzzled down his bottle, Kirsten stopped him long enough to get a burp
