stable before she can think about caring for the baby.â
The nerves in my back fisted. âIs there any record of the babyâs father?â
âHeâs listed as unknown.â
âHow long will my sister be unconscious?â
âUntil morning. Sheâs heavily sedated.â
At least one of us would get a good nightâs sleep. âOkay.â
âDo you know if she has any drug allergies?â
âShe doesnât have any that I know of. As I remember, she responded well to her meds before. The trick will be to keep her on them.â
âRight.â He clicked his pen closed and popped it in his front pocket. âWhen she wakes, we can figure out whatâs next.â
âOkay.â
âAre you going to see your niece?â
A sigh shuddered through me. I didnât want to see her. I didnât want this nightmare to be real. âYes.â
I thanked the doctor again and then headed into the hallway. The buzz of machines, the hum of the overhead lights, and the rattle of a gurney swirled around me as I stood frozen. What the hell was I going to do?
The friendly nurse from the nursesâ station approached me carefully. âYouâve seen your sister?â
With effort, I shifted my attention to her and tried to smile. âYes. Sheâs sleeping.â
âThatâs for the best. Dr. Reed is very good. All the nurses think a lot of him.â
âGood. My sister is going to need the A-Team and then some. Whereâs the nursery?â
âLet me show you the way.â
As tempting as it was to run screaming from the building, I followed. When we arrived at the large glass window, I scanned the couple of dozen bassinets. Immediately, I shifted focus from blue blankets to pink, but I couldnât pick my own flesh and blood out of a crowd.
âSheâs on the end,â the nurse said.
I moved along the glass wall until I stood in front of the last bassinet on the end. The baby was pink, round-faced, and crying. Judging by her balled fists and the extra red in her cheeks, she was furious. âWhatâs wrong with her?â
âSheâs hungry. And from what the nurse told me she likes to be held.â
High maintenance. Figures. âIs anyone going to feed her?â
âWould you like to?â
That was her motherâs job, not mine. My grip tightened on my leather purse strap. âIâve never fed a baby before. What if I make a mistake?â
âItâs not hard. I can get a nurse to show you.â
I scrambled for a decent excuse to get out of this. I wanted to run back to the country and worry about place settings, caterers, and polished wineglasses.
âYou should learn.â She dropped her voice a notch. âIâve treated patients like your sister before. They donât just pop back after a few pills. Itâs going to take her some time and this baby is going to need someone who is stable to take care of her.â
That startled a laugh. âAnd who says Iâm all that stable? I feel like Iâm going a little insane right now.â
A sad smile curled the edges of her lips. âThat sounds pretty normal to me. Only a crazy person wouldnât be worried right now.â
Standing here with this stranger, it was easy to open up and be honest about what Iâd denied for years. âThe women in my family have a history of mental illness. My mother was ill most of my life and Janetâs been ill since she was a teenager.â
âWhat about you?â
I stepped back from the glass. âI was once insane enough to think I could help them both. Now I know better. Whatever I do for Janet, sheâll find a way to undo it. Itâs always a matter of time.â
âWant to hold the baby?â
I looked at the babyâs little clenched fists. Giving her a bottle would make her feel better now, but in the long run, I knew she was screwed if she stayed with