At the Corner of King Street by Mary Ellen Taylor Read Free Book Online

stable before she can think about caring for the baby.”
    The nerves in my back fisted. “Is there any record of the baby’s father?”
    â€œHe’s listed as unknown.”
    â€œHow long will my sister be unconscious?”
    â€œUntil morning. She’s heavily sedated.”
    At least one of us would get a good night’s sleep. “Okay.”
    â€œDo you know if she has any drug allergies?”
    â€œShe doesn’t 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€œRight.” He clicked his pen closed and popped it in his front pocket. “When she wakes, we can figure out what’s next.”
    â€œOkay.”
    â€œAre you going to see your niece?”
    A sigh shuddered through me. I didn’t want to see her. I didn’t want this nightmare to be real. “Yes.”
    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 nurses’ station approached me carefully. “You’ve seen your sister?”
    With effort, I shifted my attention to her and tried to smile. “Yes. She’s sleeping.”
    â€œThat’s for the best. Dr. Reed is very good. All the nurses think a lot of him.”
    â€œGood. My sister is going to need the A-Team and then some. Where’s the nursery?”
    â€œLet me show you the way.”
    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 couldn’t pick my own flesh and blood out of a crowd.
    â€œShe’s on the end,” 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. “What’s wrong with her?”
    â€œShe’s hungry. And from what the nurse told me she likes to be held.”
    High maintenance. Figures. “Is anyone going to feed her?”
    â€œWould you like to?”
    That was her mother’s job, not mine. My grip tightened on my leather purse strap. “I’ve never fed a baby before. What if I make a mistake?”
    â€œIt’s not hard. I can get a nurse to show you.”
    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.
    â€œYou should learn.” She dropped her voice a notch. “I’ve treated patients like your sister before. They don’t just pop back after a few pills. It’s going to take her some time and this baby is going to need someone who is stable to take care of her.”
    That startled a laugh. “And who says I’m all that stable? I feel like I’m going a little insane right now.”
    A sad smile curled the edges of her lips. “That sounds pretty normal to me. Only a crazy person wouldn’t be worried right now.”
    Standing here with this stranger, it was easy to open up and be honest about what I’d denied for years. “The women in my family have a history of mental illness. My mother was ill most of my life and Janet’s been ill since she was a teenager.”
    â€œWhat about you?”
    I stepped back from the glass. “I was once insane enough to think I could help them both. Now I know better. Whatever I do for Janet, she’ll find a way to undo it. It’s always a matter of time.”
    â€œWant to hold the baby?”
    I looked at the baby’s 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