Emergency: Parents Needed by Jessica Matthews Read Free Book Online

relationship. Maggie should be able to accomplish the same.
    The more she thought, the more she realized that in spite of her reluctance to help him with Breanna she wanted to meet the same Joe Donatelli who Dee Delacourt had obviously loved.
     
    At seven o’clock that evening, Joe gratefully sank into the rocking chair as he fed Breanna her bedtime bottle of formula. The little girl had been fed her nighttime snack, bathed, and was now resting in his lap as she clutched her bunny. Joe hoped she’d exhausted herself to the point where she’d sleep all night because he certainly would if he got the chance.
    His day hadn’t been tiring in a physical sense, but he’d definitely been through an emotional wringer. It had been tough to visit Dee’s apartment, but facing the memories of his old friend had been easy compared to handling Breanna.
    “Tired?” Maggie asked as she sat in the recliner next to his chair and sipped at a cup of coffee.
    “I’m beyond tired,” he admitted, rubbing his bristled face with one hand, careful to slow his movements so as not to startle Breanna out of her doze. “I feel like I’m at least twice my age.” At thirty, he’d considered himself in peak form, but that had been before Breanna had entered his life.
    “You’ll adjust,” she predicted. “If my brothers could make the transformation to parenthood, so can you.”
    He purposely didn’t point out that her brothers hadn’t managed that feat on their own either. They’d had wives and the support of their families behind them. “If you say so. Regardless, I’ve officially decided it’s less stressful to work a thirty-six-hour shift than look after a baby.”
    “It’ll get better.”
    He glanced at Maggie. “When?”
    She smiled. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but my crystal ball went the way of my time machine.”
    “I’ll settle for a ballpark figure.”
    “How long does it take you to adjust to a new routine? A new house, new job, new friends? I’m guessing several weeks, minimum.”
    He hadn’t thought of Breanna’s situation in those terms and he should have. He’d grown up in foster-care and knew what it was like to be moved into a new home for reasons he often hadn’t understood other than he couldn’t stay where he’d been. Eventually, after he’d learned it didn’t pay to get too cozy or too comfortable in any given residence because it didn’t last, he began to consider his current placement as little more than a hotel.
    “Of course, she’s a baby, so she may make the transition sooner,” she offered. “It’s difficult to say.”
    “You’re a ray of sunshine,” he said dryly.
    “That’s what I’m here for,” she said lightly. “To spread sunshine and good cheer.”
    Her smile brightened his spirits. “Speaking of sunshine, I don’t want to think how this day would have gone if notfor you. We wouldn’t have accomplished a fraction of the things we did. It wouldn’t surprise me if we’d still be at Hannah’s, trying to get Breanna in my truck.”
    Breanna hadn’t wanted to leave Hannah’s place, and rightly so. Hannah was a familiar face in a now unfamiliar world and little Bee didn’t want any part of her new life. Maggie, however, had taken charge. She’d matter-of-factly installed Breanna in the car seat and ignored her tantrum during the drive across town. Then, when they’d arrived at his house and he’d tried to carry her inside, Breanna had screamed blue murder until Maggie had simply said her name in the tone a schoolteacher used on an unruly pupil. The little girl had instantly quieted.
    “Oh, you’d have managed,” she said lightly.
    “I don’t see how. And you kept her busy while I unloaded the furniture and assembled her crib.” Even now, hours later, he could visualize the homey scene. Father working his magic with a screwdriver to assemble furniture while Mother and Baby watched, but he knew this picture’s fairy-tale qualities were deceptive. Nothing