Emergency: Parents Needed by Jessica Matthews Read Free Book Online Page A

lasted for ever. Not even cozy little family moments like the one he was now experiencing.
    “I didn’t do anything more than watch her play with her toys,” she answered.
    “Don’t be so modest.”
    “OK, I’ll take full credit for Breanna occupying herself.” She stifled a yawn.
    “Tired?” he asked.
    “A little,” she admitted.
    “Busy night last night?” he asked, wishing he’d been part of whatever action they’d had.
    “Not too bad. Our last call came in at midnight and after that, nothing.”
    “Until you got up early to make my soup.”
    “About that…You should have told the captain what was going on,” she chided.
    “Probably,” he agreed. “But you wouldn’t have landed on my doorstep with lunch in hand, would you?”
    She smiled. “Probably not.” She peered at Breanna’s face. “I think she’s asleep. Why don’t you try putting her in her crib?”
    Unfortunately, Maggie’s suggestion didn’t go smoothly. As he laid Breanna onto the mattress, the little girl instantly woke and began crying. Nothing he did consoled her as she kicked out in her frustration.
    Joe wanted to do the same. So much for hoping tonight would be different. Fortunately, the answer to his problems stood only a few feet away.
    “What now?” he asked, his voice ragged as he hoisted Breanna out of her bed and onto his hip.
    Maggie stared at the two standing before her, one weary, one unhappy. At that moment, she didn’t know who tugged on her heartstrings more—the innocent whose life had been torn apart so easily by fate or the man who appeared so clearly powerless in the present circumstances. Tears of helplessness formed in her eyes, but she blinked them away. She had to remain strong and confident, not just for herself and for this little girl, but also for Joe. He was a man who thrived on being in control and at the moment he was fighting a losing battle against his feelings of inadequacy.
    She held out her arms. “Let me have her.”
    He passed Breanna to her, but as he did so she saw the bleakness in his eyes and the expression of a man who knew he was completely out of his depth. Joe would need his confidence bolstered before she went home, but at the moment he had to wait his turn.
    Maggie soothed the little one against her shoulder with every song she remembered. Fifteen minutes later, the cries were fading to hiccups.
    She nuzzled Breanna’s temple and inhaled her sweet babyscent as she told herself to remain detached. She simply had to rein in her feelings and not let them overrule her good sense. If she didn’t, she’d be destroyed when she walked away. She could never lose sight of the fact that caring for Breanna was only a job, and a temporary one at that…
    “Is she asleep?” she asked Joe.
    He peeked. “Yeah. She’s worn herself out.”
    Maggie was certain she appeared as haggard as Joe did. She certainly felt it. “I’ll put her to bed, then.”
    As soon as Maggie returned from the bedroom, Joe was waiting for her. “I can’t do this,” he said flatly.
    She understood completely. “Of course you can. She may be young, but she knows her mother isn’t here. You just have to be patient until she learns that you are the stable factor in her life.”
    He shook his head. “No. I can’t do it.” He held out his hands. “Look at me. I’m shaking. If you hadn’t been here—”
    “But I was, Joe. Everything turned out fine.”
    “Right, now it did, but what about next time? I don’t have what it takes.”
    “You’re only lacking experience,” she pointed out. “As you reminded me earlier today, my nieces and nephews have given me an advantage, but dealing with them as their aunt isn’t the same as being a parent. I can spoil them rotten and then hand them back to my brothers.”
    “What about your boyfriend’s kids?”
    He would have to mention them. Thinking of Zach and Tyler, she added, “OK, so I took on a surrogate mother role for a while. It wasn’t quite the