The Holiday Triplets by Jacqueline Diamond Read Free Book Online Page B

things organized. Some of our hospital volunteers are going to be relieving you for a few hoursa day for the next few weeks. Do you have the schedule I gave you?”
    The girl waved a sheaf of papers. “It’s in here somewhere with all the hospital forms… I think. Otherwise, I have no idea where I put it.”
    Irritation surged inside Sam. She’d put a lot of effort into helping Candy. The least the girl could do was hang on to her paperwork.
    That wasn’t fair. Candy’s system must be flooded with hormones and she faced a tremendous amount of adjusting. Regretting her moment of impatience, Sam asked, “Do you want me to come by tonight?”
    â€œNo, thanks,” Jon said. “A bunch of my friends will be coming over to play with them.”
    That didn’t sound like a good idea. “If you’ll check the discharge instructions, you’ll see that newborns are very vulnerable to infection. Especially during flu season, we recommend that only family interact with them.”
    He drew himself up, offended. “My friends aren’t infected with anything.”
    Sam reminded herself that these babies belonged to their parents now. She had to let them go. “Just be careful.”
    The young man appeared to teeter on the edge of arguing, but Candy’s warning glance apparently dissuaded him. “Okay, maybe just a few friends. And they’ll wash their hands and wear those paper masks the nurse gave us for visitors.”
    He was showing better judgment already, Samantha reflected. Lots of new parents were young and inexperienced. “You’ll do fine. I’ll see them for their checkup on Friday, okay?”
    Candy nodded and, at her signal, a volunteer pushed the elevator call button. While they waited, Sam gazed down at the little ones. She sympathized with Connie asthe underdog, but Courtney’s intense expression gave the impression of a little mother hen in the making.
    Of the trio, Colin had the strongest grip on Sam’s finger and held her gaze for a fraction of a second longer. She’d have sworn he recognized her, but then, why shouldn’t he? She’d spent a lot of time around the babies since their birth.
    But they weren’t hers anymore. Never had been, really.
    Then, with the whisper of wheels and the brush of footsteps, they were gone, the double doors closing out her last glimpse of the group.
    Samantha stood clenching and unclenching her fists, feeling ridiculously bereft.
    Â 
    M ARK FOLDED AWAY HIS CELL phone. There went a perfectly good Saturday afternoon golf game. Tony, the hospital attorney had cancelled to spend the day with his fiancée, planning their wedding. Earlier, Jared Sellers had begged off in order to fill in for an ailing colleague who was signed up to perform newborn hearing and vision screenings at a health fair.
    An afternoon on the links would have provided a welcome release after the week’s pressures. Mark supposed he could show up at the course and join some random group, but once strangers found out he was a doctor, they tended to interrupt his concentration asking for medical advice.
    Rounding a corner in the hospital hallway, he paused at the sight of Samantha, shoulders slumped and strands of hair escaping her ponytail. Although she stood in front of the elevator, neither button was lit.
    The events of this week obviously weighed on her. He wished she didn’t have to deal with that business about the counseling clinic on top of her medical issues.
    When he started forward, his footsteps rang out. At the sound, Sam’s spine straightened.
    Mark drew alongside. “Up or down?”
    Her puzzled glance resolved into a look of understanding as she eyed the buttons. “Down.” He pressed.
    â€œDon’t tell me you’re done for the day,” she said. “So early? Oh, wait! Golf with Tony, right?”
    â€œHe cancelled. Sellers, too.”
    â€œPoor Mark.