Chapter 12 #2
Since when did Shelby babysit the twins? His mind tried to play catch up. A creaking drawer in the kitchen made him peer over his shoulder toward Brooke. She snatched two forks out of it and walked them over to the table. She appeared seemingly unfazed by his conversations with his ex-girlfriend.
“I’m with Brooke. She’s a pediatrician. Why don’t I have you talk to her? She would be better equipped to help you than me.”
“Oh, umm. I guess—I mean you’re a doctor too, I’d rather talk to you.”
Logan ignored her and held the phone against his chest. “Lily has a fever. Shelby is babysitting. Do you mind talking to her for a minute to evaluate how bad it is?”
Brooke finished setting two place settings on the table.
“Sure.” She weaved around the table as she motioned for him to give her the phone. “I’ll talk to her.”
He halved the distance to her. “Thanks.” Logan slipped the phone into her hand. “I appreciate it.”
“No problem.” She squeezed his bicep and smiled. Then she placed the phone to her ear. “Shelby, this is Brooke.”
Then she stepped away and walked over to the windows which overlooked the city and river. He only heard her end of the conversation as she asked a few questions. Logan didn’t know what to do, so he paced the length of the living room while he waited.
“Okay, we’ll come right now. Don’t worry, babies get fevers a lot and most of the time it isn’t serious.
” She found his gaze and continued, “It’s no trouble.
We’re coming. See you soon.” Then she hung up and held his phone out to him.
He strode to her and snagged his phone back.
“Shelby seemed hysterical about the whole thing. I think Lily is fine, but I told her we would go over right now to help. I instructed her to give Lily some baby Tylenol, and we’ll be there soon to relieve her. ”
“Are you sure?” He raised an eyebrow. “I can go by myself.”
“Did you not want me there?” Her voice was calm and even. But her gaze roamed over him.
“Of course I want you there.” Logan rubbed the back of his neck. “But I also know you’ve had a long day and driving an hour roundtrip wasn’t on your to do list tonight.”
“I don’t mind.” She wrung her hands together. “What’s the point of being a pediatrician if I don’t make house calls for the family? Am I right?”
He scooped her up into a tight hug then kissed her. “You’re the best.” He smiled down at her.
“I know,” she laughed. “But I don’t mind hearing you say it out loud.”
They quickly repacked up their dinner and took it with them with the hope they would have a chance to eat it at Danielle’s. Thirty minutes later, they pulled up. Logan killed the engine.
“I still don’t know why anyone isn’t picking up their phones.” He had tried calling both his parents, Danielle and Michael multiple times on the drive there. “And my parents never go anywhere so I have no idea what’s going on with any of them.”
Brooke cupped his elbow. “It’s fine.” She unbuckled her seatbelt. “We’re here. Let’s go relieve Shelby, and I can figure out what’s wrong with Lily.”
With heavy-laden steps, Brooke followed Logan up the path to his sister’s house.
Perspiration gathered on her brow despite the cold.
She reminded herself she had nothing to worry about.
Logan liked her, but a part of her worried about him seeing Shelby again.
Often people don’t know what they want until they are fully confronted with it. Desire was tricky like that.
Logan tapped lightly on the door. Then he rubbed the back of his neck with one hand.
The guy looked anxious. He double checked the front of his shirt then smoothed it out.
Brooke tried to fight the sinking feeling deep in her gut.
This had better not be their end when they had only begun.
But something told her to brace herself for the worst.
A minute later, the door swung open and revealed Shelby with a screaming Lily on her hip. “She’s hysterical.” She bounced the infant up and down, but Lily only screamed louder.
“Where’s Amelia?” Logan peered past Shelby into the house.
“Luckily,” Shelby continued to bounce up and down, “Amelia is still asleep in her crib.”
“Here.” Brooke opened her arms to take the infant from Shelby. “Let me have her.”
Shelby shoved Lily into her hands. Then she pushed loosened hair with the heel of her hand out of her eyes. Some had fallen from the thorny knot on top of her head.
“There, there,” Brooke whispered. She leaned her forehead against Lily’s own. “Her temperature is high. What time did you give her the fever reducer medication?”
“Right after I called.” Shelby sighed and put a hand on her hip. “So, it’s been maybe thirty minutes?”
Brooke met Shelby’s gaze. “Hey,” she shifted the screaming infant from one hip to her other then squeezed her bicep. “You did great.”
Then Shelby dropped her face into her palms and cried. Logan’s eyes widened then shot Brooke a what do we do glance. She nudged her head toward Shelby and tried to convey silently for him to comfort her.
“Come on,” Logan finally said. “Let’s go back into the living room. You can grab your things and then Brooke and I will take it from here. Any luck in getting a hold of Danielle and Michael?” He gently steered the sobbing Shelby down the hallway.
Brooke closed the front door with her foot then spoke calmly to Lily as she slowly meandered down the hallway toward where they disappeared. When she entered the living room, she stalled in place. Shelby wept in Logan’s arms. He gently patted her back.
They locked eyes over the top of Shelby’s head.
He mouthed, “I’m sorry. I don’t know what to do.”
Shelby clung to his shirt. The fabric twisted against her grip. “I’m terrible at this,” she wailed.
“No, you aren’t.” Logan patted her back some more. He rolled his eyes at Brooke, but it didn’t help. The familiar feeling of rejection eked back into Brooke’s being, while Logan said, “I need to try my sister again.” He plunged his hand into his pocket and loosened their embrace.
Lily continued to cry in Brooke’s arms. “Where’s the bedroom and bathroom the babies use?” Brooke asked while her heart broke a little.
She wondered why she had opened her heart to Logan when it clearly belonged to Shelby.
Logan pointed. “Down the hallway, you can’t miss it.”
Without hesitating, Brooke wandered down the hallway to the bathroom.
Luckily, she found the tub had a baby seat still inside.
First, she double checked Lily’s temperature then checked her ears with the otoscope she’d brought along.
Sure enough, Lily had a double ear infection.
She stripped Lily down and filled the tub with cool water to help bring down her temperature.
Then she placed the screaming infant into the baby seat and called the pharmacy for an antibiotic prescription while she crouched down next to the tub.
The medicine would be ready in thirty minutes, and hopefully if they managed to get a hold of Danielle and Michael, they could fetch it on their way home. How long she had been alone with Lily she didn’t know.
Then Logan strode into the bathroom. “Everything okay?” He opened a cupboard in the bathroom and removed a hooded towel.
Lily continued to scream.
“Double ear infection, poor thing.” Brooke pulled up the latch to let the water drain. “I called in the prescription. Any luck with your sister?”
“She finally called back.” He came closer with the towel in his arms. “And is en route home and about a half hour away.”
“Can you get her to pick up the prescription I called in on her way back?”
“Sure.” He came closer with the towel in his arms for Lily.
“And Shelby?” Brooke lifted Lily out of the tub and placed her in the towel that Logan held out for her. “Is she still here?” She kept her gaze on Lily and avoided eye contact with him.
He swaddled Lily tightly in the towel. “Oh, she’s still here. She’s refusing to leave even though I told her to go.”
“Wonderful,” Brooke said through a crooked smile. “This is going to be interesting.”
Lily calmed down in Logan’s arms. He leaned in closer to her, kissed her on the forehead and whispered softly, “They are coming baby girl. I promise.” Then he buried Lily against his chest. Her eyelids fluttered open then closed a few times before she finally succumbed to sleep.
The scene made Brooke’s insides melt. For a moment, she forgot about Shelby. This guy knew the way to a woman’s heart.
“She,” Brooke stroked the top of her curly hair and lowered her voice, “has to be in so much pain. I’m glad she fell asleep.”
“Me too.” Logan smiled back at Brooke then kissed her on the cheek. “Thanks for tonight.”
“Anytime.” Heat flooded to her core.
“Not to be the bearer of bad news but this little one doesn’t even have a diaper on.” Logan’s eyes widened. “How do we get her diapered and changed without waking her up?”
“Is she going to be okay?” Shelby’s voice broke the spell of tranquility as she popped her head into the bathroom.
Lily let out a shriek. “Well, she’s up now.” Brooke stroked Lily’s cheek once.
“I’ll go get her dressed. I know where Danielle keeps some extra clothes and diapers in the closet so we can at least keep one of these babies asleep.” Logan shimmied out of the bathroom, making a wide step around Shelby. “I’ll text Danielle, too, about the medicine.”
“I’ll help,” Shelby announced as she scuttled after him, leaving Brooke alone.
Brooke forced herself to take a settling breath.
Then she wiped up the water that dripped onto the bathroom floor and gathered up Lily’s used pajamas to place in the hamper in the corner of the room.
Once done, she turned off the light and decided to return to the living room to wait.
She figured Logan would return in a few minutes but almost fifteen minutes ticked by with no sign of either Shelby or Logan.
A garage door screeched open and seconds later Danielle burst into the living room from the door off of the garage. Brooke stood and walked toward her, meeting her halfway.
“I have the medicine.” Danielle shook the paper bag in her hand. “Where is Lily?”
Michael trekked in and removed his jacket. “How is she doing? Sorry we ruined your evening by making you come. Apparently, the theater we were in was a big dead zone. Our phones were on roaming, and we didn’t even know it. Plus, Danielle’s parents were with us, what a mess.”
“Yeah, it wasn’t good.” Danielle set the bag down on the sofa and removed her jacket too. “But, where’s Lily?”
Brooke wrung her hands together. “Logan went off to change her. Shelby followed him but that was fifteen minutes ago. I didn’t want to wander around your house looking for them when I don’t know where anything is located.”
Danielle snatched the medicine off the couch and rushed from the room down a hallway Brooke didn’t know.
“So,” Michael rocked back and forth on his heels, “I guess I should go check on that, too.”
“Go, go.” Brooke waved her off as her stomach twisted into a nauseating knot. She imagined Shelby and Logan making out in a dark closet and any second, they would reappear holding hands together. “But please send Logan my way when you find them.”
“I will.” Then Michael disappeared down the same hallway.
Once again, she found herself alone and out of place.
Ten more minutes went by. Brooke wondered what could possibly keep Logan from at least checking on her.
Then she heard the front door open along with some muffled voices then it closed shut.
Footsteps creaked down the hallway and into the living room.
Logan stopped at the threshold into the living room and leaned against the wall. He looked pale and refused to look at her.
“Something happened, didn’t it?” Brooke stated in an even voice as she tried to not spiral.
“Umm.” He scratched his chin then rubbed the back of his neck looking incredibly guilty. “I—I—” he stammered.
Brooke didn’t need him to go on. It was written all over his face. Shelby wanted him back, and now Logan questioned everything, especially them.