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 seeingShelby 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 awhat do we doglance. 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 takeit 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.
