AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Jenna’s lips twisted. “Yeah. About that. I’m the proud recipient of a red brick.”
Cliff shook his head. “You’ll have to give me more of a clue than that to figure out what the hell you’re talking about.”
“I was backing out of my driveway when a brick blasted through my windshield and landed in the passenger seat.” Jenna reached out and shook her sister gently. “Brittany, wake up, sweetie.”
Her sister moaned and pushed Jenna’s hand away.
“Wake up, Brittany,” Jenna called out softly. “You’re having a bad dream. The only way to escape is to wake up. Come on, sweetie, you can do it.”
“What do you mean, you’re the recipient of a brick?” Cliff touched her arm, forcing her to look his way.
Her mouth tightened. “Someone threw a brick at my car. It crashed through the windshield and landed in the passenger seat.”
“What?” Brittany said, her voice little more than a croak. “What happened?”
“Nothing for you to worry about,” Jenna reassured her sister.
Brittany’s eyes opened, and she squinted up at her sister. “Someone threw a brick at your car?”
Jenna gave her sister a tight smile. “I’m fine. Not hurt.”
“But someone threw a brick at your car.” Brittany’s brow dipped low. “Why? You didn’t do anything.”
“I don’t know.” Jenna stroked her sister’s arm. “What I do know is that I’m here with you. Relax.”
Her sister looked up at Jenna, her worried gaze hopeful. “Have you—”
“—found Baby Blakely?” Jenna shook her head. “Not yet. But we will.”
“I should’ve filled out her name on her birth certificate already,” Brittany said. “She deserves an official name.”
“You’ll have that opportunity when we bring her back to you,” Jenna assured her, straightening the sheets around her sister. “You should concentrate on your own recovery. You’ll need all your strength and stamina when she’s home and keeping you up all night with feedings and diaper changes. Babies are a lot of work.”
Brittany nodded. “That’s what Larry said when he tried to convince me to give her up for adoption. He said he knew an agency that specialized in placing babies in good homes. He could do all the groundwork.” She snorted. “All I had to do was deliver a healthy baby. He’d do the rest. He didn’t give a rat’s ass about her, or me, for that matter. And the thing is, I feel sorry for his wife and children. That man’s fooling around on her, and she doesn’t know.”
A soft knock sounded on the door, and Nurse Smalls poked her head in. “Oh, good, you’re awake.” She backed in, carrying a tray. “Thought you might be hungry since you didn’t eat last night.” She laid the tray on the rolling table and pushed it toward the bed.
Cliff and Jenna stepped back.
The nurse raised the head of the bed so that Brittany was sitting up and moved the table into position over her lap. “There.” She walked around the bed to check the IV. “What’s your pain level this morning?”
Brittany frowned. “Maybe a four. Mostly sore.” She touched the bruise next to her eye and winced.
“That’s to be expected. Do you need anything for the pain?” Nurse Smalls asked.
Brittany shook her head. “No. I don’t like how groggy it makes me. I can handle it for now.”
“Don’t think you have to be a hero,” the nurse said with a smile. “At the very least, you might consider a mild pain reliever like one you’d take for a headache.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Brittany said.
“Then I’ll get out of your hair while you eat.” She turned to Jenna and Cliff. “The hospital cafeteria is pretty good if you’d like to grab a bite.”
“Not for me,” Jenna said.
“I’m good,” Cliff seconded. He was hungry but wouldn’t leave Jenna and Brittany for too long. “I could use a cup of coffee. Where can I get a good cup of coffee on this floor?”
Nurse Smalls smiled. “Skip the vending machine. We have a coffeemaker in the waiting room near the elevator. I just made a fresh pot. I’d bring you some, but I have more patients to feed first.” She left the room with a smile.
