Page 31 of Reunion at Mistletoe Lodge
“Please, it’s Barb,” Barb told him with a shy smile.
“Please call me Daven,” Daven said. “Now, as much as I’d love to stay, duty calls.” He turned to the nurse to give her instructions before leaving.
Liam was furious by the time Doctor Charmer left.
“Would you mind just keeping an eye on Charlotte for a minute?” Barb asked the nurse. “I have to go to the bathroom.”
“Of course.” The nurse nodded as Barb turned and left the room. She took the needle from Charlotte's little hand and put a band-aid on it before lifting her from the crib. She turned to Liam. “You should tell Miss Gardener how you feel about her. Love is precious, and life is not guaranteed for anyone, so you need to grab every moment of joy you can.”
“Here.” The nurse gave Charlotte one last cuddle before handing her to Liam. “It’s clear you love your little girl and her mother. If you don’t tell her, you’re going to lose them.”
“She’s not…” Liam tried to deny it, but the nurse raised her eyebrows.
“Of course not.” She smiled at Liam. “I’ll be at the nurse's station when you’re ready to leave.”
Charlotte's little hands touched his face as she gurgled, looking a lot better than she did when they’d arrived in the early hours of the morning.
“Where did the nurse go?” Barb rushed back into the room, nearly ripping Charlotte from his arms. “I asked her to look after Charlotte.” Her voice was laced with annoyance. “Sorry that you had to be burdened with it.”
Liam felt like she’d ripped his heart out when Barb grabbed Charlotte, and for a few seconds, he stood staring at Barb, flabbergasted, before a surge of red-hot anger seeped through him. “I can assure you it wasnota burden. After all, she’smyfamily, too,” he snapped.
Barb’s eyes widened as she stared at him. “Thank you,” was all she said, packing up Charlotte's bag, which Liam had taken whenit was ready.
“I’ll go see if our car is here yet while you finish off with the nurse,” Liam said before stalking out of the room without waiting for her to reply.
As he stepped out of the hospital, a man in a black suit walked toward him. “Mr. Shields?”
“Yes?” Liam nodded.
“I’m here to take you and Miss Gardener back to Mistletoe Lodge,” the man told him.
“Thank you. Miss Gardener will be here shortly,” Liam told him.
He’d just climbed into the car when Barb walked out, and his heart jolted as he watched her cradling Charlotte as they walked toward the car.
“Hello, Garth,” Barb greeted the driver. “Thank you for coming to fetch us.”
“It’s a pleasure, Miss Gardener,” Garth told her. “We’re all worried about little Charlotte.”
Barb slid into the back seat with her daughter. “She’s much better, Garth. Do you think you could stop at a drug store as I need to get her prescription?”
“Of course.” Garth nodded, closing the door and going to climb into the driver's seat.
Ten minutes later, they pulled up in front of a drugstore. “Would you like me to go in for you, Miss Gardner?”
“No,” Barb answered. “I’ll do it. I have some other things I need to get.” She surprised Liam when she turned to him. “I don’t want to take Charlotte into the cold again. Would you mind holding her?”
Liam was so shocked he didn’t trust his voice. He nodded and took the now sleeping baby into his arms as Garth helped Barb climb out of the car. Barb had been gone for five minutes when Liam’s phone buzzed.
“Hello?” His voice was low as he spoke intothe phone.
“What’s up with you?” Patrick asked him.
“I’ve got Charlotte, who's sleeping,” Liam explained. “Barb went into the drug store.”
“Ah,” Patrick acknowledged. “Does this mean you’re on your way back to the lodge?”
“Yes,” Liam replied. “Is everything alright?”
