Page 18 of A Mommy for His Daughter

“Daddy!”

Derek went over and sat down next to her. “How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Better,” Mo chirped.

“Monica’s fever has broken this morning,” said Edna the daycare owner as she came into the room.

“Good.”

“You off for the day, Dr. Taylor, or is this just a visit?” Edna asked.

“Just a visit.”

Edna smiled and left the room.

Mo curled up next to him, holding her blanket, completely fascinated by the crazy cartoon that was on the television.

Derek ran his hand over her forehead. It was clammy, but no sign of a fever.

“I’m fine, Daddy,” Mo said, pushing his hand away, annoyed that he was interrupting her show.

So like Vivian.

Everything about Mo reminded him of his late wife. Her personality. Her attitude. Vivian would have loved everything about Mo, and instead of Edna it would have been Vivian taking care of her.

Edna had been helping him take care of Mo since she was born, and she was a warm, loving caretaker, but it wasn’t the same as having a mother. And in that Derek thought he was failing Mo. That he wasn’t enough for her.

He sat next to her and mindlessly watched the cartoon, laughing with her at the parts she thought were funny and wishing he could give her more. But he wasn’t sure that he could ever put his heart in jeopardy like that again.

He was frozen.

It had been five years since Vivian died, and he was lonely, but remembering the agony he’d gone through losing her, he knew he could never do that again. Mo didn’t remember her mother. Didn’t know the pain of losing her. He never wanted to put her through that. He could handle the pain, but he never wanted Mo to feel it.

Mo drifted off to sleep and Derek slid off the couch, helping her lie down and then covering her with the blanket that Vivian had made for her when she was pregnant. The blanket was ratty and worn, but Mo wouldn’t be parted with it and Derek wouldn’t even try.

Edna came into the room and Derek motioned to her that Mo was sleeping. He waved goodbye to her from the door, put on his shoes and strode out into the drizzly afternoon.

He stopped by Sally’s and grabbed a sandwich, and then grabbed one for Evelyn. He didn’t know what she’d like, so he stuck with egg salad just in case she was vegetarian.

He’d been impressed with Evelyn’s performance in helping Christina and her baby. Maybe if she’d been here when Mo was born Vivian would still be here.

He shook his head, because he couldn’t dwell on the what-ifs. Those what-ifs that haunted him nightly.

He rounded the corner to the clinic, and his heart skipped a beat when he saw the town ambulance waiting outside.

He ran into the clinic and saw Nancy looking pale.

“What’s going on?” Derek asked.

“Christina started bleeding. Heavily. Dr. Saunders had to transfuse her, but it’s not stopping. The air ambulance is waiting to take her to Sitka.”

Derek glanced over and saw Tom, looking stunned, holding the baby. He knew that expression all too well.

No. Evelyn has this handled.

They’d been like one being in surgery.

Surgery was not his strong suit. He could get by, but being with Evelyn had made him feel completely at ease. It had been like a beautiful dance, and he couldn’t have done it without her.

“Dr. Taylor…?” Tom said.

Derek knelt down in front of Tom. “It’ll be okay, Tom. Dr. Saunders is a pro.”

There was a commotion from the back and he saw Evelyn helping the paramedics wheel out Christina, who was on oxygen and getting blood.

Derek helped Tom up. “Go with your wife. Take your baby. The nurses in Sitka will help.”

“I’m going with Christina, Tom,” Janet said as Evelyn and the paramedics loaded Christina into the ambulance.

Derek nodded in acknowledgement and Janet took Tom and led him to the back of the vehicle.

Derek walked back to the exam room where not that long ago they had delivered Christina and Tom’s baby. A frank breech that Evelyn had said was “textbook.”

He opened the door and saw the blood on the floor. His stomach twisted in a knot—not because of the sight of it, but because all he could see was Vivian on the floor of their home, his arms around her as he tried in futility to help her, begging her to stay with him.

A life was saved today. Two lives.

A sense of pride overcame him.

It was all thanks to Evelyn.

There had been no tragedy here. There could have been. There might have been. But she had brought hope.

He grabbed a mop, started cleaning up the mess.

Saving lives was all that mattered.

And who will save yours?

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