Page 30 of Fractured Reunion

This little boy needed her in a way no one else ever had.

Not even Aaron.

Comparing a child’s need for a mother figure wasn’t the same as the bond between husband and wife, but Aaron hadn’t really needed her. Maybe it was his being the oldest sibling, but he always seemed to be in control, taking charge and rarely showing signs of weakness. The day she’d sat him down to explain her most recent fertility testing results proved she’d never have a child, he’d offered up the idea of adoption while texting his colleagues at the hospital about a patient.

And like today, he’d had to leave before things could be resolved. She’d known then that Aaron hadn’t really wanted to adopt. He’d only mentioned it to make her feel better. His focus had been on his career.

His skilled hands had saved countless children’s lives. He was probably the best pediatric cardiac surgeon in the country, but she’d wanted more from him. She’d hoped he’d feel the loss of never having a child together as acutely as she had.

But he hadn’t. He’d moved onto the next task, his next patient, the next crisis, leaving her to realize their marriage was over. He’d thought walking away had been easy for her.

It hadn’t been easy by any stretch of the imagination. But after she’d moved out, he’d agreed to her request for a divorce without an argument.

Whatever. She gave herself a mental shake. Seeing Aaron nonstop over these past two days had drudged up the old anger and resentment. Useless emotions that were not a part of her future.

And not part of Aaron’s future either.

When Joey finally fell asleep, she’d taken advantage of the time to grab coffee and a breakfast sandwich from the cafeteria. She’d half expected to run into Aaron, but she hadn’t. No doubt he was at home, or maybe up on one of the patient care units seeing patients.

She ate the sandwich in record time, then carried her coffee back to Joey’s room. He was still sleeping, zonked from the pain meds, so she curled into the recliner.

She must have dozed herself, despite the caffeine, because she heard a soft voice asking, “Maggie? Are you Maggie Dall?”

“Hmm?” She opened her eyes to find a beautiful woman with long dark hair pulled into a ponytail, big brown eyes, and wearing teddy-bear scrubs hovering in the doorway of Joey’s room. Glancing at the child to make sure he was still sleeping, she nodded and rose from the recliner to meet with the woman she assumed was one of the nurses who worked there. “Yes. I’m Maggie Dall.”

“I’m Krista Monroe, Adam’s wife.” She gestured for Maggie to step outside the room. “Adam suggested I stop in and chat with you while I was on break.”

“Ah, okay.” She was still sleep deprived, so it took her a minute to put the puzzle pieces together. Adam was Aaron’s second oldest brother who was also a pediatrician. She had never met Krista and didn’t know anything about her. “Do you work here? On this floor?”

“I work on six south,” Krista explained. “That unit handles babies up to two years old.”

“I see.” She was at a loss as to what Krista wanted. It would be one thing if she and Aaron were still married, but they weren’t. “That must be challenging. At least older kids can tell you when something hurts.”

“Very challenging, but I love it.” Krista smiled. “That’s one of the reasons I wanted to stop by.”

“Oh?” Maggie tried to follow her line of thought. “If you’re worried about Joey Johnson, there’s no need. He’s doing much better today.”

“I understand he lost his mother in the bus crash,” Krista said. “And that you’re interested in being his foster parent.”

For a moment, she was struck by a flash of annoyance. Did the whole hospital know about her? Then she realized Krista was here because Aaron had spoken to Adam. She managed a smile. “Yes, that’s true. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll be able to make that happen. For one thing, Joey’s biological father wants custody. Besides, I haven’t moved back to Milwaukee yet, so I don’t know that the family court judge would agree to providing me temporary guardianship.”

“His dad, huh?” Krista frowned. “Is he able to care for Joey?”

“That’s the million-dollar question,” Maggie said with a sigh. “I have my not-so-favorable opinion as he’s never been involved in Joey’s life, not even in making child-care payments to Joey’s mother. Yet I’m aware that judges often lean toward keeping families together.” It pained her to speak the truth. “Unless Oliver Chism has done something terrible, I suspect he has a good chance of getting custody of his son.”

“I see.” Krista pursed her lips. “One good thing about your situation is that it takes time to work through the legal system. I think the court will err on the side of caution when it comes to placing a child who recently had surgery with a man who’s never been a part of his life.”

She wanted to hug Krista for saying that. “I would like to think so too.”

“I have already been approved as a foster parent,” Krista said. “Adam and I can take Joey in while the process plays out.”

“You are?” Maggie was shocked to hear it. Then she remembered Aaron saying something about his brother Adam and a safe haven baby. She had told him she planned to apply to be Joey’s foster mother, yet it was humbling to know Krista was here offering to help. “I—don’t know what to say. That’s very nice of you and would be very helpful as far as making sure Joey is placed with good people who will care about him.”

“Exactly,” Krista agreed. “We would be happy to welcome Joey into our home.”

It was the perfect solution, but Maggie couldn’t seem to grasp the opportunity with both hands. Maybe it was selfish of her, but she wanted to be Joey’s foster mother.

And possibly his permanent mother, if Chism wasn’t Joey’s biological father.

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