Page 63 of Daddy's Little Mama Bear

“I want to help. But if you really want to, you can.” He got out of the car and walked around before opening her door.

“Give me a second and I’ll get her out of her car seat,” Mac said.

She watched him move with ease as he unbuckled everything and got the toddler out of the car. Eleanor snuggled into his chest and her heart melted.

“Come on,” Mac said. “Do you want to hold her?”

She did, but she also didn’t want to take her from his arms. Eleanor looked so comfortable and relaxed.

“You don’t need to come in. It’ll just be a quick check up,” Janie said before they started to walk.

“Nope,” he replied. “I’m coming in.”

She rolled her eyes and they walked towards the entrance of the building. Eleanor was pretty good with doctors right now. Which Janie was grateful for. She had seen several kids screaming and crying in the waiting room.

“How can I help you?” the lady at the desk asked. “Hello, Miss Eleanor.” Eleanor waved at the lady before putting her head back on Mac’s chest.

“We have an appointment with Doctor Harold Smith for her,” Janie said.

“Just sign right here and I’ll let them know you’re here. And who is this fine young man holding Eleanor?”

“I’m her dad,” Mac replied before Janie could. Janie and the lady’s eyebrows went up. Did he really just say he was Eleanor’s dad?

“Well. Happy to see you coming to the doctor's appointments now,” the lady said. “Have a seat and they’ll call you shortly.”

They walked towards the waiting room and sat down.

“What was that?” Janie asked.

“Well, I plan on being her dad,” he said as he looked at her. “Too much right now?”

She nodded her head. They weren’t even together yet. Were they ever going to be together?

“Is Harold Smith brothers with Mike Smith who works in the ER?” Mac asked. “The one who stitched up Monroe?”

Janie nodded her head. “Yeah, I didn’t even know until Monroe told me about that. Small little town so it makes sense.”

Mac leaned over and kissed her forehead before leaning back in his chair and rubbing Eleanor’s back. This was going to end in heartbreak, for all three of them.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

JANIE

The appointment the other day went surprisingly well. She was worried that Eleanor might cry when she had to leave Mac’s arms, but she was great. It went perfectly.

Until the next night. Eleanor started to cry and wouldn’t stop, no matter what. Janie was at a loss. She wasn’t teething and she felt perfectly fine. Maybe she got something from the waiting room. There were a couple kids in there that looked like they were sick.

It was always a gamble going there any time of the year. Someone was always sick. She had just hoped that Eleanor wouldn’t get anything. They weren’t even there for a long time.

Janie’s phone went off again and she closed her eyes as they filled with tears. Donald had been texting her every day, multiple times a day, since the first one before Mac took them to the doctors. It was wearing down on her.

Donald was begging her to talk to her about something. But she didn’t want to. At first, Janie would reply and say she didn’t want to talk to him but now she wasn’t even replying or reading them. She didn’t have the energy to do that when Eleanor was sick and she had to work.

Janie had messaged her authors saying the edits may be a little delayed since her daughter was possibly sick. She was exhausted and wanted to break down and cry. There was so much to do. Take care of her daughter, work, and make food for both of them.

Eleanor started to scream again and a couple tears streamed down Janie’s face.

“Shhh,” Janie softly said as she walked towards Eleanor. “Everything is going to be okay.”

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