Page 83 of Single Mom's Daddies
“I liked you better when you were silent.” I get the engine revving.
He shrugs at that. “Most people do. I don’t take it personal. One day, you’ll learn how to do that.”
“No. I don’t think I will.”
21
SAFFRON
The phone rings once.Then again.
As the parent of a child with myriad medical problems, I get telemarketers all the time. Everyone wants to scam the parent of a sick kid. So, I usually take my time checking the caller ID.
But it’s the hospital. “This is Saffron.”
“Saffron, sorry to call at this hour.” It’s the nurse on Ivy’s floor—Danica. I remember her voice. She’s warm, a little sharp, like she’s always trying to move ten steps ahead. But right now, she sounds off. “Ivy’s numbers just spiked. Her blood pressure and glucose levels rose suddenly. We need you here right away. We’re paging the cardiologist and running a full workup to confirm it wasn’t cardiac. But it looks like?—”
I don’t hear the rest. My body’s already moving. “On my way.”
I don’t even remember hanging up. I don’t remember leaving the cottage. I’m halfway to the front of the main house, breath ragged, vision tunneling. But I find them. All three, together in the den.
“Ivy?” Roman asks, low and sharp.
I nod. Or I’m shaking. Can’t tell which. “The hospital called. Something’s wrong. They said her numbers—her pressure, sugar—it spiked. I can’t?—”
“Let’s go,” Victor says.
Roman already has his keys in hand. Nikolai grabs a coat from the hook and wraps it around my shoulders without a word. On the way out the door, Victor flags Mrs. Popovich to watch Mila and Alex. The next few minutes are a blur—doors slamming, engine roaring, leather seats under me and the sound of tires grinding into gravel.
I sit between Victor and Nikolai in the back of the SUV, fists clenched in my lap. “She was fine this morning,” I murmur, more to myself than anyone. “She was smiling. She asked if I’d bring her hair clips from the dollar bin—said she wanted to match Mila.”
Victor reaches for my hand. His palm is warm. “She’ll be fine. She’s in great hands. We’re almost there.”
But I can’t answer him. I’ve been here before.
The sudden calls. The breathless rush. The not knowing. And this time, I’m not sure I can handle it. By the time we reach the hospital, I’m shaking.
Roman drives straight to the emergency lot. Nikolai hops out before the wheels stop turning, taking me with him. The four of us rush to her room, and a nurse is already waiting for us at the door with a tense look. “She’s stable,” she says as soon as she sees me. “The spike has come down. She’s alert. She’s asking for you.”
I nod, too fast. “What happened?”
“We’ll let the doctor explain.”
The brothers hang back as I follow the nurse to Ivy’s room, but I feel them behind me. I don’t know what’s waiting on the other side of that door. But I’m not facing it alone this time.
Ivy’s room is dimmed, the monitor lights low, beeping in steady, calm rhythm now. She’s sitting up in bed, knees hugged to her chest, a thin blanket pulled around her shoulders like armor. Her cheeks are red from crying. Her eyes are swollen. Her voice breaks. “Mama.”
I’m across the room in two steps. “Baby, baby, I’m here.”
She clings to me, fingers twisting into my sleeves, face buried in my shoulder. I can feel the shallow hitch of her breath as she tries not to fall apart again. “I’m sorry,” she says into my shirt. “I didn’t mean to.”
I kiss the top of her head. “It’s okay. You’re okay. I’ve got you.”
“It wasn’t supposed to be a big deal,” she hiccups. “I just wanted…”
I draw back, cupping her damp face in my hands. “What happened, baby?”
She swallows hard. Her eyes won’t meet mine. “One of the other kids,” she says, voice barely audible. “He had a Snickers bar. He said he felt bad that I couldn’t have anything. So he gave it to me. Just one bite.”
