Page 1 of His Long-Lost Baby

CHAPTER1

BILLIE

“It’s okay. You’ll be okay.” Pressing my lips to my daughter’s soft brown hair, I enter the emergency room at a jog.

There’s no line at the front desk, thank God. Hurrying over, I lock eyes with the man behind the desk.

“My daughter is having trouble breathing.” The words spill out of me faster than lightning. “She was playing outside and then she started wheezing.”

The nonplussed man clicks on his computer. “Name? Age?”

“Quinn Hackett. She’s six.”

I try not to yell at him to move faster. I get that this is another day on the job for him and it’s not like Quinn is turning blue.

But how do we know she won’t be in another twenty seconds?

Fear grips my heart. I can’t lose my daughter. She’s the best thing that’s ever come into my life.

She’s all I have in the world.

The man asks some more questions, and I fumble to get Quinn’s insurance card out. Meanwhile, she clutches at my T-shirt, a robust first-grader reduced to a clinging toddler.

Tears fill my eyes and I blink them back. “How long is the wait?”

“Uh…” He inspects the screen.

Just then, a nurse rushes towards me, taking in Quinn’s wheezing and the fear in my eyes. “What’s her name?” she asks.

“Quinn. She’s having trouble breathing.” I clutch her tight, feeling helpless and scared.

The nurse nods. “Let’s take her back to an exam room and check her out. Does she have any allergies?”

“Not that I know of. She was playing outside when it happened.” I follow behind the nurse, Quinn still on my hip.

“And could she have been stung by a bee?”

We’re in the exam room, where she gestures for me to put Quinn on the table.

“Uh, no. She didn’t mention being stung by anything.”

Quinn sucks in a pitiful breath. “Mommy.”

“It’s okay.” I touch her back. “They’re gonna look at you now.”

There’s a knock on the door, and a doctor comes in. She smiles at us. “Hi Quinn, I’m Dr. Patel. I’m going to examine you, okay?”

Quinn nods, her small hand clutching mine tightly. I hold my breath as Dr. Patel listens to her chest and checks her oxygen levels.

“When was the last time she had an asthma attack?” Dr. Patel asks me.

My heart drops. “Asthma? She’s never had one before.”

The doctor nods, scribbling something down on her clipboard. “It looks like she’s having an asthma attack. We’ll give her some medication to help her breathe easier. Don’t worry, she’s in good hands.”

I nod, tears pricking at the corners of my eyes. Asthma. I never would have thought Quinn had asthma. I feel like such a bad mother for not knowing.

The doctor administers the medication through an inhaler and within a few minutes, Quinn’s breathing starts to even out.

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