Page 14 of Holiday Haven

Meandering her way down the aisles, she finally found what she was looking for. A book on sign language. Even if Joy did qualify for a cochlear transplant, there was no guarantee that procedure would work. Whoever eventually adopted Joy would have to learn sign language and to teach it to the baby as she grew older, to facilitate communicating with the little girl.

Krista bought the book, adding the item to her numerous bags. She made her way out of the mall, trudging through the slush to her car parked what seemed like miles from the entrance.

At home, a small one-bedroom apartment she'd moved into after Danielle had taken off for London, she spent time wrapping the Christmas gifts she'd purchased for the children. Then took the book on sign language and looked through the pictures explaining simple words and phrases.

Although she knew there was a very real possibility Joy’s mother could return to claim the infant, she couldn't shake the idea of possibly caring for the baby herself. She'd have to finish the process of becoming a foster parent first, and she also knew the full adoption process took time. Yet she’d applied to be a foster parent two months ago, because there had been a baby whose mother had been severely ill and hospitalized for months. Krista had hoped to temporarily care for the baby, just until the mother was released from the hospital. But it turned out her services weren't needed. And she hadn't completed the process.

Now, she wished she had. She didn't like the idea of sending Joy into the foster system.

After their parents had died, she and Danielle had ended up in a foster home. It had not been a great experience. The woman who had opened her home to them had many children and hadn't bothered to learn any of their names. Instead, she'd used nicknames based on how they looked or acted. The woman had referred to Krista as mouse, because of her mousy brown hair, while Danielle had been dubbed the Wild Child. One of the other kids were called Red, because of a bright head of red hair, Goldie, because of having blonde hair, etc. The woman hadn't physically hurt them or anything, but she had demanded countless chores be done, not the least of which consisted of the older kids taking care of the younger ones.

Krista hadn't minded, but Danielle in her typical fashion, had rebelled. Thankfully the foster home hadn't lasted long, but then their relatives had started fighting over who had to take care of them, shunting them off from one house to the next. It had taken two years for them to land with Aunt Bea, who had wonderfully accepted them for who they were.

She knew what it was like not to be wanted. To be considered a burden. And she did not want Joy to ever feel that way.

Glancing down at the book, she mimicked the hand gestures and began to practice the alphabet.

A, B, C, D…

* * *

Adam couldn't seemto get Krista out of his mind. The next day, he spent a full eight hours at his pediatric health clinic before dashing to the hospital to make rounds on his patients. He was disappointed he didn't find Krista in Joy's room. After he'd finished, he'd returned to the clinic to catch up on paperwork. The long, empty evening stretched ahead of him.

How had he missed Krista? And why had not seeing her, ruined his evening?

His parents had asked him to stop by for dinner, and he decided to go, mostly because he appreciated a home cooked meal, and needed to see how his mother was coming along.

Two years ago, Alice Monroe had broken her hip and although she was healed and moving independently, he was still a little worried about her. She’d slowed down over the past two years, walking carefully as if her joints ached. He'd mentioned the possibility of arthritis to Amber's husband, Nick, who had agreed that she should probably be seen.

But being the stubborn woman she was, his mother refused. Living with doctors and nurses was annoying, she'd claimed. They were always seeing one illness or another when nothing was wrong. She was absolutely fine.

He didn't believe her, but what could he do? Force her to be evaluated? Even if he'd wanted to do that, he didn't think her primary care doctor would move forward with a consult without his mother's consent.

There wasn't anything else he could do except make sure to step in frequently and to watch her closely for himself.

When he'd finished checking lab results and radiology reports, making his final notes in the various electronic medical records of his patients, he stood and worked the kinks out of his back. If he didn't watch out, he'd be the one with arthritis he thought grimly. The office was empty as everyone else had gone home. That wasn’t unusual. Out of the three partners in his practice, he was the only single guy in the bunch. There had never been a reason for him to rush home.

Thinking of his empty condo reminded him again of Krista. Considering he'd once viewed her as a younger sister, she was occupying his thoughts more than she should.

So what if she was empathetic, kind and considerate? So what if she was beautiful in a quiet, down to earth way? She deserved someone better, a guy who would love her and marry her. Give her a family. He'd watched her with Joy—she was definitely a woman who wanted a family.

And he was a man who wasn't willing to get involved in a complicated relationship again.

Scowling, he pulled on his leather coat and gloves before heading outside. His clinic had a back door for the staff, and he pulled it shut behind him, making sure it was securely locked. December and Wisconsin was cold and dark. As he walked around the corner of the building, he saw a woman standing in front of the pediatric health clinic door, her face pressed up against the glass.

Curious, he stepped closer. What was she looking at? She must have noticed his reflection in the glass because she suddenly spun around, giving him a quick impression of a woman's pale, wan face surrounded by a dark blue scarf, before she hurried off in the opposite direction.

“Hey!” He wondered if she'd come because she thought the clinic was still open. “Are you okay? Do you need medical help?”

The mystery woman acted as if she didn't hear him. He started off after her, but then stopped when she went straight to the bus stop. She rubbed her bare hands together and blew into them as if to warm her fingers.

She was alone. She hadn't brought a child to the clinic to be evaluated.

The bus lumbered forward and she quickly hopped on. He turned walked back to his car, the cold wind cutting through his coat. It wasn't until he had the car warmed up and had pulled out onto the highway that he considered the odd encounter in more detail.

The woman had been wearing a thin coat, considering the temperature outside was well below freezing. She'd had the scarf tucked around her face, but her fingers had been bare lacking the protection of gloves. She dressed as if she didn't have much money, and she couldn't have owned a car, as she'd gone straight to the bus stop.

Why had she been peering into his clinic?

---