Page 18 of Holiday Haven

“You said it was a six to eight week process to get approved, but as I've already done the paperwork, the classes and the interview, do you think they would push the application through?”

After a moment, Shirley nodded. “That might work. Although if I remember correctly, the one concern they had during your application process was your single bedroom apartment. Has that changed in the past few months?”

“No.” She'd forgotten that part. They had strongly recommended she upgrade to a two-bedroom place which would mean a huge increase in rent. The state wanted to be sure that foster kids had their own bedroom. “But I could look into it. Maybe there's something opening up in my building. Joy is still a baby, a newborn. She wouldn't need her own room for a few months yet.”

“I hear what you’re saying, but the two-bedroom requirement isn’t likely to be waived. It would be best if you could at least get on the waiting list for the larger apartment.” Shirley gave her hand a quick squeeze. “I'm happy to give you a reference if you need one. And if it doesn't work out, don't worry, we'll place Joy in a good home. Even if she is deaf, I’m sure someone will step up to take her.”

“I know.” She tried to smile, but her appetite had vanished. Shirley finished her lunch just as her pager app went off. She pulled out her cell phone, grimaced and then picked up the tray. “I have to go. See you later.”

Krista followed more slowly. She'd really wanted to take Joy in as a foster baby. And if Joy’s mother never returned, she had planned on adopting the baby, too.

But it seemed as if her single bedroom apartment was going to hold her back. Completely dejected, she made her way to the elevators.

“Krista?” A familiar male voice caused her to glance up. Adam came toward her, his brow puckered in a frown. He reached over to take her arm. “What is it? What's wrong?”

“Nothing.” She didn't want Adam to know about her financial woes. She wasn’t sure what he’d think about wanting to take Joy into her home.

She wasn’t rich, quite the opposite. But she could offer the baby an abundance of love.

“Don’t tell me nothing is wrong.” Adam continued to stare he, his brow furrowed with worry. “You look just like the night I picked you up after that jerk attacked you. Talk to me. Tell me what's made you so upset.”

His sweet concern almost brought tears to her eyes. No one other than her Aunt Bea and Danielle had cared about her the way Adam seemed to.

CHAPTERSIX

It was shocking to realize how well Adam could read her. She didn't necessarily like knowing her feelings were so transparent. Especially when she didn't know very much about him. As nice as he was, he held his inner emotions close, unwilling to share them.

Like after Denny's transfer to the PICU. Something had been bothering him, but he'd refused to talk about it.

He lightly grasped her arm, his green eyes dark with suppressed anger. “What happened? Did some guy come on to you? Or threaten you?”

“What? No, it's nothing like that.” Good grief, how embarrassing to know he'd jumped to the worst conclusion possible. She ducked her head to hide her pink cheeks. “Really, Adam, nothing is wrong. I received a bit of disheartening news, that's all.”

He held her gaze for a long moment, silently asking what that disheartening news was. Should she tell him? There was no reason to keep her desire to be a temporary foster parent a secret. Yet she was loathe to open herself to his scrutiny.

“Medical emergency, Six South. Medical emergency, Six South.”

When the overhead announcement came on, Krista’s heart jumped as if someone had poked her with a sharp stick. When Adam’s eyes widened in horror, she knew he thought the same thing.

“Joy!”

Adam turned and rushed for the nearest staircase. She followed close on his heels. Adam wasn't part of the medical emergency response team and neither was she, but that didn't stop her from making a valorous attempt to keep up as they took the stairs to one floor and the next.

Her lungs felt as if they might cave from the pressure when they finally reached the sixth floor. They were both huffing and puffing as they burst through the door heading down the hall in time to see a red crash cart being wheeled into a room.

Not Joy’s room, thank heavens.

Her step faltered. Brittany's room? No. Oh dear God, no. She pushed her way past the people standing in the doorway to see if Jenny Spritz, the nurse who'd agreed to cover her patients while she went to lunch, was there. Jenny stood at the opposite side of the room, her eyes full of apology.

“What happened?” Krista asked.

“I tried to feed her again and she suddenly turned blue.” Jennifer was a newer nurse too, had gone through the same orientation program as Krista. She looked frazzled. “I didn't know what to do.”

“Calling a medical emergency was the right thing to do,” Adam said. Krista threw him a grateful glance. He wasn’t blaming the nurses, like some doctors did. This was the first time any of her tiny patients had arrested and she hadn’t even been there. Adam's gaze swept the room. “Who’s leading this code?”

“I am.” One of the emergency department doctors answered. She recognized him as Dr. Kevin Irvine. “So far we've been able to ventilate with the Ambu bag and mask. We were just deciding whether or not to place a breathing tube.”

“I'm covering for the attending physician of record.” Adam spoke in an authoritative tone. “Krista, did we get that X-ray I ordered?”

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