Page 5 of Holiday Haven

“Have you drawn her blood yet?”

“Yes, one set of cultures off the IV site. I only need one more culture from a different site.”

“Good.” He watched as she finished dressing the area where the IV was placed. “Doris, my receptionist at the clinic, tried to feed her. But she didn't take much, not even a full ounce.”

At six weeks the baby should have been taking at least two to three ounces of formula at a feeding. She frowned. “I don't suppose we have any history from the mother?”

“No.” His brow furrowed. “We may want to try a soy based formula.”

She nodded in agreement. “Do you want me to draw the second blood sample or would you rather do the lumbar puncture first?”

“Go ahead and draw the second set of blood cultures.”

Self-conscious under his watchful gaze, she wished he'd leave. He didn't. Ignoring him wasn't easy, although she thankfully found a scalp vein and managed to draw the second sample without difficulty. She labeled the small tube of blood, quickly matching the ID number on the sticker to that on the small bracelet wrapped around Joy’s ankle.

“Will you watch her for a minute so I can get these down to the lab?” She raised her voice to be heard over the sound of Joy’s crying.

There was a brief hesitation before Adam nodded and stepped toward the procedure table. “Sure.”

Skirting around him, she grabbed the first tiny tube of blood that she’d already labeled, carrying both to the main nursing station. At Children's Memorial, runners hand delivered all blood to the lab, the precious samples were not entrusted to the pneumatic tube system. Once she'd handed them off to the nursing assistant to do the task, she returned to Joy's room.

And halted abruptly, when she saw Adam cradling the infant against his broad chest.

Her heart thudded, her throat squeezing shut.

What was it about a strong man holding a baby that turned a woman to mush? Here she thought the stupid crush she'd harbored for her sister's former fiancé was dead but, no, suddenly, the old feelings had flared back to life.

Somehow, she needed to find the strength to stay away from Adam, so he'd never discover how she really felt.

* * *

Adam didhis best to ignore his odd reaction to Krista. The flash of physical awareness had caught him by surprise. Not because he harbored any lingering feelings toward her sister Danielle but more because he'd always viewed Krista as a kid sister. After all, she was closer to Amber's age than to his.

It was disconcerting to discover the sweet kid had grown into a beautiful woman.

Krista entered the room and began to prepare for the lumbar procedure. He set the baby back down on the procedure table. Krista carefully held Joy in position as he swabbed the baby's back with antiseptic solution, then carefully inserted the spinal needle between the baby's first and second lumbar vertebrae.

When a drop of cerebral spinal fluid appeared at the end of the lumen, he stopped advancing the needle. “Hand me the first tube, would you?”

Krista handed over the small plastic specimen container. He let several drops of cerebral spinal fluid fall into the receptacle before closing the cap and asking for the next one. Once the procedure was finished, he used a sterile two-by-two and withdrew the needle.

Normally he didn't have trouble blocking women from his mind, especially when working. But tonight, he did. Krista smelled like Christmas, a subtle mix of evergreen trees and cranberries. The tantalizing scent distracted him.

She was stunning, with her long dark brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her natural color suited her so much better than the blonde dye. Krista was shorter than Danielle had been, the sisters didn’t resemble each other much. But the moment he'd looked down into Krista’s wide brown eyes he'd recognized her.

He glanced at her again, but she was trying to soothe the crying infant. He must have passed her around the hospital but if so, he hadn't made the connection. She'd been working here all this time? He wasn't sure how he hadn't run into her earlier. Except that they hadn't shared a patient to his knowledge.

Joy’s cries were getting weaker. If anything, the IV fluids should be helping to rehydrate her.

“Did you order antibiotics?” Krista asked, reading his mind.

“Yes.” He watched as she quickly stripped away the sterile field. “Now that we have both sets of blood cultures drawn, and the LP finished, I'd like her to get the first dose ASAP.”

“Of course.” Krista gently set the baby in the middle of the crib.

Watching her take care of baby Joy did funny things to his stomach. He almost wished Joy's mother had chosen some other clinic to leave her baby.

No, that wasn't true. He was glad to be here for the baby. He hadn't consciously avoided infants over this past year since he and Danielle had lost their unborn child, but it had certainly helped to know Phoebe had preferred taking care of the younger ones.

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