The Baby Doctor by Bobby Hutchinson

Author:Bobby Hutchinson
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2012-07-17T14:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

“The bags are going to have to wait, India. I have to get to work and Tessa’s going to be late for school if we don’t leave right now.” Morgan herded Tessa ahead of her, talking steadily as she headed for the back door.

“Make yourself comfortable. There’s coffee in the pot, leftovers in the fridge if you’re hungry and my office number’s by the phone. I’ll try to make it home early, but right now we’ve got to go.” She wrenched open the back door and called over her shoulder, “Bye.”

Morgan shut the door firmly behind her, aware that she was trembling as if she had palsy.

Tessa was silent as Morgan backed the Jeep out of the garage and swung into the street.

“So. So that’s your mother, huh?” The girl’s voice was carefully casual. “She sorta still looks like a movie star, even if she’s kinda old.”

“Yeah, she does.” Morgan shivered and turned the heater on, knowing the chill in her body had nothing to do with the weather.

“What kind of fur is her coat, d’ya think?”

Morgan shook her head, her mind in a turmoil. “I have no idea. I’ve never liked fur. I can’t tell one kind from another.”

Tessa was quiet again. They were nearing the school when she said in a worried tone, “I don’t think she liked me very much, Morgan.”

Morgan pulled the Jeep to a stop in a bus zone and reached over and gave Tessa a quick, hard hug.

“Well, I like you a lot, so don’t let that bother you, Tess. India’s just a little hard to get to know.”

The real truth was, her mother had never liked Morgan much, either, so there wasn’t a lot of hope for Tess, she thought dismally. She was going to nail India down on exactly how long this visit would last, so at least she and Tessa had something to look forward to.

“So, is it still okay to have Sophie come over tonight?”

“Absolutely.” Morgan tried to sound more confident than she felt. “Nothing’s going to be different just because India’s visiting. Our home is our home. We’ll make her welcome, but we won’t change our life. She’s the one who’s going to have to fit in. Agreed?”

“Agreed.” Tessa was relieved, and she gave Morgan a smile and a thumbs up signal. “Oops, here comes a bus. He’s gonna kill you for parking here. I’m gone. See ya later.” She slid out of the Jeep.

Morgan pulled back into traffic, wishing she felt as optimistic about India as she’d pretended to Tessa.

She thought of Luke, of asking him to supper and the increased complications of having her mother staying with her for an indefinite amount of time. Her heart sank.

Why, oh why, did India have to turn up now? It was almost as though talking about her at dinner the other night had drawn her, like some evil genie, out of a bottle.

When she was certain Morgan and that girl were gone, India slid her arms out of her coat.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.