Vital Signs by Bobby Hutchinson

Author:Bobby Hutchinson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2003-08-25T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

“HOW…HOW LONG has she been here?” Hailey could hardly get the words out.

“Twenty minutes or so.”

“Does Roy know?” Her throat was dry, and her heart was hammering. “Did you call him?”

Karen nodded. “First thing I did was call Roy. He was out in the suburbs—he’s on his way in now. He said to make certain she doesn’t try to take David anywhere, that we should call security and have them stand by. I did that, and Mavis is down there with her, keeping a close eye on what’s going on.” Mavis was a security guard they all knew and liked.

“I’m his primary-care nurse. I’ll go talk to her.” Hailey headed down the hall, feeling angry and betrayed all over again. She’d known this was a possibility, but because so much time had passed, she’d begun to assume that Shannon Riggs would never turn up. Things were going so well without her.

Hailey paused in front of David’s room. The door was open, and she could see the girl holding David. Her bleached-blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail from a face plastered with too much makeup, and her skin was stretched tightly over bones that jutted out like a cadaver’s. She was wearing jeans and a long-sleeved white T-shirt with a patterned vest over it. The clothing hung loosely on her emaciated body, and David looked too heavy for her to manage easily. But his plump arms and legs were curved around her body, and his face was buried in her neck. The girl’s arms were wrapped around him, clutching him to her.

Jealousy, hot and bitter, flowed through Hailey’s veins. It took every ounce of her self-control to walk into the room and say in a reasonably steady voice, “Hello, I’m Hailey Bergstrom, David’s primary-care nurse. You must be Shannon Riggs.”

Shannon nodded without really looking at Hailey, but David’s head popped up over her shoulder, and the smile he gave Hailey was nothing short of radiant.

“Lee, Mama come.”

“I see that. Hi, sweetheart.” She managed a smile for him, but the words almost choked her.

Mavis was standing by the other crib. “If you’re going to be in here, Hailey, I’ll wait outside the door.” She gave Hailey a wink and walked out.

Hailey stood frozen, trying to quell the awful urge to tear David out of this teenager’s skinny arms. She didn’t deserve him; she’d left him alone and helpless; he’d almost died because of her. What right did she have to come here now, to take him in her arms? She’d forfeited her rights as a mother.

“Mama.” David used both hands to pat Shannon’s face in a tender gesture that almost broke Hailey’s heart, because he’d patted her face that very same way and made her heart melt with love for him.

“I see you still got Bonzo, Davie.” Shannon’s voice was that of a child, light and soft and tentative.

“Bonzo.” David pointed to his crib, where the battered toy lay on his pillow. “My dog.”

“I got him that for Christmas—he won’t go to sleep without it,” Shannon said to Hailey, as if that was news.

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