Mommy Bride (Harlequin American Romance Series #1212)

"I knew things were too good to be true," Lynette pronounced just as a young woman, a little girl and a teen tromped into the reception area of the Lane's End Memorial Hospital. "I was a fool to think we'd actually have a slow afternoon for once.""We had a good forty-five minutes of downtime, that's got to be a record," Claire said as she hopped off her stool."We almost got our crossword done.""Almost." Lynette quickly shoved their daily crossword to one side as the trio approached, each wearing looks of worry and panic.Closer inspection revealed a bloody towel wrapped around the boy's hand. Joking was pushed aside as duty clicked in. "May I help you?"Treating them to a weary smile, the woman nodded. "Taylor here cut up his hand pretty bad. I think he's going to need some stitches."The little girl's hair was the exact shade of auburn as the woman's; she stared at Claire. "We need some help."Privately, Claire thought they all did. Their coats weren't thick enough to ward off the cold weather. Each looked in need of hot soup. And as a slight musty scent floated her way, Claire realized that a shower would be a good idea, too.A shiver ran through her as she fought back memories. Remembering darker times would do her no good now. She'd do well to keep that in mind. "We'll get you started in a jiffy," Claire promised with a smile, though she felt herself getting a little woozy. There was a lot of blood on that towel. "Lynette, I'll start the paperwork."Her partner picked up a phone. "I'll go ahead and call for assistance."After grabbing a clipboard holding the necessary forms, Claire guided the trio to a nearby cubicle. "We're calling for help so Taylor can get treated right away. In the meantime, we just need some basic information."Wariness fought with relief in the woman's hazel eyes. "I don't have insurance."Claire hadn't thought she did. In her experience, insurance premiums weren't high on your list when you didn't know where the next meal was coming from. "We'll worry about that in a bit. Just fill out what you can and we'll concentrate on getting Taylor fixed up."The little girl's eyes widened just before she popped her thumb in her mouth. Tenderness passed over the woman's expression as she turned to Taylor, who was sitting in the chair next to her. Gently she combed back a lock of hair. "We did the right thing, didn't we?"He still hadn't said a word. The woman didn't look like she needed an answer.That was worrisome. As the woman started filling out the forms, Claire glanced back toward her reception partner. "Lynette? Any word?""Yep." Behind her, Lynette was talking on the phone in her usual no-nonsense way, chomping gum in between every other word. "I got put on hold for a sec, but--here we go." Her voice a little louder, she said, "We're gonna need some help over here in registration. Yes. Uh-huh. Thank you.""Any minute now," Claire promised. Funny how it seemed like things were taking forever, when in truth the trio had only arrived minutes ago.As the girl sucked her thumb and the boy said nothing, Claire did what she could to try and provide reassurance. "Everything's going to be okay," she said. "The doctors are good here. And the staff's the best."Some of the stress in the woman's eyes settled. A dash of kindness really did work wonders. Once their gazes met, Claire spoke slowly again. Remembering her son's last scrape, worn like a badge of honor, she said, "So, how'd you get cut?"But that question didn't achieve the results she'd hoped for. Instead of an explanation, all she got was a suspicious look. Finally--almost defiantly--he mumbled, "I cut it on a can."The woman's chin rose a bit. "We were...collecting cans and one had a torn edge."Claire's wooziness increased tenfold. And not because of the blood. Unfortunately, she knew all about collecting cans in the dark. Swallowing hard, she fought to keep heGalloway, Shelley is the author of 'Mommy Bride (Harlequin American Romance Series #1212)', published 2008 under ISBN 9780373752164 and ISBN 0373752164.