life.â
âCassieâs right.â Gloria spoke up, flashing Cassie an apologetic smile. âWe should be thankful. Iâm sure someone will step forward to adopt the baby.â
âI guess youâre right,â the woman said, looking resigned at the fact she wasnât getting any good information.
Cassie turned back to accept her coffee, wishing once again that sheâd gone through the process of becoming a foster parent back when sheâd first investigated the option. At the time sheâd convinced herself the notion was a knee-jerk reaction to losing her baby and discovering her ex-husbandâs betrayal. But if she had at least started the process,sheâd be in a better position to adopt little Emma herself.
Was she crazy to even think of that as an option? Probably. But for some reason the idea wouldnât go away.
Cassie took a bracing sip of her coffee and headed back out to her car. The drive to the hospital didnât take long and she was still early enough to beat the worst of the traffic.
She stood by the elevator, sipping her coffee and thinking about the gossip that was already floating around about their safe-haven baby. If the mother was still around, she sincerely hoped the poor girl didnât overhear people talking about her.
Several of her coworkers joined her at the elevator, although it was too early for idle chitchat. When the elevator stopped on the third floor, Cassie waited for the nurses closest to the door to get out first, before following suit.
As she stepped out of the elevator she caught a glimpse of an older woman with a cane entering the adjacent elevator. Was it the same woman who had been peering through the window of the door last evening? She tried to dart around her coworkers, but the action proved difficult, like a salmonswimming upstream. By the time she cleared the group, the elevator doors had closed.
She hesitated, wondering if she should take the stairs down to the lobby to verify it was the same woman from yesterday. But a glance at her watch made her grimace. There wasnât enough time, she needed to punch in for her shift or sheâd be late.
Besides, selfishly, she wanted to be sure Emma was assigned as her patient. So she hurried toward the door and swiped her ID badge over the electronic eye so she could get in.
Still carrying her coffee, she entered the staff lounge, where they generally congregated to make out the dayâs assignments. After glancing up at the whiteboard, she relaxed. The charge nurse on duty had already listed her name as the nurse for both Emma and Barton.
She sipped her coffee, waiting for the rest of the assignments to be made. Should she call security? And report what? A suspicious woman in her early sixties who used a cane?
Yeah, right. She was being ridiculous. For all she knew, the woman getting into the elevator wasnât the same one as the day before. And even if it was, so what? Sheâd mentionedshe was here, visiting a patient. There were other units on the third floor besides the neonatal nursery.
Cassie pushed the thought of the cane lady out of her mind. Once the assignments were pretty much completed, she set her coffee aside, grabbed her stethoscope from her locker and headed over to Emmaâs warmer.
Her step faltered when she realized Dr. Ryan was sitting at the computer, reading through the babyâs progress notes.
You are not a slave to your hormones , she told herself sternly. You need to get over him already!
She forced herself to continue walking, even as she swept her gaze over the area, looking for Debra, the night-shift nurse, who needed to give her the update on how Emma was doing.
âGood morning, Cassandra.â
She blushed, giving him a nod. âGood morning, Dr. Ryan, and, please, call me Cassie.â
There, sheâd finally managed to sound casual, as if he were any other physician on staff.
âOnly if you call me Ryan. And as you have
Janwillem van de Wetering