of people. Besides, I can't afford a hospital. Do you know how expensive emergency-room treatment can be?"
"Calm down. It was just a thought. "
"As bruised up as I am, I'm bound to be sore. I don't need a doctor. "
"All right, all right, " he said in a soothing tone. "Forget I suggested it. Maybe you'll feel better once you eat and get some rest. "
With him footing the bill for both the food and the room? She wouldn't feel better until she saw the last of him. Oh, how she wanted to refuse his generosity, but her baby needed to be fed, and she couldn't gather her thoughts enough to think of an alternative. She just wanted to lean against him and keep her eyes closed forever.
He nudged her erect. "It's not much farther. You game? Or do you want me to get Jaimie settled in the BABY LOVE 49
room and come back for you? With nothing to carry, I can pack you the rest of the way if it's too hard to walk on your own. "
Maggie wasn't about to let her baby out of her sight. "I can walk, " she insisted, and somehow she managed to do just that, planting one foot in front of the other until he finally said, "Here we are. You wait here for me, all right? I'll only be a minute. "
Maggie was grateful for the overhang post he propped her against. Clutching the bag to her chest, she rested her cheek against the wood and gazed after him. He stepped into a small, glass-fronted motel office. From where she stood, Maggie could see that a plump lady with gray hair manned the registration desk, which was little more than a scarred counter boasting a ratty potted fern and a display of brochures.
Holding Jaimie in one arm, Rafe reached into his pants pocket for some money while the woman asked him questions and filled out some sort of form. Minutes later, he emerged holding a black plastic key ring with the number fourteen printed in faded white on its oval surface.
"I tried to get two beds, " he explained as he helped her across the empty parking lot toward one of the cottages. "But all she has is singles. It's a queen-size, though. That's a plus. Right?"
Maggie focused on the front of the cabin as he unlocked the door. White siding with red trim glared in the morning light, the lower horizontal panels spattered with flecks of mud by runoff from the eaves. Empty red window boxes, in sad need of paint, underscored the windows. The door creaked when he pushed it open. As he drew her into the room, she tripped on the threshold and might have fallen if not for the grip of his hand on her elbow.
The faint, closed-up smell of mildew blasted her in the face. Maggie stood just inside the door, numbly taking in her surroundings, which consisted of a dated dresser with a filmy mirror, a bed draped in white che-50 CATHERINE ANDERSON
nille, and an awful brown shag carpet that was so worn the nap lay flat. A rusty wall heater sat cold beneath a window covered by droopy short drapes that had once been white but were now yellow with age, one of the panels stained by a window leak.
"Well, it'll do in a pinch. At least it looks halfway clean. "
Relieving Maggie of the paper sack, he turned on the heater and stepped around to the opposite side of the wide bed to lay Jaimie on the white chenille. As he drew away the coat and sweatshirt, the baby thrashed his legs and let out a plaintive whimper. "Right on cue for breakfast, hey, partner?" He glanced up at Maggie. "Shed the coat, honey, and lie down. I'll crack out the formula and bring His Nibs here a bottle in a minute. "
Maggie tried to peel off the coat, but it was heavy and her arms hung at her sides like lengths of stiff garden hose. The wall heater made a monotonous humming noise that seemed to harmonize with the ringing in her ears. She watched Rafe disappear at the opposite end of the room into what she presumed was a bathroom.
His deep voice rang out from the enclosure. "Are we stylin' or what? We even have a coffeemaker. "
She heard water run and then a squeak as he turned off the tap. Paper
"Calm down. It was just a thought. "
"As bruised up as I am, I'm bound to be sore. I don't need a doctor. "
"All right, all right, " he said in a soothing tone. "Forget I suggested it. Maybe you'll feel better once you eat and get some rest. "
With him footing the bill for both the food and the room? She wouldn't feel better until she saw the last of him. Oh, how she wanted to refuse his generosity, but her baby needed to be fed, and she couldn't gather her thoughts enough to think of an alternative. She just wanted to lean against him and keep her eyes closed forever.
He nudged her erect. "It's not much farther. You game? Or do you want me to get Jaimie settled in the BABY LOVE 49
room and come back for you? With nothing to carry, I can pack you the rest of the way if it's too hard to walk on your own. "
Maggie wasn't about to let her baby out of her sight. "I can walk, " she insisted, and somehow she managed to do just that, planting one foot in front of the other until he finally said, "Here we are. You wait here for me, all right? I'll only be a minute. "
Maggie was grateful for the overhang post he propped her against. Clutching the bag to her chest, she rested her cheek against the wood and gazed after him. He stepped into a small, glass-fronted motel office. From where she stood, Maggie could see that a plump lady with gray hair manned the registration desk, which was little more than a scarred counter boasting a ratty potted fern and a display of brochures.
Holding Jaimie in one arm, Rafe reached into his pants pocket for some money while the woman asked him questions and filled out some sort of form. Minutes later, he emerged holding a black plastic key ring with the number fourteen printed in faded white on its oval surface.
"I tried to get two beds, " he explained as he helped her across the empty parking lot toward one of the cottages. "But all she has is singles. It's a queen-size, though. That's a plus. Right?"
Maggie focused on the front of the cabin as he unlocked the door. White siding with red trim glared in the morning light, the lower horizontal panels spattered with flecks of mud by runoff from the eaves. Empty red window boxes, in sad need of paint, underscored the windows. The door creaked when he pushed it open. As he drew her into the room, she tripped on the threshold and might have fallen if not for the grip of his hand on her elbow.
The faint, closed-up smell of mildew blasted her in the face. Maggie stood just inside the door, numbly taking in her surroundings, which consisted of a dated dresser with a filmy mirror, a bed draped in white che-50 CATHERINE ANDERSON
nille, and an awful brown shag carpet that was so worn the nap lay flat. A rusty wall heater sat cold beneath a window covered by droopy short drapes that had once been white but were now yellow with age, one of the panels stained by a window leak.
"Well, it'll do in a pinch. At least it looks halfway clean. "
Relieving Maggie of the paper sack, he turned on the heater and stepped around to the opposite side of the wide bed to lay Jaimie on the white chenille. As he drew away the coat and sweatshirt, the baby thrashed his legs and let out a plaintive whimper. "Right on cue for breakfast, hey, partner?" He glanced up at Maggie. "Shed the coat, honey, and lie down. I'll crack out the formula and bring His Nibs here a bottle in a minute. "
Maggie tried to peel off the coat, but it was heavy and her arms hung at her sides like lengths of stiff garden hose. The wall heater made a monotonous humming noise that seemed to harmonize with the ringing in her ears. She watched Rafe disappear at the opposite end of the room into what she presumed was a bathroom.
His deep voice rang out from the enclosure. "Are we stylin' or what? We even have a coffeemaker. "
She heard water run and then a squeak as he turned off the tap. Paper
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