SH Medical 08 - The Baby Dilemma Read Online Free

Sargent, with his eight-year-old stepdaughter, Berry. He’d told Paige the whole story once while they waited to observe Dr. Tartikoff perform an innovative surgical technique. He’d adopted the little girl when he married her mother, and was raising her alone since his wife had died of heart disease three years ago. His daughter didn’t resemble him—her mother had been African-American—but there was no mistaking the love flowing between them.
    Paige and her child would share that same kind of unshakable love. And that was what counted.
    Still, life was never that simple. Having grown up with five bossy siblings, Paige had figured being a family of two would be luxuriously intimate. Now doubts began creeping in. Didn’t a child deserve to know both parents? What about unsuspected medical issues that might not have shown up since the father hadn’t yet reached middle age? And while Paige had chafed at her siblings’ attempts to control her, her own child might long for a brother or sister.
    Her gaze fixed on Mike, who was posing with the bride and groom, along with several young people and an older couple who must be the Aarons. According to Erica, Mike had flourished in a family enlarged by foster kids. He certainly looked in high spirits next to a woman only a few inches shorter than him, identical sandy hair tickling the collar of her dress. On his other side, he looped an arm around a shorter woman whose high cheekbones and dark coloring indicated a Hispanic and perhaps part Native American heritage. What a warm, stimulating household he’d grown up in.
    In the abstract, compensating for the absence of a dad hadn’t struck her as all that difficult. But regarding Mike’s tall, steady figure, she wondered how exactly she was going to do that.
    Well, a woman shouldn’t be denied motherhood simply because she’d given up on finding the right man. Lots of mothers raised their families alone and Paige could, too.
    “You’re sitting with us!” The cheerful greeting from Dr. Nora Franco roused Paige.
    “Wonderful.” She turned to greet Nora’s husband, Leo, a police detective who’d once worked with Mike. “I hope they’re going to serve food soon,” Paige added as the three of them took seats.
    “Did you skip lunch?”
    On the point of answering that she’d eaten a sandwich but her stomach was churning, Paige realized how revealing that comment would be. Not only had Nora known Paige since they’d served their residencies together, she was also an obstetrician. She might notice the possible sign of early pregnancy.
    “Something like that.” Quickly, Paige changed the subject. “Any idea when you’re coming back to work? Not that I’m in a hurry.” Eager to join the Safe Harbor staff, Paige had taken over Nora’s practice during her maternity leave.
    “I hate to tear myself away from Neo. He’s incredibly cute, and I had no idea a seven-month-old could be so smart.” Nora chuckled. “Just listen to me! Anyway, when I do, I’d prefer to work part-time, so I hope you’ll stay on.”
    “That sounds great.” It was exactly what Paige wanted. She was enjoying the patients, and the chance to advance her surgical skills and learn the newest fertility treatments. With her previous medical group, she’d felt her skills stagnating. She’d had personal reasons for leaving, as well.
    Her attention shifted to the bridal table, where Erica and Lock sat among a flock of relatives. “Do you ever miss being part of a big family?” she blurted. Nora’s only close relative was a father who lived several hours’ drive away. “I mean, now that you have a baby.”
    “Leo’s brother Tony lives close by,” her friend reminded her. “And my sister-in-law Kate’s been very helpful. Neo loves playing with his cousins.”
    “Cousins are great,” Paige replied automatically, and recalled with a pang that her baby wouldn’t grow up anywhere near his or her cousins. In fact, thanks to the ten-year age