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THE LAST THING THEY needed was for one of them to get sick. Fatigue weighed down Maggie’s shoulders like four feet of sand. A tension headache throbbed against her forehead and behind her eyes.
She pressed the back of her wrist against J.D.’s forehead for the fourth time since they’d taken a seat in the plastic chairs of the walk-in clinic. Feeling even hotter, the child leaned against her arm while Josh parked the truck behind the building. They may as well have everyone checked out. Dahlia and Aunt Ruth sat on her other side, both staring at copies of People Magazine.
Today was Sunday. Lord help us. That only left them four days to make sure Dahlia was well enough to visit with Cammie on Thanksgiving without spreading some dangerous illness. Ragged-looking children and adults fidgeted in seats nearby. If they weren’t sick already, they would be by the time they left.
“This is not good at all. What are we going to do?” Maggie spoke into the air, not really expecting an answer.
Aunt Ruth patted Maggie’s hand. “Child, you could worry the whiskers off a catfish. The baby may be ailing, but most likely the rest of us are fit as a fiddle. I feel great after sitting out in the sun awhile.”
Maggie prayed Aunt Ruth was right. But already her worst nightmares seemed to be coming true. With J.D. running a temp and all of them in such close contact every single day since she’d arrived, there was a good chance she had already spread it to Cammie. Of course, Cammie had been keeping the child even before that.
Winded, Josh rushed in. “Did you have to fill out papers?” He pulled his wallet from his back pocket and removed an insurance card.
“I signed in, but I didn’t know the answers to all those questions.” She nodded toward the clipboard in the empty chair on the other side of J.D. “And I’m wondering if we should all get an appointment. Or do you think the doctor could check everyone out at once?”
He sat on the edge of the chair, quickly filling out the paperwork, line by line. “Doubtful. They have to have a form for practically every tongue depressor.”
“What ever happened to a family doctor?” She smoothed her hand over J.D.’s damp head, and he curled in closer to her side with a shiver. “Poor baby. Should we get him something to drink?”
Twin lines formed between Josh’s brows as he looked up. “Yeah. I should’ve thought of that. I have water in the truck. I’ll be right back.” The clipboard clattered on the hard chair, and he was out the door in a flash.
A few minutes later, he jogged back in, five bottles of water in his arms. He passed one to Dahlia and Aunt Ruth but kneeled in front of Maggie and J.D. “Here you go, buddy.” He unscrewed both the caps off two bottles and held one out to J.D. “You need to drink. Miss Maggie is smart about these things.” His blue gaze met hers and flickered. “You’re good at this...a natural parent.”
Something cracked open inside, releasing a mingled torrent of warmth and ache. Rawness covered her throat, and the ache in her forehead pulsed harder. No words came. How many times would this scenario crush her beneath its cruel heel? Exhaustion pulled at her emotions, and her eyes stung.
“Joshua Bergeron?” A nurse in pink scrubs called from a cracked hallway door.
“That’s us.” Dahlia stood and tapped Aunt Ruth. “Let’s go back.”
Josh held up the paperwork. “I’m not finished.”
“You can do it back here,” the nurse answered.
Shifting her weight, Maggie scooped the boy into her arms, and J.D. leaned farther into her shoulder with a slight groan. She pushed to her feet, ready to carry him. God, please let this sweet boy feel better.
“So I guess we’re all going back then.” Josh shrugged and waved them on.
“I have to know what’s going on. It’s urgent for all of us so we protect Cammie.”
~~~
JOSH STIFLED A SIGH. Maggie was right, of course, but the doctor was going to be in for an interesting afternoon with the Marovich women. Josh let them lead the way back to the exam room, where they lined the wall of the small space, Ruth and Dahlia each taking one of the two chairs. The nurse made an abrupt double take when she looked up from the chart she’d been studying and scanned their gang. Maggie’s chin jutted out, as did Dahlia’s, both giving hard looks that dared the woman to ask them to leave.
The medical professional schooled her features as best she could, which wasn’t very well. “Let me get our boy’s temperature.”
Never moving from his spot against Maggie’s shoulder, J.D. allowed the nurse to place the thermometer into his ear without a fuss.
Josh swallowed back his surprise. Going to the doctor had never been this easy with his son. A memory washed up of the time when they’d needed to take blood from J.D.’s finger a few weeks after Trisha had left them. The child had sat on his hands, refusing to obey. Josh shook his head. When he’d finally forced J.D.’s hand out for the prick, he’d been squeezing too tight, so they’d had to repeat the horrible process on the other hand. That had been one of his worst days...and parenting fails.
Of course, Trisha hadn’t been any better. Okay, she’d been worse. She usually tried to put off any kind of pediatric appointments until he was up from the river. If J.D. was really ill and couldn’t wait, Trisha asked Mom to go with her. Or asked Mom to take him while Trisha was out on her important socialite business. Whatever that was. Bitterness hit the back of his throat. How had he not seen what kind of woman she was?
“One hundred and three,” the nurse announced, matter-of-factly. “I’ll go ahead and do a strep test and a flu swab, to rule those out.”
J.D. whimpered. “No.”
“It’s okay, baby. I’ve got you,” Maggie crooned. “I won’t let go. You mind the nurse so we can make you feel better.”
“I don’t want to.” Panic laced his son’s voice.
Josh readied himself to take over.
“I’ll let her do it to me first. Okay?” Maggie held open her mouth wide toward the poor nurse.
J.D.’s eyes widened, as did the nurse’s.
Closing her mouth, Maggie nodded. “Go ahead. Test me. My sister’s in ICU, and I need to know if I have something contagious.” Her mouth opened again. “Aaahh.”
“You’re going to have to fill out some paperwork once I finish.”
Maggie’s head bobbed again, and then the nurse stuck the swab in and circled. Maggie’s eyes watered, but somehow she kept herself from making a sound, even smiling when it was over.
“Your throat is pretty raw. Whatever it is, you probably have it too.”
“Really?” Maggie blinked hard. “I thought I felt bad because I was near Josh.”
A loud laugh erupted from Dahlia. “Aunt Maggie. Talk about rude.”
Realization lifted Maggie’s brows, and she turned Josh’s way. “Sorry. I didn’t mean that like... You know... Not how it sounded.”
The nurse’s expression spoke total bewilderment, but she held up another swab. “Now the nose for the flu test.”
Maggie squeezed her eyes shut tight. “Boy that tickles.”
“All done with Mama.” The nurse opened another packet. “Your turn.”
Josh’s heart squeezed. If only...
His son stared at Maggie and she stared back. What were they thinking? She opened her mouth wide again and nodded. “Like this, J.D.” Her voice garbled as she tried to talk with her jaws that way.
The awkwardness brought a small smile to J.D., and he complied. Before he could change his mind, the nurse tickled his throat with the swab, bringing up a gag and a cough.
“Good boy.” Maggie kissed his head.
“Now the nose.”
His son’s body flinched, but he allowed the test. That had gone well enough. Josh released a pent-up breath. Somehow Maggie gave J.D. confidence.
Josh blinked hard. Too bad she didn’t send any his way.
And oh, how he hoped they didn’t have to draw blood.
“I’ll take these to the lab, and Dr. Collins will be in soon.” The woman left carrying a tray with the specimens.
“Lord, let it be something simple.” Josh spoke the prayer out loud, turning all eyes toward him. “I’m really sorry about this. I had no idea he was sick.”
“Children get sick, Joshua.” Waving him off, Ruth clucked her tongue. “We can’t live in a bubble. We work with the public, go to restaurants, not to mention the hospital...” She shook her head. “Hospitals are full of sickness.”
“I hope Mama doesn’t get worse.” Dahlia’s voice wobbled. “I haven’t even gotten to visit her yet.”
Ruth wrapped an arm around the girl. “God’s in control, darling, don’t you worry. Like the minister said today, there’s no panic in heaven. The Lord’s not caught off guard by this.”
Wise words from the elderly. Josh nodded. “That’s right.” If only he knew what the plan was or understood it a little better. Was Maggie sick, too? Or was it fatigue? How would they manage if she was? She’d likely blame him if anything bad happened to Cammie.
Silence fell in the room like a dense fog of apprehension. Only the sound of Dahlia playing with Ruth’s phone penetrated the quiet.
After what seemed like an hour, a knock sounded on the door. “Good afternoon, guys, I’m Dr. Collins.”
Josh shook the man’s hand. “I’m J.D.’s father.”
“We ruled out flu and strep, but let me take a look and listen to our boy, and we’ll go from there.”
Maggie stepped to the exam table. “Can I hold him while you check him?”
“Sure, have a seat up there, and then, J.D., you lean forward so I can listen to you breathe in and out. Okay?”
The paper on the table crinkled when Maggie scooted on. “I’ll be right here, pumpkin. Lean toward Dr. Collins so he can listen.”
His son obeyed, and after a few breaths, the doctor put the stethoscope to the front of J.D.’s chest. When he finished, the doctor kept going with his examination, and J.D. submitted willingly. It seemed as long as Maggie held him in her arms, the boy could handle it all. Must be nice.
“I’m hearing a little rattle in his chest. There’s a bug going around the state called mycoplasma, commonly known as walking pneumonia. I’ll need to do a blood test to confirm.”
Josh’s abs tightened. Not only about the test, but also about the word pneumonia.