Healing Dr Fortune

And that was another reason she’d insisted that Max try to find Courtney and quiz her about those kinds of details. Of course, her insistence had been her first misstep. But old habits were hard to break. They were both adults now, and she really needed to remember not to push Max too hard, not to mother him.

He’d gotten tired of answering to his big sister about every little thing in his life, which she hoped was due to maturity rather than stubbornness. So he’d refused to look for Courtney, claiming that he could take care of the baby on his own.

Kirsten had her doubts, though. And that was why she’d snuck out to see a doctor while Max was job hunting. She knew he’d be upset if he learned that she’d taken on a parental role with the child and that he would accuse her of interfering and running his life again.

Of course that shouldn’t surprise her. He’d been rebelling against her advice and instructions since he’d been a teenager. But this was different. Surely he would see that, wouldn’t he?

When it came to the baby’s health and welfare, he needed to put the past behind him and listen for a change.

As Kirsten reached the front door of her house, she dug in her purse for her keys, then she let herself inside.

“Are you ready for a bottle?” she asked Anthony, as she left the diaper bag in the entryway. The baby had been eating every three to four hours, so she figured he would be hungry soon.

Once in the living room, she put his blue shawl on the carpeted floor, then laid him down. “I’ll be back in a minute, precious.”

Anthony started to fuss, so she hurried to the kitchen and fixed him a bottle out of powdered formula and purified water.

She wished she had more experience with babies, that she’d done some babysitting as a teenager, but she was completely out of her league with that sort of thing.

The first couple days were hard, with her and Max learning through trial and error, but they were both finally catching on. In fact, she was really enjoying having a baby in the house. It made her wonder what it would be like to have a family of her own someday.

After carrying the bottle back to the living room, she picked up Anthony and settled into the overstuffed chair near the window. As she placed the nipple to his lips, he eagerly latched on, sucking and gulping as though he was starving.

Actually, now that she thought about it, he did have a hearty appetite, and that was definitely a sign of health. But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t try to sneak him back to the clinic again the next time Max would be gone for a couple hours. Hopefully, her car would be out of the shop by then, and she wouldn’t have to ride the city bus, which had taken up way too much time.

Thank goodness she’d returned to the house before Max did.

At least she’d gotten a physician to at least take a quick look at the baby, even if it wasn’t what you’d call a real exam.

She couldn’t believe that she’d actually stopped a doctor in the parking lot today and asked him to look at Anthony. She’d been so anxious—and thinking with her heart instead of her head, which she was prone to do.

But then the handsome physician with surfer-blond hair and soulful blue eyes had looked at her as if they’d met somewhere before, and she’d been knocked off balance. There was no way they’d ever crossed paths. She would have definitely remembered a gorgeous hunk like him.

Looking back, she wished she would have asked his name, but she hadn’t been thinking straight.

In fact, he’d probably thought she was crazy, which was too bad. It would have been nice to have put her best foot forward when meeting the handsome orthopedic surgeon, a man who’d been exceptionally kind to her. After all, he hadn’t needed to take time to talk to her, but he had. He’d even reached out and caressed Anthony’s little cheek, right there in the parking lot.

Too bad she’d had a bus to catch so she would beat her brother home.

As Anthony guzzled down his bottle, Kirsten stopped him long enough to get a burp out of him—an effort he objected to with grunts and squawks.

When he finally let out a little belch, and she put the bottle back into his mouth, she heard the key sound in the lock.

Moments later, Max opened the door and stepped inside.

“So how was the job search?” she asked.

Her brother blew out a sigh. “No luck yet. So I guess you’re stuck with us for a while.”

That might be true about Max staying with her, but she certainly didn’t feel stuck with Anthony.

“It’s not a problem.” Kirsten glanced at the sweet little baby who’d come to live with them. “I’m happy to help out while I can.”

“But what happens when you get a call from another firm looking for an accountant? You’ve got a mortgage to pay, so you can’t continue watching Anthony for me.”

That was true. And Max would be hard-pressed to job hunt all day and watch over his son without help.

He didn’t seem to be stressed about that, though. Or worried about the fact that he might not be able to afford day care and rent when he did manage to find employment.

“Well,” Kirsten said, “I can watch him for the time being. We’ll just have to take one day at a time.”

And she shouldn’t have any trouble doing that. She’d been taking one day at a time ever since she’d allowed Max to move in with her. But what else could she do? He was the only family she had left, and looking after him was a responsibility she’d always had.

Of course, she’d come to realize that some of her help over the years had bordered on enabling in many ways. The more money she gave him, the more he seemed to need.

Then, about two years ago, she’d read a book on tough love. It made sense that she wasn’t really helping him by bailing him out all the time. So she’d told Max that she was finished taking care of him, that he was an adult and would have to fend for himself. He was twenty-four at the time and had just started dating Courtney, so he’d moved in with her for a while.

Lo and behold, he landed a good job at the feed store and kept it for nearly two years—until the owner sold the business.

Losing his job had been really tough on him—and it had been tough on Kirsten, too. But the layoff hadn’t been his fault. His boss had decided to retire and sell the business, and since the new owner had a large family and planned to hire his kids to work for him, Max was let go.

Of course, that meant he could no longer pay his rent. So she’d offered to let him live with her until he found a new job.

She’d been afraid that they would both fall back into destructive old patterns, yet she didn’t want Max to end up on the street when he’d been clearly trying hard to get his life on track. If she looked at the big picture, he deserved her help and a second chance.

And then Anthony had come along, immediately changing the dynamics of their brother-sister relationship and complicating things. After all, there was no way Kirsten would ask Max to leave or refuse to help him when that meant turning her back on Anthony, too.

She smiled at the child in her arms, his little eyes closed, his lips still tugging at the nipple.

“So how did things go for you today?” Max asked, as he plopped down on the sofa. “Did the baby give you any trouble? “

“We had a good day.” She didn’t dare tell him that she’d taken Anthony to the clinic. She had to tread carefully with Max these days, not make him feel as though she was backing him into a corner. All she needed was for him to resent her interference, bolt and take little Anthony with him.

If he were to leave, where would he live? How would he support himself and a baby?

“How’s your own job search coming?” he asked. “Did you get any nibbles from the résumés you filed with those online applications? “

“I’m still waiting to hear something.” But she wouldn’t actively seek a full-time position until Max found work and knew what his options were for day care.

“So you don’t have any interviews scheduled?”

“No, but I’m really not worried yet.” She had a healthy savings account, so she’d been able to pay the mortgage—so far.

“You know,” Max said, “I’ve been thinking. The Red Rock Medical Center offers low-cost checkups. Maybe I ought to take Anthony one day next week.”

Kirsten nearly jumped out of her chair, but she reeled in her excitement, knowing it was best to let Max think the whole idea had been his all along. Apparently, her hints had sunk in after she’d dropped the subject and let it go.

“You’re probably right,” she finally said in a ho-hum sort of way. “I could …” She caught herself, realizing that Max wanted to do the right thing, but for some reason, it was important for him to make those kinds of decisions on his own. “Well, I could look up the website on the computer and give you a phone number—in case you want to set up an appointment or ask questions.”