Page 7 (1/2)

BY LAURA WRIGHT

CHAPTER 1

THE baby e the child, unable to curb the proud and relieved s on her sweaty face, Dr Julia Cabot reached across the bed and placed him on his weary mother&039;s belly and chest Annette, one of the three nurses assisting, quickly covered him with a blanket, then suctioned his nose and e In seconds, a hearty wail erupted fro off the walls and calling forth a duet of sighs from the baby&039;s father and aunt

Twenty-one hours of hard labor This wolanced at the clock "9:51 p on the chart "Do you want ht on his mom&039;s chest will be fine" Julia returned to her work, another nurse assisting as she delivered the placenta "So, Mrs Dubroux, do you have a na her gaze fro up at her husband "Garth Allan Dubroux, just like his daddy"

The man beamed

"Nines across the board, Doc," Annette announced,the note in her chart

"Well, well, you&039;ve got a strong one there," Julia said, pulling off her gloves and letting the nurse take over with the cleaning She walked around to the side of the bed and eyed the precious new family member "Welcome to the world, Garth"

As the baby rooted around on her chest, Mrs Dubroux s her eyes "Thank you Thank you so odsend, Doctor Cabot," Mr Dubroux added, his ar around his wife&039;s shoulders "Marilyn would&039;ve been in the surgery room if it wasn&039;t for you"

"It wasto hold back the wave of e to her career at New Orleans General "One of the nurses will help you with breastfeeding if you need it, and Doctor Salander will be coave theood luck"

"Nice work, Doc," Annette said as they left the rooift"

Julia headed for the nurses&039; station She needed to fill out soht Before she was done, period She didn&039;t want to be rude, but talking about her work right noell, it was too painful She was going toup next to her, Annette clucked her tongue as she watched Julia scribble on Marilyn Dubroux&039;s chart "Damn shame Best baby doctor this hospital&039;s ever seen"

The words pinged inside Julia&039;s heart She was good at her job because she believed in it so much, truly cared about each and every new family that came to the hospital She wanted their first moments as a unit to be special because after they left, when they got hoed

"You want to stay at ar?"

Julia turned to face the nurse With her beehive of graying brown hair and warm, chocolate eyes, Annette Monty was hard to resist She had that kind of older woman, motherly charm that was so irresistible to one who&039;d lost her owna connection that was just days away fro severed wasn&039;t wise

"Thanks, Annette," Julia said, giving the wo for it?"

The sour note in Annette&039;s voice made Julia flinch "No"

"Bastard"

Julia&039;s lips pressed together and she returned to her charts

"The worst kind of asshole," Annette continued

Yes And what a fool she&039;d been to believe herself in love with him

"Wish he wasn&039;t my boss" The nurse sniffed with irritation "If I didn&039;t need this job, I ht into that new office of his and-"

That brought Julia&039;s chin up once again She eyed the woman seriously "Don&039;t even think about it You have three teenagers at hoery"

Ial, Julia Cabot That ht pole for hurting you like he did-not getting a gawd da how soa-talented physician, desperately disappointing o Keeping her voice just above a whisper, she hissed, "Brings you all the way out here from California, promises you a home and a family, and," her voice dropped to a whisper, "takes that salope into your bed"

A still shot flashed in Julia&039;s ht for a week Lunch hour, coery, a hot meal She&039;d heard it, heard them, the minute she&039;d walked into the house, and yet she couldn&039;t stop herself She&039;d walked up those stairs, heart pounding, food clutched in her shaking hands, and into the bedroom she shared with Gary

It&039;s a surreal experience to see the person you care about and trust s spread, with one of the new nurses fro else entirely when they don&039;t even stop, when they don&039;t pull out or even have the decency to look horrified when they utter breathlessly, "What are you doing here, Julia? You&039;re supposed to be at the hospital"

"You going to stay here in New Orleans or go back home to Hollywood country?"

Annette&039;s question tore Julia fro vision, and she cleared her throat "I haven&039;t decided where I&039;"

Or when

It was a little pathetic to ad in a hotel and she couldn&039;t seeo? Where did she belong? Her mother was dead, her father had never been in the picture, and she had no siblings, and the few friends she&039;d ed to make in medical school were scattered around the country It had been the main reason she&039;d accepted Gary&039;s offer to move to New Orleans She&039;d been smitten with hi for her But the one thing she&039;d wanted above all else was a chance to create a life, a community-a family

Lucky little Garth