AllFreeNovel
Share Us
You’re doing great, Treasure. Thank you.
A thick lump formed her throat as she held back tears of her own. It was important to be strong for Holly.
Emily stood and offered to go ask about having a snack brought in. “Anything working to settle your stomach these days?” she asked Holly.
Holly shook her head. “Just some plain bread or some broth will be fine. And maybe a cup of coffee.”
Emily smiled. “I won’t tell Elijah.”
Elijah was… extremely health conscious when Holly was pregnant, and insisted she follow all the medical guidelines and then some, which meant she had to occasionally sneak a cup of coffee to keep from murdering him.
A small tray of finger foods arrived along with coffee service and a bowl of chicken soup a few minutes later, and everyone tried to snack as twenty minutes of silence dragged on.
The radio crackled to life and an out of breath voice came through garbled at first.
“Repeat that please?” Gemma asked.
“We found her. Tell Holly we’re on our way back.”
Holly—who had been standing in front of the coffee cart—crumpled to the floor, and Emily got to her just in time to break her fall.
“Is she OK?” Gemma asked, doing her best to sound calm.
“Freezing but awake and crying. We’ll have a doctor look her over, but she’s OK.”
“You hear that,” Emily crooned in Holly’s ear. “She’s fine, sweetheart. They’ll be here any minute.”
Gemma slipped out with the radio and headed for the manager’s office. “Do we have a doctor on site?” she asked the woman.
She held up her own radio and nodded. “Already being dispatched to the Barrett’s suite. I heard she was found on the radio.”
Gemma nodded her thanks and jogged back to the conference room. “Let’s get upstairs. The doctor is on his way there and the men will bring Melissa to us.”
Emily helped Holly up, and the threesome got into the elevator.
Holly had quelled her tears by the time they reached her suite, and she paced until the doctor arrived with Elijah, Russell, and David in tow.
Russell looked almost as pale as Elijah as they laid the tiny girl on the bed and began removing her clothes to warm her up and let the doctor look her over.
Gemma locked eyes with her husband, and they met each other in the middle of the room. It took all her strength not to fall apart in his arms when he wrapped her in one of his tight hugs. Now wasn’t the time for that. It was an occasion for celebration. Melissa was safe. But Gemma felt like she was going to shatter into a million pieces from the stress of the day.
“Your little girl was smart to climb under that porch when she got too cold and disoriented. And you had her bundled up good, so her fingers, feet, and other extremities stayed relatively warm. It saved her life,” the doctor said. “We’ll treat her hypothermia by bringing her body temperature back to normal. I would recommend sticking to indoor activities for the next couple of days, and we’ll keep a close eye on her for any other injuries.”
Elijah sat next to his wife and tucked little Melissa into an electric blanket someone had brought in. She was awake and crying, and Holly did her best to soothe her.
Russell stepped away from Gemma, and she didn’t take her eyes off him while he made a hushed phone call.
A few minutes later, a knock sounded at the door and Russell opened it wide enough to take a thermos and cup from whoever was in the hallway and pass them a large tip. He twisted the cap off the thermos and poured the liquid into the cup.
Gemma watched with curiosity as he crossed the room to the giant bed and sat next to the little girl.
“Do you like hot chocolate, Melissa?” he asked, holding the cup out to her.
She stopped whimpering and looked at Elijah and then back at Russell. “Daddy said I couldn’t have any if I didn’t eat my breakfast.”
“That’s the cool thing about having Uncle Russell here,” he said with a wink at Holly and Elijah. “Mom and Daddy can’t tell me no, and Uncle Russell says you get to have all the hot chocolate you want.”
She eyed him warily and looked at her parents for permission. They shrugged and gave her an exaggerated sigh. “If Uncle Russell says then I guess you get to have it, baby,” Elijah said with a wink.
