Lane looked at Indiana’s feet, noticing the boy had his ankles crossed. He reached out, touching the arch of Indiana’s foot with his index finger. He heard the sounds of a satisfied baby sucking at his mother’s breast and Indiana breathing through his nose.
“How is Lori?” Christine asked.
“She chased me out of the office to come and see you.”
Christine smiled, lifting the blanket to watch her son. Lane saw the transformation from young woman to mother in the way her eyes softened. Christine looked at her uncle. He saw the protective instinct sharpen her focus when she looked over his shoulder.
Lane heard a pair of notice-me heels.
“Lola’s back.” Christine held Indiana closer.
Lane stood and turned.
“Oh, hello.” Lola took off her cashmere coat, setting it over the head of Indiana’s crib.
“Don’t hang it there. I’m worried about infection,” Christine said.
There was a sharp intake of breath. Lola’s face reddened as she lifted the coat and held it draped over her arms. “How’s he doing?”
“Better,” Christine said.
“Can I hold him?”
“He’s hungry, and my uncle was here first.” Christine adjusted something under the blanket.
Lola looked at Lane, opened her mouth to protest, thought better of it, and closed her lips.
Wow, didn’t think I’d ever see that.
Christine sat up straighter, her eyes growing hard as she looked past her uncle.
Lane turned to see a woman wearing a long grey nylon winter coat. Her yellow dress reached the tops of her black winter boots. Her coat was open, and the ruffles of her dress covered her neck. Her hair was long and greying, snaking around her shoulder in a braided rope, falling over one breast, and reaching below her navel. Beside her stood a girl of maybe fourteen whose brown, wiry hair sprang out in an unruly fro. Her eyes were brown and bright, but the rest of her face was a mask. She wore a dress of the same material and style as the other woman. Her eyes lifted from the floor to study Christine.
“Hello, Sarah.” Christine said.
Indiana sighed.
They watched as Christine adjusted her left breast under the cover of the blanket, then tucked the blanket around the baby so they could see his sleeping face and thick black hair.
The woman with the braided hair took a step closer.
Lane saw fear in Christine’s eyes and moved to position himself between the women and his niece. He looked around at the babies who occupied nearby cribs.
“You don’t even recognize your own sister, Pauline?” The woman with the braid took another step closer.
The contempt in the woman’s voice slapped Lane out of his daze. “What do you want, Alison?”
“My grandson, of course. I’m here to meet him and hold him.”
Lola moved to stand shoulder to shoulder with Lane. He sensed Christine standing up. He could hear her palm tapping Indiana on the back. Indy burped. A machine whirred.
“Move out of my way,” Alison continued. “I need to see my grandson.”
Christine said, “A pickup truck will be downstairs with Milton or one of his bishops at the wheel waiting for my mother and the baby.”
Lane saw a nurse approaching. If anything starts in here, there’s a very good chance one of these babies will be hurt. He leaned his head to the left, making eye contact with the nurse. “Call security, please.”
The nurse went to a phone on the wall, lifting it from its cradle.
Alison looked over her shoulder. Sarah looked at the floor.
Alison turned back to face them. “God told me to raise this child.”
Lane shook his head.
Lola said, “Well, then, you can just tell God this child belongs with his mother.”
Alison took a sharp, short breath. “Who are you?” Alison tried to look around the pair standing between her and her objective.
“Indiana’s other grandmother.” Lola stood with feet apart.
“Then you understand it’s best for the child to be away from Pauline.” She pointed at Lane.
Lola kept her voice low, but Lane heard the threat. “I like to make up my own mind about things, and I’ve learned Christine is the same way.”
Lane saw a man enter the NICU. He was over six foot six. He wore a blue winter jacket, a green baseball cap, a frown, and the smell of the country.
Lane looked at the nurse who stood by the phone. He turned to Christine. “You holding Indy close?”
Christine said, “Damn right.”
Lane turned to Alison. “This is called child abduction.” He spotted the nurse hanging up the phone.
“God knows what kind of man you are, Pauline!” Alison’s eyes were wide. Sarah took a step back, looking at the exit sign.
The speaker in the hallway announced, “Code amber in NICU! Code amber in NICU!”
The man in the green baseball cap looked at Alison.
Lane looked past them, noting the room was filling with nurses. A woman in a black uniform sidled to the front of the crowd. She was about five and a half feet tall and appeared to be about three feet wide. Her black hair was tied back, and she wore Kevlar gloves. The white reflective labels on either side of her Kevlar vest read Security and Scott.
Dan arrived with four cups of coffee. His eyes opened wide. He positioned himself where he could see Christine and the baby. Then his eyes locked on the back of the big man with the green hat.
The man in the green hat turned to Scott. “We’re leaving with the child.”
Scott leaned sideways, looking at Christine. “You the mother?”
Dan set down the coffees on a tray, moving closer to the man with the green hat. Christine nodded.
Scott pointed at the man in the green hat. “Is he supposed to be here?”
Christine shook her head.
Scott took a step closer to the man in the green hat. “Come with me, sir.”
“He will not,” Alison said.
Scott looked at Christine, who said, “They want to take my baby.” Scott grabbed Alison by the elbow. Alison shook the guard off.
The man in the green hat reached for Scott. She took him by the wrist, snapping it back against his forearm. He yelped, falling to his knees.
Alison took a swing at Scott, who ducked the blow. A pair of nurses grabbed Alison by the elbows, dragging her out of NICU. The heels of Alison’s winter boots squealed across the floor. “That is my grandson! God wants him to be with me! God told me!”
A baby in a nearby crib began to scream. A nurse rushed to attend to the infant.
Lane looked over his shoulder at Christine, who was staring down at Indy and wiping her tears with the blanket. She began to sob. Dan moved closer, putting his arm around her shoulders.
Lola turned to Lane. “Is your family always this entertaining?”
“Your sister is fucking crazy.” Matt looked at Lane from where he sat in front of the TV with the sound muted. An NFL game was on.
“And now she’s in jail?” Alex asked.
“Four people were arrested, including the one waiting outside in the truck.” Lane looked at the screen, watching the players line up on either side of the football.
“What about Sarah?” Arthur rubbed Sam behind the ear. The dog smiled.
“She was released after my brother Joseph came down and took her to his place. She explained the plan was to take Indiana to a fundamentalist compound in the Utah desert.” The centre moved, the quarterback stepping back ready to pass. “I got a chance to talk with her. She seems very nice. Very quiet, but she did ask a couple of questions about Christine.”
The quarterback was blind-sided by a linebacker. Both players pounded the turf.