Free Mabe's Burden by Kelly Abell Page A

liver.”
    “ Hey, Mom, isn’t this the
place we came to the other day?” Emma asked.
    Meg shifted uncomfortably in her seat,
glancing around nervously. She jumped when the nurse at the
reception desk called her sister’s name.
    Mabe drew her brows together as she
looked at Meg. “You’ve been here recently?”
    “ They’re waiting,” Meg
urged. “Hurry up.”
    Mabe walked to the impatient nurse. She
looked back at her nervous sister, who smiled, offering a finger
wave.
    A few minutes later, Mabe was being
wheeled down to X-ray. She waved at Emma. “Be back in a minute,
squirt.”
    “ What will they do to her,
Mom?” Emma asked, her eyes round.
    Meg sat back in the chair and sighed.
“They’re going to take a picture of her bones to see if anything is
broken. If it is, they’ll put a cast on her arm.”
    “ Cool. Mary Harper at school
got her arm in a cast. We all signed it. Do you think I could sign
Aunt Mabe’s cast?”
    “ I’m sure she’d be very
happy if you signed it.”
    Emma was quiet for several minutes.
“I’m bored.”
    Mara smiled down at her impatient niece
and then looked at her sister. “You look exhausted. Are you not
sleeping?”
    Meg shrugged, handing her daughter her
phone. “Here, you can play Temple Run.”
    “ Really?” She brightened and
snatched the phone.
    Mara studied Meg. “You feeling okay?
You look a little pale. I know these last few days haven’t been a
picnic.”
    “ I’m okay. Did you talk to
Jacques this morning?”
    “ Yes, he’s already pestering
me to return to New York. I told him I’m planning on staying at
least a week or more. He wasn’t very happy, but I assured him I’d
be home before too long. Men.”
    Meg smiled. “I know. I’m glad I haven’t
had to deal with one.”
    She lowered her voice so Emma sitting
on the floor a few feet away wouldn’t hear. “Why didn’t you ever
tell Rod about Emma? He really should know.”
    Meg glanced at her daughter then back
at her older sister. “I guess. It just seemed easier not to back
then. As time passed, it got more awkward. I didn’t know how to get
in touch with him. I didn’t want anyone to find me or tell Dad, so
I just kept quiet.”
    “ How about now? The whole
town knows she’s your daughter. She was the center of attention at
the wake last night. His parents were even there. I saw you talking
to them. You don’t think they may have noticed a
resemblance?”
    “ I hope not.” Meg looked
alarmed.
    “ Why don’t you want him to
know? It’d be great for her to have a dad. You don’t have to marry
him, you know.”
    Meg laughed. “For all I know, he’s
already married.” She shifted in the chair, letting out a long
drawn out sigh. “It’s better this way. Let’s just leave it alone.
They’ll be plenty of time for truth or dare later. Besides, he’s
still off in the army. He doesn’t need stuff to worry about at this
late stage.”
    Mara raised an eyebrow. “What do you
mean?”
    Meg ignored her. “Look, here comes
Mabe.” She rose to greet her. “What’d they say?”
    “ It’s broken, damn it,” Mabe
said, disgusted. “They’re going to have to put a cast on it for six
damn weeks. I’m going to kill Aaron Shaw.”
    Mara exchanged a smirk with Meg over
their sister’s head.
    “ I know you two are smiling,
so cut it out.”
    Emma came running over to her aunt’s
side. “Can I sign your cast?”
     
    Mabe looked into her niece’s bright
blue eyes. The sweet expression and love she harbored for her niece
caused her irritation with Aaron to fade a little. Who could resist
such a precious face? “Of course you can, sweetie. You can be the
first.”
    They followed her down the hall. Just
as they got to the door, another doctor strode through the set of
double doors at the end of the corridor. Mabe spotted a look of
recognition on the man’s face when he spotted her sister. Meg
shoved her daughter into the examining room.
    “ Hey.” Emma
complained.
    “ Meg?” the