"Pamina is her nanny, naturally I trust her to care for our niece." He looked pained, like explaining himself was far from what he wanted to be doing. "She came with the highest of recommendations from a reputable agency."
Who cared? Pamina was not Annette. "Jo-Jo needsfamily." The baby neededher.
Annette was the only consistent in the baby's life right now. None of the rest of the family, on either side, had enough of a bond with Jo-Jo to take over for Annette. As much as it hurt Annette to acknowledge, Jo-Jo did not cry for her parents when she was distressed now. She wanted Annette.
Annette had offered to come with them to California and bring Jo-Jo, but Joyce had been adamantly opposed to the idea. They'd learned that was part of what turned out to be a pretty severe case of postpartum depression. Joyce had not bonded with her daughter because she'd been emotionally unavailable. She'd wanted to change that as soon as they got back to New York. It was Annette's job to make sure Jo-Jo felt loved and secure until that could happen.
Once her sister and Fantino were well. Theywouldget well.
And nanny, or no nanny, Annette wasn't going anywhere until Joyce and Fantino had come home. Ridiculously duped, she'd believed Pamina was Carlo's clumsy attempt at givinghersupport after the accident. Valentina and Alceu had gone straight to the hospital, dropping in twice to see how she was doing and murmuring their approval upon finding a nanny in residence to help her.
Carlo had not been to the house in the week since the tragedy, not that Annette blamed him. His brother had been in ICU that entire time. What time he wasn't spending overseeing the company and covering for his brother, he'd been at the hospital.
While Annette had longed to be there as well, at her sister's bedside, she'd only been able to visit once because she had to do what was best for Jo-Jo.
The nanny had taken direction easily from Annette and had never once alluded to the fact that Carlo was her employer, not Annette. She'd seen the bond Annette had with Jo-Jo and remarked upon it with approval, expressing relief the baby had someone consistent in her life.
Annette had liked Pamina and considered her a godsend.
"How can a workaholic like you take care of a baby?" she demanded. "You've been her effective parent for a week and you knew that, but you haven't made the time to even check in on her once!"
"I speak to Pamina daily."
"She never told me that." And it did not help Annette's feelings. Because how involved could those discussions have been if the fact Annette was there had never come up? "Anyway, it's not the same as being there. What if Jo-Jo didn't like her?"
"My parents assured me that Jocinda and Pamina were a good fit."
But clearly they hadn't mentioned that Annette had been there, taking care of the baby already. Did no one in her life think she was worthy of being family, much less even mentioned?
Jo-Jo needed her. Couldn’t they all see that? She looked wildly around the office filled with people Annette couldn't help feeling despised her, regardless of anything said in the past.
Valentina was looking at her with pity. Alceu wasn't looking at her at all. He seemed entirely checked out of the proceedings, grey with stress that only seemed to grow the longer his son stayed in a coma.
Annette's parents were looking at her all right and their expressions were not warm.
"If you'd left well enough alone, Joyce would have stepped up and been the mother she needed to be," her mother accused. "They would never have been in California in the first place."
Those words hit Annette like a body blow and she stumbled. "No," she whispered. "Don't say that."
"Jocinda is better off without you in her life, just as your sister would have been," her mother went on remorselessly.
"That is enough." Carlo's words came out like bullets. "Annette did not cause the crash."
"We are all upset," Valentina added. "However, blaming one another will do nothing to bring either of our children out of coma any faster."
Elise pressed her lips together tightly, saying nothing more, but the look she gave Annette was filled with condemnation.
Guilt beat at Annette because she knew her mother was right about one thing. Jo-Jo's parents would not be in hospital if they had not gone to the clinic in California for treatment.
"She needed help," Annette said to no one in particular. "Joyce was suffering from a hormone and chemical imbalance." Her sister had continued to have thoughts of self-harm and hurting Jo-Jo, even when Annette was there taking care of them both. "It wasn't going to get better on its own."
"Back in my day, a woman knew she had to do whatever it took to be a mother. My daughter would have gotten over herhormonesif you hadn't interfered," Elise said staunchly.
"I'm your daughter too," Annette couldn't help saying. She might be adopted, but she was stilltheirs. Hadn't they all said it often enough?
Her dad wasn't her daddy anymore. Now that was Floyd Hudson, not his brother William. She'd been punished every time she'd forgotten that important fact and called the wrong man dad.
"No daughter of ours would make the kinds of choices you've made with your life." Her father's expression was every bit as repudiating as his tone.