In a Heartbeat (Lifetime Book 2)

by Ariadne Wayne

  West. What was Dylan’s daughter’s name? No idea.

  I shrugged. The file was for a little girl with suspected pneumonia, referred by her GP.

  Standing, I paused for a moment, placing my palm against my lower back. At the end of the week, I would be going on maternity leave, getting ready for our baby to be born. I couldn’t wait.

  Pushing myself off the chair, I stood and made my way out to the waiting room.

  “Lisa West?”

  I locked eyes on a familiar face. Shit. Dylan’s wife.

  “No,” she said. That wasn’t an answer to my question; it was an “I don’t want to have anything to do with you” no.

  When I’d first seen her, her hair had been immaculate, brushed into a tidy ponytail. This time it was all over the place, dishevelled. I guess that went with worrying about her sick daughter. How much sleep had she had?

  “It’s going to take a while to get another doctor. Why don’t we go into the exam room and I’ll take a listen to Lisa’s chest?”

  Dylan’s wife’s green eyes flickered with irritation, and she frowned as she shifted her gaze to the little girl sitting beside her.

  “If it is pneumonia, the sooner we get started the sooner she can be more comfortable.” My back ached; my feet were killing me. If I’d rolled up my pants, my ankles would have disappeared. I could moan though, or I could just do my job. Lisa leaned against her mum, her lips forming into a pout. She had to be feeling miserable.

  “Okay.” She stood, and held out her hand for Lisa to take.

  I led them back into the exam room where they sat down, and taking a deep breath, I sat at the desk.

  “Lisa’s had this cough that wouldn’t go away. The doctor tried a couple of different antibiotics, but it just got worse. Then today, her temperature shot up. We went back this evening, and he said he heard a crackle in her chest and sent us here.”

  I nodded. “I’ll listen to her, and then we’ll get her up to X-ray as quick as we can. It’s not too crazy tonight, so hopefully we’ll get in and out before you know it.” Leaning over, I smiled at the sullen girl. “Shall we see if we can make you feel better, Lisa?”

  She nodded, snuggling closer against her mother. My heart ached watching them, knowing the pain I’d helped cause. I didn’t know if there had been any reconciliation and I didn’t want to ask. The less I could do to antagonise Stacey, the better.

  Should I offer to call Dylan? Crap. I wouldn’t do that for any other patient, I had to be consistent.

  “I’m going to listen to your chest.”

  “What happens if it is pneumonia?” Stacey’s green eyes bore a hole in my own.

  “It depends. If it doesn’t look too bad, I’ll give you a prescription and you can go home with her. If it’s extensive, we’ll find her a bed for the night and get her some IV antibiotics.”

  She nodded.

  “Can I see your tummy?” I asked Lisa. She looked at her mother, who nodded her assent, and together they lifted her shirt.

  I took a moment to sort out my stethoscope, and I warmed it in my hands before placing it on her chest. Lisa did so well, sitting perfectly still for me as we sat in the silence. I heard what her doctor had—the slight crackle in the chest. Her mother had got her in early, and I had a sneaky suspicion that while the X-ray would show something, it wouldn’t be much.

  Nodding, I leaned back. “I can confirm what your doctor heard, so I’ll just enter this into the system and if you want to go back out to the waiting room, someone will come through and take you to X-ray. Then I’ll bring you back in here and we’ll decide what to do.”

  For the first time, Stacey let out a small smile. Maybe she realised I wasn’t the enemy after all. I’d do whatever I could for her and her child, and even though our tiny piece of shared history no doubt still sat between us, we were working together.

  I guided both her and Lisa back out to the waiting room, and paused at the reception desk to see Heather.

  “You look exhausted,” she said.

  “I’ll be glad to get home. Although even being in bed is uncomfortable now.”

  She laughed. “I’ve been there. At least you’ve just got a few more days’ work.”

  “Roll on Friday.” I patted my belly.

  I smiled and nodded at Stacey and Lisa before making my way back to the exam room. At least I could sit down, giving my ankles a break. As much as I’d enjoyed being pregnant, I’d be glad when it was over. Soon enough I’d be able to sit at home and snuggle with my baby. Just the thought left me with warm tingles.

  My eyes weren’t keen on staying open, and I rested my head on my desk for a few minutes. Another fifteen minutes and I’d be out of there. My mind wandered to Lisa. Poor little thing. She seemed so miserable. Kids could go downhill so quickly, but treated, they could pick up just as fast.

  My computer buzzed as an email came through. Lisa’s X-ray.

  I opened the email, scanning the contents and stood. Just inside the door they sat, Lisa shivering a little and her mother holding her close. Without thinking, I patted my belly. Soon I’d be responsible for a tiny human, having to take care of her when she was sick, being there when she needed me. Balancing that with my career would be interesting.

  I used to think that nothing was as important as my work goals. That everything else would fall into place. How would I feel when the baby was born? Was Stacey a single mum now? How did she cope? Why did hormones make me overthink things even more than usual?

  “Stacey?”

  She looked up, and I smiled as she stood and followed me back to the exam room. She sat, looking at me expectantly as I went to my desk.

  “The X-ray confirms pneumonia, but we’ve caught it early.”

  “So what now?”

  “Now, I give you a prescription for some stronger antibiotics and we see how she goes. There’s a late-night pharmacy just down the road from here, so I would get them tonight and give her a dose before she goes to bed. Start them as soon as possible.”

  Stacey’s worried expression relaxed a little.

  “Her temperature is still up a little, so that’s what you’ll need to keep an eye on. Other than that, rest and fluids. Her cough might hang around for a couple more weeks.”

  Stacey nodded. “Thank you.” She kissed the top of Lisa’s head.

  “Lisa, take good care of your mum. I think she needs to get some rest too.”

  “We’re not the only ones,” Stacey said. “You look like you could do with a break.” She gave me a stilted smile.

  I grinned. “There’s not much chance of that even when I finish work.”

  Her eyebrows twitched as she squeezed Lisa tight. “You got that right.”

  I clicked through the system to create the prescription, signing it when it came out of the printer and handing it to her. “There you go.”

  “Thank you.”

  “It’s no problem. I’m glad we could get her seen so quickly.”

  Stacey chewed her bottom lip, her gaze flicking between my face and my belly. Her expression told me she wanted to say something. Maybe it was Lisa’s presence, but instead she stood, and I rose too.

  “Hope she’s feeling better soon.” I followed her out, turning left as she turned right toward the waiting room and exit.

  Sliding my coat from my shoulders, I threw it in my locker, pulling out my bag. Connor would have dinner ready when I got home, and I would be able to lie on the couch and rest my feet.

  “Just a few more days,” I whispered to the baby, placing my hand right where she was playing a game of football.

  I made my way through the waiting room and out the front door. It was a shorter walk to the car park going that way, and as I turned the corner, I spotted Stacey. I’d have to walk past her on my way to the car.

  She must have been settling Lisa in, and she closed the back door shut and stood, facing me as I approached.

  “Thanks again,” she said.

  “You’re welcome.”
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  “Your baby. Is it Dylan’s?” Her voice cracked.

  Holy shit. What a question. The sad tone, the glances. That’s what she wanted to ask me. “No. Oh my God, no.”

  “You’re not still seeing him?”

  “Since that day outside KFC, I’ve only ever seen him at work. I swear if I’d had any idea he was married, I wouldn’t have gone near him. The whole thing was just gross.”

  I looked down. Lisa was in her car seat, already asleep, and I smiled at how peaceful she looked. The antibiotics would work quite quickly once she started them, and maybe the pair of them would get a good night’s rest.

  “There was another one in Dunedin. Not long after Lisa was born. I knew taking him back was risky—never thought he’d do it again right after we’d moved.”

  I shifted my gaze to her. “I was in a low spot in my life. I’d broken up with my partner after having a miscarriage, and Dylan was there, saying and doing all the right things. I’m so sorry about what happened. My sister’s husband cheated on her, and I’ve seen first-hand the mess it makes.”

  She shuffled closer to the car. “He sees Lisa sometimes, but he never tells us what’s going on in his life. I didn’t really want to know, but when I saw you were pregnant …”

  “I got back together with my partner.” I grinned. “I’m a few days off maternity leave.”

  “Congratulations. Do you know what you’re having?”

  “A girl.”

  She reached out and brushed my belly with her fingers. I didn’t like being touched, and it bugged me when people did it without asking, but there was an air of sadness about her smile. As if it conjured up memories or wishes.

  Were we bonding? This was freaky, and not that comfortable.

  “Anyway, I should go. I’ve got dinner waiting at home. I hope Lisa’s feeling better soon. If she doesn’t pick up in the next couple of days, bring her back in. Get them to page me if you want. I’m here until Friday.”

  “Thank you.” Her voice was soft, her tone earnest. I had wished a million times that I could reverse what had happened, but instead I’d have to content myself with making peace with Stacey, if that was what this was.

  “You’re welcome. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going home to put my feet up to try and get my ankles back.”

  Stacey laughed and opened her car door. “I remember what that was like.”

  “Can’t wait for it to be over.” I smiled. “Have a good night.”

  As she drove away, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. She’d not been in Auckland long before things went bad. Was she alone? Lonely? Georgia was about the same age as Lisa. Did Lisa have friends?

  I shouldn’t worry so much, they weren’t my concern, but I placed my hand on my baby bump and closed my eyes for just a second. At least this baby would have her cousins. And what happened to them wouldn’t happen to Connor and I.

  It wasn’t much farther to my car, and I sank into the soft leather seat, letting out a long, loud breath as I did so. Every day seemed to last longer and longer, the countdown taking forever.

  At least there wasn’t a lot of traffic on the road.

  “Tired?” Connor asked as I dropped onto the sofa.

  “Exhausted. I need to find a way to float around rather than walk. My feet are killing me.”

  Connor stood. “Here, you lie down and put your feet up. I’ll grab you a plate of dinner and bring it out.”

  “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  “I know.” He waggled his eyebrows, leaning down to give me a kiss as he passed.

  Lying down on my side, I rested my head on the arm rest and closed my eyes. I was asleep before he brought the plate back.

  Chapter 27

  Maternity leave wasn’t as easy as I’d thought it might be. Being at home was boring. We were prepared, having swapped out the bed in one of the spare rooms for a cot. I’d read about women nesting, cleaning the house from top to bottom. I didn’t have the energy for that, flopping on the couch most days and staring at the TV.

  Mum told me to get as much sleep as I could before the baby came to keep us awake. Easier said than done. Simply moving was difficult, and my back ached, so I slept in the most awkward position on my side with a pillow between my legs when I could. Ella had always made it look so easy. How on earth had she done this three times?

  After two weeks of that, we hit my due date. How many babies were born on time? Late? I knew that this could last two more weeks before I would be induced.

  Two days after my due date, I leaned back on the bed, resting my hands on my belly. My little girl rolled and kicked, and I groaned.

  “You okay?” Connor climbed in beside me and placed his hand on mine.

  “Tired and feeling like an exercise machine. She’s going for it.”

  He grinned. “She’s going to be so full of energy. Just like her mum.”

  “I have zero energy.”

  Connor laughed and leaned over to kiss me. I could never get enough of his kisses. He tasted of vanilla ice cream, and I moaned as his tongue swept over mine.

  “Zero energy?” he teased.

  “I want ice cream now.”

  From behind his back, he produced a chocolate-covered ice cream on a stick. “Don’t tell me I can’t anticipate your needs.”

  “You always do.” I took the ice cream, and moaned again as I tasted the chocolate.

  “I always did know how to make you moan.” His grin was infectious, and I couldn’t help but reach out to touch his cheek.

  “I love you.”

  “I love you too.” He snuggled down under the sheets and placed his hand on my belly. “It’s time to come out, little one. Give your mother a break.”

  The baby kicked again, her foot right up in my ribs, and I winced. “Mummy is so over this, little baby.” I took a big bite of the ice cream. “Here, have that.”

  I slid further down into the bed, still taking bites of the ice cream. “This is so good.”

  “Anything to make you happy. Especially now.” Connor slid his arm the rest of the way over me. “I can see how uncomfortable you are.”

  I gulped down the rest of the ice cream and licked the stick. “Got any more?”

  “There might be some in the freezer. I bought a box of them.” Connor snuggled against me. “Want me to get out of bed and grab you another one?”

  “It’s tempting, but I’m kinda comfortable with you there.”

  “That makes a change. You’re always complaining about how uncomfortable you are.”

  I looked at him in mock horror. “I don’t complain. Pregnancy is so much fun.”

  “Let’s get married.”

  Connor’s comment took me by surprise, and I stared at him, looking for some indication he was kidding. We’d never discussed marriage, not even before we’d lost the baby. We’d talked about having children after I’d been working for a while, but nothing more than that.

  “Do we have to?”

  “It’d be nice. I’ll slap a ring on your finger to warn other men off.”

  “I think the big belly and the grumpy demeanour do that anyway.”

  He laughed. “You don’t want to?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. Never thought about. I kinda went off the idea when things went bad for Ella with Sam. Although she and Matt are so sickeningly happy.”

  Raising my hand, I ran my fingers through Connor’s hair as he lifted his head to kiss my baby bump.

  “How about we leave it open-ended? When you’re ready, you tell me,” he said.

  “That sounds fair. So when we’re old and surrounded by grandchildren, I’ll just let you know.”

  He looked up, melting me with that annoying smile of his and that disgusting floppy hair. “I’d wait the rest of my life for you, Vanessa Brown.”

  I grinned as he leaned over to kiss me. He loved me, and that was everything.

  He slid his arm under my neck, cradling me in his arms as best he could, given how bi
g I was. I loved these moments. Being close to Connor fed my craving for him. I never, ever wanted us to be apart again.

  “Good night,” I whispered.

  “Good night.” He placed his hand on my belly just as the baby kicked.

  I closed my eyes, feeling close to both of them.

  IT HAD to be my child, deciding to kick up a stink a little after midnight. For weeks she’d been stretching, and I’d been almost sure that at some point a foot would burst through my stomach in a scene straight out of Alien.

  “Connor.” I nudged him, and he groaned as he rolled over.

  “What? Do you want another ice cream?” His words were slurred with sleep, and I almost felt bad about waking him up.

  “Maybe we can take one to the hospital with us.”

  At that he sat bolt upright, his eyes wide, and then blinking in the pale lamplight. “Is it time?”

  “The pain has come on quickly and worse than any of those Braxton Hicks contractions ever were. I’ve just timed the two so far and …”

  “You waited until there were two? I thought you’d wake me with any weird pain.”

  I rolled my eyes. “It just got bad enough to wake me up. I wanted to see if it was worth waking you first. I’ll call the midwife.”

  He stumbled out of bed and pulled on a shirt.

  “It could be nothing. Come back to bed.”

  Connor frowned. “How far apart were the contractions?”

  “I’m not telling.” I giggled as he held his hands out. “I’ll tell you when it’s time to go. Otherwise you’ll turn into Cotton Wool Connor and drive me bananas.”

  “That’s not even funny.” His expression was so serious, and I beckoned him closer, pursing my lips as he leaned over.

  “Relax. I’ll give the midwife a call and follow her instructions. Happy?”

  He let out an exasperated sigh. “Yes.” As he gently pressed his lips to mine, I laughed against his mouth. “You are evil personified, Vanessa.”

  “And yet you still love me.”

  A crooked smile crossed his face. “Crazy, but true. I just want you and the baby to be safe.”

  “We will be. I’ll have to text Ali when we do leave for the hospital too.”