MoonlightDrifter

by Jessica Coulter Smith

  Cain thanked him, rolled up the window, and took off again. Once he was out of sight of the officer, he floored it again. He rushed into the hospital, skidding to a halt at the reception desk. The woman held up her finger while she finished her phone call, Cain’s pulse racing the whole time. When she was done, she smiled.

  “What can I do for you?”

  “My wife, Allie Boudreaux, was brought in a little while ago. She’s expecting and her doctor was worried about the baby.”

  The woman tapped on her keyboard. “She’s in the maternity ward, room C8.”

  “Where’s that?”

  “Go down this hall,” she said, pointing behind her. “Take the elevators up to the third floor. The maternity ward will be to your right. You’ll see the room numbers posted beside the doors. If anyone stops you when you enter the maternity ward, just tell them what you told me.”

  He nodded and took off. As he entered the maternity ward, he scanned the doors until he found the right room. Not bothering to knock, he pushed it open and hurried inside. Allie lay in the bed in a hospital gown, some sort of contraption strapped to her stomach. Cain hurried to her side, taking her hand in his.

  “Hey,” he said softly. “I got here as fast as I could. Jenny told me what happened when I got to the apartment.”

  She turned worried eyes his way. “I didn’t want to scare you. I thought the doc would tell me it was nothing and send me back home.”

  “Honey, you should have never tried to go through this by yourself. All you had to do was call me, or answer the phone when I rang you earlier.”

  “I’d already started spotting by then and I was worried you’d hear the anxiety in my voice and know something was wrong. I haven’t had a chance to listen to your message yet.”

  He smiled. “I was just calling to tell you I got the job. I went and filled out paperwork and picked up uniforms, which is why it took me so long to get here.”

  “That’s wonderful!”

  “How are you doing? What did the doctor say?”

  She touched the band wrapped around her middle. “They’re monitoring the baby, making sure it isn’t in distress. They said the heart rate was a little elevated so they wanted me to stay for a little while and see if it evens out.”

  A nurse bustled into the room, pushing a machine. “Allie, your doctor will be in momentarily. Since the fetus’s heart rate isn’t decreasing the way we’d like, he wants to do an ultrasound. It’s just to make sure everything is okay.”

  Allie gripped Cain’s hand tightly.

  The doctor entered the room and smiled at them. “Let’s see what that baby is up to.”

  He removed the monitor from her stomach, squirted a cold jelly like substance on her still flat tummy, and then pressed the wand to her, smearing the jelly around. A picture popped up on the machine and Cain was startled to realize that instead of looking at something the size of a peanut, they could see arms, legs, a body and head. What the hell? He knew his sister had always delivered about a month early, but surely the baby wasn’t developing that fast!

  “Hmm.” The doctor frowned. “When did you say you conceived?”

  “About a week ago.” Allie looked at him anxiously. “Why? What’s wrong?”

  “Your baby looks several months old right now. I’m a little concerned about how quickly it’s growing and developing. The good news is that the baby is moving pretty well. It does, however, look like it’s being deprived of oxygen. That’s a bad thing, in case you were wondering.”

  Allie paled and Cain felt like the world was tilting under his feet.

  “Let’s see what else we can find.” The doctor moved the wand around some more. “Aha! See that mark right there?”

  He pointed something shadowy out on the screen. It looked like a small line.

  “What is it?” Cain asked.

  “That’s a small tear in the placenta. Now, if Allie was close to delivering, this wouldn’t be a huge issue, we would just schedule a C-section. However, in the first trimester, this could end badly if we aren’t cautious. As I’ve already told her, no more caffeine. At all. In addition to that, I’m going to recommend strict bed rest for at least a month. After that, I want her to come back in and we’ll check again and see if the tear has mended itself.”

  Allie looked ready to pass out, and Cain wasn’t too sure that he wasn’t right there with her.

  “Bed rest?” he asked.

  “I want her flat on her back, in a bed, only getting up long enough to use the bathroom. She needs to limit her movement so we can try to rectify this.”

  “I understand,” Allie said. “Am I… am I going to lose the baby?”

  “Not if I can help it.” The doctor smiled. “Now, let me get your discharge papers ready and I’ll see you again in a month.”

  When they were left alone, Cain leaned down and pressed a kiss to Allie’s forehead. He watched he pulse pound in her throat and wished he could ease her worry. He knew it couldn’t be good for the baby, especially know their child was in distress. It would be all too easy for her to lose it. Not that he would love her any less if she did, but the thought of their baby not making it was enough to make his eyes tear.

  “We’ll get through this Allie. I swear to you, I’ll do anything I can to make this time easy for you. I think we need to hold off on moving until we know you’re off bed rest. It would be too stressful for you and the baby right now. When it’s time to pack, I’ll have the guys help me and we’ll pack your place for you. I don’t want you to do anything more than shout orders from the bed or couch.”

  She nodded, squeezing his hand once more.

  “I’m sorry, Cain.” Tears dripped down her cheeks. “You tried to tell me. You told me to slow down, to stop drinking coffee, and I didn’t listen. This is all my fault.”

  He smoothed her hair back from her face. “No, honey. This isn’t your fault. Don’t you even think of blaming yourself for this. Sometimes these things just happen.”

  She nodded.

  A nurse came in with their papers and he helped Allie get dressed. Making sure he took his time getting home, obeying the speed limit, he worried what this was going to do to Allie. She was strong, definitely tough, but she’d looked so broken lying in that bed, waiting to hear what would happen with their child.

  Epilogue

  One month later

  Cain entered the apartment, carrying a box of Chinese take-out. Allie had been craving some vegetable lo mein with sesame chicken. He knew it wasn’t good for her, but he hated to take away what little pleasure she could find right now. She’d been a trooper, staying in bed. He’d brought the TV from his dorm room and hooked it up in the bedroom for her. He’d made sure she had cable. A DVD player was out because she couldn’t get up to change the discs. The women of the pack had made an effort to check on Allie while he was at work, making sure she wasn’t alone for more than a half hour at a time. Their support had touched him.

  Allie had gotten bad news during her visit that morning. The doctor said it looked like the tear was trying to repair itself, but it hadn’t healed completely. She was on bed rest for another two months. Matt was being great about holding the house for them until they were able to move in. He said he didn’t want Cain to worry about making payments on something he couldn’t live in and keeping up payments on two other places. Allie had had no choice but to give up her job. The pack had liked the idea of a building manager so much that Connor hadn’t had a choice but to hire someone else.

  If Allie was bothered by the loss of her job, she hid it well. Connor had told her that she could keep the apartment rent free, but she hadn’t felt right doing that. So Cain was paying for both the dorm and the apartment. It was chipping away at his savings, but it was worth it, just knowing Allie was safe and comfortable. Matt had heard what a financial strain he was under and had knocked another five thousand off the house.

  Cain set everything down in the kitchen and pulled out some paper plates. He filled Al
lie’s first and snagged a cold bottle of water for her. Heading into the bedroom, his heart turned over at the sight of her lying in the bed. Her hair was a tousled mess because she hadn’t brushed it that morning, but the covers were smooth, letting him know she’d been as still as possible. He’d heard her praying last night that the baby would be okay and that she would be able to get out of bed again. Her prayer had partially gone unanswered.

  Cain had done a little research on fetal distress and knew that if the baby didn’t get the proper amounts of oxygen, it could cause brain damage. He hadn’t shared that with Allie, not wanting to make her worry even more. She’d done everything the doctor told her to do, in hopes that their baby would be okay. She might not have asked to get pregnant so early, but he could tell she was going to be a wonderful mother. Because of the rate of the baby’s development, her glucose test had been scheduled for the next morning. Cain wasn’t sure entirely what all they did, other than check for diabetes, but the doctor had mentioned something about a test for Down ’s syndrome. He hated to think their baby could have it, but if he, or she, did it wouldn’t make Cain love them any less. And he knew Allie felt the same way.

  “Are you hungry?” he asked as he stepped into the room.

  Her eyes lit up when she saw him. “I’m starving.”

  “Didn’t anyone give you a snack while I was gone?” he asked, frowning.

  “I had two, but the last one was over two hours ago.”

  He smiled. “Well, we can’t have you and the baby hungry, now can we?”

  Allie took the plate from him, pushing herself up against the pillows. Despite her hunger, she ate slowly, savoring each bite. Cain sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed her belly. She already had a baby bump and she was only five weeks along. It amazed him how fast their child was growing. The doctor had told them they could probably tell the sex of the baby during the ultrasound, but the little one hadn’t cooperated. The baby had faced away from them the whole time so they hadn’t even been able to see its face.

  Cain leaned down and kissed her stomach, murmuring a few words to the baby. He always took time to talk to his child, hoping the baby could hear him and would recognize his voice. He felt a kick against his cheek and smiled. According to the doctor, the baby looked more like a four month old than a one month old fetus. He was astounded, but no more so than Cain and Allie. Cain had called his parents to tell them what was going on. His mother had some surprising information for him. It seemed that he, too, had developed at a fast rate. He’d been born when his mother was just four months along, and had been a full-term baby. No one had been able to explain it. For Allie’s sake, Cain hoped this pregnancy moved just as swiftly, so she could have some relief. They would both feel better after they got to hold their child in their arms.

  “How was work?” she asked between bites.

  “Same as usual. They wanted to move me to the midnight shift, but I told them what was going on with your pregnancy and said I really needed to be home at night. They understood and kept me on second shift. I thought it would be easier for people to check on you between two and ten, than ten and six.”

  “That was nice of them, especially since they’ve never met me.”

  “We’ll fix that just as soon as we can. Is there anything else I can get you before I shower and change?”

  She shook her head.

  Cain set her plate aside for a moment. He cradled her face between his palms and kissed her gently. He was always so afraid she’d break. No sex for a month had been hell on him, but he’d endured, knowing it was for the good of his wife and child. Truthfully, even if she was cleared from bed rest, he’d still be too scared to touch her intimately. He didn’t want any harm to come to either of them.

  “I love you,” he told her.

  She smiled. “I love you, too. By the way, your mother called me. She said that she’s loading up the car in the morning and driving here. I explained we didn’t have a spare bedroom, but apparently Connor has offered her the use of his home during her stay. She said she wants to be here to help.”

  “Sounds like Mom. She’ll probably drive you crazy. Me, too for that matter.”

  Allie laughed. She did that so little these days that the sound warmed his heart. Maybe his mother coming would be a good thing. It would give Allie someone who could stay with her the entire time he was gone. He knew his mother would wait on her hand and foot and make sure she got the rest she needed.

  He rubbed her belly again. “I meant what I told you before. We’ll get through this, Allie. You and the baby are going to be fine and, before long, we’ll be one big happy family. After the baby gets here, we’ll move into our new house and, if you decide to work, I’ll help you find a job.”

  Her eyebrows lifted. “I thought you didn’t want your mate to work.”

  “The truth?”

  She nodded.

  “I’d feel better if you were home with the baby. I wouldn’t be worried about the childcare worker being vigilant enough. And I wouldn’t worry about you overdoing it. Working and raising a baby is going to be hard work, Allie. But I know being a stay-at-home mom isn’t really your thing.”

  She bit her lip. “I’ve done a lot of thinking, lying here in this bed. I’ve spent the past four weeks terrified that something would happen to our baby, and it made me realize something. If I went back to work, a job where I couldn’t take the baby with me, I’d be worried sick the whole time I was gone. I wouldn’t get any work done because I’d think non-stop about the baby.”

  “What are you saying, Allie?”

  “I’m saying that I want to give the whole stay-at-home mom thing a try. Cassie and Harper seem to enjoy it. Maybe… maybe it’s time to embrace the changes in my life and start a new chapter.”

  He kissed her again. “I think that’s a very smart decision. And if you decide later that you want to work, I won’t stand in your way. Just be prepared for me to snap and snarl and threaten anyone who watches our child with life in prison if she so much as gets a hang nail.”

  Allie laughed. “And if it’s a boy?”

  “Same thing goes.”

  She cupped his cheek. “You’re going to be a wonderful father, Cain. I look forward to the day we can hold our baby.”

  “Me, too.”

  As Cain gazed into her eyes, he realized that even if the baby didn’t make it, he had everything he needed right there in his arms. The baby would just be an added bonus. Of course, that wasn’t saying he wouldn’t do everything in his power to make sure his child survived and thrived, because he would. But knowing that Allie was all he needed, that she was his world, was enough to get him through the upcoming months.

  If you’ve read Moonlight Angel, you’ve already had a taste of Moonlight Keeper, the next Ashton Grove novel. As a thank you for purchasing Moonlight Drifter, I’m going to give you another taste of Moonlight Keeper. Enjoy!

  Aria’s body ached, her latest beating having left fresh welts and bruises. She felt like one big walking sore, but no matter what they dished out, no matter how severe her punishment, she refused to bend to her uncle’s wishes. It would be a long, cold day in Hell before she’d bow and scrape before the likes of Boudreaux LeBlanc, her uncle’s best friend. The man was insane, not to mention the meanest son of a bitch she’d ever met. He’d never had a kind word for anyone in his life, and now her luck had run out because he’d decided he wanted her for his mate. Even worse, her uncle was in complete agreement. Sadistic bastard.

  Boudreaux wasn’t the first man her uncle had tried to pair her with. There had been three others over the past two years, and Aria knew what would happen when she refused to back down. The pain and horror of what happened those other times lived on in her mind. While it may not have scarred her physically, emotionally… well, let’s just say she wasn’t going to trust men very easily ever again. And if she were never intimate with one again, it would be too soon.

  She pushed the curtain aside and peered through the windo
w. It had been quite a while since she’d been free to roam the pack grounds. Uncle Remus had deemed her unfit company, until she gave her word that she would mate with the loco Boudreaux. Since that was never going to happen, she’d been locked in her room for the past week. She was lucky her small closet had been turned into a tiny bathroom when she’d turned sixteen, otherwise she wouldn’t even had a toilet to use or a sink so she could wash up. Her hair was filthy, the long strands greasy and repellent. She’d plaited it, doing the best she could with what little she was given.

  Uncle Remus was afraid if he let her out of her room, she’d find a way out of the small cabin, and once that happened, he knew she’d hit the road. Well, swamp. It was a long way to the nearest town. What he didn’t realize was that the boards in the corner of her room were loose, enough so that she’d been able to dig a little each night. It wasn’t a big whole, but it was big enough for her animal to fit through. All she had to do was shift, dig the rest of the way out, and she would be free! Naked, but free. But hey, everything came with a price. At this point, anything was better than prostituting herself to an abusive asshole for the rest of her life. However long that might be. Boudreaux had already had one mate. She’d died less than a year after their mating ceremony.

  She winced as she moved, her muscles pulling and contracting painfully. Aria had heard murmurs in the hall earlier, when no one thought she was listening, or maybe they just didn’t care if she knew her fate. Her uncle was desperate and had determined the best way to control her would be to drug her. He’d ordered Ruth Ann, the pack cook, to dose her food with sedatives, like valerian root. She was certain there would other things in there, things meant to keep her calm and docile. She had little doubt they would continue to dose her food until it took effect, and since she didn’t plan to eat it, that could be a while. Well, either that, or she’d starve to death.

  No, she needed to escape and she needed to escape right now.