by Blake Pierce
Allen straightened up. “What for?”
Kate knew that sometimes, doctors asked female patients for a word in private, just to make sure things were good at home and that there would be a support system for them when they returned home. But she wasn’t so sure that was why Dr. Foster wanted her alone. Still, she didn’t want Allen to be alarmed either way.
“It’s okay, Allen,” she said. “It’s standard for women patients.”
Allen didn’t look so certain, but he got up obediently. He kissed her on the forehead and walked toward the door. “I’ll be in the waiting room,” he said before closing the door.
When Allen was gone, Dr. Foster took a seat in the chair Allen had been occupying. He carried a clipboard in his hands but didn’t look at it. Instead, he looked straight at Kate. It drove her nuts that she could not read his face.
“Is something wrong?” she asked.
“I really don’t know how to answer that. You’re perfectly healthy, Ms. Wise—with the exception of the knee, of course. And as far as I can tell, you’re in such good shape that you should be able to recover from this surgery in no time.”
“Do you think I’ll be able to work anymore?”
Dr. Foster grinned here and shrugged. “Well, from what I understand, this last case had you tackling someone on a roof and being hung by your neck. I would never advise anyone to do any of that, much less a fifty-six-year-old woman. Now, I know it’s poor taste to mention a woman’s age, but for just a second, I think we need to dwell on that. You’re fifty-six and are perfectly physically fit, bum knee aside. As a matter of fact, I’d feel comfortable saying there are probably some forty-year-olds out there that would kill to have your physique.”
“With all due respect,” Kate said, “I appreciate the compliments, but I know when someone is trying to sneak up to a point. So can we just get to it?”
“Agent Wise, we ran your blood work and the results came back about fifteen minutes ago. From what I’m seeing, you are somehow pregnant.”
The words made no sense to her. She knew what they meant but it seemed as if someone had told her a joke and her brain was trying to figure out the punchline. When it all sorted itself out, only one word came to mind.
“Bullshit.”
Foster smiled but got to his feet and showed her the test results. “When I saw it, I had them run the test again and it showed the same results. Obviously, we’d like to run an actual verified pregnancy test but I can tell you right now that when we catch it in a blood test, it turns out to be accurate more than ninety percent of the time.”
“I’m fifty-six…”
“I know. I made a point to make a big deal about that a few seconds ago, remember?”
“How’s that even possible?”
“It’s uncommon for women your age to get pregnant, but not entirely unheard of. As a matter of fact, a friend of mine in this very hospital delivered a healthy baby boy to a forty-nine-year-old woman just a few weeks ago.”
“I’m not forty-nine,” Kate said, getting irritated and, if she was being honest, scared.
“I know. But yes…it is very uncommon, but it does happen. I’d have to check my facts on this, but there have been reports of women as old as sixty getting pregnant without any medical assistance. Again…it’s uncommon, but it does happen.”
“You’ll forgive me if I don’t feel super special and privileged.”
“Well, I wanted to tell you by yourself. I see no ring on your finger, so can I assume the man that was here with you is a boyfriend?”
“He is.”
“And would he be—?”
“Yes. If this insane news you’re giving me right now is in fact true, he would be the father.”
“Would you like for me to call him in? I thought you might want to know…and to maybe tell him before the surgery.”
She thought about it for a moment and then shook her head. “No. Not yet. I don’t even…I don’t even know what I’m going to do about it.”
“I understand. Want me to call him back in anyway? Just so you can process it all as we get ready for the surgery?”
“Yes, please.”
Foster walked toward the door and paused, turning back to her. “Are you going to be okay, Agent Wise?”
“Yeah,” she said, though the roulette wheel of emotions was still rolling in her head and she had no idea how to feel about what she had just heard. Part of her was still waiting for Foster to tell her he was just kidding, but when he closed the door behind him without saying anything else, she knew this wasn’t going to happen.
“What the hell?” she said to the empty room. “What in the absolute hell?”
She remained in silence until Allen reentered the room three minutes later. He took his seat again, reaching out and taking her hand.
“Nervous?” he asked.
A little sob caught in her throat. She almost told him, but she could not seem to find the strength to gather those impossible words together.
I’m pregnant.
“No,” she said, surprised to find that she meant it. “No, I’m not nervous at all.”
With that, she smiled at him and suddenly had a pretty good idea of what she had to do—and what her life might look like from this point on.
NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER!
IF SHE HEARD
(A Kate Wise Mystery—Book 6)
“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery. Blake Pierce did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.”
--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone)
IF SHE HEARD (A Kate Wise Mystery) is book #7 in a new psychological thriller series by bestselling author Blake Pierce, whose #1 bestseller Once Gone (Book #1) (a free download) has received over 1,000 five star reviews.
Two teenagers, home for their winter break from college, are found murdered in their hometown. There is clearly a serial killer on a rampage, and the FBI is stumped—but can FBI agent Kate Wise, 55, still recovering from giving birth, enter his twisted mind and stop him before another girl dies?
An action-packed thriller with heart-pounding suspense, IF SHE HEARD is book #7 in a riveting new series that will leave you turning pages late into the night.
Book #8 in the KATE WISE MYSTERY SERIES will be available soon.
IF SHE HEARD
(A Kate Wise Mystery—Book 6)
Did you know that I've written multiple novels in the mystery genre? If you haven't read all my series, click the image below to download a series starter!
Blake Pierce
Blake Pierce is author of the bestselling RILEY PAGE mystery series, which includes fifteen books (and counting). Blake Pierce is also the author of the MACKENZIE WHITE mystery series, comprising thirteen books (and counting); of the AVERY BLACK mystery series, comprising six books; of the KERI LOCKE mystery series, comprising five books; of the MAKING OF RILEY PAIGE mystery series, comprising four books (and counting); of the KATE WISE mystery series, comprising six books (and counting); of the CHLOE FINE psychological suspense mystery, comprising five books (and counting); and of the JESSE HUNT psychological suspense thriller series, comprising five books (and counting).
ONCE GONE (a Riley Paige Mystery--Book #1), BEFORE HE KILLS (A Mackenzie White Mystery—Book 1), CAUSE TO KILL (An Avery Black Mystery—Book 1), A TRACE OF DEATH (A Keri Locke Mystery—Book 1), and WATCHING (The Making of Riley Paige—Book 1) are each available as a free download on Amazon!
An avid reader and lifelong fan of the mystery and thriller genres, Blake loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.blakepierceauthor.com to learn more and stay in touch.
BOOKS BY BLAKE PIERCE
A JESSIE HUNT PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE SERIES
THE PERFECT WIFE (Book #1)
THE PERFECT BLOCK (Book #2)
; THE PERFECT HOUSE (Book #3)
THE PERFECT SMILE (Book #4)
THE PERFECT LIE (Book #5)
CHLOE FINE PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE SERIES
NEXT DOOR (Book #1)
A NEIGHBOR’S LIE (Book #2)
CUL DE SAC (Book #3)
SILENT NEIGHBOR (Book #4)
HOMECOMING (Book #5)
TINTED WINDOWS (Book #6)
KATE WISE MYSTERY SERIES
IF SHE KNEW (Book #1)
IF SHE SAW (Book #2)
IF SHE RAN (Book #3)
IF SHE HID (Book #4)
IF SHE FLED (Book #5)
IF SHE FEARED (Book #6)
IF SHE HEARD (Book #7)
THE MAKING OF RILEY PAIGE SERIES
WATCHING (Book #1)
WAITING (Book #2)
LURING (Book #3)
TAKING (Book #4)
STALKING (Book #5)
RILEY PAIGE MYSTERY SERIES
ONCE GONE (Book #1)
ONCE TAKEN (Book #2)
ONCE CRAVED (Book #3)
ONCE LURED (Book #4)
ONCE HUNTED (Book #5)
ONCE PINED (Book #6)
ONCE FORSAKEN (Book #7)
ONCE COLD (Book #8)
ONCE STALKED (Book #9)
ONCE LOST (Book #10)
ONCE BURIED (Book #11)
ONCE BOUND (Book #12)
ONCE TRAPPED (Book #13)
ONCE DORMANT (Book #14)
ONCE SHUNNED (Book #15)
ONCE MISSED (Book #16)
MACKENZIE WHITE MYSTERY SERIES
BEFORE HE KILLS (Book #1)
BEFORE HE SEES (Book #2)
BEFORE HE COVETS (Book #3)
BEFORE HE TAKES (Book #4)
BEFORE HE NEEDS (Book #5)
BEFORE HE FEELS (Book #6)
BEFORE HE SINS (Book #7)
BEFORE HE HUNTS (Book #8)
BEFORE HE PREYS (Book #9)
BEFORE HE LONGS (Book #10)
BEFORE HE LAPSES (Book #11)
BEFORE HE ENVIES (Book #12)
BEFORE HE STALKS (Book #13)
AVERY BLACK MYSTERY SERIES
CAUSE TO KILL (Book #1)
CAUSE TO RUN (Book #2)
CAUSE TO HIDE (Book #3)
CAUSE TO FEAR (Book #4)
CAUSE TO SAVE (Book #5)
CAUSE TO DREAD (Book #6)
KERI LOCKE MYSTERY SERIES
A TRACE OF DEATH (Book #1)
A TRACE OF MUDER (Book #2)
A TRACE OF VICE (Book #3)
A TRACE OF CRIME (Book #4)
A TRACE OF HOPE (Book #5)