She blinked at him.
“Just barely, though. About two or three weeks, near as I can tell,” he continued. “But I’m not an expert on female plumbing, so I’ve called in an OB-GYN to check you out before you head up to the OR.”
She couldn’t have spoken if her life depended on it.
“If that handsome hunk of a man next door is yours,” a female voice said, walking up to the bed on Willa’s right side, “I don’t blame you for calling out for him. If he were mine, I’d be shouting his name every day and twice on Sundays. I’m Mary, and I’ll be your in-flight attendant until we hand you over to the OR jocks.” She touched Willa’s shoulder. “Sam’s well enough that they’re threatening to strap him down if he doesn’t quit trying to come find you. I assured him you’re doing just fine, but I don’t think he believed me.” She looked over at the doctor. “Could we let them see each other? It’ll make our girl here feel better, and I know it will make Sam a whole lot easier to deal with.”
“I’ll go talk to Malcolm,” he said, heading out of the room.
“Dr. Seuss?” Willa called out.
He stopped and turned, letting out a heavy sigh. “It’s Zeus, as in the handsome, powerful god.”
“Sorry,” Willa said, darting a glance at Mary, then back at him. “Um, what you told me about…about my condition. Can we keep that just between ourselves?”
He placed his hand over his heart. “Don’t worry, it’ll be our little secret.”
Mary lightly patted her shoulder. “Sorry, but I’m one of the players here, too. I ran your pregnancy test.” She brushed Willa’s hair back. “Try not to worry, honey. I’m sure your baby is just fine. I know it’s no fun being in an accident, but now you’ll be able to remember this day as when you found out you were pregnant. Congratulations!”
Willa closed her eyes. “Thank you,” she muttered.
Sam remained sitting on the gurney, refusing to lie down. He was so scared he was shaking and so angry he was one second away from punching Malcolm in the face. “You let me see her for a few minutes,” he ground out, “and then I’ll go to X-ray. I have to be with her, to calm her down. She doesn’t like hospitals.”
“If she was any calmer, she’d be in a coma,” a man said, walking into the exam room. He came up to Sam and gave him a quick visual assessment. “Sam, I presume? I don’t know why you’ve got all the women in a dither. You look like hell.”
“Who the hell are you?”
“Dr. Zeus. I’m tending your lady friend.”
“Tell this bastard to let me go see her.”
Dr. Zeus looked at Malcolm. “Is there a reason you haven’t stuck him with something to knock him out?”
“I did. He’s overriding it.”
Dr. Zeus looked back at Sam. “You are exactly why I always call first dibs on the women. I tell you what, Sam. You give me your word to cooperate with Malcolm when we get back, and I’ll take you to her.”
“I want to sit with her for a while.”
“She’s going up to the OR in half an hour. I’ll give you until then.”
“She needs an operation?”
“Her wrist is broken. We’re waiting for the surgeon to arrive.” He went to the corner of the room, got a wheelchair, and brought it back. “Your word, Sam.”
“You’ve got it,” Sam said, sliding off the gurney. His knees nearly gave out on him, but he grabbed the arms of the wheelchair and gingerly sat down, stifling a groan when he thought his ribs were going to rip through his sides. “Is she awake? Does she realize where she is and what happened?”
“Nothing inside her head appears to be scrambled; she’s awake and talking.”
Dr. Zeus wheeled him out of the room and down the hall a short distance. The chair stopped in front of a door, and the doctor stepped around to face him. “A word of warning, Sam. She’s probably feeling as bad as she looks, but you both must have had angels sitting on your shoulders during that crash. The medics showed me digital photos of your truck. But other than the wrist and a lot of bruising, she’s pretty much intact. So don’t flip out on me when you see her, okay?”
“I won’t.”
Zeus started to step around to the back of the wheelchair, but Sam grabbed his sleeve.
“Will the operation make her wrist as good as new?”
“That will depend on whether there’s nerve damage.”
“Thank you,” Sam said, resting his hands on his lap.
Zeus grabbed the back handles of the wheelchair and spun Sam around, opened the door, and backed him into the room before wheeling him up to the gurney Willa was lying on.
Sam smiled at her, even though he felt like crying. She looked so beat up, so hurt. And so very, very fragile. “Hi,” he whispered, reaching out and taking her hand in his, resting them on the blanket so she wouldn’t feel how badly he was trembling.
“Hi,” she whispered in a raspy voice, her eyes drinking him in. “You don’t look any worse than you did when you stepped off the RoseWind.”
Relief bubbled up in the form of a chuckle. “My side of the truck didn’t slam into a tree.” He lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. “I’m sorry, Willa,” he whispered, closing his eyes and holding her fingers against his lips. “I am so damned sorry.”
“Um…for?”
He took hold of the rail on her gurney and stood up. He leaned over her as far as his ribs would let him and feathered his fingers over her cheek, the only place that didn’t appear bruised. “I’m sorry for damn near killing you. I tried to veer right to take the blow to my side, but I wasn’t quick enough.”
“From what I saw, you did a smashing job, Sam,” Dr. Zeus said, appearing on the other side of the gurney. “And your truck did its job protecting you. The angle of impact crumpled the front driver’s side nearly to the firewall. Our girl here wouldn’t have gotten a scratch if the impact hadn’t pushed you into that tree.”
The doctor ushered the nurse to the door. “We’ll be close by. If you need anything, hit the button marked Help,” he instructed, gesturing toward an array of buttons on the wall over Willa’s head.
Willa lifted her left hand to touch his face. “Are you really okay? Nothing’s broken?”
“It feels like everything’s broken.” He very carefully leaned down and kissed her lips. “Don’t get mad,” he whispered close to her mouth. “But I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
He pulled away slightly and smiled. “I know.”
“You do?” she squeaked, her eyes widening. “How do you know?”
“I saw it in your eyes last night, in front of the fire. Why do you think I rushed us into the bedroom? I was afraid you’d panic and send me away, so I decided to keep you…um…occupied.”
She sighed heavily, her gaze locked on his. “I didn’t want to love you, but it snuck up on me when I wasn’t looking.”
“God, Willa,” he breathed, touching his nose to hers. “I nearly lost you. I am so damn sorry you got hurt.”
“Quit apologizing,” she rasped. “And sit down before you fall down.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, kissing her nose before he carefully lowered himself into the wheelchair. He slid his hand, palm up, under hers lying on the blanket. “Is that why you were looking for me this morning? To tell me you love me?”
She gingerly turned her head to look at him, giving a slight wince. “I was actually coming to ask you to help me with Jennifer.”
“Don’t strain your neck,” he told her. “I can hear you just fine when you’re looking up. What’s the matter with Jen? Did the boy back out of their date tonight?”
“No,” she said, closing her eyes. “Jen came down to the cottage this morning, and…and we talked.”
“About?”
“Can you reach that water on the table?”
He could reach it, but he had to stand up again to hold the straw to her mouth. The whole thing took several minutes to execute, and Sam sat back down with a sigh of reli
ef. “Did they give you something for the pain?” he asked when he realized whatever they’d given him was starting to make him dizzy.
“I’m fine, Sam. I want to tell you about Jennifer before she and Shel and Emmett get here. It’s important.”
Sam hadn’t even thought about anyone else, but he realized next-of-kin must have been called by now. He should call his brothers, maybe while Willa was in the operating room. “What did you and Jen talk about this morning?” he asked, sliding his hand under hers again.
“About her resenting me,” she said, staring up at the ceiling. Tears welled in her eyes.
“Jennifer doesn’t resent you, honey.”
“Yes, she does, because I’ve ruined her life. First by mangling her foot so badly they had to cut it off, then by making her feel guilty about it.”
“Aw, honey.” Sam stood up again to cup her face. “You did not ruin Jennifer’s life. I’ve gotten to know her pretty well these last couple of weeks, and that girl has everything going for her.”
“Except for not having a right foot,” Willa whispered, more tears leaking out.
Sam brushed them away. “She doesn’t seem to realize it’s missing,” he said, straightening to give his ribs some relief. “Jen’s fine, Willa. She’s okay right now, and she’s going to be better than okay in the future.”
“Will…will you help me convince her of that? I need to find a way to tell her she shouldn’t feel guilty about me and that she has to go after her dreams.”
“I’m not sure telling her will do anything to change her mind, honey. I think you’re going to have to show her.”
“But how?”
He ran his thumb across her cheek. “By forgiving yourself, Willa,” he whispered. “You can’t spend the rest of your life beating yourself up with guilt and not expect it to affect everyone who loves you. I know it’s hard, honey. I have a nasty case of the guilts myself right now.” He took as deep a breath as his ribs would allow. “I pretty near killed you.”
“The accident wasn’t your fault.”
“Neither was yours.”
“Yes, it was. I wasn’t paying attention. I was upset because I’d just walked in on David and another woman. And I had my eleven-year-old niece with me at the time. Jen saw them, too.”
Sam realized she was getting upset, which was the last thing he wanted. “How about another sip of water?” he asked, picking up the plastic cup. “Damn, it’s empty,” he said, looking around the two-bed exam room. There must be a sink on the other side of the curtain. “I’ll be right back,” he said, shuffling away.
His IV tube brought him up short, and he set the cup on the wheelchair seat, then wheeled the chair around the curtain.
He had just reached the sink when he heard the door open. “Okay, Miss Kent,” an unfamiliar voice said, moving toward Willa. “I’m Dr. Blaine, the OB-GYN Dr. Zeus called in.”
Willa gasped, and Sam went perfectly still.
“I understand congratulations are in order,” the man continued. “You just relax, and we’ll see how the little tyke is doing before you head upstairs. Dr. Zeus is guessing you’re only two or three weeks pregnant. Is that about right?”
Sam felt very dizzy all of a sudden and sat down in his wheelchair.
Willa was two weeks pregnant?
“There’s been some sort of mix-up. I’m not pregnant” she said. “Sam? Sam! I’m not pregnant!”
“Sam?” Dr. Blaine repeated in alarm. The curtain was suddenly drawn back, and a man dressed in a camouflage hunting shirt glared at him. “Shit! I didn’t know anyone else was here!”
Sam looked at Willa, who was staring up at the ceiling, blinking tears back furiously. “Shit,” Sam echoed, standing up to go to her. His IV fetched him up again. “Damn,” he yelped, and ripped it out of his hand.
“Hey!” Dr. Blaine stepped toward him just as the door opened again.
“I didn’t see you head in here, Ken,” Dr. Zeus said, skidding to a stop and taking in the scene. “Shit!” he said, rushing over to Willa. “I got called to Exam Room Three and didn’t get a chance to warn him your boyfriend was in here,” he explained. “I’m sorry, Willa. I screwed up.”
“I’m not pregnant.”
“My test said you are.”
“I’m not pregnant!”
“Okay, okay. We’ll run it again.”
“I can’t be pregnant,” she said. “I had my tubes tied four years ago.”
All three of them stared at her in silence.
Dr. Blaine finally cleared his throat. “Yes. Well,” he said, walking over to her. “I’m afraid tubal ligations don’t come with guarantees, Miss Kent. There’s a one-in-two-hundred chance that your tubes might not have stayed tied. There’s also a chance the pregnancy is in the fallopian tube, and, well, ectopic pregnancies aren’t viable,” he said softly. He touched her shoulder. “Let’s rerun the pregnancy test, okay? Then we’ll know what we’re dealing with.” He turned to Sam. “Would you be the father?”
“If she’s pregnant, yes, I’m the father.”
Blaine turned back to Willa. “You’re too early along to see if the baby is in the uterus, but we need to know if you are pregnant before you go up to surgery.”
“Can…can we have a minute alone please?” she asked.
“I’ll give you the time it takes to run the pregnancy test again,” Dr. Zeus said. “Because the OR team is in place now, waiting for you.” He looked over at Sam. “And then I hand you back to Malcolm. I sure wouldn’t want to be you when he sees you’ve pulled out your IV.”
When the door closed behind them, Sam walked over to Willa. “You had your tubes tied four years ago?” he asked gently. “Why?”
“I was crazy with grief over what happened to Jen,” she whispered to the ceiling. “And I was going through my divorce.” She lifted her left hand to wipe her eyes and finally looked at him. “And I was so scared of ever having my own children and having something happen to them that I started searching for a doctor to tie my tubes. I went to nine before I found one in Boston who would do it. The others refused, saying they wouldn’t sterilize a woman my age who hadn’t had any children yet.”
“Does Shelby know? And Emmett?”
“Nobody knows.”
“When were you going to tell me?”
“I never said anything when the will was read, because not having children was my decision—not Abram’s and not anyone else’s.” Her lower lip quivered, and her eyes filled with tears again. “I knew that if I loved my own child even half as much as I love Jennifer and something happened to it, I would…I would…”
“Shh,” he crooned, touching his nose to hers. “Everything’s going to be okay, Willa. You’re not alone anymore.” He pulled back just enough to see her eyes. “Remember that a burden shared is reduced by half? I have really broad shoulders, honey, and I can carry as much of your burden as you need me to, for as long as you need.”
“And if the tubal ligation worked? Warren Cobb will still get Tidewater.”
Sam let out a deep sigh, cupping his ribs at the sharp pain it caused. “Emmett assures me there’s a loophole in Bram’s will. We’ll put an end to this mess. And then we’ll get married because we love each other.”
“You’re willing to spend your life childless if this test comes back negative?”
“I’m not after your eggs, woman,” he said with a chuckle, again having to cradle his ribs. “It’s you I want.”
She actually smiled at that, and he thought she tried to roll her eyes. “You’ve been hanging around Phil Grindle way too much.” She turned suddenly serious again. “I suppose I might marry you,” she whispered. “If you get me out of that stupid bequest first, so everyone, especially the seniors, will know we’re doing it out of love.”
“Deal.”
“And if you agree to help me restructure Kent Caskets so I actually get to run it.”
“I can do that.”
“And you pay Craig Watson the seven hundred for
ty-three dollars I owe him.”
“And sixty-four cents,” he said. “Consider it done.”
“And you send Barry Cobb packing.”
“Happy to.”
“And you stop this feud between the seniors.”
“I’ll lock them in a room and let them duke it out.” He placed a finger over her lips. “And just what will you be doing while I’m running around putting out all the fires you’ve set?”
“And you help me straighten out Jen’s thinking,” she continued past his finger, apparently on a roll.
Sam sighed. “Is your list much longer? Because I think I have to sit down,” he said, grabbing the rail on her gurney and eyeing his wheelchair across the room.
“We’re having a baby, folks!” Dr. Zeus said as he came through the door, followed by a small parade of people. “Two positives equal a few thousand diapers and twenty years of saving for college.” He took one look at Sam and laughed. “It’s about time that sedative kicked in. Malcolm said he gave you enough to knock out a horse.” He rolled the wheelchair up behind Sam. “Okay, people, let’s get this show on the road. It’s opening day of spring hunting, and I’ve got a plump little turkey in the orchard behind my house with my name on it.”
“Turkey?” Sam said, collapsing into the chair with a laugh. “I’ve always been more partial to partridge, myself.”
Epilogue
Rosebriar, four months later
Sam sat straddling the granite bench facing Bram’s and Grammy Rose’s graves, his arms wrapped around Willa and his hands resting on her slightly rounded belly. They’d come to the cemetery to escape the chaos that had arrived at Rosebriar last night, and they’d been sitting in blessed silence for the last ten minutes, gazing at the bouquet of roses they’d set in front of the massive gravestone. “A penny for your thoughts,” Sam said, caressing Willa’s belly through her coat.
“I’m worried about Ben,” she said with a sigh. “He’s been acting strange ever since we got here four days ago. He seems preoccupied.” She titled her head back to look up at him. “Do you think taking over Tidewater has been too much for him, now that you’re living in Maine?”
The Man Must Marry Page 23