by Debra Webb
Maybe Joe was right. As he led the way through the chaos of the waiting area, she gently kneaded the right side of her head. She had herself a dandy lump. Made sense, now that she thought about it. She’d obviously been unconscious for a time after the earthquake hit. Considering the dizziness and the downright awful feeling in her stomach, a concussion was quite possible.
She wasn’t sure how Joe managed the feat, but the next thing she knew, she was being hustled into a treatment room. The nurse promptly told Joe he would have to wait in the lobby.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Joe said, smoothly countering the nurse’s instructions, his charming voice as silky as ever. “You see, this patient is my responsibility.”
Lisa resisted the urge to roll her eyes, especially considering that her entire skull was now pulsing on the verge of one hell of a headache.
The nurse looked from Joe to Lisa and back. “Well, in that case, you can wait in the corridor outside the room.”
Joe smiled widely for the flustered nurse. “Yes, ma’am.”
The smile he directed at Lisa before slipping out the door melted every ounce of irritation she’d managed to dredge up on the way here. How did he do that?
“You just relax, Ms. Malloy. The doctor will be in shortly.” The nurse moved on to her next patient. How many others were there? Lisa didn’t want to consider how many lives might be lost…how many injuries there were.
She reclined on the treatment table, thankful that she could lie still and close her eyes. She didn’t want to think about the damage the earthquake had done to Courage Bay, or how many of the animals at her clinic had been injured. She didn’t want to think at all right now.
As the nurse said, the doctor came in quickly and put her through a typical screening. He, too, worried there might be a mild concussion.
“Let’s send you up to radiology,” Dr. Winslow concluded. “Just to make sure there are no surprises.”
Lisa tensed, chewing her lower lip. She couldn’t ignore the possibility—not now. The risk was too great. “This may be a false alarm…” Her heart all but halted in her chest as she blurted in a near whisper, “There’s a chance I could be pregnant.”
For the space of two beats she held her breath, wanting desperately to snatch back the words. But there was no going back now. The idea that Joe stood right outside that door made her pulse skip.
The doctor smiled. “Let’s get some blood work, then.”
Lisa relaxed marginally. Okay. She would soon know. She needed to know. She’d put off finding out for too long.
Dr. Winslow moved on to other patients, and within moments of his departure, a lab tech arrived to take the necessary sample. To keep her mind off her own reality, she asked about other patients. According to the tech, the E.R. had been filled with people involved in automobile accidents related to the quake and others who’d been rescued from office buildings and homes. Lisa took some solace in the fact that there had been no fatalities reported as yet. She silently thanked God for looking out for Courage Bay’s citizens.
The lab tech assured her that results would be back stat, but Lisa waited what passed like a lifetime for Dr. Winslow to return to the treatment room with the final word. Joe still waited in the corridor. Suddenly Lisa felt very tired. The nurse had popped back in with something for her headache. She had assured Lisa that it was safe to take the pain medication. Lisa understood what she meant. Safe, regardless of the test results.
Oh, God. If she was…
The clues had been there for the past two weeks. But Lisa felt certain she’d been in deep denial.
“Well, Ms. Malloy,” Dr. Winslow said as the door closed behind him when he entered the treatment room at last, “I’ve got your results.”
“Lisa,” she insisted. Though she and Brad Winslow didn’t know each other well, they’d met once or twice. His wife, Emily, had been thrilled when he’d brought her by the clinic to pick out a dog from among the ones Lisa had up for adoption. Every child needed a pet, and Emily and Brad wanted their baby to grow up with a dog.
He managed a half smile. “Lisa.” A slight blush rose from his crisp white collar. “Based on your screening, I’m certain there’s a mild concussion, but unless your symptoms worsen, we’ll forgo an X ray or scan for now. However, I would prefer that someone stay the night with you to monitor symptoms. If there is even the slightest change for the worse, I need you back here ASAP. I don’t have to tell you that any kind of skull fracture is very serious business.”
Lisa nodded. She knew very well what he meant.
He glanced down at her chart again before continuing. Dread coagulated in Lisa’s veins.
Every instinct warned that he was about to give her news that would forever change her life.
At last he leveled his gaze on hers, and his neck reddened once more. “Ms. Malloy—”
“Lisa,” she reminded.
“Sorry,” he offered apologetically. “Lisa,” he went on, “it’s no false alarm. You are pregnant.”
Though she’d known somewhere in the back of her mind that pregnancy was a distinct possibility when she’d missed her period three weeks ago, she’d somehow blocked the idea. Denial, no doubt. Deep, deep denial. She would still be in denial if she hadn’t felt compelled to admit the possibility she was pregnant when faced with a routine screening for her head injury.
A dozen different emotions pelted her at once.
“I’ve been late before,” she offered as an explanation for her earlier assertion that it might be a false alarm.
“How late are you?” he asked, one eyebrow slightly higher than the other.
She shrugged. “About three weeks.”
“I see.” He closed her chart. “Make an appointment to see an obstetrician. In the meantime, I’ll be happy to prescribe some prenatal vitamins if you’d like.”
Lisa tried to swallow, but her throat was too dry. “That would be fine. Thank you.”
He searched her face. She knew what he was looking for—signs of what exactly she was feeling at the moment.
“You know, Lisa, having a child can be a real blessing.” He smiled widely. “Trust me, I know.” He sighed, his expression both wistful and dreamy. “You think you know how a child will change your life, but you don’t.” He gave his head a little shake. “There’s no adequate way to describe just how wonderful fatherhood is.”
She nodded awkwardly. Though she appreciated his attempt at making her feel comfortable with the news of her pregnancy, she just couldn’t deal with it right now.
Obviously, he picked up on her discomfort.
“Well.” He clasped her chart under his arm. “Someone will need to drive you home and I’ll leave your release instructions at the desk.” He made it a point not to mention Joe. Lisa was sure Brad knew Joe Ripani, since the firehouse was only blocks away, and Brad’s brother, Cole, was a member of the K-9 patrol with Courage Bay’s police department. She was immensely thankful Brad didn’t query why the fireman who’d brought her to Emergency waited impatiently in the corridor rather than in the lobby.
“Thank you.” She forced the words past her lips and managed to keep a smile in place until Brad was out the door. Once she was alone, her eyes closed and she fought to hold back the tears.
She was pregnant.
She’d always been so careful. How could she have messed up like this? And then the memory hit her.
Making love with Joe early in the morning…in the shower before they were both fully awake. Every other time they’d used a condom. They had only been careless that once.
All it takes is once, a little voice reminded.
She blinked back the sting of tears and ordered away the self-pity. She wanted children. Definitely. She just hadn’t expected the child to come before the wedding.
But it happened. Quite frequently, she assured herself.
Oh, God…but not to her. What on earth was she going to do?
A kind of certainty clicked into place. “G
et over it,” she muttered. “That’s all you can do.”
It was done. She’d made a careless mistake and now she was pregnant. Some part of her was happy. She loved children. The baby would be beautiful, with Joe Ripani for a father. But she’d wanted so much for the children she’d planned to have. A good home, a loving father, a stable family network. Everything she’d had as a child.
That certainly wasn’t going to happen. At least not all of it.
Ooooh. Her mother would never forgive her.
She shook off her gloom and slid from the table. Feeling sorry for herself wouldn’t change a thing.
She was pregnant.
So what if it wasn’t starting out the way she’d intended.
Having a baby was wonderful, wasn’t it?
Brad had said so himself.
The urge to weep swept over her again.
Oh, God, what was she going to do?
Her parents would help—as soon as they got over the initial shock. Her sister. And she had friends. She could definitely depend on Shannon. But her child wouldn’t have a father.
Agony twisted inside her, kicking aside the physical pain she’d been experiencing. She was pregnant. An unwed mother-to-be.
The consequences of that fact broadsided her next.
How could she let that happen?
Life was tough enough without starting off on the wrong foot. Single parents were a part of the norm now, especially with rising divorce rates, but she’d seen the downside. Fathers and mothers arguing over the best way to raise their kids…custody issues.
She had to do something. She did not want her child to have only one parent.
The realization that Joe was right outside the door abruptly knocked the breath out of her. She definitely couldn’t deal with this right now.
She had to stay calm…had to keep a firm grip on her emotions. If he suspected for one second…
Don’t go there, she ordered. Pull yourself together. Everything will be fine. Nothing to worry about.
She could fall apart when she got home…away from Joe.
She was pregnant.
SHE WAS PREGNANT.
Joe stood in the corridor outside the treatment room and felt the floor shift under his feet as if an aftershock had struck.
Lisa was pregnant.
He’d heard the doctor tell her, though he hadn’t meant to eavesdrop.
He shoved his hands into his pockets. Okay, maybe he had. But when Brad Winslow reentered the room, Joe couldn’t bear not to hear the news. He desperately needed to know if Lisa was all right. He’d been pacing out here for what felt like hours, worried she might have some sort of head injury that would require emergency surgery. Afraid she could be dying at that very moment.
But she was fine. He’d heard the doctor say so. Then he’d heard the shocking pronouncement.
You are pregnant.
Pregnant! She was going to have a baby.
She’d told the doctor that she was three weeks late. Joe might not be an expert on the workings of the female reproductive system, but he knew exactly what that meant. Lisa had gotten pregnant in the two or three weeks prior to when her period should have started. He’d had a girlfriend once who’d used what she called the rhythm method of birth control. She’d assured him how safe it was, but Joe had insisted on the old reliable condom. He might like playing the field, but he also liked being responsible and safe.
He gave himself a mental shake and refocused on the issue here.
Lisa was pregnant. And the baby was his.
They had practiced safe sex…except that once.
Instantly the images of making love with Lisa in the shower bombarded his senses, hardened his already granitelike muscles. The taste of her…the sweet scent of her skin…He remembered it vividly. Making love to her that way had felt perfectly natural.
“Christ,” he groaned.
He’d known something was up when Winslow came back with those test results. The guy had looked at Joe kind of funny. And then, when the doctor had left the treatment room, he’d avoided eye contact with Joe altogether. Admittedly, that part could have been Joe’s imagination running away with him, but imagination or not, the pregnancy was real.
He was going to be a father. The weight of responsibility settled heavily onto his shoulders. He was only thirty-three. He hadn’t expected to have children or a wife for some time yet.
But that time had come, whether he was ready or not.
He would not shirk his responsibilities. This was his baby and he intended to do right by the child.
A kind of numbness settled over him then. Damn…he was going to be a father. He thought of all his pals at the firehouse, the married ones as well as the single. What would they think? They’d be shocked. Just the way he was.
No one ever put Joe Ripani in the same sentence with marriage, much less fatherhood.
Well, that was about to change.
Just then Lisa stepped out of the treatment room. His first thought was to announce to her that he knew about the baby and demand that they discuss exactly what they would do about it.
But then she’d know he’d been eavesdropping.
Not a good way to start off a permanent relationship. Even a commitment-avoiding guy like him knew the importance of trust in a relationship that was supposed to last a lifetime. Nope. He’d just have to wait for her to tell him. He’d have to pretend he didn’t know a thing until then.
“I’m ready to go,” she said, the words stilted.
He nodded, not trusting himself to speak just now. There were things he had to come to terms with himself. Like the fact that his career would add an element of risk to his child’s life…damn. He hadn’t wanted it to happen this way.
After stopping at the desk to sign out and pick up instructions for the treatment of a mild concussion, they walked in silence to his truck. Who would have thought that his life would be so different now? When he’d parked in this lot only a short while ago, Joe hadn’t had a care in the world…not really.
But now…
He couldn’t help glancing furtively at Lisa’s flat belly. How long would it be before she began to look pregnant? He blinked and turned his attention back to opening the passenger door for her. He had no idea, but he would damn sure find out. There were books on the subject. He’d have to pick one up and find out all about pregnancy. He never liked going into anything blind. The idea rattled him.
Pregnancy. Fatherhood.
His whole life was about to change. He had eight months tops to retain his bachelor status.
His brain instantly calculated how many Thursday poker nights that included and how many Saturday-night dates that allowed, and then he remembered that everything had changed.
He had a new responsibility. He’d have to make adjustments to his old life.
Joe swallowed hard and pulled back out onto Washington Street, pointing his truck toward Lisa’s home. His carefree bachelor days were over. He had to make some serious changes.
First and foremost he had to convince Lisa that he deserved to be a part of this baby’s life. Of hers.
A frown creased his forehead. Wait a minute. Convincing her shouldn’t be necessary. This baby was as much his as it was hers. She should simply tell him she was pregnant and they would work out a strategy for raising the child.
He waited for that to happen, but it didn’t.
The only thing she said to him the entire journey was that she wanted to go to her clinic rather than home so she could check on the animals.
He parked in the small lot that bordered the popular clinic. Everyone in Courage Bay loved Dr. Lisa and Dr. Greg. Joe rolled his eyes when he thought of Lisa’s partner. The guy was one of those sissy sensitive types who never got his hands dirty and always looked properly pressed and styled.
Joe’s gaze traveled down his own dusty, grimy appearance as he walked Lisa to the door of the clinic. The guy would never dream of crawling through shifting rubble to rescue anyone. He
was too proper for that.
“I appreciate the ride,” Lisa said, halting at the door without inviting him to come inside.
Joe shifted his concentration from thoughts of Greg. “You’re sure you’re okay?” he asked in a last-ditch effort to get her to confide in him. “Who’ll take care of you tonight?” He remembered clearly that the doctor had said she needed someone with her.
“I’m fine,” she insisted sharply. “I’m sure you have other things to do. Baby-sitting me any longer isn’t necessary.”
Well, at least she’d used the word baby. Just not in the context he’d wanted to hear. “You’ll make sure you follow the doctor’s instructions?”
“Yes,” she agreed impatiently. “I’ll get Kate to spend the night with me.”
Kate was her sister, who would likely have her hands full if her home or her kids’ school had suffered any damage.
“If Kate’s busy, you go to your folks’ place for the night,” he insisted. He wanted her taking good care of herself. She was carrying his child, even if she hadn’t told him yet. “You can call me, but I’ll probably be out—”
“I’ll be fine, Joe.” She stared at him for a moment before continuing. He couldn’t help wondering if she could see in his eyes that he knew her secret. “Whatever we shared was over weeks ago,” she reminded him. “Unless you make it a practice to follow up on all your rescued victims, then I’d say you’ve already done more than enough.”
Over. Whatever they’d shared was over?
The words kept ringing in his ears. How could she say that? But then he knew.
Lisa was as shaken by the news as he was. It would take time for her to come to terms with the reality herself. She wouldn’t want to talk about it until she’d gotten used to the idea. He could understand that.
“All right then.” He shrugged one shoulder as if it didn’t matter. “Take care of yourself.”
He reached for her…just to touch one soft cheek.
She drew away. “Thanks again for saving my life,” she said. “I know how much you risked yourself. I really am grateful.” Her gaze turned hard then. “But you always risk too much, Joe.”
With that she turned and went inside, closing the door firmly behind her.