“House.”
“We’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
“Fifteen!” he heard Damián shout in the background.
Adam ended the call and stared down at Kate again. She blinked several times and stared back as if expecting him to do something else. What did she want? He had no clue. Another bottle? Thank God they had stocked some formula for when Karla couldn’t keep up with their needs.
Damn it, he hadn’t expected a catastrophe like this. He’d have Jenny let Savannah know where the formula was before joining her daughter at the hospital.
Hearing the siren cut off as the ambulance pulled into the drive, Adam had a more urgent duty. “I’ll go let them in.”
At least that he could do right. He walked down the grand staircase carefully, trying not to drop the baby. She seemed to like being on the move.
He reached the foyer and re-pocketed his phone to free up his hand before opening the door. Minutes later, he led two paramedics up the stairs to the bedroom. Jenny filled them in on her condition and then stood up to give them room to work. Jenny now seemed as helpless as he felt.
She stared blankly at Adam and Kate and then blinked. “Do you want me to take her?”
Adam held on to Kate a little tighter. “No, I have her.”
I need her. She’s a living part of my Karla.
“I’m glad you were here, Jenny.” If it had been up to him, Karla might be dead already.
He needed to stop thinking about Karla dying. She was too young to die. His heart squeezed in his chest. She still might die. What the fuck had happened? She’d been fine this morning.
“I’ll go grab a garbage bag for the towels,” Jenny said to the paramedics.
Wanting Doc Palmer at the hospital as soon as possible, he rang her office and gave them the news. Again, he had nothing to do but watch as his unconscious, deathly pale wife was lifted onto a stretcher. Adam headed out of the bedroom and down the stairs to make sure the door was open for them. They carried her down, and his mind flashed back to when she’d been carried down on a harem litter not six months earlier. Their wedding day. His bride. Now she was being carried to him on a different kind of litter.
As they wheeled her past him, he stared down at her. They weren’t doing CPR, so she wasn’t dead. Was she? Or had they given up on her and just didn’t want to tell him?
Jenny came up to him and took Kate from his arms. “Go with her. She needs you most. Keep talking to her. Don’t let her leave us.”
Let her? As if he had any control here. Adam nodded and followed the stretcher down the sidewalk to the driveway. Once Karla had been placed inside the ambulance, he climbed in and took her hand. So cold.
“Kitten. You’re going to be okay.”
You have to be.
“The babies and I need you. Fight your way back to us, hon.”
He swayed as the ambulance took the corner out of the drive and sped toward the hospital, siren blaring. The paramedic across from him finished taking her vitals and adjusted her IV.
“Has the bleeding stopped?”
“The doctors will assess her in the labor and delivery area. Don’t worry. We’ve alerted them to her condition and you and the woman at the house did everything you possibly could.”
Jenny had kept Karla alive, no question about it.
“Keep talking to her.”
Hearing Jenny’s words prompting him, Adam leaned closer to Karla. “I picked up Kate all by myself. Got her to stop crying.” Eventually. “I promise, when you come home, I’ll stop being so afraid of them. I’ll help out more with the babies.” He smoothed her silky hair back from her face.
Had he left her to do too much too soon after giving birth? He’d tried to take on as much around the house as he could, short of hands-on care of the babies. Hell, they’d just moved into the house in the days before she’d gone into labor. Had she overdone it, secretly unpacking or lifting boxes, or something when he wasn’t aware?
Please, God, don’t take her away from us. We need her.
I need her.
* * *
Cassie located Kitty’s mom in the surgery waiting room. “Mrs. Paxton, what can I do to help?”
Jenny gave Cassie a blank stare. “Nothing right now, Cassie. We’ll just have to wait and see how quickly she bounces back after surgery. She’s in recovery now. Adam’s with her.”
“What happened?”
“The obstetrician said the hemorrhage was caused by an overstretched uterus. They did a transfusion, and she’s being given IV antibiotics to fight infection. Her blood pressure is almost back to normal.”
Cassie had kept her distance from Adam, unable to process the intensely black energy around him now—a mix of anger and what could only be described as deep despair. This man could not suffer another loss. He’d been abandoned by the ones he loved so many times from what Kitty had told her. How would he survive if he lost Kitty?
Do not think like that.
“I’ll talk with Angelina and Savannah. We will set a schedule so we can make sure the babies have someone at all times so you and Adam can focus on Kitty here.” Cassie sat in the seat beside Jenny. Savannah and Damián were at the house now with Kate and Paxton.
“Thanks, Cassie. I’d like to take my turn, too. Those babies need Gramma time.”
“Of course! I just know how exhausted you must be worrying about Kitty.” After a pause, she asked, “What about Aurora Casandra?”
Jenny smiled, although her eyes remained sad and pain-filled. “Maybe they’ll allow a couple of us to visit her in Karla’s place. I’ll talk with the nursing staff to see if any exception is possible. If not, we’ll just ask Adam to take breaks from Karla’s side and give us access to the NICU.”
“When Kitty wakes, she will be pleased to hear that her babies have been well taken care of by her friends.”
Jenny reached for her hand. “You know, Cassie, you’re the only person Karla would allow to call her Kitty after college.”
Cassie was not sure why she had changed the subject, but followed along. “Except for Adam.”
Jenny laughed. Cassie hoped she was helping take her mind off things.
“Adam calls her Kitten. That’s different.”
“She never told me why Kitty was her nickname when we first met.”
Jenny’s smile turned wistful, and when Cassie saw tears in her eyes, she squeezed the older woman’s hand.
“When she was little, she didn’t play with dolls, but with stuffed animals instead—kittens and tigers, mostly. Her father is allergic to live cats, so we could never have one at the house. This was his concession, and he doted on her, always buying her more stuffed kittens. When her friends came to play, they soon began calling her Kitty after seeing her menagerie.”
Jenny remained silent, lost in thought a moment. Then she blinked back to the present. Did Kitty remember that? She’d never mentioned it, although by sophomore year, she had rid herself of the nickname by all except Cassie. For whatever reason, she allowed her to continue to use the childhood moniker.
“Oh!” Jenny stood and reached for her phone on the coffee table. “I promised to call Carl at dinnertime and give him the update. I know he’s worried sick and probably waiting by the phone.”
Karla’s dad had returned to work in Chicago yesterday, happy knowing his daughter and two of his grandchildren had gone home. He must be beside himself. Jenny headed out of the room in search of a private place to talk with her husband. He would probably be flying back to Denver soon. No parent could be away from his child when she was in such grave danger.
Restless, Cassie rose from the uncomfortable chair and walked down the hallway toward the nursery. She knew she wouldn’t be able to see Aurora without Adam and his ID bracelet allowing her access. The NICU did not have observation windows, but seeing some of the other newborns would give her hope for Kitty and her babies.
Everyone was trying to give Aurora as much human contact as possible until she could
come home. The doctor said that might be few weeks, which frustrated Kitty immensely.
During these visits, Cassie had grown attached to Aurora Casandra. Until Kitty could be with her little ones again, Cassie would do all she could to fill in. She would call Lucas and let him know what was going on and that she might need to be here longer.
* * *
“Kitten, we need you. Don’t leave us.”
Adam. His muffled voice sounded as if he spoke through a pillow. Why would he think she would leave him and their three beautiful babies?
Distorted.
Dim.
Distant.
She wanted to reassure him he had her heart forever, but no words came from her mouth. Paralyzed, she was unable to control her own body anymore. As hard as she tried to lift her hand and seek out Adam, who must be nearby, she couldn’t move.
Numb. No feeling either. Where was she? Her eyes remained closed. A blast of cold air hit her face.
“This might help her come out of the anesthesia.”
Anesthesia? She’d been in surgery? For what? The babies had been born days ago, hadn’t they?
An alarm sounded, and in a flash, she found herself up on the ceiling looking down at where she lay on a narrow hospital bed hooked up to tubes. Was this a dream? Why was she in the hospital again? What had happened?
“Sir, I’ll need you to return to the waiting area.”
“What’s wrong?” Adam’s voice was filled with worry. Fear.
Two men came and forced Adam to move away from her. “We need space to work on her. Wait outside. We’ll call you when you can see her again.”
“No! Don’t take Adam away!” Karla screamed, but no one responded.
Adam stood there looking like a lost little boy. Please, don’t make him leave. He’d been abandoned by everyone he ever loved. She needed to let him know she would not leave him. Not willingly.
“Sir, you can help your wife most by returning to the waiting room. We’ll call when she’s stable.”
The anguish on Adam’s face tore at her, but he relented and left. Activity increased around her bed as at least three people worked frantically on her at the same time.
Oh, God! Where are my babies? She remembered taking two of them home, so they must be there, but Rori had to stay in the hospital at least a few weeks. Cassie once told her she could ask the Universe to take her soul to another place. She’d never tried astral projection before, but had never wanted to be in two places at once more than in this moment.
“I want to see Aurora Montague. Take me to the NICU.”
She waited. Nothing changed. She hovered just below the ceiling.
“Damn it! Take me to my baby!”
Did she just curse at God? Or was someone else holding the strings for her right now? Whatever, an instant later, her detached spirit floated through the wall and down the bustling hospital corridor. She soon turned down a hallway she recognized and knew the NICU was just around the corner.
“Mommy’s coming, Rori.”
She floated through the door and into the NICU, immediately homing in on her precious baby.
* * *
While waiting for an update on Kitty’s condition, Cassie decided to go to the chapel rather than return to the waiting room. The place was empty and quiet at this hour, and she made do with two battery-operated candles on the altar to help her reach a meditative state.
Soon, her spirit left her heavy body behind and projected her upstairs into the NICU. This was the only way she could gain access to Aurora Casandra at the moment.
When her spirit hand touched the baby’s tiny foot, she responded with a kick. Cassie smiled.
“Continue to grow, little one. Your mamá and papá love you very much.” The baby’s mouth made sucking motions in her sleep.
“I hope you grow up in a world more accepting of your rights as a woman, pequeña.” Cassie blinked. She didn’t know what had led her to convey those words to a baby, even though she meant them. She patted Aurora’s arm. “I have no doubt your mamá is going to make sure you are independent and strong, just like she is. You are a very lucky little girl.”
But only if Kitty survived. Cassie and the others could never be more than a temporary substitute to the babies.
Oh, Kitty, come back to us.
Cassie hovered closer to the bassinet and startled when Kitty joined her. No, not Kitty. Her spirit. Or was it her soul?
“No, Kitty! It’s not your time. Go back to Adam.” She wanted to push her friend away, back to where her loving husband waited for her. Had she crossed over? “Adam loves you so much, and these babies need you. Go back to your body.”
In a flash, Kitty disappeared.
Cassie willed herself to return to her own body. She needed to find out what had happened to Kitty.
* * *
Adam figured he’d be the one to go first, never imagining in his worst nightmare that Kitten would be at death’s door so soon after giving life to their three children. This couldn’t be happening. Not fucking again. He needed to get back in there with Karla. Needed to know what the hell was happening.
He pressed the intercom button incessantly until someone answered. It had only been minutes according to his watch, but felt like hours since they’d kicked him out of post-recovery. The person on the intercom surprisingly unlocked the door. Within a minute, he was approaching the place where he’d been with her a short time ago. A somber-faced nurse told him her blood pressure had bottomed out again, and she had to be resuscitated.
How much more could her body take?
She was strong, but she’d been through so much in the past week.
Adam took a seat beside her and brushed the hair away from her forehead.
Did she know he was here? She hadn’t spoken a word since he’d found her lying on the floor in their bedroom last evening.
Jenny said to talk to her. Rather than plead with her again to not leave him, maybe he’d talk about the babies.
“I held Kate. Picked her right up when she was crying.” Adam shuddered. He didn’t want to think about why he’d had to pick her up. “We’ll be taking Rori home soon, so you need to get out of here, too.” Paxton and Kate alone overwhelmed him, especially when both started crying at once, but he wanted to have his family together again for the first time since the babies were born.
Adam had barely been able to breathe since this nightmare started. Being beside her and not feeling her vital spark of life reminded him of the time when Joni slipped away from him.
But Karla’s not going to die. She can’t.
Her eyelids flickered, and she opened them. But her unseeing eyes didn’t focus, and she closed them again. He thought he detected more color in her cheeks in the past few minutes. Every now and then, her eyelids moved as if dreaming.
Adam breathed a little easier when they moved Karla to her room, but wished she would wake up. Sometimes she moaned, and he worried she was in pain, but still she didn’t open her eyes again.
Adam took a break and let Jenny in to visit while he went to the NICU with Cassie. Like Jenny, she had been here all night.
“How is she?”
“Still sleeping.” The nurse assured him she wasn’t in a coma. They kept her heavily sedated to give her body time to heal from this ordeal.
“Savannah called this morning to say that everything is fine at the house and you are not to worry about the babies.”
Hard not to worry with his family spread out so much. As much as he missed Kate and Paxton, he didn’t want them in the hospital with all the germs. Savannah was a mom. She’d take good care of them. Angelina and Marisol were there to help, too, no doubt.
Before they reached the NICU, Cassie placed her hand on his forearm, and he halted. “Do not worry. She is not going to leave you or the babies.”
Adam couldn’t speak for the lump in his throat. “How can you be sure?” He certainly wasn’t.
She shrugged. “I know. She chose to come back to you and
her babies. She will fight this, but needs time for her body to heal.”
Come back? From where?
“Thanks, Cassie. I hope you’re right.”
He showed his armband, and they went into the NICU to check on Aurora. God, he swore Aurora had gained weight since yesterday morning. Her skin wasn’t yellow anymore, either, and when he reached out to rub his thumb on her forehead, she opened her eyes. Tears burned his eyelids. Karla’s eyes.
He leaned close to the baby to whisper, “Your mommy says hi, too. Keep getting stronger so you two can be together again.”
Anxious to return to Karla, he left Cassie in the NICU and returned to Karla’s bedside. Jenny had her head face down on the mattress, her hand holding Karla’s.
Adam rested his cheek on her forearm, one of the few places he wasn’t afraid to touch her, as he stroked her upper arm.
Come back to me, Kitten.
Adam awoke with a start and looked around the room. Jenny was gone. Karla still slept. He hadn’t intended to join her in sleep. A glance at his watch told him he must have been out for a couple of hours. Time to talk to her again.
“Aurora’s jaundice is gone, Kitten. Betcha she’ll be coming home in no time.” What other news did he have? “Savannah’s taking good care of Kate and Paxton, so don’t you worry about them.”
Doc Palmer came in and did a quick examination. She assured him Karla’s body was on the mend. How could she tell? The doctor expected her to make a full recovery and said there shouldn’t be any problem with her having more kids.
Fuck that shit. No more kids. Lots of people would kill to have three. He’d get a vasectomy before he’d put Karla through this hell again.
Adam willed Karla to open her eyes and talk to him again. Life without her was a lonely black hole.
Chapter Eleven
Paxton squirmed in her arms and stared up at Savannah. So alert. She’d forgotten about how observant—yet tiny—newborn babies were.
“Seeing you with a baby in your arms turns me on.” Damián’s words made her smile as he joined her.
She hoped they would know soon if her suspicions were correct, but her intuition told her she was carrying his baby. Again. When she returned to the clinic, she’d ask Dr. McKenzie to do the test. She didn’t trust the over-the-counter tests.
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