by Laura Scott
Your parents were so awful to me the day I showed up to tell them I was pregnant. Of course, it was also the day of your funeral, so I understand they were grieving. But your mother scared me, shrieking about you and offering me a million dollars to leave my baby with her. Money! She actually offered me money to give up my child. What kind of woman is she? How can I leave Tyler with someone like that?
Yet my alternative is to leave him with strangers. Talk about a no-win situation. I shudder to think of what living with your parents would do to our son. I want to believe they’d love and care for Ty, but I also know how much you complained about how they pushed you to become an attorney when you weren’t at all interested in the law. I’m still surprised you dropped out of school without telling them. Still, look at how many years you bent to their will. I won’t have Ty molded into some image they’ve created for him.
Our son has dreams of his own. Ty wants to be a pilot, and I’ll do anything to help him realize his dreams.
Shelly
* * *
She set her journal aside, thinking about Mark’s family as she crawled into bed. Yet somehow, right before she fell asleep, she realized her thoughts had drifted to Jared.
Fiery, stabbing stomach pains woke her in the early morning hours. Hugging herself around the waist, she dragged herself to the bathroom in the nick of time, losing the contents of her stomach in one horrible heave.
Shaking, she slid to the floor.
Her muscles morphed into rubber bands, weak and quivering. The cramping pain in her stomach hit again, and she hung over the commode, gagging as her body seemed intent on getting rid of everything inside her. Sweaty, she sat on the bathroom floor, feeling both hot and cold at the same time.
She tried to stand, but her legs wouldn’t support her weight. Her stomach cramps continued. Pain knifed through her belly. What was wrong with her? Why did it hurt so bad?
The minutes merged into hours, and she still couldn’t find the strength to crawl out of the bathroom. Worry pushed through the agony in her stomach. Something wasn’t right.
She needed her phone. Ty shouldn’t see her like this. With a Herculean effort, she pushed herself up but then collapsed again.
“Mommy? What’s wrong?”
She lifted her head, hoping to hide the intense pain that was much worse than when she’d given birth. Ty’s features blurred as she tried to focus on her son. “I’m a little sick, honey. Bring me the phone, please? I’ll call for help.”
As soon as Ty left, she lowered her head against the cool ceramic of the commode. She didn’t have the strength of a flea. Rivulets of sweat rolled down her back. Deep in her heart, she knew there was something seriously wrong with her. More than a flu bug, that was for sure.
Maybe a ruptured appendix?
She hugged the toilet again, her stomach convulsing. She felt so awful. Had writing up her will, appointing Mark’s family as legal guardians over Ty been some sort of premonition?
Was she going to die?
No! She refused to leave her son.
Ty brought her mobile phone, and it took all her strength and coordination to dial Kate at Lifeline.
“Hello?” a deep voice answered.
There was a loud buzzing in her ears. She couldn’t place the voice on the other end of the line. She forced herself to concentrate. “Kate. I need to talk to Kate.”
“Kate’s out on a flight. Shelly? Is that you?”
Jared. She closed her eyes against another searing pain. He was the last person she wanted to talk to, but if Kate was on a flight, she didn’t have a choice. Who else was working today? She didn’t have a clue.
“Yes. It’s me. I’m sick.”
“What do you need?” The concern in Jared’s tone filled her with relief.
“Something’s really wrong. I think I need to go to the hospital, but I need—” She stopped abruptly as another cramping pain stole her breath.
She hadn’t called 911 because she needed someone to take Tyler. That’s what she was trying to explain. But the buzzing was back in her ears, drowning out the sound of Ty’s concerned chatter. The phone slipped from her grasp, clattering to the floor.
Until, at last, there was blessed silence.
4
Jared hung up the phone, his instincts screaming that Shelly needed help. Now. He leaped to his feet, heading straight for his office. Shelly’s address was in her file.
He was most familiar with the area right around the hangar, and thankfully she didn’t live that far away. Clutching her address in hand, he rushed from his office.
Ivan Ames, one of their pediatric paramedics, glanced up in surprise when Jared dashed through the lounge.
“Where’s the fire?” Ivan asked.
He ignored him. “Call Dr. Simmons to cover for me. Shelly’s in trouble.” He didn’t so much as glance back as he exited the building.
How he managed to find Shelly’s house without any difficulty, he had no idea. The small, cozy ranch-style home was exactly the sort of place he’d have expected Shelly to live. Better than his fancy condo any day.
He threw the gearshift into park and slid out of the car. He ran up the driveway, lifted his fist, and pounded on the door.
“Shelly! Are you in there? Open up!” He tried the door handle, but it was locked. Was she too weak to answer? He pounded again, then stepped back, surveying the house to estimate which window would be the easiest to break.
The door abruptly opened, but there wasn’t anyone there. His gaze dropped. A small boy with sandy brown hair and big brown eyes, about the same age as the twins they’d rescued the previous day, stood behind the screen door.
“My mommy is sick. Are you the nine one one she called?” The boy’s lower lip quivered as if he were about to burst into tears.
Mommy? His gut clenched in shock; he didn’t know Shelly had a son. Still, he didn’t waste time pondering the news or wondering where his father might be. He dropped to one knee so he was eye level with the boy, then spoke reassuringly through the screen. “Yes, I know your mom is sick. I’m Jared, a friend of your mom’s. I’m a doctor, so she called me for help. Will you let me in?”
The boy regarded him soberly for a long moment, then nodded. He reached up, standing on tiptoe to unlock the screen door. Thank heavens, Jared thought as he opened the door. The boy was right to be wary of strangers—the last thing he wanted to do was to scare Shelly’s son.
“Where’s your mom?”
“In the bathroom.” The boy stuck his fingers in his mouth as he ran through the small living room, pointing to the first door in the short hallway.
If he hadn’t been staring at the floor, he might have stepped on her head. She was sprawled facedown on the linoleum, dressed in an oversize sleepshirt, as if she’d tried to crawl from the bathroom but hadn’t had the strength.
Jared’s breath lodged in his throat. With an effort, he shoved his personal feelings aside and surveyed her as a physician. He knelt beside her, feeling for a pulse. The thready beat was present, but not as strong as he’d like. She was breathing, but definitely weak. Gently he shook her. “Shelly? It’s Jared. Can you hear me?”
She didn’t move. Conscious of little ears hovering beside him, Jared swallowed a frustrated sigh. Where was the phone? He should have called 911 right away but had wanted to see what was going on for himself first.
But it was worse than what he’d expected. She needed help, fast.
“Is my mommy okay?”
Jared paused in the act of picking up her mobile phone from the floor of her outstretched hand. If he called the paramedics, loud sirens and bright flashing lights from the ambulance and accompanying police cars would no doubt frighten Shelly’s son.
He took a deep breath and reassessed the situation. She was alive, breathing on her own, and had a pulse. No reason to panic. “We’re going to take your mom to the hospital, okay? I’d like another doctor to check her out.”
“’Cause you don’t know what t
o do?” the boy asked with a frown.
That made him smile. “No, because I need more supplies. Is that okay with you?”
The brown-haired boy nodded, but his eyes remained wide with apprehension. Jared wished he could say something to reassure him. He knelt beside her, gently rolled her over, then lifted Shelly into his arms.
She didn’t weigh much, but the mechanics of getting her off the floor while trying to stand wasn’t easy. He had to lean against the wall as support. In the living room, he laid her on the sofa, then turned back to the boy.
“What’s your name?”
“Ty.” The boy watched him warily. He wore thin Avenger pajamas, but his feet were bare.
“Okay, Ty. I need you to find your shoes and socks. Can you do that for me?”
The boy scampered off as if worried Jared would leave without him. Jared took a moment to examine Shelly’s pupils, letting his breath out in relief when they were both equal and reactive to light.
What in the world had happened to her? Was she sick? Did she have some disease like diabetes that he wasn’t aware of?
“Ready?” Ty returned sounding almost cheerful.
“Let’s go.” Jared lifted Shelly off the sofa. “Open the door for me, Ty.”
Shelly’s son was a trouper, helping in every way that he could. Jared laid Shelly’s limp form along the back seat of his car. When he eased out, he found Ty standing there, watching him. Luckily, the autumn day was warm enough that he wouldn’t need to waste time searching for Ty’s coat.
“Here, you can get up front with me,” he instructed the child.
“Uh-uh. I’m supposed to sit in the back, with my booster seat.”
Jared rubbed a hand over his eyes. As a pediatric specialist he knew the rules, but he didn’t want to waste any more time.
“Ty, we have to hurry. I promise to drive safely; the hospital is just a few blocks away.”
The boy eyed him uncertainly but obliged him by climbing into the front passenger seat. Figuring any seat belt was better than nothing, he quickly buckled him in.
By the time they arrived at the hospital, Shelly was starting to moan. Grateful she was beginning to wake up, Jared pulled right up to the ambulance bay at Trinity Medical Center’s Emergency Department.
“I need help! Bring a gurney!”
Two nurses rushed outside, wheeling a hospital gurney between them, then helped him get her onto it.
“What happened?” one of them asked.
“I don’t know. Shelly Bennett is a nurse at Lifeline. She called for help, said she was sick. I think she’s been throwing up in the bathroom. When I found her, she was unconscious on the bathroom floor but had a pulse and was breathing.” Hating to feel helpless, Jared racked his brain for anything that might help. “I’ll fill out the initial information, then head over to Lifeline. I might be able to find more in her file.”
“Knowing her past medical history would be nice,” one of the nurses observed dryly. “But don’t bother with Lifeline, hopefully she gets her medical care here. If so, we’ll have everything we need in her medical record.”
“Yeah, okay . . .” They quickly whisked Shelly away.
He stared after her, wishing he could do more. A little hand snuck into his, and Jared glanced down in surprise. For a brief moment, he’d completely forgotten Shelly’s son. The kid looked so forlorn, he instinctively reached down and lifted the boy into his arms.
“Hey there. Guess what? Those nice people are going to take care of your mom. How about if we hang out together for a while?”
Ty’s lower lip trembled, and he held himself stiff in Jared’s arms. “I wanna see my mom.”
Jared’s heart squeezed in sympathy. The poor kid didn’t even know him. Who were the familiar people in his life? Where was his father? Jared had no idea. But he couldn’t abandon this little boy, so he forced a smile.
“I know you do,” he said soothingly. “I promise you’ll get to see her soon.”
Big fat tears slid down Ty’s cheeks. For a moment, the boy reminded him of his younger brother, Mark. Five years his junior, Mark had been about the same age when their dog had died. Ty’s tear-streaked face looked achingly familiar. But, unlike Mark, he didn’t wail or cry. Instead, Ty simply laid his head on Jared’s shoulder, snaking his small, sturdy arms up until they were wrapped tightly around Jared’s neck.
He held the boy close, smoothed a hand over his back, longing to reassure him. The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on him. Amazing how Ty was about the same age as his missing niece or nephew. Jared shoved aside the longing. He couldn’t worry about Leigh Wilson or her child right now. Ty needed him. But he was as helpless now as he’d been twenty-two years ago in comforting Mark after losing their pet. Until he knew exactly what was wrong with Shelly, there wasn’t much he could say or do. Except keep Shelly’s son company.
He’d promised the boy he could see his mother. So they’d wait for however long it took.
He wanted to believe he’d keep his promise. That Shelly would be fine and Ty would soon get to see his mom.
Waiting was pure agony. How did families stand it? He might be a doctor, but there was certainly something wrong with the way the medical system worked. Jared and Ty had been waiting over an hour for word on Shelly’s condition.
And they’d heard nothing.
Jared thrust his fingers through his hair in exasperation. What in the world was taking them so long? He deduced they were performing a wide barrage of tests to figure out what was wrong. Still, the basic lab results should be back by now.
“I’m hungry,” Ty announced. For being so young, Ty had been incredibly patient. “And I hafta go to the bathroom.”
He glanced at his watch for the fifth time in as many minutes, stifling a sigh. “Let me tell the nurses where we’re going so they can find us when your mom is ready for visitors.”
Jared quickly found the triage nurse, watching from the corner of his eye as Ty hopped from one foot to the other. Apparently, the kid wasn’t kidding about needing to go. “We need to take a break. Here’s my pager number—please page me as soon as you have some information.”
“I will, Dr. O’Connor.” The nurse flashed a distracted smile. “We should hear something soon.”
“Not soon enough,” he muttered. Spinning on his heel, he returned to Ty and reached for the boy’s hand. “Let’s go.”
Who would have thought that a trip to the men’s room would take so long? Ty immediately crossed over to the urinal on the wall, asking about it. Hadn’t the boy been in a men’s room before? Inside the stall, Ty locked and unlocked the door several times. After using the facilities, he stretched up over the counter to wash his hands, then played with the auto-dryer machine until Jared put a stop to it.
“Your hands are dry enough. I thought you were hungry?” Jared raised his voice to carry over the roar of the dryer.
“I am.” Ty nodded enthusiastically, pulling out of Jared’s grasp to shove his hands back under the hot air.
“Let’s go to the cafeteria, then.” Jared held the door open, gesturing for Ty to leave. “We have to hurry or we might miss breakfast. What are you in the mood for?”
“Hotcakes and sausage.” Ty finally abandoned the novelty of the men’s room and skipped down the hall to the elevator. “Mom loves hotcakes and sausage.”
Really? Jared hid a smile. Shelly may like sausage, but he could also see her cooking Ty’s favorite meal for him as if it were. He suspected she was a great mother. With a frown, he realized Ty was still wearing his Avenger pajamas. Guess he wouldn’t be nearly as good a father considering he hadn’t even dressed the kid. At least Ty didn’t seem to mind.
As Jared ate his hotcakes and sausage, the same meal he’d ordered for Ty, he tried to think of a subtle way to broach the subject of Ty’s absent father. His pager went off. He read the ED number in relief. Finally, some news.
“Stay here a minute, Ty. I need to use the phone over there.” He indicated a
hospital house phone mounted on the wall a few tables from where they were seated.
“Okay.” Ty shoved a huge bite of pancake into his mouth, syrup dribbling on his chin.
Jared strode over to the phone. He dialed the number on his pager and waited for someone to pick up. “This is Dr. O’Connor,” he identified himself. “Did someone page about Shelly Bennett?”
“Yes, this is Erica, the nurse caring for Shelly. She’s awake. Do you have her son, Tyler, with you?”
“We’re in the cafeteria eating breakfast right now. Shelly’s awake? What did her lab tests show?”
“So far we’ve ruled out a hot appendix and gallstones. She was severely dehydrated, so we gave her a couple liters of fluid. She’s weak and still extremely nauseated. We’re still working her up to find the source of her pain.”
Jared frowned and rubbed his jaw. He’d thought for sure she had appendicitis. “What was her glucose?”
“On the low side of normal. We have her medical information; she’s not diabetic. Anyway, will you bring her son up to see her? She’s very agitated and asking about him. I think she’ll relax when she sees for herself that he’s all right.”
“Of course. He’s almost finished with his breakfast.” He glanced back at the table, but Ty’s small brown head wasn’t anywhere in sight. The blood drained from his face, and he quickly slammed the phone down.
Where was Ty? Frantic, his gaze searched the nearby tables. Good grief, he’d only been away for three minutes. How could the boy have disappeared that fast?
“Ty?” Jared wove between the cafeteria tables, bumping into chairs. “Tyler!”
“What?” Ty’s small head suddenly popped out from underneath the table. Jared’s breath left his lungs in a whoosh.
The boy was safe.
“Don’t do that to me.” His hands were shaking as he reached out to pull the boy close. He was flunking fatherhood 101. He’d almost lost Shelly’s son.