Читать книгу Least Likely To Wed - Judy Christenberry, Judy Christenberry - Страница 11

Pete watched Kelly out of the corner of his eye as he sped toward the hospital. He decided he could’ve been a four-headed monster and she wouldn’t have cared as long as he got her to her child.

Most of the young women he dated concentrated on either themselves or him. Kelly was only thinking of her child. She reminded him of his mother.

When he parked the car, she jumped out and was halfway to the emergency room before he could open his door. Mary hurried after her. Rafe waited for him to lock the door. Then the two of them followed the women.

“What do you think is wrong?” Rafe asked.

“Could be anything. Probably a broken bone. We had a lot of those while we were growing up,” Pete muttered.

Inside, Kelly was talking to Lindsay and Gil, Mary listening beside her. Then a nurse took Kelly away. Pete stared after her, feeling he should go with her, but he knew she wouldn’t want him. He crossed to Lindsay’s side. “What happened?”

“It’s his appendix, Pete,” a teary-eyed Lindsay said. “He was fussy, and I thought he missed Kelly. I tried to make him happy. Then he threw up! And—and he was running a fever. We called the doctor and he said bring him to the hospital!”

Gil put his arm around his wife. “It wasn’t your fault, honey. We did everything we could.”

Mary was fighting tears and Rafe had his arm around her, giving her strength.

Another nurse stepped forward. “Would you like to go up to the waiting room on the second floor? That’s where the doctor will come after the surgery.”

“Will Ms. Hampton go there?” Pete asked.

“Yes, sir, we’ll send her there when she comes back.”

Pete told the others to go upstairs and he’d wait here for Kelly. He didn’t think she should come back by herself.

“Oh, thanks, Pete. That’s a good idea,” Lindsay said, patting him on the arm.

Pete leaned against the nurses’ station counter, waiting for Kelly, wondering how dangerous the surgery was. He asked the nurses several questions. They said it was unusual for so young a child, but not too dangerous. He was feeling better about everything until he saw Kelly. Silent tears streamed down her pale cheeks as she walked toward him.

She almost passed him, and he realized she wasn’t seeing anything. He put an arm around her. “Kelly? Did you see Drew?”

Without answering, she turned and buried her face against his chest. He tightened his grip on her and buried his face in her hair. “Was he awake?”

She nodded, her sobs easing. “He was so frightened!”

“I know, honey. He’s little, but he’ll be okay.”

He couldn’t even understand the flood of protests she made, but he didn’t need to. He remembered his mother when Mike, his youngest brother, had been in a car accident. He’d been pretty messed up. No one, not even his dad, had been able to comfort her until she saw Mike again and had the doctor tell her he would be all right.

“Come on upstairs. The others have gone to the waiting room where the doctor will come when it’s over.”

With his arm still around her, he moved them to the elevator.

She seemed surprised when they reached the waiting room and Lindsay and Mary ran forward to hear the latest about Drew. When she pulled away from Pete’s warmth to hug them, he felt the loss. He wanted to protest and tell the other women that he could support Kelly better than them. He was stronger.

Eventually they sat down, and he took a chair nearby, with Rafe and Gil. There was little conversation. The men, all three of them, watched the women, ready at a minute’s notice to do anything they could to help.

But there was nothing.

Finally Mary and Kelly got up. Mary explained they were going to walk the halls for a little while. Pete offered to accompany them and Kelly gave him a strange look, as if surprised he was there.

Mary shook her head, and Pete settled back in the uncomfortable chair.

Lindsay came back to Gil’s side and he slid his arm around her. She put her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. They made such a picture of oneness, Pete was surprised to feel envy. He’d seen it before with his parents. He’d even thought one day he might have that kind of relationship. But that was before he’d had experience with the opposite sex. An early engagement to a woman who was only interested in his money had filled him with cynicism.

As if to underline his decision about women, fun for a while but too difficult to understand, Lindsay suddenly raised her head and stared at her husband. Then she burst into tears and leaped from his side, running into the hallway.

“What happened?” Rafe asked.

“I don’t know,” Gil said, a stunned look on his face. “I just said I was glad it was Kelly’s boy and not ours that was being operated on, and she went crazy.”

“You don’t care about Drew?” Pete demanded. Gil’s words seemed harsh even to Pete, who claimed not to want any children.

“Of course I do. But if it was my baby, mine and Lindsay’s baby, I think I’d go crazy. That’s all I meant.” Gil stood. “I’d better go find her.”

Before he took two steps, Lindsay returned, Kelly and Mary with her.

“Honey, what upset you?” Gil demanded.

With a nudge from Kelly, Lindsay took a step toward him. “I—I thought you wanted a baby.”

Pete watched, wide-eyed, as Gil assured his wife. “Of course, I want a baby. I said that because it’s hard when your own child—I mean, Kelly is suffering so much, I—why would you think I don’t want a baby?”

“I wanted to baby-sit Drew tonight because—because I wanted to tell you—he’s so sweet. I know you adore him and—I’m pregnant!”

Pete stared at his sister, then his friend. They were having a baby? He didn’t know what to say.

Obviously Gil didn’t, either. He stared at his wife as if he hadn’t understood the words.

Rafe jumped up from his chair and hugged Lindsay, congratulating her.

His movement awoke Gil from his stupor. He hugged Lindsay tightly, whispering in her ear. Pete stood and added his congratulations.

“Are you sure?” Lindsay asked Gil. “When Pete was there the other day, you laughed and said—”

Gil and Pete hurriedly interrupted.

“I wasn’t agreeing with Pete!” Gil said in a rush.

“I didn’t mean—I was just talking in general,” Pete assured her.

Kelly stared at Pete, her gaze accusing him of some heinous crime. “Really,” he protested, “some women aren’t—I mean, they don’t—” He took another look at Kelly’s stare and gave up defending himself.

Gil sat down and pulled Lindsay into his lap. They cuddled, whispering, and occasionally kissing, and the others sat in silence, trying to ignore them.

Finally Lindsay looked at her friend. “You were right, Kelly, he does want our baby!” She beamed at them all.

“Of course he does, Lindsay. Everyone knows he’s crazy about you,” Kelly assured her, smiling at both Lindsay and Gil.

Pete frowned. There was a bittersweet tone to her words and her expression that caused him to question her past. She had gotten married when she was pregnant, but Lindsay had assured the Crawfords that Kelly and her husband loved each other. Six months later, before she gave birth, he’d been killed in a rodeo accident.

Pete had assumed Kelly had refused to date anyone because she’d still been in mourning. Now he wondered.

“Uh, I imagine most men are excited about their first child,” he said, watching Kelly closely.

After a hesitation, Kelly said, “Yes, of course.”

She glanced down at her watch and looked back at the doorway, unconsciously reminding him of the ordeal she was going through. Yet she’d taken the time to help Lindsay.

It suddenly occurred to him that Lindsay’s news would excite his mother. “Have you told Mom? She’s going to be over the moon. You know how she wants a grandchild nearby.” His brother Logan had one baby and another on the way but they were two or three hours away in Texas.

“Not yet. I had to tell Gil first,” Lindsay protested.

“You’ve told him. Why don’t you go call Mom and Dad,” Pete suggested.

Lindsay and Gil jumped to their feet and hurried out of the waiting room after a quick word to Kelly.

Rafe suggested to Mary that they walk a little. He said his left leg went stiff if he didn’t move around every once in a while. Mary leaped at the opportunity to nurse someone else, since she couldn’t nurse her grandson.

Suddenly only Pete and Kelly remained in the waiting room.

He cleared his throat. “Thanks for helping Lindsay.”

She was pacing the room, and she turned to stare at him. “I didn’t do anything.” She started walking again.

“Yes, you did. You calmed her down and got her to talk to Gil. I’ve never seen her that upset.”

She paused again. “A woman is very upset during pregnancy. Her hormones are out of balance.”

“Were you that way when you had Drew?”

Her eyes darkened, and she turned away, pacing again. He barely heard the “yes” she muttered.

“He’s a cute baby.”

She seemed surprised by his words, which made him feel defensive. He didn’t hate children just because he didn’t think he was cut out for fatherhood. He didn’t think he had the patience a child needed.

“He’s a little boy, almost two years old,” she said. Then she sank her teeth into her bottom lip and her eyes filled with tears. She quickly turned away.

Pete stood and put his arms around her. To his surprise she didn’t protest. He figured tomorrow she’d slap him if he tried to hug her. But tonight, she’d hold on to any port in a storm.

“He’s going to be fine, Kelly. Tomorrow, you’ll be laughing about your fears.”

She sniffed and muttered against his chest, “Maybe not tomorrow. It’ll take longer than that.”

“Yeah. How long will it take before you forgive me for what I said to your mother? I know I was rude and I apologize.” He hadn’t meant to bring up that subject, but he couldn’t help himself.