* * *
Once they have me settled and we’re waiting to see a doctor, Slade holds out his hand. “Let me see your phone.”
“Why?” I pull it from my purse and hand it to him.
He swipes the screen and hands it back to me. “Code?”
I type in the four numbers. “What are you doing? Didn’t you bring yours?”
He takes the phone and taps the screen a couple of times and holds up his finger in a signal to wait. “Hey, man. It’s Slade. Yeah, I know it’s early, sorry. Listen, I’m with Mo. We’re at the emergency room. No. No. She’s okay right now. But you may want to come be with her.”
My already heavy stomach sinks further. I glare at Slade. “What are you doing?”
He hands me the phone. “He’s on his way.”
* * *
The nurse comes in and takes my vitals. Danny jogs into the room as she removes the blood pressure cuff.
Slade slips out around the curtain.
Danny slides to his knees next to the bed, taking my hand as the nurse releases it. “Babe, are you okay?”
His hand is warm on my cold one, though it trembles as much as my own.
He smoothes his other hand over my belly. “It’s going to be okay, Mo. Whatever happens, it’ll be all right. I’m here. Whatever you need. Whatever you want.”
Heat gathers with moisture in my eyes. I drag in a deep breath. “But, Danny, our—baby…”
He wipes his cheek on his shoulder and sniffs. “Don’t worry. As long as you’re—we just have to keep you healthy.”
Danny sits on the edge of the bed and gathers me close, rocking. “Mo, I love you. No matter what happens, that won’t change.”
I twist his shirt in my fists as tears slip over my lashes.
Rachel pokes her head around the curtain. Her eyes are bright with unshed tears as she looks from me to Danny and back. “Can I come in?”
I open our embrace to include my best friend in the world. “God I’ve missed you, Rach.”
She dives into our hug. “I missed you too, Mo. And I’m so sorry about—about everything. Can you ever forgive us?”
I sniff and my chest aches. My tears seep into Danny’s shirt. “Nothing to forgive you for.”
“Aw, Mo.” Rach’s hug tightens around my shoulder. “I’m praying for this baby. It’s going to be all right, Mo. Just wait and see.”
My heart breaks a little with each breath I take. My shoulders shake and more tears wet my cheeks as the people I love most huddle around me.
The people I love most.
People.
Oh, God. I really do love him.
I pull Rachel in tight for a second, and then I let go of her and throw my arms around Danny. He drags me into his lap, burying his face in my neck. The moisture on my shoulder where his cheek lays cuts me to the bone.
I swallow hard and pull back, wiping his face with the back of my hand. “Oh, Danny. I’m sorry.”
He shakes his head, his eyes puzzled. “For what?”
“For not telling you.”
Danny cocks his head. “Telling me what, babe?”
I pull in a shaky breath and cup his jaw in my palm. “For not telling you that—”
A nurse swishes the curtain aside. “Okay. We’re going to take you down for an ultrasound.”
I back out of Danny’s arms. He moves and the nurse pulls up the bed’s side rails. He bites his bottom lip as his eyes dart from me to the nurse and back. “Can I come too?”
The round faced lady raises her eyebrows, looking to me. “Can he?”
I take his hand. “Yes. He’s the baby’s father.”
She smiles and shrugs. “I guess it’s a go then. So you haven’t seen a doctor yet? Haven’t had a serum test?”
I twist the sheet between nervous fingers. “No. Just the home pregnancy test. Why?”
“Well, it’s possible your home test may have been wrong; maybe you just started your cycle.”
I swallow hard, trying to find the answer, but heat spreads over my face. Oh lord, how embarrassing would that be?
Danny says, “But she’s been nauseated and throwing up, pretty much every day.”
The woman smiles. “I’m not saying you aren’t pregnant, just letting you know it’s a possibility. Ninety-nine percent accuracy seems like a lot, but that leaves one out of every hundred women with the wrong results. So don’t worry yet.”
She keeps up banal chatter as she pushes me down the over-bright hallway, but the wheels beneath me roll too loudly and somehow drown her out with thoughts of what we might, or might not see in a few moments. Finally, I’m delivered into the care of the woman waiting to do the ultrasound, an older lady with a big smile and cool hands.