She dragged out the mop and then filled the sink with water and a cleaning agent. Then she started at the farthest point, mopping her way back toward the sink. When she was finished, she surveyed the sparkling floor with satisfaction.
She drained the water from the sink, wrung out the mop and then started toward the door leading onto the deck so she could put the mop out to dry.
She never even saw the still-wet patch of floor and as soon as her foot came down on it, she went flying, her feet coming out from underneath her. She landed with a painful thud that knocked the breath from her.
So stunned by the incident, she lay there trying to collect herself. She mentally went over every part of her body, trying to figure out if she was hurt. It seemed everything hurt.
She cautiously moved her arms and legs but when she tried to maneuver herself upward, pain surged through her back and abdomen. She froze, panic flooding her mind.
The baby.
Oh God, what if the baby was hurt? What if this caused her to miscarry? She was scared to death to even move.
She reached for the phone that thank God she'd kept in her pocket. She should've dialed 911 but her first thought was to call her friends. Joss didn't answer so she called Kylie next.
"Hey girlfriend, what's up?" Kylie's cheerful voice rang in Chessy's ear.
"Kylie, I need help," Chessy said painfully. "I fell and I'm scared to get up. I'm worried about the baby."
She broke down into tears as she said the last.
"Stay where you are," Kylie commanded. "Jensen and I will be there in ten minutes."
Chessy closed her eyes in relief and then brought the phone to her side. Her very first instinct had been to call Tate. He was her lifeline. But she wouldn't do that to him today of all days. She refused to make him choose between her and a potential client who could set his firm up for years to come.
She could do this.
The wait seemed interminable but then she heard the front door fly open and Kylie's voice on its heels.
"Chessy! Where are you?"
"I'm in the kitchen," Chessy called out.
Kylie, followed quickly by Jensen, rushed into the kitchen where Chessy still lay on the floor. Jensen crouched down, his eyes full of concern.
"Where do you hurt, honey?"
"I'm not sure," Chessy admitted. "I tried to get up but it hurt so bad that I just laid back down. I'm so worried about the baby. Kylie, am I bleeding?"
Jensen looked away while Kylie gently pulled Chessy's pants down to examine her for any bleeding.
"You're spotting," Kylie said quietly.
Tears welled in Chessy's eyes. God, no. Anything but this.
"It's not a lot," Kylie soothed. "We'll take you to the ER and get you checked out. Make sure nothing is broken and that the baby is okay. Have you called Tate?"
Chessy shook her head emphatically. "No. He has a very important presentation today. This could make or break his business. I won't make him choose between me and such an important meeting."
Kylie didn't look placated by her explanation but didn't argue.
"Okay, honey, I'm going to pick you up. I'll try not to hurt you," Jensen said in a gentle voice.
Chessy tensed as Jensen curled his arms underneath her and lifted her effortlessly into his arms. She winced, her back protesting the movement. Jensen looked worried as he carried her outside to his car. He laid her in the backseat with instructions for her not to move. Kylie slid into the passenger seat and Jensen got behind the wheel and immediately pulled out of the drive, accelerating sharply out of the neighborhood.
Oh God, please, please let her baby be okay. In the short time since she'd discovered she was pregnant she'd bonded with her child. It was already a son or a daughter to her and she already dreamed of a future with a toddler running around, making her crazy. And she wanted other children. She didn't want an only child. She wanted a large family filled with love, all the things she'd never had growing up.
Her children would know how very much they were loved and wanted.
Ten minutes later, Jensen roared up to the ambulance bay at the ER and jumped out, yelling at one of the techs who was taking a smoke break.
"We need a stretcher. She's pregnant and she's hurt. I don't want to jostle her unnecessarily."
In a few minutes she was carefully loaded onto a stretcher and hustled into a cubicle in the ER where a nurse immediately began to ask her what happened and examined her for possible injuries.
"I'm just a few weeks pregnant," Chessy said tearfully. "And I'm spotting. Does that mean I'm losing her?"
The nurse patted her hand reassuringly. "Spotting is normal in the first weeks of pregnancy. But we'll do a sonogram and do blood work to check your HCG levels. I'm sure your baby will be just fine. It's you we need to worry about. Your left arm looks to be broken or at least severely bruised. We'll have to take X-rays and of course we'll take the necessary precautions to protect your baby."
Chessy heaved a sigh of relief. She didn't care about herself. She just wanted her baby to be all right.
Kylie and Jensen crowded in on either side of Chessy. Kylie put her hand on Chessy's shoulder while Jensen held her right hand. Kylie was careful not to touch her left arm.
For the first time, Chessy looked down at her arm and her mouth dropped open. It did indeed look broken. It was swollen and already bruising was evident.
A few minutes later, the tech came in and wheeled her down the hall to the X-ray room. It only took a few moments for him to X-ray her arm, but he also did ones of her ribs and her abdomen.
When he wheeled her back into the room, Joss and Dash were there waiting with Kylie and Jensen. Chessy teared up again. She loved her friends dearly but what she really wanted was her husband. She needed his strength and his reassurance but she couldn't ask him to sacrifice such an important opportunity for his firm.
"Chessy, oh my God, are you all right?" Joss asked in concern.
"What happened?" Dash asked in a grim voice.
They were interrupted when the sonogram tech came in pushing a portable sonogram machine with a wand attached. Chessy's eyes widened when they told her they would be doing an internal sonogram since it was so early in her pregnancy.
The fear and anxiety became too much. This was the moment where she'd discover whether or not her baby had survived her stupidity. She'd never forgive herself if she'd caused the death of her child.
She burst into uncontrollable sobs, tears streaking down her cheeks. Her entire body shook and the pain from her arm became unbearable.
To her utter shock, the door flew open and Tate filled the doorway, his gaze immediately seeking Chessy. He looked haggard and worried but relief flooded his features when he saw her.
But as he registered her sobs, his look turned to one of devastation. He flew over to her side, all but pushing the others away.
"Chessy, are you all right?" he demanded. "What happened? Is the baby okay?"
"What are you doing here?" she asked in astonishment, some of her tears abating as she took in the fact that her husband was here. Not at a meeting. He was here with her. "Tate, you can't miss the presentation today. How did you even know I was here?"
"Dash called me," Tate said grimly. "But you should have been the one to call me. Chessy, nothing is more important than you. Fuck the presentation. That's what I have partners for now. If we get it we get it. If not, there will be other opportunities. But my sole priority is you and your safety and our child."
Chessy burst into tears again and Tate leaned down, carefully pulling her into his arms.
"Don't cry, baby. Please don't cry. It'll be all right. I swear it. If this pregnancy doesn't work out, we'll have others. I'll give you as many babies as you want."
Her heart filled with love. Her emotions were out of control. Tate had chosen her. She hadn't asked him to. Hadn't expected him to leave such an important meeting. But he'd come.
"It breaks my heart that you're so overwhelmed by the fact that I came," Tate said, sorrow swamping his face. "But Chessy, I'll always choose you. I know in the past I haven't, but from now on, you are my number one priority. You should have called me but I understand why you didn't. But from now on, I expect you to always tell me what's going on with you. Especially when you're hurt and in the hospital and worried that you've lost our baby."