“As for your job, I’ll fill out the necessary paperwork for you to take a leave of absence. The most important thing right now is for you to rest and limit your stress level. We don’t want any more premature labor.”
“How long do I have to stay in the hospital?” Emma questioned, her voice wavering.
“I want to keep you over night, and then you’re free to go home. Let me go check on the status of moving you upstairs.”
After Dr. Pendleton exited the room, Emma’s emotions spiraled out of control. She tried fighting with everything in her not to totally and completely lose it at the prospect that Noah’s life might still be in danger. It was too much to bear, and she couldn’t stop the floodgates from opening. A strangled cry erupted from her lips, sending both Casey and Aidan racing forward to comfort her. Somehow Casey elbowed Aidan out of the way, blocking him from getting to her.
A frustrated grunt came from Aidan. Casey ignored him and grabbed Emma’s hand. She squeezed it tight and gave her a reassuring smile. “Don’t cry, Em. It’s all going to be fine. Lots of women have to go on bed rest for a while, and then the rest of their pregnancies are completely normal.”
Between hiccupping sobs, she replied, “I hope so.”
“I know so. And I’ll take you to Grammy’s first thing in the morning, and she’ll get you through this.”
Emma shook her head as the tears slid down her cheeks. “I can’t go to Grammy’s. Granddaddy had hip replacement surgery a week ago, and she’s already ragged from taking care of him. I can’t put any more stress on her at her age.”
Aidan cleared his throat and sidestepped Casey to stand in front of Emma. “You’re coming home with me. I’m going to take care of you.”
A hiss erupted from Casey. She jerked her hand away from Emma’s to jab a finger in Aidan’s chest. “Over my dead body!”
Aidan’s eyebrows shot up. “Excuse me?”
Casey’s nostrils flared. “You’ve got to be out of your fucking mind! You take care of her? You’re the very reason she’s in this condition.”
He winced. “With Pop’s episode, Emma’s had a lot of stress on her today as well as in the last few weeks.”
“Don’t you dare try to pawn this off on someone else!”
“Look we all know I fucked up! Royally. Even though I’d give anything to take it back, I can’t. But I can make it right, and one way to prove to Emma how much I care about her is to take care of her when she needs me most.”
Emma sucked in a breath at Aidan’s words. She was sure one of the countless monitors she was hooked up to was about to go haywire with her accelerating heartbeat. Shock reverberated through her that he had even suggested taking care of her, least of all that he actually meant he’d do it. While deeply touched, she couldn’t imagine how her frayed nerves could allow her to be so close to him. Finally, she shook her head. “I don’t think—” she started.
His blue eyes blazed with a steely determination. “This isn’t up for discussion.”
Casey snorted. “Oh hell yes, it is up for discussion. If anyone is going to be taking care of Em, it’s me, fuckwit!”
Aidan’s face clouded over with fury, and Emma feared he was about to truly lose his temper. His jaw clenched as he leaned closer to Casey. “You seem to forget that’s my child she’s carrying. He is my responsibility. You can sure as hell believe that nothing else matters more to me in this world than my son.”
Glaring back at him, Casey countered, “Too bad you weren’t thinking about Noah when you almost screwed that skank.”
At Aidan’s growl, Connor squeezed between them. “Okay, enough!” He shook his head. “Damn, you two have got to chill with the pissing contest about Em. Would you stop for a minute and think about how much you’re upsetting her?”
Both Aidan and Casey snapped their gaze from Connor and stared at Emma. Their attention caused her cheeks and neck to flush.
Aidan’s expression softened. “I’m sorry, Em. I don’t want to upset you. I just want…” He ran his hand through his sandy hair. “I just want you to let me take care of you and Noah.”
The sincerity in his words sent her heart fluttering again, and she hated herself for it. After nibbling on her lip, she questioned, “What about your job? You can’t possibly travel like you have been and take care of me.”
“I’ll just take a leave of absence like you are.”
Emma couldn’t help widening her eyes. “You would do that?”