“Heath? You there?” Worry grew in exponential waves.
“Took her—over—the hospital—needs to go home and get some rest—” The line finally went dead.
The hospital?
“Hello? Hello, Heath? Damn it!”
Quinten dialed Heath’s number, and the call went straight to voice mail. He paced impatiently as the voice mail message played and he waited for the beep. “Heath, it’s me. When you get this, call me back as soon as you can. I’m headed to the hospital right now.”
Why would she visit the hospital in Morehead? She was just at the doctor. Had there been an emergency? He couldn’t draw any conclusions from that broken-up phone conversation, but it didn’t stop his mind from drawing all kinds of conclusions.
“Come on, Parks. If there was an emergency, one of the guys would’ve called us.”
But what if it’s not an emergency? What if she’s—
A wave of anguish kept him from even finishing the mental dialogue. Camilla wasn’t the type who would end her pregnancy without at least talking to them about it first. She wouldn’t do that. She was nothing like his ex-girlfriend had been. She was good on the inside and on the outside, regardless of the circumstances. But once the thought had lodged in his mind, he couldn’t stop the worry from growing. Maybe she’d gotten sick in town?
He checked his phone. No calls. He cursed softly and put his foot down on the accelerator. Debating between calling Ben or waiting, he decided finally to call him. Ben would want to know. He hit the Bluetooth and dialed his number.
“Yeah. You heard from her?” Ben sounded every bit as worried as Quinten felt.
“I called Heath, but we got cut off.”
“Where are they?”
“We had a bad connection. They’re at the hospital in Morehead.”
“What?”
“We had a bad connection, but it sounded like Heath was with her over at the hospital.”
“I’m heading that way now.” Ben sounded like he was running. He must’ve been at The Pony, because he called out to Ethan in the background, and Quinten could hear Ethan say something.
“I’m already in my truck. See you there.” He disconnected the call and focused on the road. He felt irrational as he thought of her dealing with a medical emergency in the frame of mind that she’d been in that morning. And the other doubt still circled in his mind, no matter how much he wanted it to go away.
Chapter Twenty-One
Sitting at her desk, Camilla smiled as she stuck the bows on the books she’d found. The pharmacy hadn’t had what she’d needed so they’d stopped at the local bookstore. Heath had even managed to get her to eat a little of her sandwich before he’d let her get out of the car to go inside to look for the books. He’d chuckled when she’d called him a mother hen as he’d made her eat another bite. She’d reminded him not to spill anything in her new car and had walked into the store.
The food helped her feel a little better, and she wondered if coming to grips with being pregnant had eased her nerves, which in turn had somewhat settled her morning sickness.
She chuckled as she looked at the covers of the books and hoped Ben and Quinten appreciated her sense of humor. She wasn’t sure how much practical knowledge they’d glean from them, but at least they could laugh with her.
Putting her feet up on her desk, she listened as the work continued all around her. Rosemary was right. The place wouldn’t fall down around her ears. She now had the wherewithal to hire capable managers so she could focus on what was really important. Her men and this little baby growing inside of her.
Leaning back in the chair, she caressed her abdomen. “So what do we call you? Peanut? Chicklet?” She let loose a shaky sigh, feeling marginally relaxed, and slid the books into the top drawer of her desk. She couldn’t wait a second longer, so it looked like she was telling them over the phone after all. She picked up her phone to call her men, glad she’d waited so that her mind had a chance to catch up with the rest of her. She wanted this baby. Wanted their baby.
As she dialed up a conference call so that she could tell them at the same time, she heard a commotion at the entryway, which was currently undergoing reconstruction. She heard Heath and Spencer, talking to Ben and Quinten.
She chuckled and murmured, “Shoulda known they wouldn’t be able to wait. Poor guys.”
She sat up, stuffed a cracker in her mouth, and grabbed her bottle of water as she walked out of her office. She hated that they were worried but couldn’t deny the happy surge that raced through her as she looked forward to telling them the news.