The Doctor's Secret Son

“How?”

“I’d think that was obvious.”

“Well, it’s not. How would sex make things more complicated? If you ask me, sex might make things better.”

“That’s because the man you have sex with loves you,” she pointed out.

“Trace doesn’t love you?”

“No,” she answered, but clamped her mouth shut before her next thought came rolling off her tongue, because it couldn’t be true.

She didn’t wish Trace loved her.

To wish that would make her have to question why she’d wish for such a silly thing. Especially when she knew he hated her for what she’d done. And that he was leaving. Last time four years had passed before he’d returned to the States.

She was saved from Savannah probing deeper by her cell phone going off. Something was probably going on in the CVICU where they needed her to return to the floor. She grabbed her phone, readying to head back to the unit.

“Hey, Mom, how are things there?” she said instead when it was her mother’s voice she heard.

“They aren’t here.”

Chrissie’s heart shriveled up in her chest. “What do you mean?”

“Joss isn’t here. Trace isn’t here. There’s not a car here. He’s taken him, Chrissie. He’s taken Joss!”

Her mother’s panic matched her own.

Trace had taken Joss. She’d only left him alone with their son for a few hours and he’d done the unthinkable. He’d taken Joss.

All the blood in Chrissie’s body migrated to pound in her temples.

What did she do? Call the police and report that her son had been kidnapped?

No. First thing she needed to do was call Trace. To see if there was a perfectly logical explanation for why he and Joss weren’t at the house, why he hadn’t let her know they were leaving.

“I’ve got to go, Mom. I’m going to call Trace to see why they aren’t there.”

At her comment, Savannah’s eyes widened.

“I’ll let you know what I find out,” Chrissie promised her mother, hanging up the phone, then meeting her friend’s eyes. “He’s not there. He and Joss are gone. Oh, God. They’re not there.”

Her insides were crumbling and Savannah moved to put her arm around her shoulder as Chrissie’s hand shook. Tears blinded her as she went to type in Trace’s number.

But before she could get the first number punched in, her phone rang again.

“Trace! Where are you?” she demanded when she saw who the caller was.

“He’s going to be okay.”

His first words didn’t reassure her. Nor did the loud whine of the siren coming over the phone.

“What’s wrong with Joss? Where are you? Why aren’t you at the house? My mom just called to say no one was at the house. What have you done?” Chrissie?

?s legs went weak and she grabbed hold of the table to keep from falling from her chair as she demanded, “I knew I shouldn’t have left him with you. What did you let happen to my baby?”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

TRACE WINCED AT Chrissie’s question. Not that he didn’t deserve her accusation and so much more.