Baby For The Mountain Man

I hastily parked right behind Libby, and both of us leapt out of our respective cars, racing toward Libby’s house.

“Hey! Hey!” several police officers called after us. They hurried over, blocking our paths.

“I live here!” Libby shouted. “I live here! My friend was staying here! Is everything okay? Is she okay?”

“Calm down, ma’am,” one of the officers said.

“Where is she? Where’s the woman who was staying here?!” I demanded.

“And who are you, sir?” another officer said, stepping over, while the other proceeded to speak with Libby.

“I’m…I’m looking for the woman who was here…I…” But then my eyes landed on the ambulance truck. In the back of it, I saw a headful of curly hair that I instantly recognized as Joanna’s.

“Sir! Come back, sir!” the officer yelled after me, but I paid him no mind as I rushed toward the ambulance.

“Joanna!” I yelled.

At the sound of my voice, she raised her head. “Anderson?” she said weakly.

My stomach turned with nausea. Her face and arms were bruised and full of scratches.

“Hold on, sir. Are you family?” an EMT said, stopping me just before I could get to Joanna.

“Yes,” Joanna answered for me. “He is. Let him through.”

The EMT reluctantly stepped aside, and I wasted no time scooping Joanna into my arms. Her body shook as she sobbed into my shoulder.

“Who did this to you? What happened?” I asked.

“It was Zander,” she said. “My ex. He found me.”

“I’ll kill him,” I said, not even caring if police officers were around to hear me make such a statement. I grabbed her face and kissed her, my relief at seeing her alive and well so immense that I almost felt like I was going to faint.

“I don’t know how he found me,” she said in disbelief.

“We’ll handle him. I promise,” I said, reaching to pull my cell phone out my pocket. I sent Tobias a quick message, letting him know that I was with Joanna and that she was all right.

“Sir, we have to take her to the hospital,” a different EMT said. “Only family members are allowed to ride with the patient.”

“He is family,” Joanna said again.

The EMT turned toward me. “What is your relation?”

“He’s…he’s the baby’s father,” Joanna said to the EMT.

I felt another powerful wave of lightheadedness. “I’m…I’m the what?” I said, sure that I must have misheard her. “Joanna, what did you just say?”

Joanna’s bottom lip trembled as she stared up at me. She took a deep breath. “I…I have to check on the b-baby. I wasn’t sure how to tell you. But…but…” She paused and took another deep breath. “Anderson, I’m pregnant.”

CHAPTER 27

Joanna

Anderson opened the door to his apartment and escorted me inside. After I’d been released from the emergency room, and it was determined that the baby was all right, he had insisted that I go home with him.

“I don’t want you alone tonight,” he had said. “And I don’t want you back at Libby’s, no offense. I know that’s probably the last place Zander will show up to again, but still…I just want you with me. Is that all right?”

I’d nodded. “Yeah. That’s all right.”