I jumped down off the Jeep and he followed suit.
The moment his feet were on the ground, I threw my arms around him.
“It’s okay,” I promised. “I’m okay.”
“This makes twice today that you scared the absolute shit out of me,” he muttered darkly.
I squeezed him tighter. “I’m sorry.”
He pulled me to him and rested his forehead on mine. “We’re going to the doctor to get you checked out.”
I started to protest, but he shook his head. “No. No, you’re doing this. It won’t take long. We can go to the clinic in town so it’s not the hospital, but you’re going.”
I sighed, knowing that he was going to force me whether I wanted to go or not.
“I promise that I’m fine,” I pleaded.
He pulled back only far enough that I could see his face, then let me see the intensity in his eyes. “Baby, you’re pregnant. I just want to be sure.”
And I couldn’t argue with that. Not at all.
“Okay,” I admitted. “I’ll go.”
And that was when my parents arrived.
My dad was just as unhappy about it as Jonah was, but instead of being concerned about my well-being, he looked as if his wheels were spinning.
“Do you find it funny that you, me, and Jonah have all experienced accidents?” my father asked.
I opened my mouth to deny it when it closed just as abruptly. “Oh, shit.”
“My sentiments exactly,” I muttered, turning to my father. “So is it you or Jonah?”
“My guess? It’s me,” he said. “I was the first one.”
That was true.
My father was the first one. He was here when Jonah and I were not.
“Your chick wasn’t a hit and run, though,” I found myself saying.
“No,” he paused. “True.”
“I’ve actually been involved in two,” Jonah interrupted. “One before I left in the police cruiser, and one on the motorbike.”
“Something to look into,” Sam said as he glanced at the Jeep. “You got a tractor?”
Jonah nodded. “I do. But I’m going to take her to the clinic first. I’ll come back later and pull it out.”
“You’re hurt?” my mother asked, looking concerned now.
She’d just been taking in the scene, and now she was zeroed in on me like a homing beacon.
“I’m okay,” I said, looking at Jonah.
Jonah’s mouth twitched.
“Then why are you going to the clinic?” she pushed.
Jonah lifted his chin. “Because we found out today that she might be pregnant, and I’m not taking any chances.”
There was a long pause while my parents took that in, then my mother started to jump up and down. “Holy shit!”
“Holy shit,” my father muttered, sounding less than enthused. “You do realize, right, that that makes all three of our girls pregnant at once, right? I’m going to go fuckin’ bankrupt.”
“It’s a good thing that you have a promising business and you’ve mostly retired. Just think of all the time you have now to spend with your grandkids.” Cheyenne smacked him in the stomach with the back of her hand.
Jonah pulled me into the curve of his arm. “I’m going to take her to the clinic in town. When we get back, we’ll…”
“I got a couple of favors I can pull with a local towing company. We’ll have it out in the next half hour, and I’ll have it towed to the repair shop.”
I swallowed hard as my father looked at me with an intensity in his eyes that I’d never seen before.
“Take care of yourself, baby.”
I smiled then. “Jonah will.”
“Damn straight,” Jonah muttered.
***
Jonah
I was still feeling sick to my stomach when we were called back into the clinic.
“Mrs. Crew?”
I stood up so abruptly at hearing her name called, that I dropped the magazine I’d been lazily looking at in between asking Piper if she was all right.
The woman’s eyes came to me, and I saw her take in my attire.
I didn’t care.
For once, I didn’t mind that she was staring at me with a ‘come hither’ smile on her face. My focus was well and truly on the woman at my side.
“Ready?” the nurse asked.
At least, I thought she was a nurse.
She was dressed like one, anyway.
“Yes, ma’am,” Piper said as she stood and started to make her way toward the door.
On her way past me, she latched onto my hand and drug me with her.
Not that I was going to stay out here anyway. I’d have gone in there and listened whether she wanted me there or not. Mostly because I didn’t want her to do this alone, but another part of me thought for sure she’d downplay any injuries she might’ve sustained. Just like she’d downplayed just how bad the accident was.
Turns out, I shouldn’t have worried.
Also turns out, I definitely should’ve been sitting down when I’d gotten the news that I got five minutes later.
***
I was in a state of shock as I drove all of twenty miles an hour down the road that would take us to the restaurant where we were meeting our family.