She smiles in return. “It’s not for protection, Mr. Drake.” She glances my way next. “Ready to take a peek at your baby?”
“Definitely,” I answer excitedly.
I hold my breath as she inserts the wand and moves it around. It only takes a moment before the image on the screen displays a tiny peanut. Our peanut.
“There she is,” Courtney says, pointing to the screen.
“She? You know it’s a girl?” Harrison asks, kneeling beside my bed to get on my level. He reaches out and grabs hold, mindful of the IV in my hand.
“No, it’s too early to know that. I just always refer to fetuses as shes,” she replies with a shrug. We watch as she takes measurements, much like the tech did last night down in the ER. Then she clicks a button and a fast beat fills the room. “And that is your baby’s heartbeat.”
Harrison gasps. “It’s so fast.”
“They are,” she confirms. “One hundred and forty-five beats per minute. Good and strong. I’d say your little one is doing quite well today,” she adds, taking several images of the baby.
I can feel his eyes on me and am surprised to find them a little misty. They’re so full of wonder, amazement, and love. “Thank you,” he whispers, right before his lips find mine. The kiss could easily turn heated, but he doesn’t let it. Instead, we turn and watch the rest of the ultrasound, staring in awe at the sight on the small screen.
“You’re all set. I’m going to send this to the doctor, and he’ll be in shortly. What OB will you be using? We’ll make sure to send all our reports to their office as well,” Courtney says as she shuts down the computer system and unplugs it from the wall.
“Westlakes OB,” I inform her. Even though I haven’t given it much thought, that’s where I go for my lady appointments, so why not continue with the same doctors?
“They’re wonderful there. They delivered my daughter last year,” the young woman adds, giving us a wave before exiting the room.
We barely have time to think, let alone talk about what we just witnessed, when the door pushes open. The morning nurse and admitting doctor come in together. “Good morning, Mrs. Drake. How was your night?”
“Not bad,” I inform him, making sure everything is covered up below the waist.
“How’s the spotting?” he asks, reading over the report from the ultrasound.
“Barely any this morning when I used the restroom.”
“Perfect, that’s what we had hoped for. Everything is looking good, and I see no reason to keep you any longer. I would make an appointment with your OB tomorrow morning, and take it easy for a few days. If you start to see spots or have trouble focusing, come back to the ER right away, but the bump to your head isn’t showing signs of any damage.”
“So I can go?” I ask, suddenly wanting nothing more than to go home, shower, and put on my own clothes.
“You’re free. Jackie will get your discharge papers and instructions ready, and she’ll bring up the wheelchair shortly,” he confirms.
“What about orders at home? Anything she should or shouldn’t be doing?” Harrison asks, his focus on the doctor and his posture rigid.
“She’s free to resume normal activity as she feels up to it. As I said, definitely take it easy for the next couple of days. As I mentioned earlier, if the cramping or spotting becomes worse, or you start to have trouble with dizziness or loss of vision, come to the ER right away.”
“I will, thank you,” I confirm, ready to get out of here.
The nurse removes the IV before I start to gather what little personal items I have. I realize I’m going to have to put on last night’s clothes since I don’t have an overnight bag with me. I pull the bag from the cabinet and find my top and capris, my stomach dipping just a little when I see the tinges of blood and holes from the airbag. Oh, well, it’ll have to do.
“I should have run and bought you new clothes,” Harrison says, noticing the state of my attire.
“It’ll be fine for now. I just want to go home, take a shower, and crawl into bed.”
“You need to eat,” he says absently without looking my way.
“I will, but first a shower.” I head to the small bathroom to change, but stop before I cross the threshold. “You can head home, you know. I can call Gabby to come get me and take me home.”
His eyes fly to mine, burning with annoyance. “Not happening, sweetheart. I’m not going anywhere,” he says, crossing his arms. My eyes are drawn to the corded muscles of his forearms, something I used to love staring at while we were married.
“Fine, you can take me home. I’ll call you when I have the appointment lined up with the OB,” I concede, stepping into the bathroom.
Before I can pull the door closed, his hand stops it. “What do you think I meant when I said I wasn’t going anywhere?” Dark eyes like lasers hold my gaze and make me squirm.
“What does that mean?” I ask, steeling my back and preparing for the fight I know is coming.
“I’m. Not. Going. Anywhere.”
“You’re not staying with me! You don’t live there anymore,” I insist, my mind reeling.
“You still have the guest bedroom, right?” He doesn’t wait for me to answer. “I’ll stay there, but I’m not leaving you alone. Not when you were just in a car accident that required an overnight hospital stay for a potential head injury. Not when you’re carrying our baby and have been spotting. Get used to it, Winnie. I’m not going anywhere.”
Then he punctuates his demand with a chaste kiss, turns, and walks away, seemingly having the last word and ending the conversation.
“One night, tops, mister,” I tell him before shutting the door with a little too much force.
There.
Now who has the last word?
Only with the door closed, I no doubt miss the smug smirk on his handsome face that lets me know one night isn’t what he has in mind.
One night will never be enough.
Not for Harrison.
Chapter 7
Harrison
* * *
One night. She can't be serious. No way am I leaving her alone after what she's just been through. Hell, I don't want to leave her alone just for the fact that she's agreed to give me another chance. Sure, she could call her sister, Gabby, or her parents, but why, when I'm readily available? I am the baby's father, after all. I deserve to be there for this, every fucking minute of it. I don't want to miss a single second.
After taking the elevator to the ground floor, I head out to the parking lot to get my truck. I pull up under the canopy, by the Patient Pick-up sign and turn on my hazards. I can't help but grin when I think about her up in her room, steaming from my high-handed comments. I'll sleep in the guest room, for now. However, my end game is getting my family back and giving her all the babies she wants. The minute I heard about Peanut, I knew this was what I should be doing — loving her, making babies, making a life.
I love the gym, but it can't keep me warm at night. I've lived without her, I know what that's like, and I never want to do it again.
“Ready to go?” I ask, walking into her room. She holds her finger up telling me to wait, and that's when I see her phone next to her ear.
“I know, I'm sorry. I should have called last night, but I'm fine, and well… Harrison stayed with me.” She stops to listen. “Yeah, he was still listed as my emergency contact.”
Another pause. “Gabby, I'm fine. We're heading home now.”
My chest tightens at her words. She could have said he's taking me home, but she didn't. That tells me all I need to know. She wants this, wants me. She's just scared. It's my job as her husband, yes husband, and I don't give a fuck what the papers say. As her husband, it's my job to show her how much I love her. To show her this time things are going to be different.