Chapter 19
“My baby!”
Solace sat up straight in the darkness and grabbed her stomach with both hands, her hoarse scream burning her raw throat. Somewhere close, a loud, wild beeping sent her terrified gaze searching the room.
Where am I?
Then the pain registered—shooting through her like her insides were being ripped to shreds—stealing her breath.
“Damn,” she gasped, before gingerly lowering herself back down onto a hard mattress and stiff pillow. Taking shallows breaths to get through the agony she’d just inflicted upon herself wasn’t helping.
“Angel.”
Her breath caught at her murmured name. The beeping that had begun to slow, sped up again. There was no mistaking that voice—even gruff and low—or the big hand now covering both of hers still clasping her belly.
It’s him.
But this didn’t feel like Duncan’s bed. It was harder, and the pillow wasn’t as soft. Afraid to do more than turn her head, she made out his form standing close beside the bed.
“Duncan,” she breathed out, her eyes pooling, while her hands pressed more tightly to her belly.
“Our baby’s fine,” he whispered.
Relief swept through her, as she closed her eyes—releasing her tears—and let out a long, unsteady breath. If she had lost her child, she would?—
Her eyes popped wide open again, while the heart monitor went into another frenzy.
He knows.
His hand squeezed hers as he leaned closer, bracing his arms on the bed. Why was he here? Wherever here was. Any worries about that fled when the feel of his lips traced down the side of her face where her tears had tracked into her hairline.
“Are you in pain?” Gooseflesh rose up at the sensation of his warm breath caressing her cheek as he spoke. Yes, she was in pain. But all she could think about was that he’d said, our baby. Was he going to ask her anything about it? “Do I need to call a nurse?”
Obviously not.
But that was okay for now. She was nowhere near ready to have the we’re having a baby talk with him. It was too much to think about when there were so many questions about the last few months to ask and answers to be given.
“Angel, if you’re hurting, I need to know.”
His voice was so gentle.
More than caring. Almost…
Loving.
“Maybe a little.” Which was a complete understatement. “I’m…” She started to clear her swollen throat but ended up wincing. Was there nothing about her that didn’t hurt? “I’m in a hospital?”
“Yes, the last two days,” he said, pulling away from her and grabbing something from the bed near her head. “I’m getting a nurse in here.”
“You don’t?—”
“It’s not up for discussion.” Ah, the colonel voice was back. “Your body’s been through a lot and I’m not going to allow you to be in pain.”
“Yes, sir,” she said, a little breathlessly and, even in the dark, she could tell his body had tensed. She’d intended that as kind of tongue-in-cheek, but it had come out as something more intimate. And…
They have got to unhook me from that damned heart monitor.
Almost immediately, the door opened on her right, drawing her focus toward the little bit of light spilling in from the hallway and the outline of the slight figure standing there.
Of course, that was right before the overhead lights flooded the room.
It didn’t make the room necessarily bright, but she had to shut her eyes to keep from being blinded.
“Hello, Ms. Davidson,” the nurse’s friendly voice came at her as Solace slowly opened her eyes, first to a slit.
She finally dared open them completely to get a good look at her.
The older woman with grayish-brown, short hair, dressed in multicolored scrubs crossing the room gave her a smile. “So, we’re finally awake.”
“Just a few minutes ago,” Duncan provided. She didn’t have the nerve to truly look at him. Saying their baby was fine wasn’t the same as letting her know his thoughts about becoming a father again.
One look at him would tell her. And she was scared to death to see the truth.
“Thank you, Colonel Sheppard,” the nurse said, her tone sharp, while the smile she’d had seconds before tightened at the corners and hazel eyes filled with disapproval when her gaze landed beyond Solace. What had Duncan done while she’d been out?
Silly question. The man had probably taken charge of the hospital staff and steam rolled over everyone.
It was his style.
“Now,” she said, her expression not quite so irritated, when she once more looked down at Solace. “Let’s check your incision.”
“Incision?” Panic set in again. As crazy as the heart monitor went, those in room heard her panic. The last thing she remembered was tackling Duncan and something hitting her back like a sledgehammer.
“It’s not that bad, Angel,” Duncan said, up against her ear. Having him so close gave her the courage to turn her head and get her first good look at him in months.
Almost nose to nose, she found the composed, cold man she’d last seen in his office three months ago was gone.
In his place? Well, she hadn’t been sure what to expect.
But it hadn’t been this pale, haggard man—features drawn, face grizzled, and hair cropped close to his head.
This near, his blue eyes stared into hers like a man who’d been hungry for days and she was a four-course meal.
“Angel,” he murmured, his chest heaving and weary eyes filling with something more than hunger. That blue gaze she’d believed she’d never get lost in again held a longing so keen it hurt to look at it.
The heart monitor went haywire again, as his head moved toward hers, before he brushed his lips against her trembling ones. It was a soft kiss. A perfect kiss. So perfect, she closed her eyes, then wasn’t surprised when fresh tears traced down the sides of her face.
“Now, now,” the nurse said, her tone just as commanding as Duncan’s could be. “None of that.”
Duncan’s mouth slowly parted from hers, his harsh breath against her lips leaving them tingling with the need for more.
“Of course,” he said, pressing his forehead against hers and nodding.
And then he was moving from that side of the bed and going to the other, leaving her to frown at one of those chairs that convert to a bed—sort of.
Had he been sleeping here? It couldn’t have been comfortable.
That had to have been fun for the nurses and doctors to deal with.
Which had probably added to the sour look the nurse had given him.
A grin almost broke out. But a spasm of dull pain nixed that.
“Solace has?—”
“I don’t need your assistance, colonel,” she said. “In fact, it would probably be best if you stepped out of the room since I have to change Ms. Davidson’s gown.”
“I’m fine where I am, Janice.” Duncan’s tone and semi-glare should have warned the nurse this wasn’t a fight she wanted to start.
Solace took a good look at the woman’s features—her eyes rolled up toward the ceiling and mouth pinched. Duncan did not have a fan in this woman, and this was probably far from their first run-in.
“I need to insist?—”
“I’m not leaving.” Total resolve filled his voice. The kind of resolve that refused to take no for an answer.
“Ms. Davidson,” she said, looking down at Solace. “Please tell him to step out.”
Solace stared up at Nurse Janice’s insistent gaze, then flicked her own toward Duncan, finding his eyes trained on her. He wasn’t going anywhere. He stood like a bulwark—unmoving, protective, a shelter she yearned to hide in.
“Nurse Janice…” Turning toward the other woman, it wasn’t her intention to appear or sound completely needy, but she was fairly certain she hadn’t pulled it off.
For her part, the nurse showed her first sign of cracking.
It was there in the play of emotions crossing her face—annoyance, exasperation, then finally capitulation.
Though short-lived, it looked like the battle was over.
It had been interesting to watch while it had lasted—two immovable objects colliding.
Unfortunately for Nurse Janice, she’d been the first to crumble.
Duncan would have had it no other way.
“Fine,” she said, not sounding happy about having to give in. “But just stay out of my way.”
“I wouldn’t dream of interfering.” Humor laced his words, along with a bit of triumph.
“Right.” That one word came out steeped in sarcasm as the nurse cut her eyes toward Duncan who now stood next to her. But once the standoff had been settled, she went about the job of carefully maneuvering Solace’s arms and body to get her out of the gown.
Several times in the process, Solace had been unable to keep from whimpering. Each sound of pain she made, elicited a low growl from Duncan, along with one hard, commanding, “Stop hurting her,” when she let out a sharp cry of pain.
Nurse Janice had ignored his terse attitude and kept doing what she was doing until the gown lay at the foot of the bed.
Only then did Solace reluctantly peer down her body.
A large gauze dressing covered her from above her belly to just below her right breast, sending a wave of unease flowing through her.
“You’re sure my baby’s okay?” She dragged her watery gaze away from the bandage toward Duncan, whose features immediately went from stern to soft as he took her hand.
“I promise.”
“Your baby is doing fine, Ms. Davidson. In fact…” She turned and went to the computer sitting on a rolling stand beside the bed and typed in a couple of commands.
After which, she seemed to take great pleasure in pushing Duncan out of the way so she could position it until Solace could get a clear view.
For his part, Duncan wasn’t going to be left out and managed to get past the nurse to sit on the edge of the bed beside her, his features intent.
A sonogram filled the screen.
“See for yourself,” the nurse said, hitting another button. The sonogram came to life, the image changing until…
“Our baby,” Duncan murmured, his fingers lacing with hers.
Nurse Janice smiled benignly, saying, “Let me turn on the sound.” When she did, a rapid, rhythmic, whooshing filled the room, the sound competing with her heart monitor.
A breathy, “Ohhh,” fell from her lips as she listened intently.
In that moment, Solace could have cared less that she was basically naked, or that she hurt like hell. More tears—she hadn’t cried this much in years—blurred her vision, as their baby moved about the screen. This was the first time she’d seen their child, and he or she…
“Could they see the sex of our baby?” She hadn’t been sure until this very moment, but she wanted to know.
“Unfortunately, no. It’s too early in your pregnancy. But…” The nurse pulled up another screen that obscured part of the sonogram, then read silently for a few moments. “I shouldn’t be doing this. But do you want to know?”
“Duncan?” Solace finally tore her gaze away from the screen to find Duncan’s chest rising and falling sharply, cheeks ruddy, and jaw clenched.
But then, ever so slowly, she spied the slightest of smiles curving the corners of his mouth.
His gaze turned toward her. The look of awe mixed with love had her heart racing.
He wants this baby.
“I’d like to know,” he said, an unexpected insecurity showing on his face. “If you do.”
“I’d like to know too.”
“Okay,” Nurse Janice said, then looked over her shoulder toward the open door. “If you promise not to tell.”
“We promise,” Solace whispered, her fingers twisting against Duncan’s.
“While doing your blood panels, they went ahead and did an NIPT.” The nurse’s beaming smile settled on them. It seemed she’d even included Duncan. “It’s a boy.”
“We have a son.” Duncan’s voice held a wondrous quality she’d never heard from him before.
“A boy…”
Her free hand rubbed her naked belly. She’d hoped Duncan would want to be involved in choosing their baby’s name. And from the look of things, he did. But knowing this baby was a boy, only one name came to mind.
“What do you think of Hunter? Hunter Andrew…”
“Andrew is my middle name,” Duncan said, with a subtle nod.
She’d known that, of course. “Hunter Andrew Sheppard,” he murmured.
The fact he’d referred to their baby using his last name instead of hers shouldn’t have made her heart go all wobbly—the monitor told on her again—but it had. Did that mean anything? “I like it.”
“That’s a lovely name,” Nurse Janice said, then disappointment filled her when the woman went all nurse-ish on them and rolled the computer cart away and turned off the screen. “But it’s time we get to this dressing.”
“Solace…”
Solace frowned at the whisper of her name in her ear—that and the hot breath that went along with it and slowly lifted her lids. Immediately in front of her, her mom’s glistening eyes stared right into hers.
“Are you awake?”
“Uhh… I am now,” she said, blinking several times, while trying to reposition herself where she lay on her back. “Mmm…” She grimaced and closed her eyes at the sharp pain stabbing through her side and abdomen. Moving still wasn’t a good idea.
“Don’t,” Duncan commanded, as a creaking sound came from the chair. She automatically stilled.
“The…the colonel is r…right,” her mom said on a stuttering sob, while brushing her hand through Solace’s hair.
Her mother’s narrowing gaze lifted from hers, then up and behind her, where she assumed Duncan stood.
“Though I’m not sure why he’s still here.
” Too bad for her mom, a sniffle kind of ruined the whole menacing effect Solace assumed she was going for.
“Now can I find out what happened?” She sniffled again.
“The news didn’t give many details, except that a man had planned a mass shooting at the colonel’s funeral.
” There went that menacing look again. “And I refuse to ask him.”
Okay, it was safe to assume her mom wasn’t happy with Duncan. Then the longer she eyed her mom, the better she realized it was so much more. Mariana Davidson was royally pissed at him.
“Mom, it... It’s… I?—”
“It’s complicated,” Duncan said, saving her—at least for the moment—from trying to explain things to her mom who still had her hard stare on him. “It’s also classified.”
“Classified?”
Solace’s widening eyes flashed between her mother and Duncan currently placing his hand on her belly. Maybe she should have found a way to say it before Duncan tried to help. Because now, as her granddaddy used to say…
The shit’s about to hit the fan.