Romance Me (Boxed Set) (23 page)

“Eric?” Lisa looked up through tear-filled eyes. “I’m sorry. Please don’t hate me,” she murmured.

“I know she’s in there,” Mark’s voice burst through the seams around the door, threatening to invade.

Another cramp twisted her belly in knots, taking her breath away, and she gasped.

Eric dropped to his knees and wiped the tears from her face. “Never. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’ll do whatever I can to make it better.”

Lisa fought her constricting throat to form words. “I’m pregnant, Eric. That’s what I wanted to tell you. At least…I was.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Eric paced the hospital waiting room. “This can’t be happening,” he muttered to himself. He wrung his hands to stop the shaking. “The blood.”

His mother rubbed his shoulder. “Honey, I’m so sorry.”

“I can’t…I can’t do this. Not again.” He bolted for the bathroom. “This isn’t happening.” Leaning on the sink, he concentrated on slowing his pulse and taking long, steady breaths before he faced himself in the mirror. His bloodshot eyes stared back at him. He wanted to scream, to yell at God and tell him it wasn’t fair. None of it.

The look on Lisa’s face, the terror reflected in her beautiful eyes. How did he not know she was pregnant? How stupid he’d been. Yet, his mother, she’d known the entire time.

He yanked off his tie and shoved it in his pocket before splashing water on his face. His hands continued to tremble. “Give me strength,” he pleaded.

Lisa faced losing a child. Had she told the father about the baby, or had she run off. Had she done the same thing that Mary Lynn had done to him?

His anguish subsided and anger gripped his soul. Slamming his palms against the countertop, he straightened and headed back to the waiting room. If she didn’t lose the baby, the father had a right to know. And when he did, he’d step up and be a part of her life, of the baby’s life.

Halfway down the hall, he spotted a woman with a black eye in the waiting room, and remembered the bruise on Lisa’s wrist. What if she’d fled because the father was abusive? If so, then did the father still have a right to know about his child?
Yes
, Eric told himself. Every man deserved to see their child.

“Eric.” His mother held up her hands, cutting him off from the waiting room. “You don’t know everything.”

“Does the father know about the baby?” Eric asked, his cool tone causing him to swallow down his anger.

“Yes, but there’s always more to the story.” His mother squeezed both his arms. “The father’s at the nurse’s station now. But, he’s not like you, Eric. Not all men want to be a father.”

Eric stepped back, scanning the room. “He’s here?”

“Yes.” His mother dropped her hands to her side.

“Then he cares. He’ll want to be a part of the baby’s life.” He swallowed down the darkness that wormed its way back through his body. He’d lost a woman he loved and a baby he didn’t know about, all in one day. “History repeats itself,” he muttered.

His mother grabbed his hand. “No, it hasn’t. This isn’t the same. Lisa isn’t Mary Lynn and it wasn’t your baby. We don’t even know yet if Lisa lost the child.”

A nurse in surgical scrubs approached them. “Mrs. Gaylord? Lisa would like to see you.”

“Come.” His mother waved him to follow.

As if his feet had a mind of their own, they shuffled forward, his body following without the energy to protest. The numbness had already returned to his soul.

Taking the elevator to the sixth floor, they exited onto the maternity ward and saw a man pacing around the nurse’s station. A look of pure terror radiated from him. Eric knew that look, the look of losing his child.

“Don’t do it, Eric,” his mother whispered. “Come and see Lisa with me. She’ll want to explain.”

But Eric just shook his head and released his mother’s hand. He approached the man who stopped pacing and turned to the nurse’s station. “Listen, I give permission to terminate the pregnancy.”

Eric froze. The man must really love Lisa if he was willing to make a tough decision like that.
And where does that leave me?

“Sir, you have no legal rights to make that decision,” the nurse said. “You’re not married to Ms. Mortan.”

“Then I want to speak to her. Now.”

“Ms. Mortan is in a delicate state right now. Tests are still being run. You should return to the waiting room until Ms. Mortan sends for you.” The nurse gestured down the hallway toward the waiting room.

He scrubbed his face, small cuts marring the backs of his hands. “Why does that woman get to go in and see her, but I can’t?” the man demanded, pointing at Eric’s mother.

“Because Ms. Mortan requested her.”

The man slammed his fist down on the counter then turned in a huff. A doctor approached cautiously, nodding to the stunned nurse behind the desk and the nurse reached for the phone.

The doctor cut the man off as he advanced toward Lisa’s room. “Sir, if you don’t calm down, I’ll have security remove you from the premises.”

Eric straightened and nudged his mother toward Lisa’s room before approaching the man, not sure if he wanted to slug the guy or take him for a drink. “Hi, I’m Eric Gaylord.”

Both the doctor and the man turned. “So?” the man retorted.

“I understand you’re the father of Lisa’s baby?” Eric asked, clenching his fist at the man’s arrogant attitude. This was the same man he’d seen in the articles he’d found online. The fiancé from New York.

The man rolled his eyes. “If it’s even mine,” he huffed. “That whore claims it’s mine, but she also claimed she terminated the pregnancy before leaving New York.”

Eric clenched and unclenched his hands, fighting back the urge to punch the guy for calling Lisa a whore.
The man’s just upset
, he told himself. Putting his attorney mask on, he asked, “She told you she’d terminated the pregnancy?”

“Yeah, can you believe that? The bitch tells me that then leaves, so I think it’s all done, nothing to worry about. Then some insurance carrier sends an obstetric bill from some bible squawking, backwards town in Tennessee.” The man glared at the closed door to Lisa’s room. “Well, she’s not going to get away with this.”

Eric took a step forward, ignoring the tug of his mother’s grip on his shirt. “Listen, I know you’re upset, but you need to tone it down. I’ve been lied to as well. But trust me, if I had a chance to hold my baby in my arms I’d do anything to make it happen. I’m not sure what occurred between you two, but don’t walk away. You’ve got a chance at a family.”

“Family?” the man huffed. “What—” His phone buzzed and he held up one finger. “Mark here,” he said, pressing the phone against his ear.

Eric’s mother pulled on his arm, tugging him away from the man. “Not every man is like you, son,” she whispered. “He might not stand up for Lisa. You don’t know the entire story. Trust me when I say she did the best she could.”

Eric watched the man pace, chuckle and speak into the phone.

“Yeah,” the man said to the person on the other line. “I’m stuck in some backward ass town in the middle of nowhere.” He paused, listening, then said, “Oh, she’ll pay for this. I’ll make sure she never works in New York again.”

Eric shook his head. “No, he just needs time,” he said to his mother. “He’s in shock.” He could remember all too well what that was like.

His mother squeezed his hand. “I hope you’re right. But if not, are you going to let her go? You haven’t smiled or laughed in years, not like you have since Lisa entered your life. You came back to see her, to tell her everything. That hasn’t changed. You know her secret, now let her know yours.”

“Mrs. Gaylord, she’s ready for you,” the doctor said and his mother disappeared through the door.

Eric rubbed his throbbing temple. The pain of her crying in his arms, the thought of her losing her baby, or dying herself, tore him up inside, but it wasn’t his baby. He didn’t need to relive it all again. It wasn’t his business. He turned his back on the door and willed himself to walk out of the hospital, but his feet wouldn’t move.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Stark white walls, stiff bedding, and the smell of disinfectant told Lisa she’d made it to the hospital. The room spun, but she fought to sit up.

“Stay still,” Judy said. “The doctor gave you something to help with the pain and let you relax. You gave us quite a scare, you know.”

“My…my babies?” Lisa cupped her hand over her belly. “How are—”

“We don’t know anything yet,” Judy said, gently pushing Lisa back down. “Don’t worry. I had lots of bleeding with my pregnancy, too, and everything worked out just fine.” Judy stopped and stared down at her. “Wait, babies?”

“Yes.” Lisa could barely hear her own voice.

Knock. Knock.

“Yes?” Judy answered. “That should be the doctor now.”

Dr. Hendricks and a nurse entered and approached her bed. “Ms. Mortan. How are you feeling?”

“Okay, I guess.” Anticipation stung her skin and she wanted to blurt out for them to tell her about her babies.

There was another knock and the door opened again, long enough for her to catch a glimpse of Mark pacing around the nurse’s station. “Has she lost it yet?” Mark’s voice traveled in with the nurse carrying a chart.

“Here, Doctor,” the nurse said, handing the chart to Dr. Hendricks.

Dr. Hendricks scanned the documents on the clipboard, flipping the pages back and forth. “I see you didn’t heed my warning about avoiding stress.”

Lisa shook her head. “Stress found me.”

Dr. Hendricks gave her a sympathetic look. “I see. Well, I have the test results here. Would you like the father to be present?”

“No!” Lisa swallowed and sunk back into the bed. “No, thank you.”

“Is it okay if I stay?” Judy squeezed Lisa’s hand.

“Yes, please.” Lisa held tight to Judy, terrified to discover the fate of her babies.

“Ms. Mortan, you went into preterm labor due to excessive stress,” the doctor said slowly. “I’m afraid you’ve lost one of the babies.” His words were harsh, but his voice soft, his eyes sympathetic.

“No,” she gasped. But the shock quickly faded, replaced by grief and regret. “It’s all my fault,” she muttered, her voice breaking. “I…I didn’t mean it. I wanted both babies. I swear. Oh, God what have I done?”

“You haven’t done anything,” Dr. Hendricks said, laying a comforting hand on her shoulder. “It’s twin gestation. Sometimes one baby is stronger than the other and this happens, but I’m afraid there’s more.” Dr. Hendricks took a long breath. “We’re unsure about the health of the remaining fetus. There was excessive blood loss. We’ve been able to stop the bleeding, but it’s imperative you avoid stress and remain on bed rest for the time being. Possibly for the remainder of your pregnancy.”

“What do you mean? Is it also dead?” Lisa sobbed.

“No,” the doctor assured her. “There’s a heartbeat, but there’s no guarantee the baby won’t be born with some sort of issue, a mental or physical defect.”

“I see.” Lisa scooted down until she was lying on her back, staring up at the ceiling.
Punishment? Was that what this was?

“I’ll let you rest.” Dr. Hendrickson squeezed her shoulder before he and his nurse backed away and disappeared from Lisa’s blurred vision.

“It’s not your fault,” Judy whispered, stroking Lisa’s hair from her forehead.

“Isn’t it? I didn’t want two babies. I hadn’t even decided what I was going to do with one. Mark was right. I’ll make a terrible mother.”

“Says who?” Judy stopped stroking her hair and gave her a stern yet soft look. “Don’t let anyone convince you of such nonsense, especially him. He’s just being selfish. That man hurt you. The police will be in for a statement soon. Just you wait, he’ll be out of your life for good,” Judy stated.

“And then what?”

“Then you can move on with your life.”

“How? As a single mother of a child with special needs?” Lisa shook her head. “I don’t know if I can do this alone.”

“Oh, hon.” Judy rested her hand against Lisa’s cheek. “You’re not alone. You have me and Eric.”

“Eric? You don’t see him in here, do you? He knows the truth now. He realized how screwed up everything is and bolted.” She sighed. “Honestly, I don’t blame him.”

“No, it’s not like that,” Judy protested.

“Then what is it like? He’s out buying a cradle for some other man’s baby?” The words rolled off Lisa’s tongue before she could stop them. Judy didn’t deserve her hatred. It wasn’t meant for her.

“Listen, I know you’re upset, but there are things about Eric you still don’t know. Eric has his own troubles. He came home early from Europe so he could tell you. He’s never spoken about it to anyone before as far as I know. That means something, doesn’t it?”

“Then tell me why he isn’t here,” Lisa demanded.

“I can’t. That’s for him to say.” Judy stiffened, her arms like mechanical robots as she poured water from a plastic pitcher into a cup before offering it to Lisa.

Lisa took a sip from the straw, the cool liquid coating her sore throat, then collapsed back into the pillows. She’d done this. Caused all this pain and suffering in people she’d already grown to appreciate, possibly even love. But it wasn’t just her. It was Mark. He’d been a big part of the death of her baby.