Runaway Heiress (12 page)

              “What happened?” she finally asked. She had to know.

              “We need to wait for the doctor and your family,” he said. He wasn’t going to be responsible for giving her any more information that could jeopardize her health.

              “Please, I need to know,” she tried, but he stood firm. He needed to find out what information was safe to give to her, and what wasn’t. He wouldn’t do anything else to cause her further harm.

              Dr. Bailey stepped in the room, saving him. She turned her eyes on him.

              “Good to see you awake again, Bree,” he said as he walked over and checked her charts.

              “I need answers. Why am I here?” She got right to the point.

              Dr. Bailey sat in a chair next to her bed and looked her over for a few moments before speaking.

              “I think that’s a discussion for you to have with your family. I’m here to tell you, your health looks good. If you can eat some solid food and work hard over the next week, we can let you get out of here,” he answered, avoiding her question.

              “But why am I here in the first place,” she asked, her voice cracking even more in her frustration.

              “Your family will fill you in on all of that, but I do have some great news for you. It’s the reason you need to focus on eating so you can leave here,” Dr. Bailey said. Chad tensed. He didn’t want the doctor to blurt out the news, but the man was either ignoring him, or disregarding what he wanted.

              “What?” Bree asked, momentarily distracted.

              “You’re about eight weeks pregnant.”

              There was pure silence as the news sank in. Bree’s startled eyes went from the doctor to Chad, who managed to muster up an encouraging smile.

              “I… I…” Bree couldn’t seem to find words.

              “It will all be okay, Bree,” Chad said, though he didn’t know how to make anything okay. Bree had lost her memory, there were still unknown men after her, and he didn’t know how to fight an unseen force.

              Her hand glided to her stomach and he watched as tears flashed in her eyes.

              “Ours?”

              “Yes,” he answered with zero hesitation. She gave him a tentative smile, and all her other questions were forgotten as she pondered the reality of impending motherhood.

Chapter Eight

              “After your ultrasound, if everything is fine with the baby, you’ll be free to leave,” Dr. Bailey said before Bree was able to open her mouth.

              She’d come out of her coma two weeks ago but was still confined to her hospital room. Okay, not exactly the room, she was allowed to walk to the cafeteria, and even sit outside on occasion – as long as she had someone with her, but still, being stuck in a hospital, even a nice one, made her feel trapped.

              She’d been a good sport about it for the first week and a half, but then her irritation at the situation became quite apparent to everyone. She was now used to the revolving door of visitors who called themselves her family, though she still hadn’t gotten her memory back, but she just wanted to leave. She didn’t know where home was, but anything had to be better than the sterile hospital room.

              “Looks like he knows you well,” Chad said with a laugh. Bree shot him a glare, and then regretted it. Chad was the one person she felt ‘right’ being around. She figured they must be incredibly close, because when he walked in the door, she felt butterflies in her stomach. He stirred things inside her she couldn’t fully comprehend.

              She thought she may be falling in love with him – though she had to love him already if they’d made a baby, right? She hated to start having those thoughts because they made her head hurt trying to put the pieces together of her broken memory.

              “You promise?” she asked the doctor, ignoring Chad’s comment.

              “I promise – but only if the ultrasound says everything is good,” he reminded her. She refused to think anything could be wrong.

              She hadn’t felt the baby move, didn’t show any signs of pregnancy yet, but still, she had a connection to her unborn baby. Being pregnant gave her hope that her endless blank of a mind would have to someday clear.

              She had a huge, obviously loving family, who visited her every day. And she couldn’t define Chad. He was by her side night and day, and he was just so… She couldn’t even put into words what he was.

              Masculine.

              Charming.

              Manly.

              Handsome.

              There were thousands of descriptions, she was sure could describe him better.

              “I’m ready,” she said, excited to see the first images of her baby. Maybe seeing the pictures would stimulate her brain somehow and she’d regain her memory. She secretly crossed her fingers.

              Another person came in the room, pushing a table with a machine and large monitor on it. She felt her nerves flutter at the sight. She was moments away.

              Chad sat silently by Bree’s bedside as he watched the hospital staff move around her room. He’d been on combat missions where he hadn’t shed a single drop of sweat, but waiting to see the first images of his unborn child was like sitting in a hole anticipating the first grenade to drop. He was terrified something could be wrong with the baby, but overjoyed to see his son or daughter.

              Without thought he reached out and gripped Bree’s hand. She grew stronger each day and he hoped his child did too. She tensed at the coldness of the gel placed on her stomach, but soon there was a fuzzy image on the screen.

              They both watched intensely as the technician moved the small wand around her belly, stopping every few seconds and clicking buttons on his monitor. Chad wanted to strangle the guy and demand he tell them everything was going to be all right.

              Chad looked on, but couldn’t see anything even sort of resembling a person inside her. Was something wrong? He had to fight not to shout.

              “I’m just getting a few pictures of the womb right now. Your baby is very small at this point. Not even the size of a shelled peanut, and there’s a lot of fluid and other internal things in the way, so it’s hard to catch a good shot, but give me a moment longer,” the guy finally spoke. It was a good thing, because Chad didn’t think he could take much more silence.

              The doctor bent down and looked at a place on the monitor where the technician had paused. They both spoke quietly for a moment and Chad felt a bead of sweat run down his brow. He was startled by how intense his emotions were. He’d never thought it possible to love something so much that he hadn’t even known he wanted.

              “You both will be pleased to know the baby is developing exactly as it should at this point in the pregnancy. This first machine gave us valuable information we needed. Now, Henry is hooking up our three dimensional ultrasound. Your baby is in a great position, so you’re going to get a fairly clear image of him. At ten weeks along, your child is about an inch long and weighs less than an ounce,” Dr. Bailey explained.

              They both let out relieved breaths at the doctor’s words. Bree turned toward Chad and sent him a stunning smile that would’ve dropped him to his knees had he not already been sitting. She had her color back and looked even more radiant than before. Pregnancy was beautiful on her – as was everything else.

              “So, I can go home, right?” she asked.

              “Yes. You’re doing great. All signs point toward a full recovery and a healthy pregnancy,” Dr. Bailey answered. He left out the amnesia. They didn’t dwell on that as it would hopefully cure itself in time.

              “Here’s your baby,” he said and they turned back to the screen. Before them was the image of their infant. It was obvious the baby was awake and moving around. Chad was dazed to see what looked like tiny arms moving in front of a large head. The image made it appear bigger than a peanut.

              “Remember, this image is blown up, but your baby is almost fully developed. They grow rapidly at this stage of pregnancy. In a few weeks he, or she, will be fully formed, just have a lot of growing left to do. The first three months of pregnancy move the fastest in terms of development,” Dr. Bailey informed them. Neither could take their eyes from the screen and they only absently nodded at his words. It was amazing to watch the tiny babe moving inside her body.

              “Would you like to hear the heartbeat now?”

              “Yes.” They both answered in unison and then smiled at each other.

              Chad was already filled with unbelievable love for his son or daughter, but when the sound of its already beating heart filled the room, he thought his own would burst. Such a strong sound for something so tiny.

              Bree wasn’t ready for the flood of love and protectiveness that washed through her. She couldn’t remember a thing about her life, but it didn’t matter. None of it did. Before her was the image of the life she carried within her, and the room was filled with the strong sound of its beating heart. Chad was holding her hand – she felt complete. Her stress drained away and she wanted to stay in the moment for as long as possible.

              “Because of the medical conditions, I want to see you next week. If everything is still going great, we’ll go to every two weeks for a couple months. I want to see you a bit more than normal, just to make sure you and your baby stay healthy and safe. If you can promise me that, I’ll sign your release forms,” Dr. Bailey offered.

              Bree quickly agreed. She would sign away anything just to leave – but she wanted to keep an eye on the baby, too, so agreeing to extra doctor visits wasn’t a hardship.

              Dr. Bailey left them alone to get their emotions under control, while the technician printed them their first pictures of their child.

              “Thank you, Bree. Thank you for this gift,” Chad told her once they were alone. Bree looked at him and felt her heart flutter. She had so many questions, but none of them mattered in that moment. She slowly stood up, anxious to get dressed, when Chad surprised her by coming around the side of the bed and lifting her off the ground in a spine shattering hug.

              She didn’t even think about resisting him, she wanted his arms around her. She wanted more – so much more. Chad loosened his grip, but didn’t release her. All of a sudden they were standing chest to chest, their faces only inches apart, and Bree’s breath hitched again. Not from nerves or fear, but from pure excitement.

              She could fully understand how she’d gotten pregnant. Her stomach tightened with need, desire racing through her blood.

              She watched as Chad’s eyes darkened, answering the need in her own face. She felt the pressure on her stomach as his need made itself known to her, pressing against her softness. The knowledge that she’d made this stronger than life man hard, caused her knees to tremble. She let out a moan without realizing it, and Chad quickly closed the gap between them.

              As his lips brushed against hers, Bree moaned again. Sensation washed through her body as he molded his mouth against hers. She readily opened to his seeking tongue, and felt storm clouds building inside her.

              She pushed against his hardness, feeling power when he trembled against her. She was turning this strong man to a quivering mass. She wanted more – wanted to make him cry out, like he was making her.

              She ran her hands up his solid arms, raking her short nails against his tan skin. She reached his neck and would’ve smiled had her lips not been occupied, when she felt bumps appear on his skin. He deepened the kiss, thrusting his tongue far inside the recesses of her mouth.

              Chad moved his hands to the back of her hospital gown, easily slipping inside the paper-thin robe. She shuddered as his large hands made contact with her bare skin. More. She had to have all of him.

              She lost complete control and didn’t care. She was safe. She was wanted. She was needed. She loved him, she somehow just knew it.

              Chad reached down to lift her in his arms, having every intention of setting her on the hard hospital bed and taking her right there, when a knock on the door stopped him cold. It was better than an icy shower. He quickly shielded Bree’s body, to give her time to get her gown back in place as the door opened.

              “Are you decent, Honey?” George asked as he cracked the door. “The doctor said I just missed the ultrasound but that you had some pictures for me.”

              George stepped in and looked from Chad’s flushed face to Bree’s shaking form behind him, and quickly put two and two together.

              “I’m sorry to interrupt. I’ll just wait out here for you,” he said as he started to close the door. Bree was mortified to have been caught necking, by her father, nonetheless – even if she didn’t remember him being her dad. She did know he loved her – as he’d been at the hospital almost as much as Chad.

              “It’s okay d… dad,” she stammered. She still tripped on the name, but felt wrong calling him George. He’d told her it was all right if she needed to, but he’d said it with suspiciously moist eyes. “We just finished the ultrasound and Chad was just getting ready to leave so I can get dressed,” she finished. She was bright red as she said the words, but George let her get away with the lie.