Triple Shot (8 page)

Rowan’s eyes scanned from her head to her
feet, needing to take all of her in then he let his eyes drift to the beeping
monitor sitting on the cart next to the bed. He inched a little closer and saw
that all her vital signs looked normal other than an accelerated heart rate,
but nothing to be alarmed about. Letting out a sigh of relief, he slowly made
his way over to her, not wanting to startle her.

“Rowan,” she said in a whisper,
squeezing her eyes tighter.

“Shhh, I’m here,” Rowan said, wiping at
her tears as he lowered himself in the worn chair next to her bed.
How many
others have sat here wondering if their loved one would be okay
, he
absently thought?

“I’m so sorry, Rowan. Believe me when I
say I’m sorry,” Madison said between sobs.

“Why are you apologizing? Baby, you
can’t help it that you’re sick. Please don’t apologize.”

“I was careless and this is all my
fault.”

“What are you talking about?” he
whispered as he pressed a kiss to her ear.

Madison opened her eyes causing the
tears to trickle at a steady pace, “Dr. Granger didn’t tell you?” When Rowan
didn’t respond, she turned her back to him. “I’m...I’m pregnant.”

Rowan sat dumbfounded, silent for too
long and yet not long enough. He thought he’d heard Madison right, but maybe
he’d misunderstood. With her back to him, what sounded like pregnant could have
been anything else. The room grew deathly silent, with the exception of
Madison’s sobs and the constant beeping of the monitor that seemed to increase
with each second that passed. Rowan caught his breath as he slid his fingertips
down her arms. When she jerked away from him, his mind cleared just as quickly
as it clouded.

“Madison, look at me.”

When she wouldn’t face him, he rose from
his seat, walking to the other side of the bed so that he could see her face. Her
reddened eyes and flowing tears made his chest ache. Rowan pushed aside the
strands of hair that clung to her wet cheek, replacing it with a kiss.

“It’s going to be okay, I promise,” he
whispered against her skin.

“I’m sorry, Rowan.”

“Look at me, baby. You don’t need to
apologize to me for this. I’m pretty sure I had something to do with it also.”

Sobbing harder than before, barely able
to get the words out, Madison continued, “But it’s my fault. I skipped a couple
times taking the pill. I thought if I just doubled the following time I’d be
okay. I’m sorry for being irresponsible and for getting us into this.”

“Getting us into what? The most
beautiful, amazing woman I know, who I’m completely in love with, is going to
give me a child. There’s no one I’d rather start a family with than you.”

“But not like this, Rowan. Not like
this.”

Rowan sat on the bed next to Madison,
never breaking contact with her. She’d closed her eyes again and he was
thankful for the moment she gave him even if she’d not planned to. He couldn’t
keep the smile from his face at the thought of them bringing a child into the
world. Sure, it wasn’t the ideal way. They’d both always talked about having
kids after they got married, but sometimes life threw you a curve ball and you
just had to adjust to it. Rowan was more than willing to adjust, but Madison
would need time.

“When did they say you could leave?” he
asked, trying to make her focus on something else.

“They want to make sure I’m hydrated
enough. So after this is done,” she said, pointing to the IV bag hanging next
to her bed. Madison watched as Rowan stood to check it.

“Not so fast, Dr. Worth, that’s my job,”
Dr. Granger’s voice boomed.

Rowan shook his head knowing full well
Tessa would be making all the medical staff pay for her lack of information. “Just
looking. How much longer before I can take her home?” he asked, keeping his
eyes on Madison, his fingers stroking the ends of her hair.

Dr. Granger looked over the bag, then to
Madison. “I’d say another twenty minutes. I’ll send the nurse in to get the
paperwork done so you can get out of here. By the way, you might want to let
your sister know what’s going on. She’s causing quite the scene in the waiting
room.”

Rowan shook his head at the sight of
Tessa, “Will do. Thanks for your help.”

With a quick kiss on Madison’s cheek,
“I’ll be just a moment. Tessa will start a riot of I don’t go get her out of
there. Plus, I also need to let Josiah and Susan know everything is okay.”

“Tell him thank you for me, will you?”

“Of course, baby. I’ll be right back.” Lowering
his head, he pressed his lips to her forehead. “I love you.”

Chapter 10

Josiah stood in front of the vending
machine, shaking a handful of change in the palm of his hand, contemplating his
choices or rather lack of choices beyond the scratched glass that had signs of
undeserved abuse. Pressing a palm against the black metal box as if the thing
would bestow some wisdom to aid him in his selections, he caught Tessa and
Susan’s reflections as they sauntered into the waiting room. He couldn’t help
noticing how beautiful Susan was, even with her brows drawn in worry, and her
bottom lip pinched between her teeth. Josiah kept his eyes on the glass that
had allowed him to watch her as she slid into one of the beaten up brown
plastic chairs, unaware that she captivated him. Tessa left her side to hound
Cheryl the nurse at the desk for information. Josiah smiled at both the beauty
of this woman who captured his attention so quickly and Tessa, who no matter
how long he’d been away hadn’t changed one bit.

“Tess,” Rowan’s voice filled the waiting
room as all eyes shifted to him and his sister.

Josiah left his post of standing guard
over the vending machine and matched steps with Susan as she rose to find out
what was going on with Madison along with the others. His fingers slid to the
small of her back without thought and he quickly pulled them away.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered as he leaned
in next to her.

Susan lifted her eyes to his, the corner
of her mouth lifting. “It’s okay, I don’t mind.”

Well, now then, that wasn’t what he
expected to come out of her mouth, but before he could respond to her Rowan
began to fill them in on Madison’s condition. He told them that she was just
dehydrated, that she would be fine and that as soon as her IV was complete
she’d be able to go home. Josiah had been known to withhold information from
the family members of his patients in order for those said patients to be the
ones to inform them of any news they thought their loved ones would want to
hear directly from them. He knew by the shift of Rowan’s weight from foot to
foot and the way he never truly held their gaze as he spoke that there’d been
more he wasn’t telling, but he also understood the need for time and that when
he and Madison were ready to let the others in on what was truly going on, they
would.

“I want to see her,” Tessa insisted.

“Not tonight, sis. She’s worn out and in
no shape to see anyone right now.” Rowan turned to Josiah. “Would you mind
taking Madison’s car back to her place?”

“Not at all. Anything else you need?”

Rowan shook his head, gave Tessa a hug
and made his way back to Madison. The three of them stood silently for a moment
as they watched Rowan disappear behind the tan double doors.

Tessa swung around. “Okay, I know my
brother and he’s not telling the whole story. J, what’s going on?”

Josiah threw his hands up in defense. “I
honestly don’t know, but you and I’ve known Rowan long enough to know that he’s
not spilling the beans until he’s ready, so don’t push him.”

“Fine, but as God as my witness, if I
find out there is something seriously wrong, I’ll wring his neck for not
telling us.”

“That I have no doubt of.”

Tessa turned in the direction Rowan
headed off in. “J, can you take Susan home? I want to stay and make sure they
don’t need anything.”

"Sure, not a problem," Josiah
said as he pulled Madison's keys from his pocket and motioned toward the
hospital exit to Susan.

****

Without a word, Susan hugged Tessa and
led the way outside with Josiah in tow. The tension in the air between the two
them hung thick in the air like a blanket of fog had settled in, the coldness
from it caused a shiver to run down Susan's spine. Or maybe it was just the
closeness of this overpowering man walking next to her. She’d tried to reign in
her desires while she sat in the waiting area, but it was all she could do to
keep her eyes off Josiah's posterior as he studied the vending machine as if
the longer he stared at it, the selection of stale chips and expired chocolates
would magically offer something new. Now walking beside him, his hand at the small
of her back, she fought the dual emotions racing through her body. Memories of
The Launchpad caused anger to well up, still pissed that he had had the nerve
to think she would let him go home with her and an overwhelming desire to ask
him to stay when they had arrived at her place. She didn't need the distraction
of Josiah. Susan's life was one hectic day after another with little sleep in
between. She barely had time to breathe between work at the newspaper and time
spent on weekends helping her father take care of her ailing mother. Susan
hadn't even told Tessa about her mother's declining health. She'd not told
anyone because quite honestly if she did, it would make the situation all the
more real. She needed this little secret, no matter how much it affected her
own health and sanity.

As Susan played over in her mind the
events of her life as of late, they reached Madison's car tucked in between a
blue Ford pickup and an old beat up Chevy. That was exactly how Susan felt at
the moment. Squashed between something wonderful and something completely ugly.
Her job held the beauty in her life, no matter how many hours she had to put
into it weekly, it gave her peace when so much in her life had robbed her of
that. Writing had always been an outlet for her and although the paper offered
little in the way of creative freedom, the time she had with pen to paper took
her away from having to watch her mother become a stranger. The ugliness in
Susan’s life was her mother's Alzheimer. Susan had been forced to sit back and
watch as it changed her mother into a person she didn’t know. There were days
when Susan would visit and her mother not only wouldn’t remember who she was,
but at times got belligerent with her for intruding in her space. She would
give anything to trade places with her mother, to take years off her own life
and pass them to her if she could.

When she'd first heard about her
mother's condition, she'd wanted to talk to Tessa, knowing that she had lost
her own mother when she and Rowan were younger, but with the wedding, Tessa had
a lot on her plate and now with Madison getting sick there was no way she'd be
throwing anything else at her. So, she sucked up all the bad and tucked it into
the dark crevices of her heart and did the best she could with what was handed
to her.

Susan wasn't sure how long she'd stood
staring at Madison's car before Josiah cleared his throat. "Are you
okay?" His voice as soothing as a musical jazz note, played against her
skin and for the first time in a while, she felt calm even for just a brief
moment.

Susan nodded then reached for the door
handle. Josiah's hand went before hers and pulled the door open ushering her
in. "You sure you're okay?"

"I'm positive. It's just been a
long day and I need sleep badly."

Josiah shot her a smile she was sure
made the ladies melt, because it sure as hell did that to her. He closed her in
then walked quickly to the driver’s side and slid in. With only a glance her
way as if making sure she was truly fine, he brought the engine to life. Josiah
made no other movements until abruptly he turned in his seat to face her.

"Susan, I need to apologize to you
for the other night at The Launchpad. I honestly didn't mean to make you feel...I
don't...shit, I don't even know how to say this without sounding like an
egotistical ass."

Susan waved her hand in the air to dismiss
the apology and tucked her chin to her chest. "There's no need to
apologize. I-"

"Yes, there is. I, in no way, meant
to make you feel like I thought you were easy." The word sounded vile and felt
like a slap in the face to Susan. She’d heard the term used often when it came
to describing her, but she was far from it. There were few men she’d invited
over and fewer who shared her bed with her. "I only meant that I wanted to
spend more time with you. I guess I was being a little selfish. What with Cade
and Rowan tied up with their own lives, I guess I was looking for someone to
help me pass the time.”

"Josiah, it's really okay. I don't
need an apology or an explanation. I was being a little oversensitive."

"Yes, but-"

"If I tell you I forgive you, will
you take me home? Honestly I'm exhausted and I really just want to crawl into
bed."

Susan
was thankful when Josiah didn't utter another sound. She leaned against her
seat and let out a sigh as he put the car in reverse and eased out of the
parking space. When they reached her apartment building, Josiah started to exit
the car, but before he got too far, Susan stopped him and let him know she
could make the short trip alone. Susan silently laughed when his eyes widened
at her admission of being able to walk herself to the door. No doubt he wasn’t
one to just let a woman do such a thing, his mannerisms since she’d met him
told her as much, but all she wanted to do was to get inside as quickly as possible
without some drawn out conversation.