She stared up at the ceiling and swallowed. “No.” Gripping the paddle, he applied light pressure, and slowly began tracking across her stomach, stopping and pressing a button below the monitor then moving on.
“That’s our baby girl,” Thane said, awe in his voice, and his eyes, before the doc was even halfway done.
The doc gave him a smile. “You think it’s a girl?”
“It’s not?” he flustered, his eyes bright as he watched the image on the monitor with rapt attention.
“Do you want to know the sex? Some couples prefer not to know.”
She and Thane exchanged a glance. “Do you want to know?” he asked.
She riveted her attention on the ceiling tiles, not wanting to look at the little image.
“Sweetheart, look at her,” Thane’s words were more pleading, and he squeezed her hand.
Slowly, she turned her head, and saw their baby, a clear picture of him or her on the screen. That was their child. A child they’d made in the moments of peace amongst all the craziness. She could see its perfect little hands and head. Until this very second, she’d never touched the reality, the depth behind it. She’d been too afraid.
The doc interrupted them. “I believe you’re right, Mr. Adams, this child was conceived in the first week or so of January. If it is January third, I’d say it will be born around September twenty-fifth. Now, do you want to know if it’s a boy or girl?’
“We want both.” Thane held her stare. “Although, if we knew we could….” He paused, but he pushed on. “We could prepare a little better.”
For a SEAL, Thane wasn’t concealing anything. Feeling the baby at the same time as seeing it move, made everything real. Her breath hitched in her throat, and tears swam with urgency. Clenching her jaw, she grappled at every tool she had, not to feel the tightness in her chest, the loss she was sure would come, and how unbelievably sad it made her.
Thane leaned over, and rested his head against hers closing his eyes. “Everything is going to be all right.”
Nothing was all right. She bit her lip hard to stop the tears. “Tell us.”
Dr. Plymouth continued to take pictures, ignoring their moment, and then grinned. “Well, I’d say you better go for blue instead of pink.”
“It’s a boy?” Thane exclaimed. “You’re kidding?”
“Well, normally I don’t, at least when it comes to this,” Doc Plymouth said winking at her.
A quick swipe of her hand removed the tears from her cheek. “I guess not,” she said smiling back.
Doctor Plymouth seemed genuinely kind, but then his features withered as he concentrated on the monitor. “I don’t have any of my own yet, been too busy setting up this practice. I was born a couple ranches up the road. Always knew I was going to come back here.”
“What does your wife do?” she asked, thinking she was probably a gorgeous woman filled with life, healthy and beautiful. A blonde, who wore her hair in a high ponytail and looked awesome in a pair of Lu Lu Lemons.
“Don’t have one of those either,” he said, steadying a warm gaze on her.
Thane’s grip tightened on her shoulder. The doc moved the paddle to the lowest part of her abdomen. He stopped and leaned in, his concentration deepening on the monitor as he took several pictures. Kayla watched the doc, and she didn’t miss the tightening at the corner of his eyes or the way his breathing changed.
Finishing up, the doc gently swiped her stomach with a few towelettes, and then stood up. Stretching for the pressure cuff above her head, he unhooked it and wrapped it around her arm with masculine fingers, but a gentle touch.
“How is your health otherwise, Marie?”
“Fine.” She watched, as did Thane. Her pressure looked a little high. The doc wrote the reading in his folder and snapped it closed.
“If you could sit up, I’d like to check your breathing.”
Thane helped her, and she slipped the robe from her shoulders, catching it in front of her. Thane’s jaw tightened. It was an infinitesimal change, but she knew his expressions so well.
The doctor’s hands glided across her back, his finger pausing on each scar. A cool circle of metal touched her skin, and she took a normal breath. Thane’s eyes cooled as he watched the doctor closely.
When the doc was finished, he said, “I want to look at something first and then I’ll bring you a copy of the pictures.”
“Is something wrong?” Thane asked quickly.
“Just give me a few minutes. Marie, you can get dressed.”
The doc left the room and Thane tracked his departure. When she swiveled to get up, Thane’s attention was back on her and he helped her off the table. “Do you think he knows?” she asked as she slid the robe off. Thane had never seen her back in the unforgiving daylight. It was that or expose her breasts and ballooned belly. As she reached for her shirt, she heard Thane release a small groan, and within a breath, he was behind her, his hand caressing her.
Thane understood pain and injury. He’d had plenty serving as a SEAL. His arm slipped around her, and before she could move, his hand cupped her left breast as the other followed her scars. “Oh, baby, I wish I’d been there. God, I wished I’d been there to stop him.”
“They’re just scars, Thane.” He wasn’t groping her with lust. He held her weighted breast, but more so her heart. He’d always held it in his hands, but he’d squeezed the life out of it when he made love to Zara. No matter the reason, she felt abandoned. Hope had vacated the premises of her heart when the princess told her she and Thane had been intimate.
Kissing her shoulder, her skin rippled like a horse when a fly lands on its back. Thane turned her, and without pausing, his lips were on hers. It wasn’t a gentle kiss, it held heat and need. His fingers threaded through her hair, deepening the kiss. Her heart twisted, demanding his strength, but unable to release the bitterness. She pulled away, trying to steady a spiking heartbeat.
“I love you, Kayla. That isn’t going to change. Nothing will change that.”
“Thane, we have an agreement.”
“That agreement didn’t include how I feel.” He paused, his eyes racing across her face. “We’re having a son. One we made making love.”
“I know, I was there, remember.”
A smile curved his lips. “I do remember. I remember how important that moment was to me,” he whispered. “And then I screwed it up by saying something stupid.” He shook his head. “I never make mistakes, but I’ve made one after another with you. For some reason I can’t think straight when I look in your eyes.”
“Or any other woman’s,” she shot back, feeling the bite of deception. Up until now, she’d mostly had regret, but anger bucked both back legs. She was a rational woman, and she accepted the circumstances pushing him and Zara together, so why was she angry?
“Kayla, look at me.”
She stared up at him, hoping her resistance shone clearly in them, and tightened her fists against her sides. She wanted to hit him—hard.
“You’re the only woman I’ve made love to.” Before she could back away, he kissed her again, and then backed away himself. “Are you all right with a boy?” he gazed at her worriedly.
“Do I have a choice?” she asked, the sourness not totally gone.
He cleared his throat. “Guess not.”
The fact was she did feel differently. Would he grow up to look like Thane? Would he want to be like his father? Of course, he would, and he would cause no end of worry for her. Her thoughts stilled, realizing she was projecting a future with her in it.
Dr. Plymouth stuck his head around the door. “Would you mind joining me in my office?”
That didn’t sound good. “Doctor would you please have a look at…Sid’s back. He was hurt and there’s some infection.”
Dr. Plymouth nodded.
Thane stalled. “It’s not a problem, Doc. No need.”
“There’s three people in this room and one of us has gone to med school,” he said, motioning to the
examination table.
Thane sighed and pulled his shirt over his head. This time it was she who read the doctor’s eyes. His brows quirked. “Yes it’s badly infected.” He scribbled on a pad. “Fill this. Pharmacy is two doors down,” he said, laying the paper beside Thane. The doctor treated the wound and then bandaged it again. Now the grimace on his face wasn’t hard to miss.
Chapter Twenty-Three
When they settled in his office, Dr. Plymouth gave them both a lengthy gaze. “Who are you people? Those are gunshot wounds on your back, Mr. Adams, or are you going to share your real names with me?”
Thane grazed his bottom lip. “Sid Adams is good.”
“Sid,” he said, obviously not believing him. “Your wife has, although healed for many years, knife wounds littering her back.” He landed a look on her. “There’s also scarring in your womb, Marie. That would come from abuse—a lot of it. Years of it from the amount I can see. That tells me that it was forced entry. Repeated rape.” He stared at her, but his sternness altered to empathy. “I’ve seen this in severe cases of sexual child abuse.”
Thane actually flinched and breathed out deeply through his nose.
“Delivery is going to be difficult and might call for a C-section. There’s also another problem.”
Thane sat bolt upright. “What problem?”
“Marie, if that’s your name,” he paused waiting to see if she would correct him. When she didn’t he said, “Are you even married?”
She shook her head.
“Are you a couple?”
She began to shake her head again when Thane said, “Of course we are, and I’m the father. Now tell us what’s wrong.”
Doctor Plymouth turned one of the pictures in his hand to face them, pointing at a fuzzy line. “The umbilical cord didn’t form correctly, probably due to the scar tissue. There could be a host of issues associated with that, but I’m not seeing any signs of them yet. I need to see you monthly, Marie, until the baby comes to term. Now I’m being honest with you, and I would hope you would do the same for me.”
Thane looked for acquiescence. She nodded.
In short order, Thane explained who they were, how they got the scars, and why they weren’t being honest. With as few words as possible, the doc had the whole picture. Thane ended by saying, “We’re not married, but she’s my…he ground his molars together. “We’re…she’s…” Thane let his gaze crawl across the ceiling. “She’s my girlfriend.” His gaze landed on the doctor with a hard thump, daring him to question a thing, which he didn’t.
“I see. Kayla, you’re thirty-seven, which is fine, but you do have to take more care. Not carrying a child to term before has its own issues. You will have to be diligent about diet. Exercise and Lamaze will be imperative for you. If you don’t want to join in with a class and I can understand why, then take this,” He reached in a drawer and brought out a disc. “Practice with her. I assume you will be there when the baby is born?” he said to Thane.
“Of course I will.”
“Not necessarily,” she said at the same time.
Thane’s eyes burned hot, when he took the DVD the doc held out to him. “Thanks, Doc.”
“I want to see Kayla next month and you next week.”
“Me?”
“If I don’t see an improvement, I have to give you a stronger antibiotic. That infection is bad. If you were a horse I’d shoot ya.” He finally allowed a small grin.
“Yeah, all right, I get it,” Thane said.
“You should. That must be god-awful painful. Do you want any painkillers?”
“Nope.”
“Not surprised.” The two men looked at each other. “My cousin is Dean Witherby.”
“Team Seven,” Thane said before Dr. Plymouth could explain further.
“That’s right. He’s a hard-ass too. Haven’t seen him since the last family reunion.”
“If you do, don’t mention us.”
“No, I won’t.” Dr. Plymouth rose and extended a hand. “See you next week.”
“Thanks for your help, doc.”
“Kayla, you need to do that Lamaze training, no exceptions.”
“She will,” Thane answered for her.
Dr. Plymouth walked them to the door. “I’m curious Kayla, did you receive any treatment other than physical after your child abuse or your attack?”
She paused at the door. “No, I’m handling it.”
“No, she’s not,” Thane said on top of her. “She’s supposed to be seeing someone at the base, but we can’t go back there. She hasn’t had PT episodes for a while, but….”
The doctor landed a softened look on her. “I’m licensed in psychology as well. Will you see me next week? I’d like to speak with you about what happened.”
“Maybe,” she said and walked out the door.
“She’ll be here, doc, and so will I.”
* * * *
After picking up a few groceries, filling Thane’s prescription and depositing them in the car, he closed the trunk and slid his fingers through hers. Taking another scan around the town, he said, “Let’s take a walk.”
Without her agreement, he pulled on her hand, almost playfully, and guided her toward a tiny park. Shade trees spaced evenly apart, bordered a large grassy field. A few toddlers played on the slide while their moms talked and watched at the same time. The swing set sat empty and Thane drew her in that direction. Holding the chains, he beckoned with his eyes for her to sit.
“You want me to fit my behind in that little canvas strap?”
“Yes, and I’ll be right back.”
She watched him stride across the field with his easy gait. The women weren’t watching their children any longer, but her captain instead. Thane disappeared into a little café and returned a few minutes later, a boyish grin on his face, and his hands filled with two tall styrofoam cups.
“Chocolate for you,” he said giving her a charming smile.
“What is it?” She sucked on the straw. Milkshake? “Mmmm.” Nope it wasn’t a milkshake, it was heaven in the form of a milkshake.
When the children saw what they had, they started harping at their mothers in unison, who gathered their children to take them for dessert. “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
“What’s that?” he said with a grin, and circled behind her, giving her a little push on the swing, and then another, until she raised her feet. “We’re going to be spending a lot of time in places like this. Just thought we’d test it out.”
“Give it up, Sid,” she drawled, hanging onto the chain with one hand, and having another glorious sip of the cool, thick drink.
“My mom used to bring us to the park all the time. We loved it. Dad built us a fort in the backyard, and my brother and I helped him. Having time with Dad was important to us when he was home.”
“Mine didn’t.”
Thane caught her around the bottom bringing her to a stop. “I bet you wished he did, and I think,” he swallowed. “I think you want to hold your son’s hand and bring him to the park. I want to see that. I want all those pictures in an album, his first steps, his first smile. I want us to take him to the beach, and teach him to swim.”
When she tried to get up, he stopped her.
“What are you really afraid of, Kayla?”
“I’m not afraid of anything,” she said staring at an old Ford passing by, smoke puffing from its exhaust like an old timer wheezing out air. “You were sitting right beside me. Did you miss the part when the doctor said the umbilical cord is damaged?”
“He also said there was no sign of problems, and there won’t be. Kayla, stop painting gray strokes on our future.”
Her attention shot to him. “Nothing is ever fine. You bump into a wall, change direction, bump into another. I just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other until it’s over.”
Thane’s expression saddened, and he stared down at the ground, then knelt before her. “Is that how you’ve lived your life?�
� He grasped her hand and brushed her fingers. “Sweetheart, there’s more, and even though, up until now, you had big hurdles to jump over, you landed on your feet. This isn’t a hurdle, this is a second chance.”
“Thane, you’re dreaming if you think he’s going to survive. Come on,” she said standing up. Talking about this was ridiculous, and she wasn’t in the mood for stupid dreams.
“You still don’t trust me, do you? So you’re trying to beat me to it, and make this end in failure.” A swell of anger stiffened his shoulders. “You think I’m not committed to you.”
“Oh, I know you’re committed—to the head between your legs, and we already know where that’s been, Captain.” She dumped her milkshake into the green garbage bin sitting cockeyed on the dirt beside the swing, and she wished she could dump him there as well. “Next time, I’ll drive myself to the appointment.”
Tensing, he said, “I was thinking I should be there for the session.”
“Says who?”
“Me,” he said sharply. “The doc knows enough about us, he doesn’t need to know the whole story, especially one that’s not over.”
There it was. Thane was about as transparent as a twenty-foot sheet of glass. “Are you jealous of Dr. Plymouth?”
His expression curled. “Of course not, why would I be jealous? He’s your physician. He’s going to monitor you and our son, and then talk to you…it’s not a date.” Thane swallowed and his Adam’s apple bounced hard.
“You’re jealous?”
“Did I miss something? Just cause he’s a fairly decent-lookin’ guy doesn’t…why the hell did you smile at him like that?” he blurted.
“Like what?”
“You damn well know like what. When you smile at a guy it lights up the room. You can bring a man to his knees with that smile of yours.”
“Look who’s talkin’ Mr. Two-faced, back-stabbing, son of a bitch.”
Thane took two strides to stop her from walking away. “Get it out, Kayla. Say it. There isn’t anything you can call me I haven’t called myself already.”
Code Name: Kayla's Fire (A Warrior's Challenge) Page 25
