Which meant that was likely where her mom had been taken. Clearly, surgery was in her future, but they’d probably be doing scans first to check for swelling. Sammi understood that her family would be most concerned about her mom, but she wished that they would at least answer their phones so that she could know what was going on as well. Of course, they might be as restricted in the use of their cell phones as she was in hers.
“Are they going to transfer me to Women’s Hospital?” Sammi asked, smoothing a hand over her baby bump.
“No. So far they’re more worried about your head than they are the baby. From what we’ve seen of your little one, she’s fine.” The nurse looked at her more closely. “How is your head feeling? Still hurting?”
Sammi started to nod, then winced. “Yeah. Still hurts. Also, the lights are so bright.”
“I’m sorry we can’t really turn down the lights in this department. When you’re transferred to a room, you’ll be able to control that a bit more.”
A doctor appeared at the foot of the bed. “How are you feeling, Ms. McFadden?”
He lifted her chart and scanned it as he waited for her answer.
“My neck is still sore at the back. I have a headache, and the lights are too bright. My hip and back hurt too.”
The man set the chart down on the bed and approached her, pulling a penlight from his pocket. He checked her like the nurse had done then stepped back.
“We’re going to need to keep you in for observation since we’re not able to do a scan on you given your condition. I’m looking at a risk versus benefit perspective here. Right now, given the symptoms you’ve presented with so far, the risk of the scan to the baby is greater than the benefit. Should things change with you—your headache worsens, or you have vision problems, for example—then we’ll have to re-evaluate the risk versus benefit.” He looked at her, his brows drawn together. “Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Yes. I’m a nurse. I’m aware of the risk versus benefit evaluation.”
“Good. So, we’ll have you moved to a room as soon as one is available, and if your condition doesn’t worsen through the night, and the baby is still doing fine, you should be able to go home tomorrow.”
Sammi hoped that was the case because she wanted to be able to focus on her mom and what was happening with her instead of her own situation. However, she wasn’t going to take any risks with her own health since that would also impact the baby.
Once the doctor had left, the nurse returned with a glass of water. “We don’t want you getting dehydrated. Can you drink?”
“Not with a straw.” Sammi took a sip of the cool water, grateful for the relief to her dry mouth. “My…the father of my baby is coming to see me. Can you give his name at the desk, so they don’t give him any hassles when he gets here?”
“Sure thing.” The nurse pulled a notebook from her pocket and jotted down Levi’s information. “I’ll just go give this to the desk clerk. If you need anything or if you start to feel worse, press the call button.”
As she lay there, a thought dawned on Sammi. Maya had been at the house when everything had happened. It was entirely possible—likely, in fact—that she had called her dad as soon as she’d realized what was going on. Though Max Zevardi would have helped just because of who Emily was to Maya as her boyfriend’s mom, Sammi knew that the relationship between her folks and Maya’s was more than that now. If they had heard about Emily’s collapse, it wouldn’t be surprising if Max had somehow reached out and made sure that while Emily was receiving care, the family was able to gather somewhere close by and private.
It wasn’t that Max—as one of the richest men in the world—knew everyone, but it was very obvious that he had numerous contacts in many spheres of life. Maya had talked about her father’s involvement with the medical community after she had gone through cancer treatments there in the city twice as a teen, so it stood to reason that Max would know who to contact on Emily’s behalf. That could be one explanation for how her family had disappeared from the emergency room area so quickly.
There was movement at the curtain surrounding her bed, and Tristan appeared. Sammi took in the strain on his face, and her heart broke a little, scared of the news he was bringing her.
“Sammi,” Tristan said as he rushed to her side.
Ignoring the pain, Sammi held out her arms to him and welcomed his embrace. “Tell me about Mom. Please. Tell me she’s okay.”
Tristan held her for what felt like forever before moving back. “Are you okay? Is the baby okay?”
“I’m okay. The baby’s fine.” Sammi reached out to take his face in her hands. “Tell me about Mom.”
Tristan blinked rapidly before giving her a tremulous smile. “She’s still alive but not stable at the moment. Like you suspected, she had a brain hemorrhage. An aneurysm.”
“Is she in surgery?” Sammi asked.
Tristan shook his head. “They said that she has some swelling in her brain, and they’re watching that for the time being.”
Sammi felt dread pool in her stomach. Her mom wasn’t out of the woods yet. Not by a long shot. Postponing surgery for too long would increase the chance of brain damage, leaving her mom with a challenging and difficult recovery. If she made it—
She cut that thought off in her mind. “How’s Dad doing? Is everyone here?”
“Dad’s hanging in there. Max and Yuka are with him, and Max’s assistant made arrangements to send his jet to LA to pick up Kenton. and then they’ll also stop and get Ryan on their way back. They should be here in the morning.”
Though she was thankful for Max’s generosity, she wasn’t sure she liked what it meant. Bringing Ryan and Kenton home…
Tristan moved to sit in the chair next to her bed, taking her hand in his. “Are you going to be released soon?”
“No. They’re keeping me in overnight.”
“But you’re okay?” Tristan asked again. “I thought you said you were okay.”
“I am, from what they can tell. They just can’t give me the scan they need to in order to know for sure if I have anything more than a mild concussion. Keeping me in overnight will allow them to monitor me and make sure that my symptoms don’t worsen or that new ones don’t pop up. They’re just waiting for a room to become available, so they can move me out of here.”
“And the baby’s okay?”
“Yes, Tris. Baby girl is fine. She’s moving around, and I heard her heartbeat and everything. Out of the three of us, I think she survived what happened with the least amount of damage.”
Tristan squeezed her hand. “Dad will be glad to hear that.”
“I tried calling all of you, but no one answered.” Sammi hoped that he didn’t hear the hurt in her voice.
“Yeah. Sorry. I think that must have been when we were in the meeting with the doctors. Dad had us all turn off our phones, so we weren’t interrupted. I came here as soon as the meeting was over.”
“Thank you.” Sammi gave him a smile, appreciating the gentle, calming nature of her brother. “For coming to tell me.”
The curtain moved aside to reveal the nurse. “How are you doing?” She smiled at Tristan. “Is this your little girl’s daddy?”
Sammi and Tristan looked at each other then started to laugh. Maybe it was inappropriate to be laughing in the midst of what they were going through, but for just a moment, breaking the tension helped them feel almost normal. And she was pretty sure that her mom would want them to laugh. To still find small moments of humor, regardless of what they were going through.
“Sorry. No,” Sammi said. “This is my brother. He came to tell me about my mom.”
“How’s she doing?”
Sammi was just about to answer when the curtain moved again, and this time Levi stepped in.
“The nurse at the station told me you were in here,” he said as he came to a stop, his gaze going to the others in the room.
Tristan got to his feet. “Since Levi’s here now, is
it okay if I head back to Dad? I’ll let you know as soon as we hear anything else, okay?”
Sammi squeezed his hand one more time before releasing it. “That’s fine, Tris. Thank you again for coming to see me.”
“Love you,” Tristan said as he bent to press a kiss on her cheek. He straightened and turned to look at Levi. “Are you able to stay with her for a little bit?”
“For as long as I’m needed.” Levi held out his hand as Tristan approached him. The two shook hands before Tristan disappeared beyond the curtains. Levi walked to the edge of the bed and sat down in the chair that Tristan had just vacated.
“So, this is the baby’s daddy?” the nurse said, a questioning look on her face.
This time, Sammi nodded. “Yes.”
“Okay, glad I didn’t make another awkward assumption. Although I have to say that this one looks more like your brother than the other one did.”
Levi lifted a brow as he exchanged looks with Sammi.
“Yeah, Tristan is my step-brother, but Levi’s not related to me in any way. Promise.”
The nurse smiled. “You seem to have perked up a bit. Good news on your mom?”
At the reminder, Sammi felt her smile slip. “I suppose, considering the worst possible outcome in a situation like this, it was good news. She’s still alive. I think she needs to have surgery, but they’re waiting on that because of swelling in her brain.”
Even having heard the words from Tristan, saying them made it much more real to Sammi. She swallowed hard and looked down at her hands which were balled into fists in her lap, wincing at the pain that arched up the back of her neck into her head.
Levi’s hand covered hers, and for a moment, she focused on how dark his skin was against hers. The hours working in the sun had tanned his skin while she had always been careful to use sunscreen. His forearm was muscled, reminding her that he was strong, and she could lean on him if she needed to. She just hoped that she wouldn’t need to lean on him at all—at least not for the reason that lurked as a dark possibility in the future.
She appreciated that Levi didn’t try to assure her that everything would be okay. While others might try to offer that assurance, there wasn’t anyone who could guarantee it. Loosening her fists, she turned her hand over to grip his and held on tight.
Levi sat by the bed, struggling to find the words to say to Sammi. Hearing about what had happened to her mom had hit him hard. Harder than he would have thought. All he could see was the woman’s face, full of concern for her daughter, and he hoped that they had somehow made things right if Emily’s life truly did hang in the balance.
He looked at Sammi. She was resting against the elevated head of the bed. Her face was pale, and her eyes were closed, but Levi didn’t think she was sleeping. It had been about fifteen minutes since the nurse had left them alone in the curtained off area in the emergency department, and Sammi hadn’t said much. Just thanked him again for coming, and then had closed her eyes, still holding tightly to his hand.
Suddenly her hand moved away from his and rubbed against her belly. He watched the movements her hand made, hoping it didn’t mean she was feeling contractions.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
Her eyes opened, and she stared at him for a moment, her brown eyes soft. Then she reached out and took his hand, pressing it to the spot where she’d been rubbing.
“I don’t know if you’ll be able to feel it, but she’s been kicking me.”
Levi’s heart skipped a beat, and he scooted to the edge of his seat, allowing Sammi to press his hand a little more firmly against her belly. As he touched her stomach, Levi had a strange realization. Though her stomach had obviously grown, it wasn’t soft. There was a firmness to her belly that surprised him.
Levi found himself holding his breath as he waited to feel his little girl kick. Sammi shifted his hand again, a little more down toward her hip. And then he felt it. It was faint, without a lot of punch behind it, but he still felt it. Unbidden, a smile curved his lips as his gaze lifted to meet Sammi’s.
“She feels strong,” he said, keeping his hand pressed in place, hoping to feel another movement.
“She is. You should feel it from the inside. I can’t imagine how much more we’ll be able to feel her kicks in the months to come.”
“Does she move a lot?”
Sammi smiled. “Yeah. Usually when I’m trying to sleep. It seems that when I’m active, my movements lull her to sleep, and when I’m still, she wakes up.”
When he didn’t feel any more movements, Levi moved his hand away. “Have you thought of any names for her yet?”
For the next little while, they spent time discussing names, ranging from the traditional to the outlandish. Every time Levi suggested something that brought a smile to Samantha’s face, he counted it a win. A few more times as they talked, she reached out and grabbed his hand, bringing it back to her belly. Sometimes he felt a movement, sometimes he didn’t. But he found it didn’t matter because he appreciated the connection with Samantha as much as he did with the baby.
And that was a feeling that concerned him.
“Daisy?” Levi suggested.
“First Rose, then Lily and now Daisy. I sense a theme.” Samantha gave him a small smile. “What’s with all the flower names?”
“I’m in landscaping,” Levi said with a shrug. “What did you expect?”
“Well, as long as you stick to flower names and don’t move on to types of grass, I guess it’s okay.”
“I promise. No grass names.”
“Ms. McFadden?” A man in green scrubs appeared through the curtains. “We have a bed available for you now.”
Levi knew that visiting hours were likely to be over soon—if they weren’t already—but he hoped that he’d be able to stay with Samantha until she was settled into her new room. He got to his feet and moved back a bit, giving the man space along with the nurse who came in to help with the preparations for the move. He’d thought they might transfer her in a wheelchair, but they ended up leaving her in the bed.
“You’re either someone very important, or you know someone who is,” the nurse said as they maneuvered the bed down the wide hallway.
Samantha looked over at the woman. “Why’s that?”
“We got word from the top that we were to take you to a room in the new wing. It hasn’t even been opened to the public yet.”
“How will they monitor her there?” Levi asked.
“They’ve assigned two nurses to stay in the wing with her. All the doctors on call have been alerted that you’re in that wing should you need their help at any time.”
“Why wouldn’t they just put me in a private room?” Samantha asked.
“None here in this hospital.” The man in the scrubs pushed a button when they reached the elevator. “And the semi-private rooms are all full, so you get the room in the new wing.”
Levi wasn’t sure if he was imagining the censure in the man’s voice or not. He opened his mouth to say something, but Samantha spoke first.
“He’s a family friend.” At the man’s questioning look, she said, “The person who arranged all this, and he only did it because my mom is currently somewhere in this hospital awaiting surgery for an aneurysm, and there’s no guarantee she’ll survive.”
The man had the grace to look abashed, and Levi was glad to see the apologetic look he gave Samantha. When the doors of the elevator slid open, they waited while a few people got out before they pushed the bed in. There was no more conversation as they made their way to the room that had been prepared for Samantha.
Two nurses came to meet them as they pushed through the swinging doors that led to the new wing. They gave directions to the room and then, once there, helped get Samantha transferred from one bed to another. The orderly left with the bed while the nurse stayed to talk with the other two nurses, updating them on Samantha’s condition.
Levi looked around the room, taking in its set-up which didn’t look much d
ifferent from any other hospital room he’d been in. These certainly weren’t swanky rooms, but he was grateful that Samantha would be able to rest without having to deal with other patients or people coming in and out of her room.
Once the ER nurse left, one of the two who stayed behind approached Samantha’s bed with a smile. “The other bed has been prepared if you need someone to stay the night with you. We have been briefed on your situation, so please let us know if there’s anything at all that you need.”
“I will. Thank you.”
When the nurses had left the room, Levi turned to Samantha. She was staring out the window that was beside her bed. The big window didn’t give them a great view, but Levi suspected she wasn’t really looking at anything anyway.
Thinking about the time immediately following his mom’s accident when he hadn’t known if she would survive, Levi remembered how sometimes the situation hadn’t seemed real, but then the reality of it would sort of crash into him. He suspected that Samantha was having one of those moments.
Uncertain of how to handle it, Levi shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He wasn’t sure if he should be leaving or if Samantha needed him to stay for a bit longer. He had intended to leave once she was settled, but now that the moment was here, he wasn’t totally comfortable with going. To do so would feel like he was abandoning her.
He approached the bed and laid a hand over Samantha’s where it lay on the blankets. “You okay?”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
When Samantha lifted her gaze to meet his, Levi saw emotion he recognized. It was one he’d no doubt had in his own eyes following his mom’s accident. He slipped his arm around her shoulders and pressed his cheek to the top of her head. When words of assurance failed him, frustration filled Levi. He wanted to offer her more than just a hug, but he was falling short, and he well knew it.
Samantha leaned sideways, slumping against him. Her hand came up to grip his shirt as she turned her face into his chest. He felt, more than heard, her begin to cry. Though he wasn’t sure it was proper—although, in light of the pregnancy, they’d crossed the proper line a long time ago—he slid an arm under Samantha’s legs and shifted her gently over a little bit so that he could settle onto the bed beside her. He leaned back against the elevated head of the bed, holding Samantha against his side.
Believing in Tomorrow Page 13
