To Protect His Own

by Talty, Jen

  “A few times,” she said. “No one goes into his office and no one comes to mine after dark, so we’d have private conversations in both places. No one knows he has cancer. Not even Charlie.”

  “I don’t like making assumptions, but we’re going to have to assume someone knows my dad is dying.” He set her down next to his truck as he dug into his pockets. “Luke is going to do a sweep of the cabin while we’re gone.”

  “I need to use the bathroom before we go.”

  He followed her into the cabin.

  “Can you get my wallet. It’s on the nightstand. I need my insurance card,” she said as she closed the bathroom door.

  “On it.”

  She had half a mind to tell Jake it was crazy to run off to the ER until she stood and turned to flush the toilet. The paper floating inside was tinged with a small amount of blood. She let out a long shuddering breath as she pulled her cell phone from her back pocket. The screen was shattered. That wasn’t good, but at least it still worked.

  She dialed the number, which brought her to a voice mail, instructing her to dial another number. Which she did.

  Jake banged on the door. “Let’s go.”

  Quickly, she left a message then stepped from the bathroom. “Jake? I'm spotting.”

  “What does that mean?” His face turned as white as snow.

  “I’ve spotted on an off the entire time I’ve been pregnant. Doctor says it's a hormonal thing, but it could be a bad sign.”

  “Let’s get you to the hospital then.”

  Jake had never been one to drive slow, but now that he was a cop, seemed his zeal for speed had gotten worse.

  Her phone rang. “Hello?”

  “Hi, Kenzie, this is Doctor Leveno. I got your message. I’m on call, so I’m already at the hospital.”

  “We’re about five minutes out.”

  “Just pull into the ER, give your name and they will take your right up to maternity. We’ll check things.”

  “I’m spotting again,” she said squeezing Jake’s hand.

  “How much blood was there?”

  “Very little, but after getting the wind knocked out me, I’m worried.”

  “Spotting is normal for some women,” the doctor said. “If there isn’t a lot of bright red blood, its usually nothing to worry about.”

  “All right. See you shortly.” She tapped the end phone call button. “I need a new phone.” She held it up. “I’m sure landing on it put a new bruise on my ass.”

  As soon as he pulled into the loading bay of the ER, an orderly met her with a wheelchair. “My doctor said she’s waiting for me in maternity.”

  “You can park right over there.” The orderly directed Jake to a small lot. “We’ll start the paper work, but won’t wheel her up until you join us.”

  “Thanks,” Jake said. “I’ll be right in, you okay?”

  “Just hurry, please.” She let the orderly help her out of the truck and into the wheel chair.

  She gave all her information to the intake nurse, still sitting in the same wheel chair. They took her blood pressure, which was higher than normal, but they said that was to be expected considering her nervousness. She heard the ER doors swish open. She looked over her shoulder and in walked Jake. In his uniform. Her protector. His powerful presence didn’t go unnoticed by anyone as they all glanced his way.

  “All checked in?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she said.

  “You can take her to the third floor yourself,” the orderly said. “Take a right out of the elevator and then the high-risk maternity desk is at the end of the hall.”

  “High risk?” Jake asked, his voice cracking.

  “Just where we send women who aren’t full term, yet,” the orderly said. “Her doctor is waiting.”

  Jake pushed the wheel chair toward elevator. “I don’t like the term high risk.”

  “Neither do I.”

  He hit the elevator button. The doors dinged open immediately.

  Once inside she looked up at him. Hard not to appreciate broad shoulders, slightly wild hair a little longer on top than the sides, five o’clock shadow, and those blue-green eyes. One could get lost there. It was a nice distraction.

  “What?” he asked as the elevator dinged again and he pushed her around the corner and down the hall.

  “Admiring you in uniform,” she said. “You had it on when I showed up and this happened.” She patted her stomach.

  He chuckled. “So that’s why you slept with me.”

  “Might have had something to do with it.”

  A young woman, who didn’t look any older than twenty at best, stood behind the counter. “May I help you?”

  “I called in. Kenzie Chorley for Dr. Leveno.”

  “Follow me,” the woman said.

  Kenzie’s pulse sped up when they entered an exam room and the woman handed her a sheet and told her to undress from the waist down.

  “I’ll step out.” Jake held the curtain in his hands.

  “No,” she said. “I don’t want to be alone. Just keep your back to me until I’m ready.”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  Memories of following the ambulance to this very hospital a few days ago flooded her brain. The gravity of danger sunk in. She tossed her panties and jeans on the chair, after she pulled the sheet across herself, leaning back on the bed, propping herself up with the two thin pillows.

  “Okay, you can turn around.”

  “You sure you want me in here for all this?”

  She held her trembling hand out to him. Thankfully he took it and sat on the edge of the bed. “I want you here.”

  He nodded.

  “Falling off a horse wouldn’t necessarily kill me,” she whispered. “But it could cause me to miscarry.”

  “Let’s not think like that.” he said. His fingers gently slid across her skin.

  She gently rubbed her stomach as Dr. Leveno tapped on the door. She was an older woman, in her late fifties with long grey hair and bold features. Not very tall, but you couldn’t call her short. She rolled in a machine on a cart.

  “And you are?” She held her hand out.

  “Jake Prichard.”

  “He’s the father,” Kenzie said.

  “Nice to meet you,” the doctor said. “Any more bleeding?”

  “No,” Kenzie said. “Just the little bit on the toilet paper.”

  “That’s a good sign,” the doctor said. “I’m going to start with seeing if we can hear the baby’s heartbeat using this little device.” She pulled something out of her lab coat. “I’ll put some jelly on your stomach. It will be a little cold and then I’ll rub this little ball over your stomach and see if we can hear the heartbeat.”

  “Okay.” Kenzie shivered as she watched the doctor roll down the sheet to just above the pelvic line. The jelly was indeed cold, making body twitch. She squeezed Jake’s hand so hard when he tried to stand up.

  “Just moving closer.” He shifted while the doctor placed the listening device on her stomach.

  “This might take a second or two.” The doctor moved the round object around across her skin.

  Kenzie sucked in a breath, blinking a few times. She had no idea how badly she wanted this baby until this moment.

  A loud swishing noise filled the air, followed by rapid thumping sounds.

  “Do you hear that?” the doctor asked.

  “Yes.” Kenzie smiled, her own heart filling with a sudden pressure, but in a good way. “That’s my baby.”

  “And your baby has a very strong heartbeat.” The doctor lifted the device and the silence that filled the room was deafening.

  “I could listen to that all day long,” Kenzie said.

  “There is an app now that will allow you to listen to the baby’s heart,” the doctor said.

  “That’s cool,” Jake said. “So, the baby’s okay? The spotting was nothing to worry about?”

  “Kenzie has a bit of a hormonal imbalance. We found that out in her first
visit, so I believe the spotting is coming from that and as we hit the fifth month of pregnancy, it will stop,” the doctor said. “I want to do an ultrasound just to make sure everything is where it is supposed to be.”

  “Do I need to make an appointment?” Kenzie asked. Only hearing a minute of the baby’s heartbeat wasn’t enough. The baby had always been real to her and she loved him or her with everything she had, but now it had become a person. Not just a nondescript thing growing inside her. A real person who could have Jake’s hair and eyes. She took Jake’s hand and pressed it against her womb. He rewarded her with a gentle massage of his fingers.

  “No.” The doctor tapped on a keyboard. “I can do a vaginal ultrasound right now.”

  “My cue to leave,” Jake said softly.

  “You’re not going anywhere.” Kenzie held his hand as hard as she could and he continued to lean against the bed. “What is a vaginal ultrasound?”

  The doctor held up what looked like a cross between a curling wand and a cheap plastic vibrator like the kind you could get at Spencer’s. Put new meaning into getting a birds’ eye view.

  “Because your uterus is still low in the pelvic area, getting a good image of the baby without you drinking a gallon of water would be difficult.” The doctor pulled out what looked like an oversized condom and slipped it on the wand. Jake's physical discomfort came in the form of a grunt and his normally serious chiseled facial features contorted much like someone eating a lemon.

  “You’re really not going to… um…” Jake turned his head, looking at Kenzie with wide, pleading eyes. “I don’t think I should be here for this.”

  “Come on, Dad,” the doctor said. “This is nothing compared to what it will be like in the delivery room.” She held the device up. “It is generally more comfortable if the patient inserts it herself.”

  Kenzie laughed as Jake took his free hand and pressed his thumb against one temple and his forefinger against the other, keeping his back to the doctor.

  “I’m going to move the wand around. You’ll feel some pressure.”

  “Ugh.”

  “He’s generally not so squeamish,” Kenzie said.

  “Most first time fathers are a little skittish about things like this.” The doctor skillfully used one hand to probe with the device and then typed on the keyboard on top of the machine.

  “What are you doing?” Kenzie asked.

  “Taking some measurements and double checking that everything looks normal.” The doctor adjusted machine and pointed to the screen. “See that fluttering. That’s the baby’s heart.”

  “Wow.” Kenzie leaned in to get a better look. “Is that the head?”

  “It is.” She tapped the screen. “Arms. Body. Legs. Baby looks good.”

  Kenzie felt the doctor adjust the angle of the probe as the outline of the baby became more pronounced. She looked up at Jake, who had his eyes glued to the screen as if he were seeing a television for the very first time.

  “Tiny little thing,” he said softly. “You’re sure everything is okay?”

  “Everything looks great,” the doctor said. “I’ll print you out a picture.”

  Kenzie dropped her head back on the bed, pulling her knees together, and rubbing a hand across her middle. “That’s amazing.”

  Jake cupped her cheek and pressed his full warm lips across her temple. “I’m glad I stayed.”

  “Here you go, Dad.” Doctor Leveno handed Jake something that looked like a large negative from old film. “First picture of your baby.”

  “Huh.” He took it with both hands and sat on the edge of the bed.

  Kenzie was humbled by his reaction. She glided her hand across his supple back, careful not to hit his ribs.

  “Can you tell the sex yet?” he asked.

  “Not yet,” the doctor said. “But the next one we will be able to if you want to find out.”

  “Do we want to find out?” Jake looked at Kenzie, then back at the picture.

  Water formed in her eyes, but she fought to let them flow. Didn’t matter they were happy, she still didn’t know what their future held. “I haven’t thought about it,” she said.

  “You’ve got time to decide.” The doctor picked up a small laptop. “I’ll get your paperwork together and get you out of here in a half hour at most. Do you have any questions for me?”

  “Yeah,” Jake said. “Can she still—”

  “Have sex?” Doctor Leveno finished his question. “I don’t see any reason why she can’t.”

  Kenzie half expected a growl since he hated being in interrupted but instead he chuckled.

  “Good to know, but that wasn’t my question.”

  “Oh. Sorry,” Dr. Leveno said.

  “I’m concerned about her horseback riding.”

  Dr. Leveno nodded. “Normally, I’d say it would be fine, but considering today’s events, probably better not to.”

  “Did you hear that?”

  “I did,” Kenzie said.

  “You can get dressed.” The doctor handed her a box of tissues and disappeared behind the curtain.

  “Need a hand?” He reached for the tissue box but she yanked it away.

  “I think I can handle it. Just turn around and stay that way.”

  “Sure thing.”

  She quickly slipped her panties and jeans back on, which she couldn’t button at the top anymore. She used a rubber band to loop around the button and through the hole on the other side. She’d read that in pregnancy book and it worked.

  Jake sat on the bed, still staring at the picture.

  “How do you feel?” She climbed back on the gurney. Tentatively, gauging his reaction, knowing he could go hot to cold faster than a Ferrari, she looped her arm around his shoulder, dropping her chin to the other one and then admired the picture in his hands. His chest heaved up and down with slow purposeful breaths. Gently, she rubbed his shoulder. “You okay?”

  “I don’t know,” he said. “It all just got very real.” He reached up with one hand and cupped the back of her head. “The other day I was planning on spending four months living in a one bedroom cabin on the lake while taking a temp position for a friend who just happens to be close to eight months pregnant. After that, I was going to go back to snowmobile duty in Old Forge.” His fingers dug into the back of her head, kneading her scalp. “And after that, whatever assignment I could get next. But now I’m sitting here with you, looking at my baby, staying at my father’s farm which I swore I would never go back to, someone is trying to hurt the people I care about, and the doctor keeps calling me dad. It’s mind blowing.”

  “I know.”

  “You’re really having a baby.”

  “We are,” she whispered just before he brushed his lips against her mouth, darting his tongue across her lips. He broke off the kiss to reposition himself, cushioning her chest against his and his hands clutching her lower back. Their lips so close she could taste him.

  “I only know one thing.” His arms circled her body. His blue-green eyes locked intently on hers. “I want to be a part of our baby’s life. A part of your life. I want to be a father.”

  “That makes me happy.” His declaration was more than she could have hoped for. More than she dared to dream. Nothing else mattered except that he wanted to be involved with his child. That meant everything.

  “I’ve got…” Doctor Leveno walked in. “Sorry to interrupt, but I’ve got your walking papers.”

  If he never kissed her or held her again, life was good.

  He was going to be a father to his child.

  Chapter 5

  JAKE SPENT THE NEXT FEW nights tossing and turning on the most uncomfortable pull out mattress. But it wasn’t just the uncomfortable accommodations that had been keeping him awake at night. The woman sleeping in the next room had him all tied up in knots.

  He got out of the bed and took two steps around the back of the couch to the kitchen and snagged some juice from the fridge. It was still dark and wouldn’t be ligh
t for another hour or so, but he wasn’t going to be able to shut his brain off, so no point in even trying to go back to sleep. He twisted his upper body gently. His ribs still ached, but the crushing pain had disappeared. He slipped on a pair of gym shorts, fired up his laptop, and sat at the table. No new emails or text messages about the case. Nothing from the detectives heading up the investigation.

  He logged into the farm’s private server and started scanning the employee records, looking specifically at newer employees, noting their previous employers, jotting down anyone who worked for a competing breeder. Breeding was the farm’s bread and butter, though they were a full-service horse farm, offering everything from riding lessons, trail rides, to boarding, and even summer programs for children and adults. But the Cavanaugh name was best known across the country for its fine breeding of at least five different types of horses.

  The detectives had asked about anyone who wanted to see the Cavanaugh breeding business go under or be discredited. There were a few breeders who would jump in and pounce on their customers if that happened, but then it made more sense to poison the horses, not his father or Kenzie.

  The bedroom door squeaked open. “What are you doing up so early?” Kenzie shuffled her bare feet across the wood floor, her hands flipping and twisting her long hair into a bun thingy on top of her head.

  “Your hair is much prettier down.” He let his gaze linger on her long bare legs.

  “It’s a hot mess right now.”

  “Did I wake you?”

  “No,” she said. “My bladder did. I wake up at least once in the middle of the night or early morning to pee. Incrediably annoying. Can’t imagine what it’s going to be like when I’m out to here.” She held her arms out and puffed out her cheeks.

  “My friend Stacey says her baby uses her bladder as a punching bag.”

  “She’s the one I saw at the station that day?”

  He nodded.

  She fiddled with the notebook and papers he’d put on the table. “What is all this?”

  “Looking for clues,” he said. “Employee records. Maintenance records. Trying to figure out who wants you and our baby out of the way.”

  “This is crazy,” she said.