Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22250 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 111(@200wpm)___ 89(@250wpm)___ 74(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22250 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 111(@200wpm)___ 89(@250wpm)___ 74(@300wpm)
On the days when Cam is gone or working, he leaves his truck behind for me to drive since the transmission in my car died. It’s in the shop now. I tried to tell them I’d save up to repair it, but they ignored me. In fact, they worked out a plan to split the costs as if I weren’t even standing there.
These two are so infuriating sometimes but in a good way. Neither of them will accept rent from me and they’re always arguing over who gets to buy me things. Derek thinks Cam sees me as a little sister.
I need to tell him the truth. I’ll have to at some point. But first, I’ll need to confirm this pregnancy. That line was awfully faded and I’m trying really hard not to get my hopes up. I’d hate to tell them only to find out I’m not. Or have them both hate me if I am. Deep breath, Journ. You don’t know anything yet.
Wynter waves to me when she sees me and gives me a smile when she spots the sandwiches. Since she and the other firefighters aren’t on a call right now, I eat lunch with them. Well, they eat and I sip a water. My stomach hasn’t been settled all day and I feel miserable when I do try to eat. I mean, this could be the flu. It doesn’t have to be anything.
“Thanks for bringing lunch by,” Derek says as he escorts me back outside. It’s one of those days with an endlessly blue sky and I wish I could enjoy it more. My head is pounding though, and my nausea is definitely worse. He grabs onto my elbow. “Whoa, there. You alright?”
“Yeah,” I try to give him a smile that doesn’t appear forced. “I’ll be fine. Just have a migraine starting.”
“I’ll follow you home,” he insists. There’s so much worry in his eyes that I feel guilty for not telling him. About Cam. About the potential pregnancy. All of it.
“Don’t worry,” I say just as the floor tilts, and my vision tunnels to a small circle. My head feels woozy and I’m pretty sure I need to sit down for a minute. Maybe I could even take a short nap.
The last thing I hear is Derek shouting, “Get me some help over here!”
When I wake, Derek is peering down at me with concern. I’m in what looks like a doctor’s office, but I don’t recognize the place. There’s pain in my arm and that’s when I realize I’m hooked up to an IV line.
“You dozed out on us there for a minute,” he says. “Your blood sugar dropped pretty low. I treated you with D-50 to raise it fast. But you still need to be seen by a medical professional.”
My head is starting to feel clearer, like a fog is lifting. “The last thing I remember is being in the bay with you. I was about to drive home.”
“Thank God you didn’t. If you’d been behind the wheel—”
The door opens and a bearded man with kind, brown eyes enters the room. He’s wearing a white lab coat over his blue jeans and t-shirt. The lab coat has the name Dr. Cash embroidered on it. “How are you feeling now?”
“Better,” I say, surprised that my pounding headache is gone.
“Well, your blood sugar was a teeny bit low today,” Dr. Cash says, “Do you have a history of diabetes?”
I shake my head and move to sit up. Derek is instantly beside me, helping me into a sitting position.
Dr. Cash continues, tapping something into the tablet he’s carrying. “Have you eaten today? Done anything extraneous?”
“No, I haven’t eaten much lately because I’ve been so nauseated.” A horrifying thought occurs to me. “There’s a chance I could be pregnant. Would what happened today hurt the baby?”
Beside me, I can feel that Derek has gone completely still. I don’t think he’s even breathing. This is not how I wanted to tell him, but I can’t think about that right now.
“It’s unlikely. But we’ll test for pregnancy as well as screen you for diabetes. Think you’re feeling well enough to give me a urine sample?”
After giving a urine sample and having blood taken from the back of my hand, I sit in the little room with Derek. He followed me to the bathroom and waited outside the door. He growled when the nurse had to stick me twice to get the blood drawn. He hasn’t stopped hovering over me today.
When we’re finally alone again, he stands from his chair and crosses the room to the exam table where I am. He takes my hand in his. “How are you?”
“A little scared,” I admit. I’m scared that I’m pregnant. I’m scared that I’m not pregnant. I never expected to feel all these mixed emotions. I always figured if I got pregnant I’d be happy. Then again, I always thought I’d be in a committed relationship with a man I cared about. I care about Cam. He’s an amazing man. But we haven’t talked about our future or how we feel about each other.