CHAPTER 17
Emily stared at her feet as water coursed down her back and swirled down the drain. She’d been standing in the shower so long that the water had turned cold, yet she found it impossible to get out. I must be in shock, she thought. It was the only excuse that made sense.
Why had she answered the phone when Carter called? She knew it was a bad time, that she was still distracted about the woman in the freezer and the other interns’ reactions to what she’d said. It had been a long day, too. She’d been tired and wet, mentally and physically exhausted. Why couldn’t she have just let it go to voice mail and called him back when she was ready? At least then, people might have left the party and the two of them could have talked about it without a bunch of witnesses waiting for her answer.
She slammed her hand down on the knob to stop the flow of water, her anger switching from herself to Carter.
Who proposed like that, anyway? When Emily had pictured his proposal—which she had, she admitted, several times—it had always been in some quiet, romantic spot, just the two of them making a commitment together. Instead, Carter had not only turned it into a public spectacle, but he’d made a spectacle of her, too. Darn it, she’d told him she needed to take a shower. Did he really have to put her on display like that? It was almost as if he’d wanted everyone to see what a sacrifice he was making, reminding everyone that she should feel grateful to be marrying so well.
I knew you would.
And she had felt grateful. Emily was well aware that the Trescotts were much better off than she and her mother were. In spite of all the money her father had made during his lifetime, his estate had been quite a bit smaller than her mother had expected. They’d both known he was a risk-taker in his business dealings, but neither one had suspected just how much and how often he’d gambled, nor had they realized how risky some of his investments had been. It wasn’t as if they’d been left with nothing, but it did make her mother’s lavish spending habits worrisome. Thank goodness Emily’s own trust fund was in Uncle Danny’s capable hands or she might have had nothing to pay for college, much less something to give her a good start in life.
If she and Carter did marry, of course, money would never be an issue. Surgery was a well-paid profession, and he and his sister Chelsea stood to inherit their parents’ considerable fortune. There was no doubt in Emily’s mind that the life he was offering her was one of ease and comfort. So why wasn’t she happier?
And accepting Carter’s proposal didn’t just mean they’d be getting married someday, it meant she’d have to tell Sam she was engaged—now. They could still be friends, she supposed, and she’d be happy to keep watching his dog, but there’d be no more private dinners and lingering looks, much less any stolen kisses. She felt a pang, realizing how happy she’d been lately, playing with Bear on her lunch hour and taking him for walks, then talking things over with Sam when he got home. The thought that she’d have to give up all of that was distressing. She’d need time to find the best way to break it to him.
Emily had just gotten dressed and was drying her hair when the doorbell rang. She heard Uki answer it, then the murmur of voices. Probably Dak, she thought. He’d been mooning over Uki for weeks. Emily set down the dryer and shook out her hair. It wasn’t perfect, but it looked a heck of a lot better than it had when she and Carter were on the phone.
There was a knock on the bathroom door.
“Somebody here to see you.”
At this hour?
She opened the door a crack. “Who is it?”
“That Sam guy. Says it’s important.”
Emily felt a flash of annoyance. Hadn’t this day been tough enough without having him come over, unannounced? When she’d finally told him about the tensions with Kimberley and Rachel, Sam had agreed not to just drop by without checking with her first. Sure, it was a moot point at the moment, but she was still dealing with the repercussions of Carter’s proposal. She needed time to get her thoughts in order, to be sure that she was doing the right thing before she broke the news to him. Ready or not, however, it looked as if she was going to have to just suck it up and get out there.
Sam was slumped on the couch when she walked out, looking so troubled that Emily’s first thought was that he already knew about the engagement. But how could he have found out so quickly? Had Uki overheard Carter’s call and contacted him? Or—the thought horrified her—had her mother somehow gotten hold of him?
“Hey,” she said. “What brings you here?”
He lifted his head, his eyes welling.
“Marilyn’s in the hospital.”
* * *
Neither of them said a word on the drive there. Back at the house, Sam had told her what the situation was—the increasing contractions, the blood, the panicked rush to the doctor—but once they were in the car, any thoughts they might have had about the situation remained private. Emily had volunteered to stay at Sam’s and watch Bear while he returned to the hospital, but he said Kallik had asked specially for her to come along. Marilyn, he said, had been asking for her.
At the emergency room, they found out that Marilyn had not been taken to the maternity ward, and Emily started to cry. Carter had told her once that women in danger of losing their babies were sometimes kept away from the new mothers in hopes of minimizing the pain of their impending loss; the situation must be worse than she’d thought. Then Kallik came out with a cautious smile on his face, and her heart lifted. Maybe it wasn’t so bad after all, she told herself. Maybe Marilyn and the baby would be all right.
The two men embraced, then Kallik gave Emily a hug.
“Thanks for coming.”
“Of course,” she said. “I’m flattered you’d ask.”
“How is she?” Sam said.
“Better,” Kallik told them. “They gave her a transfusion and the bleeding has stopped.”
“Do they know what caused it?” Emily said.
“Placenta previa—we lost the last one that way. This time, though, they say it’s in a different place. After they gave her a transfusion, the doctor suggested starting her on steroids in case the baby comes early. Once she’s stable, they’ll move her into a room so they can monitor her overnight. The doc says she should be able to go home tomorrow.”
“Oh, thank goodness.”
Kallik looked at Sam. “Jane can watch her once she’s home, but I’m going to have to stay here at least until tomorrow afternoon.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll make some calls. We’ll have you covered.”
“What about Jack?”
“I’ll take care of Jack. You just take care of your wife.”
“Thanks, man.” Kallik smiled. “You guys ready to say hi?”
Emily looked at Sam. “You go ahead.”
“No, you go,” he said. “I drove them here. Besides, she asked for you, remember?”
“I know she’d like to have another lady to talk to,” Kallik said. “Jane couldn’t make it.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“You have to check in at the desk first. She’s in the second room on the right.”
At the desk, Emily was given a visitor’s badge and a gown. She put them on, grabbed some hand sanitizer, and headed down the hall. Marilyn was propped up in bed, staring at the silent television screen. Emily knocked on the partition, and she waved her over.
“Come in; have a seat.”
She walked over to the bed and pulled up the visitor’s chair.
“How’re you feeling?”
“Eh, could be better. You?”
“The same.” Emily shrugged. “At least I’m not in the hospital.”
“Good point.” Marilyn glanced at the needle taped to the back of her hand. “This sucks, but at least the little tyke’s hanging in there this time.”
Emily felt a sudden rush of emotion, tears filling her eyes.
“I’m sorry I made you walk around the totem park. You were already having contractions. Maybe if you’d stayed off your feet—”
“Hey, hey. Stop it. That had nothing to do with this. The problem didn’t even show up on the ultrasound. It happens; it’s nobody’s fault.”
Emily nodded but couldn’t stop the flow of tears. All the way to the hospital, she’d been thinking about death—not just that Marilyn or her baby might die, but that her relationship with Sam was also going to die and it would be all her fault. How was she going to live with that?
Marilyn leaned over, trying to catch her eye.
“You okay? You look like you lost your best friend.”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Emily said. “Just got myself worked up, worried about you and . . . other things. Sorry.”
“Anything you want to talk about?”
“No, that’s okay.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah.” Emily laughed, embarrassed. “Here I am, blubbering away when I’m supposed to be helping you feel better.”
Marilyn waved away her concern.
“Eh, that’s all right. Gives me something else to think about for a while.”
A nurse walked in and looked at Emily, tapping her watch.
“Looks like I’d better let you get some rest.”
“Thanks for coming,” Marilyn said. “Tell that man of yours I appreciate his bringing you.”
“Sure thing.”
Emily turned and walked away quickly before another cascade of tears started to fall.
* * *
Emily seemed unusually quiet on the way back to the house. Sam cast several sidelong glances in her direction as he drove, hoping for a chance to talk, but it was clear she wasn’t in the mood. On the way to the hospital, he’d chalked it up to concern for Marilyn and the baby, but now he wasn’t so sure. Whatever was bothering her, he hoped she’d tell him soon. He had something he wanted to tell her.
Even before Kallik had called him, Sam had been anxious to talk to Emily. He’d gotten a call that afternoon from a man with a tender for sale, and the ship sounded like exactly what he was looking for. They’d haggled a bit over the price and the guy said he’d think about it, but even if he didn’t agree to bring it down, Sam would still be able to cover the amount. It was great news, something he was eager to share with Emily, but if the time wasn’t right, he didn’t want to push it. Unless and until the seller accepted his offer, he thought, the deal wasn’t really done anyway. Maybe it would be better just to wait until they’d agreed on a price before he told her. Nevertheless, the closer they got to the house, the more her silence worried him. If something was wrong, why wouldn’t she tell him?
“You want to stop and get a coffee or something?”
She shook her head. “Too late. It’ll keep me up.”
“There’s always decaf.”
He grinned, hoping she’d realize that there was something on his mind, but Emily just shrugged and stared out the window.
“If you want something, that’s fine,” she said, “but drop me off first. I really need to get home.”
Her dismissive tone put an end to any hope Sam might have had for discussing the ship that night.
“Yeah, I’d probably better get home, too. I still need to find someone to take over for Kallik tomorrow.”
As he pulled up in front of her house, he leaned over to give her a hug, but Emily had already thrown open the door.
“Thanks for the ride.”
“No problem,” Sam said as he watched her walk away. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”