Chapter Eleven

Ethan stabbed the elevator button several times. “Calm down,” Claudia said, rubbing his arm. “I’m sure the baby is fine.”

“I am calm,” he muttered, waiting impatiently for the doors to open. He’d broken every posted speed limit to get here. He’d been in Denver when Gage called to let him know Skye was in the hospital.

It’d been bad enough getting the call about his mother four days ago; this had been worse. And when Gage told him Skye had fallen while doing a headstand—a headstand, God damn it—Ethan made his decision right there and then. No more Mr. Nice Guy. No more giving her time to see that marrying him was the best choice. She’d proven him right, and he’d taken matters into his own hands. Thanks to his connections, he had the marriage license in his jacket pocket and a preacher on the way.

Whether she liked it or not, she was signing the paperwork and they were getting married tonight.

“I understand why you’re upset. But I’m not sure marrying Kendall is the best solution anymore. I think we overreacted when the news first leaked and forgot one important thing. She’s a loose cannon and a rabid Democrat. That hasn’t changed because she’s carrying your baby. You’ve done a good job throwing off the press. All we have to do is get her to agree—”

“My decision to marry her has nothing to do with the campaign.” At that moment, it didn’t. His focus was on his baby’s well-being, which meant looking after its mother and making sure she didn’t pull crap like she did today.

“Oh, I didn’t know you were in love with—”

“I’m not,” he said as the doors opened. He headed for the nurse’s station with Claudia following close behind.

“Ethan,” his mother called from the waiting room before he reached the desk.

He backtracked, glancing down the empty hall. “Which room is she in?”

“Four fourteen, but the nurse is with her now. Paul said her blood pressure is a little high and they’re going to keep her overnight for observation. But she and the baby are fine, honey. They did an ultrasound.”

Some of the tension left Ethan at the news. “Why’s her blood pressure high?”

Madison and Gage, Grace, and Nell piled out of the waiting room as he asked the question.

“It’s my fault,” Grace said, looking distraught. “She’s been working a lot of hours this week. I’m so sorry, Ethan. If I had known, I wouldn’t have taken time off.”

“It’s not your fault, Grace,” Madison said. “Skye wanted the extra hours.”

“I’m sure she’s making enough money from attacking Ethan on her blog that she doesn’t have to work,” Claudia sniped.

“Claudia, that’s enough,” Ethan said, although he agreed with her. Not the “attacking” part—Skye had toned down the rhetoric some—but she now had several more advertisers on board. Despite retracting their previous comments linking Skye to Envirochick and issuing a public apology to her in the press, Ethan didn’t believe for one minute that her friend Vivi Westfield was Envirochick.

“Yes, her—” Madison corrected herself “—their blog is doing very well despite someone’s attempt to shut it down. But Skye’s saving every penny she makes for the baby.”

“So what is—” Ethan stopped, his gaze narrowing at his mother when she got a guilty look on her face. “Mom, what did you do?”

“Nothing. I stopped by to have a visit with her earlier. She seemed fine then.” Tears filled her eyes. “She felt the baby move, honey. I was going to tell you when we talked tonight.”

Another bit of good news at least. And it reinforced his decision to marry her. He didn’t want to miss out on those moments. He wanted to share them with Skye, not his mother.

“And why exactly were you visiting, Mom?” He knew her too well to let her distract him.

She sighed. “Do you have to be so suspicious? I just wanted her to know that you’ll be a wonderful father. And to make her understand how important the election was to you.”

“Oh, well, that it explains it then,” Nell said. “You were pressuring her just like the rest of us. When me and the girls dropped by this afternoon, she told us we were stressing her out and it wasn’t good for her and the baby.”

“What do you mean, you were pressuring her? And who’s the rest of you?” Ethan had an uneasy feeling Nell had gone through with her plan. He’d shot down the idea when she’d mentioned it at the Penalty Box the other night. He should’ve known she wouldn’t listen to him.

“Don’t get your shorts in a twist. I activated the hotline. No one’s going to be bothering her anymore. Won’t work anyway. She said she isn’t going to marry you.”

“No wonder she’s stressed,” Madison said, shooting a perturbed look at Nell. “And I’m sure it didn’t help that her father’s in town.”

“Her father’s here?” Ethan asked.

“Yeah,” Gage said, “And you would’ve known that if you didn’t cut me off earlier. He’s the reason Skye fell. He surprised her.”

“He won’t do that again. She broke his rib,” Nell said.

“Oh my God, are you telling me she hit William? You see, Ethan, this is exactly the kind of behavior I’m worried—”

“What the Sam Hill are you talking about?” Nell interrupted Claudia. “She didn’t do it on purpose. She was trying to protect the baby when she fell.”

Ethan pinched the bridge of his nose. If they were giving him a headache, he didn’t want to think what the last few days had been like for Skye. Maybe he’d jumped the gun. “Where’s her dad now?”

“X-ray,” Gage said.

A nurse with steel-gray hair and an attitude that matched marched toward them. “Are you the baby’s father?” she addressed Ethan in a no-nonsense tone of voice.

“Yes, I—”

“You can go in now. And if you want a healthy baby, you get that girl to eat. All that hippie nonsense. I don’t need a blood test to tell me she’s anemic,” she said as she strode to her desk.

“Settle down, honey,” Gage said to Madison, who was scowling after the older woman. “I’m sure she didn’t mean anything by it.”

“Yes, she did, the old battle-ax. We call her Nurse Ratched,” Nell said.

“We’ll wait for you here,” Liz said to Ethan, indicating the room behind her as he set off down the hall.

He found Skye’s room and entered without knocking. She sat cross-legged on the bed in a green gown, her long, tumbled mass of butterscotch curls hiding her face as she pushed at the food on the hospital tray.

“Skye,” he said as he approached the bed.

She looked up at him, tears rolling down her cheeks. His chest tightened as he moved the hospital tray and sat beside her. “Hey”—he stroked her hair—“what’s wrong? The baby’s okay.”

“She… she said I was being foolish. And… and if I didn’t start eating meat I’d put the baby at risk.”

“Come here, cupcake,” he said, taking her into his arms. “Don’t listen to her. You’re not hurting the baby.” He might not know much about a baby’s nutritional needs, but Skye was in incredible shape, so her vegan diet obviously wasn’t hurting her. But he was thinking seriously of hurting that damn nurse. He planned to have a word with her as soon as Skye calmed down. And he was going to call the preacher and cancel. She’d dealt with enough today. She didn’t need him putting any more pressure on her.

He gently patted her back and her arms went around his waist, her face buried in his neck. “Stop crying. You’re going to make yourself sick.”

She relaxed against him, her shuddering breath warming his neck. She didn’t pull away, and he was okay with that. He liked the feel of her soft, supple body in his arms. Even more, he liked that she let him hold her, let him comfort her. He leaned over to grab a couple of tissues off the table at the side of the bed.

She drew her arms from his waist and sat up. “Thanks,” she sniffed, accepting the tissues and wiping her red-tipped nose. “Sorry for the meltdown. It’s just that I’ve tried so hard to do everything right. I’ve read all these books and done exactly what they said, and then she… she…” Skye hiccuped a sob.

He took her in his arms again and kissed the top of her head. “Don’t pay any attention to what Nurse Ratched said. I’m going to take care of her. I—”

She pulled back. “Nurse Ratched?”

“Yeah, that’s what Nell calls her.”

“She is kind of scary. She said she’s going to make sure the doctor doesn’t release me until I eat some meat.” Skye cast a disheartened look at the hamburger in the plastic dish. “I can’t do it, Ethan. I’ll be sick.”

“You don’t have to.” He lifted her hand to his mouth, kissing her palm before he got to his feet and picked up the tray. “I’ll go talk to her now and get you something else to eat. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“Good luck. She’s really mean.”

“Cupcake, I prosecuted murderers and rapists. She’s no match for me.” She gave him a small smile. “Lie down and relax. I won’t be long.”

The nurse didn’t look up when Ethan set the tray on her desk. She sighed and rolled her eyes. “What did she do… cry, throw a temper tantrum? The women today have you boys whipped.”

“Did you tell her that she was putting our baby at risk if she didn’t eat meat?” he asked, barely keeping his anger in check.

He heard a gasp from behind him and held up a hand before Madison and Grace, who’d been talking outside the waiting room, charged over. The nurse glanced in their direction before returning her gaze to his. She lifted her chin, but some of the defiance left her eyes. “I might have.”

He planted his hands on the desk. “If I hear you’ve spoken to her, gone within ten feet of her, I’m going to file a complaint against you. Get her doctor up here.”

“You can’t—”

“Page her doctor. Now.”

“Yes, sir. I’m paging her,” she said, holding up the phone to indicate she was going to do as he asked.

He joined Madison and Grace. “I could strangle that woman. I can’t believe she said that to her,” Madison muttered.

“Don’t worry, she won’t be upsetting Skye again.” He reached in his back pocket for his wallet. “Would one of you mind picking up something for her to eat? I’d go, but I want to talk to her doctor.”

“I will,” Grace offered, waving off his money. “Don’t be silly. It’s the least I can do.”

As Grace headed for the elevators, Madison said, “Despite the nurse from hell, she’s in good hands. They’ve hired a new ob-gyn. Dad says she’s wonderful,” she said, referring to Paul. “How’s Skye doing?”

“Traumatized.” He shoved his fingers through his hair. “She was crying when I got in there.”

She searched his face. “You really do care about her, don’t you?”

“Of course I do. She’s having my baby.” He ignored her knowing smile. “I better get back in there.”

“You do that, Daddy.”

He gave his head a bemused shake. “I don’t think it really sunk in until now.”

“Pretty amazing, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it is. Kind of scary, too.”

“You’ll be a great dad. And take it from me—my best friend, she’s going to be an amazing mom.”

“That’s probably something I should tell her.” He thought of how hard Skye was trying to be one, and remembered the comments he’d made the day he’d learned about the baby. He’d been an ass. No wonder she didn’t want to marry him. Which reminded him—he had to call the preacher.

Madison looked over his shoulder. “There’s the doctor. Let me know when I can see Skye.”

“Sure.” He headed toward the tall, attractive, dark-haired woman Nurse Ratched had cornered outside Skye’s room. The older woman headed in the opposite direction as Ethan approached. The doctor extended her hand. “Hi, I’m Dr. Evans.”

“Ethan O’Connor.” He glanced in Skye’s room. She was on her phone. He thought he heard her say something about Superman, but figured he must have misunderstood. She looked up. He smiled, held up a finger, and closed her door a few inches. “Sorry, I’d like to talk to you privately. I don’t want to upset Skye.”

“I don’t want her upset, either. I’m concerned about her blood pressure.”

“How concerned?”

“Enough to keep her overnight for observation.” She touched his arm. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to alarm you. Other than her blood pressure, Skye and the baby are fine.”

“Are you worried about her diet?”

“Not at all. She’s in great shape and very knowledgeable. She’s adjusted her supplements to compensate for her pregnancy. I wish all my patients were as healthy as she is.”

“You might want to tell that to her nurse.” He repeated what the older woman had said to Skye and added, “I don’t want her near Skye while she’s here.”

“I understand completely. I’m sorry. Skye didn’t need that right now. I better recheck her pressure. Is there anything else?”

“No, that’s it for now,” he said, holding the door open for her. He followed her into the room and rounded the bed. “You okay?” he asked, noticing the way Skye nervously eyed her phone. “Who were you talking to?”

“Just Vivi. I’m good. I didn’t expect to see you again tonight, Dr. Evans. Is something wrong?” Ah, so that’s why she’s nervous.

“Your husband… I mean, the baby’s father, is worried about you. I’m sorry the nurse upset you. I thought it might be a good idea to recheck your blood pressure,” Dr. Evans said as she slipped the cuff on Skye’s arm. “As I told your…” She sighed. “Sorry. As I told Mr. O’Connor, I’m not concerned about your diet. You’re doing everything right.”

“Thanks.” Skye kept her eyes focused on the expanding cuff. “Ethan and I are getting married tomorrow, so you can refer to him as my husband. I’ll be Mrs. O’Connor tomorrow. Mrs. Kendall O’Connor,” she said in an over-the-top excited tone of voice.

“We are? You will? But just the other day you said you wouldn’t marry me.”

“That was the other day. Now I think it’s important that we’re married when Willow is born. I don’t want anyone to be mean to her because she’s illegitimate.”

Ethan felt like he had whiplash. “Cupcake, who’s Willow?”

“Your daughter.”

“We’re having a girl?” he asked, looking at Dr. Evans for confirmation, but she’d turned away, her shoulders shaking.

“The baby’s legs were crossed on the ultrasound, but I’m sure we are.”

“Oh, okay. That’s—” Ethan looked up when a white-haired man wearing a black suit and white collar peeked into the room.

“Mr. O’Connor, are you ready for the ceremony?”

Skye gaped at the preacher, then turned to Ethan. “How did you get him here so fast?”

The older man smiled. “Mr. O’Connor called me a couple hours ago. I’m a big supporter, and I dropped everything to get here. I’m honored to officiate the wedding of our soon-to-be state senator.”

“You called him a couple of hours ago?” Skye asked, looking less thrilled with the idea of marrying him than she had a few minutes ago.

Ethan didn’t respond. He was watching as Dr. Evans released the pressure on the cuff. “How is it?” he asked.

“Still higher than I’d like. I’m not sure this is the best time for you to get married. Perhaps in the next day or so…”

“No problem. We can wait until Skye—”

“No, it’s better to get it over with. You know, like a bandage. Rip it off fast so it doesn’t hurt so much.”

The three of them stared at her. “Ha-ha,” she said. “It was a joke. But honestly, Dr. Evans, I’ll feel better once we’re married. Weddings are very stressful, you know. All the planning…”

“What planning? We weren’t getting married until a few minutes ago.”

“Well, obviously we were, Ethan. You called the preacher.”

“Perhaps it’s a good idea after all. Just keep it as short as possible. And no more than four other people in the room.” Dr. Evans looked at Skye. “Six maximum.”

“Thanks, Dr. Evans.” Skye said.

“You’re welcome. I’ll check on you in a few hours. Congratulations, the next time I see you, you’ll be Mrs. O’Connor.”

“Mmm-hmm,” Skye said with a weak smile.

Ethan frowned. He knew from Gage’s experience with Madison that pregnant women’s emotions were all over the place, but this seemed extreme. “Skye, are you sure…”

“Totally, let’s do this. Oh, and make sure it’s Kendall O’Connor on the marriage certificate. And when Claudia puts out the press release, list Texas as my home.” She chewed on her fingernail. “Never mind, I’ll take care of the press release.”

A big man with a barrel chest strode into the room. “Daddy, you’re just in time for the wedding. Meet your son-in-law, Ethan O’Connor. I’m sure you’ll love him. You have a lot in common.” From the look on Skye’s face, that was not a compliment. And Ethan had finally figured out what, or whom, was behind her sudden desire to get married.

“Pleasure to meet you, son. I’ve heard a lot of good things about you from Richard. You’ll make a fine senator,” the man said, taking Ethan’s hand in a powerful grip.

“I appreciate you saying so, sir.”

“Now, what’s this about you two getting married?”

“I’m pregnant, Daddy, remember?”

“A little hard to forget with how you carried on when you busted my rib. But you were never one to conform to society’s rules. Don’t know why you’d start now.” The man rubbed his side. “You sure you know what you’re getting into, son? She kicks like a mule and is as stubborn as one, too. You say the grass is green, and she’ll say it’s brown.”

“Careful, Daddy, you’ll scare him off, and you’ll have to tell all your friends at the country club that your daughter not only lost her fortune, she’s a single parent who had her baby out of wedlock.”

And that set off a political war of words between father and daughter. The gnawing in Ethan’s gut returned, and he started to worry, not only about Skye’s blood pressure, but that Claudia had been right after all. The preacher slowly lowered himself into a chair. He looked as if he were praying. Ethan hoped he was saying a few for him.