Pregnant By The Colton Cowboy. Lara Lacombe

report to the ER.” The disembodied voice blasted into her room without warning, and Maggie scrambled to cover the phone with her hand.

      Please don’t ask...

      “Maggie? What was that?”

      She cursed silently. Brenda Lowell had ears like a bat. Of course she had heard the loudspeaker announcement.

      “I don’t know what you mean,” Maggie said, striving for nonchalance. “Maybe it was the radio.”

      “Margaret Helen Lowell.” Her mother’s voice was sharp now, all business. Were all women born with a “mom voice,” or was it something that manifested during pregnancy thanks to the effect of hormones on vocal cords? One more thing she would find out soon enough... “Don’t lie to me. Where are you?”

      Maggie sighed, knowing she’d been caught. “There was a small accident. I’m in the hospital.”

      “Oh my God! What happened? Steve—she’s in the hospital. No, don’t slow down—drive faster! We have to get there! Where are you? No, take the next right. The next right. Hold on, honey, we’re almost there.”

      Maggie could hear the rumble of her father’s voice in the background and couldn’t help but smile. After thirty years of marriage, he was used to her mother’s knee-jerk reactions.

      “Fine, just wait a minute, will you?” Her mother sighed. “Maggie, your father wants to talk to you. Do you feel up to it?”

      “Of course. I really am okay, Mom.”

      “If that were true, you wouldn’t be in the hospital.” Her mother sniffed and Maggie could tell she was trying to hold back tears. She felt a pang of guilt for making her mom cry, but she had tried to protect the woman from the news...

      There was a muffled sound as the phone was passed, and then her father came on the line, his voice calm and measured. “Sweetie, what’s going on? Are you hurt?”

      A rush of love filled Maggie’s chest and tears sprang to her eyes. She really was fortunate to have two parents who still worried about her, even though she was a fully functioning adult. Sometimes she felt smothered by their concerns, but she knew they only wanted the best for her.

      “I had a car accident, and I got a little banged up. But I’m doing okay. Just waiting for the doctor to clear me so I can go home.”

      “That’s good. How’s your car?”

      “Well...” Maggie hedged. “It’s going to need some work.”

      “I’m sorry to hear that, honey. I know it was new. Hopefully your insurance won’t give you a hard time about it.” She heard the phone shift, and then her father spoke again. “She’s okay, Brenda. Here’s a tissue—you don’t have to cry, honey.”

      “I’ll deal with the insurance company later. I’m sorry to have worried you,” Maggie said. “I hope this doesn’t ruin your vacation.”

      “It won’t,” her mom said. Maggie realized her dad had put her on speakerphone. “We’re canceling it and coming to see you.”

      “Mom, I don’t think that’s really necess—”

      “Don’t bother trying to talk her out of it, Mags,” her father advised. “Your mother won’t breathe easy until she sees you with her own eyes. We’ll just pop in and make sure you’re really okay, then we can continue on our way.”