again, and that probably things would be awkward between them after the way he’d left abruptly. But her pregnancy changed everything. He couldn’t pretend their passion had burned itself out and he’d decided to move on without her. “Thanks.”
“Maybe you should head home for a while,” Simon suggested. “I’m sure you have plenty of other things to get caught up with since you’ve been gone.”
He did, but nothing as important as Alyssa and her unborn children, fighting for their lives upstairs in the OB unit. For a man who hadn’t wanted a family, he couldn’t seem to get Alyssa and her babies out of his mind.
“Nah, I think I’ll hang around here for a while.” He couldn’t make himself leave. Not yet. “Maybe I’ll grab something to eat in the cafeteria.” He didn’t have anything to eat in his house anyway. The place had been closed up for months.
Simon nodded. “See you later, then.”
Jadon wandered down to the cafeteria, not really hungry but desperate for something to do. He stared at the various meal selections before finally deciding upon a bowl of steaming hot chili. He’d barely sat down with his meal when he heard his name over the loudspeaker.
“Jadon Reichert, please report to the OB unit. Jadon Reichert, please report to the OB unit immediately.”
Alyssa!
He jumped up, abandoning his food, and headed for the stairs. He ran all the way up to the fifth floor, his heart pounding from exertion as much as fear.
“I’m Jadon Reichert. You paged me? About a patient, Alyssa Knight?” he said to the clerk seated at the front desk.
“Yes, Dr. Rayborn was looking for you.” The clerk picked up the phone and dialed. “Dr. Rayborn? Jadon Reichert is here.”
Within moments Kim appeared, dressed in scrubs and an ultra-serious expression. He clenched his hands into fists and braced himself for the news.
“I’ve started Alyssa on a continuous infusion of terbutaline in an attempt to stop her contractions,” Kim explained. “They’re getting less severe, but haven’t stopped yet. If I’m not successful in halting her labor over the next twenty-four hours, you need to know there is a good chance Alyssa will end up delivering her twins prematurely.”
WAITING was pure, interminable hell.
Jadon paced the small waiting room located near the delivery suites. Kim had insisted on keeping Alyssa in the labor and delivery area until she was certain she could stop Alyssa’s labor. Especially since Alyssa hadn’t fully recovered from her hypothermic episode.
Not knowing what was going on behind the closed doors was killing him. He was a man who liked to be in control. He didn’t know how to be patient. After he’d practically worn a path in the carpeting, he finally sat, dropping his head into his hands with a low groan.
There was no reason to dwell constantly on the potential complications. Alyssa would be fine. And even if the babies came early, they weren’t too small. Kim had estimated one twin to be about three pounds, the other about three and a half pounds.
About the same size he and Jack had been.
He closed his eyes on a wave of despair. He didn’t want to think about his twin brother, or about Jack’s problems.
Especially since he hadn’t been entirely truthful with Alyssa. She knew he had a brother, but she didn’t know Jack was his identical twin.
The lie of omission had stuck in his throat, even back then. But he’d gotten so used to hiding the truth over the years, especially where women were concerned. The stress of coping with his brother had destroyed too many relationships. The breakup of his own brief engagement was bad enough, but the failure of his parents’ marriage had driven the lesson home. Relationships didn’t work for someone in his situation and covering up the truth made it easier to avoid lengthy explanations.
No matter how much he wished otherwise, his life wasn’t his own. Jack would always have to come first. It wouldn’t be right to bring anyone else into his messed-up family.
But then he’d met Alyssa. He’d told himself to stay away, but he hadn’t seemed to be able to resist her. He had broken their rule of no strings by falling for her.
And now Alyssa was pregnant with his babies.
With twins.
Worry gnawed a hole in the lining of his stomach. If he could go back and do things differently, he would. He wouldn’t have left so abruptly, responding instantly to his mother’s panicked phone call the way he always had before. He would have talked to Alyssa first, taken the time to formally break things off between them.
But he still would have left Cedar Bluff.
Jack had needed him. There’d been no choice but to leave.
“Jadon?”
Hearing his name, he glanced up and rose to his feet. Kim’s gaze was warm, and relief flowed over him as he sensed good news. “Yes?”
“Alyssa’s labor seems to have slowed down significantly and her membranes are still intact. I’m fairly confident we won’t have to deliver the babies for a while yet, although we’re going to continue to watch her closely overnight, just in case.”
Thank God. Relief was overwhelming. “Alyssa’s awake? She’s feeling fine?”
“Well, she’s still pretty sleepy. I don’t know that she’s fully recovered from her ordeal.”
“I’d like to see her,” he said firmly.
Kim hesitated. “Jadon, Alyssa confided in me that you were the father of her babies, which is why I’ve kept you in the loop about her condition. But now, since it seems she’s stabilized, I think it’s best if we hold off on any confrontations until she’s stronger.”
Confrontations? “Give me a little credit, Kim. I’m not going to argue with her. I just want to know how she’s doing.” And let her know he was sorry he’d left without saying goodbye.
“Wait until tomorrow,” Kim advised. “Alyssa’s been through enough of a shock for the moment. It’s better if you give her a little time to rest.”
Leaving Alyssa without seeing her went against every instinct he possessed. Yet clearly Kim felt she was acting in her patient’s best interests. Knowing further arguments weren’t going to get him anywhere, he let out a deep sigh and nodded.
“All right, I’ll wait. But if she does wake up, please let her know I’m anxious to see her.”
Kim pursed her lips thoughtfully. “And if she doesn’t want to see you?” she asked.
Panic gripped him by the throat. Obviously he couldn’t force Alyssa to see him. To talk to him. To let him explain. And even if she did, what could he offer her? Nothing but heartache. Yet he had to help take care of his babies. “She will.” He forced a confidence he was far from feeling.
“All right, Jadon. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.”
He could tell Alyssa’s OB doctor wasn’t convinced. Heck, neither was he. All he could do was hope Alyssa would give him a few minutes of her time to explain, as best he could, without going into too much detail.
He didn’t want to add to her stress by disclosing the entire truth. She had enough to worry about at the moment.
He couldn’t believe she would ignore him completely, not when they both knew he was the babies’ father. They hadn’t wanted a future, but here they were anyway. Somehow they needed to find a way to get along, at least enough to provide a secure, loving environment for their children.
Feeling