Pregnant With The Paramedic's Baby

“You did your nails,” Kody exclaimed as he checked her hand and saw the wildly garish colors on her tiny nails.

“Aunt Sally helped,” Lucy said.

“It’s about time,” Sally, his little sister, said, coming in from the kitchen. “Ross is waiting for me. He’s driving me to the station.”

“Sorry, Sweet Pea. I was held up at the hospital.” Kody set Lucy down. “My patient was a passenger in a head-on collision with a Texas longhorn.”

Sally cocked one of her finely arched brows. “A cow?”

“Oh, no, was the cow hurt?” Lucy asked.

Kody plastered a fake smile on his face. “No. The cow’s fine.”

Then he shot a look to his sister and shook his head. No, the longhorn did not fare well at all. Sally made a face.

“Well, I fed Lucy...macaroni, beef and tomato sauce casserole,” Sally said.

“Thanks,” Kody said dryly as Lucy plopped herself on the couch to read her book.

“That doesn’t sound appreciative,” Sally teased.

“Sorry. It is, Sweet Pea. It was just a very long rescue. Very messy and now I get to eat a casserole of beef.”

What he didn’t mention was his run-in with Sandra was partly to blame. He didn’t need Sally teasing him about Dr. Fraser.

It was bad enough that Ross bugged him about dating again, he didn’t need Sally siding with her new boyfriend.

“Hey, I didn’t know you were dealing with a cow accident at work.”

“I know.” Kody scrubbed his hand over his face and there was a crack of thunder in the distance, before the slow and then fast patter of rain on his metal roof.

Great.

Sally winced. “Well, I’d better get home so Ross can take me to the station. I am working another twenty-four-hour shift again.”

“It’s part of the job,” Kody teased.

“Don’t I know it.” Sally walked over to Lucy and gave her a kiss on the head. “Later, love bug.”

“Bye, Aunt Sally.”

“Thanks, Sally.” Kody walked his sister out as she dashed from his front porch to her car on the street.

Kody let out a heavy sigh and headed to the kitchen. He was going to heat up some of the dinner and then make sure that Lucy’s grandparents, Jenny’s parents, who had moved from North Carolina to be with Jenny and Lucy, were around so that he could drop Lucy off there if he was called in.

He was one of the few medics at the station who had advanced life-support training as a tactical paramedic and wilderness emergency medical technician.

If there was flash flooding, he’d be called in.

I should just take Lucy there now.

He knew he’d be called in. It was only a matter of time and he was thankful his in-laws were so close.

At first, he’d grumbled when Jenny’s parents, Ted and Myrtle, had decided to follow him and Jenny to Austin, but he was so glad they had and that they’d stayed. They were a huge source of help to him and they’d got to be with Jenny when she’d passed.

What had started out as a strained relationship when he and Jenny had been in high school was now a close relationship. He thought of them as a second set of parents.

They’d been his rock here in Austin, before Sally had followed him out here after her divorce.

Davises are cursed in love, apparently.

He punched in the number and Myrtle answered.

“Hey, it’s Kody.”

“Kody! So glad to hear from you. I take it you’re on call tonight?” Myrtle asked.

“I am and it’s raining hard. I’m worried there’s going to be some flash flooding up in hill country.”

“Bring Lucy over whenever. It’s been a while since she had a sleepover with Grammy and Gramps.”

“Thanks, Myrtle. I’m going to have dinner and spend some time with her before I bring her over.”

“See you soon, Kody.”

Kody ended the call and then took the plate that Sally had made up for him. He zapped it in the microwave and then sank uneasily into the kitchen chair. There was a flash of lightning and Lucy came scurrying into the kitchen.

“Hey, love bug. Do you think you could pass me some Parmesan cheese from the fridge?”

“Sure, Daddy.” Lucy opened the fridge and handed him the Parmesan cheese, taking her seat right next to him. He smiled at her. She reminded him of Jenny so much.

“Promise me you’ll open your heart again,” Jenny whispered.

“Don’t say that. How could I do that?” he asked.

Jenny smiled weakly. “I don’t want you to be alone. I don’t want Lucy to grow up without a mother.”

A lump formed in his throat and he shook the memory away. He was breaking his one promise to Jenny. She’d wanted him to be happy again. She’d wanted a mother for Lucy, but he couldn’t risk opening his heart again.

He couldn’t risk losing another mother figure for Lucy.

He couldn’t risk his heart again.

But you’re lonely.

“You okay, Daddy?”

“Fine.” Kody smiled, but it was a fake smile for Lucy.

He was lonely and it had been five years since Jenny died, but how could he move on from her? How could he let his heart open again to that kind of pain? That kind of grief over the possibility of losing someone else he loved?

He just couldn’t.

“So, there’s a bad rainstorm...”

Lucy sighed. “I know. You have to go help others. Does this mean a sleepover at Grammy’s?”

Kody chuckled. “It sure does. How about you go pack an overnight bag and after I finish dinner we’ll head over to Grammy’s?”

“Okay.” Lucy ran off to her room.

He’d lucked out on having such a great, well-adjusted kid and he credited that to Jenny’s kind disposition and to all the help he’d had in raising her.

As he finished his dinner and cleaned up, his cell phone buzzed with a text message. He was being called in for emergency duty. There was some flash flooding, just as he’d expected. He flicked on the coffee machine and jammed in a pod. It was going to be a long night.

While it whirred and hummed Lucy came out of her room with her bag ready.

“I’m ready to go!” she said brightly.

Kody grinned. “Good. I’ll just get my coffee in a travel mug and we’ll get out of here. Go put on your rubber boots and dig out the umbrella.”

“Right, Dad.”

Kody stifled a yawn. Yep, tonight was going to be a long, long night.

Sandra had her wipers going at maximum speed, but she still couldn’t see through the rain that was coming down in sheets.

I should’ve just stayed at the hospital.

The thing was, her shift was over, Mr. McIver had died and after what had happened today she was emotionally drained. For the first time in a long time she’d decided to actually go home instead of lingering at the hospital, even though she hated going home to an empty house.

You’re the one who bought a ranch outside the city.

She hadn’t been thinking straight when she’d bought the ranch house on an old cattle range when she’d moved out here from San Diego. Although she’d always loved the country over the city. She’d had hopes of buying a large piece of land outside San Diego where her kids could grow and run.

And her heart hurt when she thought about that.

Kids.

She desperately wanted them, but, after rounds and rounds of IVF treatments that hadn’t worked and too many miscarriages that had broken her heart, she knew that she would never have kids. She wanted to adopt, as she was adopted, but it was about the time she’d started the process of adoption her now ex-husband had suddenly announced that he didn’t want kids. And she’d realized Alex never had been the right man for her.

She wanted kids and he didn’t, at least not ones that weren’t biologically his.

And that was the reason he’d said he wanted a divorce: because he couldn’t open his heart to someone else’s child. He wanted his own and she couldn’t give him that.

She’d had to walk away, though it had broken her heart to do so. It had been the right thing to do.

Alex had made her feel, for an inkling of a second, that she had somehow failed as a woman. It had taken her a year to shake that thought of failure from her mind. Staying in San Diego and working with him had never let her truly heal. Which was why she’d bought this old ranch outside Austin and moved away from San Diego.

There was no family keeping her in San Diego anymore. Her beloved adoptive parents were gone. It was just her and she had to do something for herself. So she’d decided to go to the place of her birth. To find roots, and what better place to find roots than a beautiful piece of land on the outskirts of the city?

Of course, now, with this crazy rain, she was really regretting her choice of living outside the city.

Sandra leaned over her steering wheel, trying to peer through the sheets of rain. Thankfully it wasn’t completely dark out, but the sun was setting behind the gray rain clouds. She had to get home soon, before it got dark and made it completely impossible to see anything.

She slowed down as she approached a small one-lane bridge and pulled over as a driver coming in the opposite direction crossed over.

There was a crack of thunder and a rumbling sound, which made Sandra’s blood run cold. She glanced out of her driver’s-side window in time to see a wave of mud washing down over the hill.

Oh, my God.

And there was nothing she could do. She just closed her eyes as the mud hit her car, tipping it over and over down the embankment toward the small creek that was swollen and overflowing with water.

Her life, her lonely life, flashed before her eyes and she knew right then and there she was going to die.

“Jesus!” Kody climbed out of his car. He had just passed that car while it waited for him to cross the bridge when he heard the rumbling behind him. He looked in his rearview mirror to see the mud from the side of the hill come washing down over the small SUV.

He instantly called into the dispatch for help.

“I’m on Tarry Cross Road West and there’s a car that’s been washed down into Burl’s Creek.”

“Gotcha, Kody. We’ll be there as soon as we can. Some of the roads out that way have been washed out.”

“Roger, I’ll see what I can do to help.” Kody ended the call and popped open his trunk, grabbing a tool he kept for smashing open windows. He made his way carefully over to the mudflow that had stopped, for now, but he knew any moment it could give way again.

The rain was dissipating, and the SUV was on its side, but not far down the embankment. It wouldn’t have taken much for it to become dislodged and be swallowed up by the creek. He made his way to the driver’s-side door and peered inside. There was a lone passenger, unconscious, who was buckled in and on her side.

Kody tapped on the window. “Hey! You okay?”

She roused and looked toward him. His blood ran cold when he saw who was trapped in the SUV.

“Sandra!” he shouted. “Are you okay?”

She nodded but motioned she was stuck.

“Cover your face,” he said and held up his tool that was used to break windows.

Sandra nodded her understanding and grabbed her jacket, shielding her face and arms. Once Kody was sure that she was safe he smashed open the window. It was an older vehicle, so the window broke easily. He cleaned away all the jagged remnants.

“You okay?” he asked.

“No, my head,” she murmured. “And I seem to be stuck in my seat belt.”

Kody handed her a knife. “I can’t climb in there—if I do it might dislodge the vehicle and it and you will tumble down into the water.”

She nodded and took the knife, sawing away at her seat belt; sliding a bit, she held her own and grabbed her purse, snaking it around her body.

“Take my hand,” Kody said.

Sandra reached up and he carefully helped her out of her SUV and into his arms. He held her close and backed away from the SUV and out of the mud. Just as they got back onto the pavement, there was a crack and her SUV continued its tumble down the embankment.

She buried her head in his neck and let out a whimper as he held her close.

“It’s okay. I got you.” His heart was hammering, and he was trying to catch his breath. All he could do was stand there and hold her. It was comforting to hold her, and he didn’t want to even think about what would’ve happened had he not been here.

“We should get out of here,” Sandra murmured, but still holding on to his jacket, her body still curled up tight against his chest.

“You’re right.”

“I live just on the other side of the bridge. Down Denham Road.” Her voice shook as she spoke, and he didn’t blame her.

“The bridge is washed out, but I know another way.” He carried her to his car and helped her get settled into the back. He opened his trunk and tossed his tools back in there, before grabbing a blanket.

He climbed into the driver’s seat and handed her the blanket. She was wadding up some tissues for what looked like a superficial head wound.

“Thanks,” she said, her voice trembling.

“You’re safe. Let’s get you to your house and then I can call the team and tell them you’re safe and I’ll make sure that’s just a superficial wound.”

“Thanks.” She held the tissues against her forehead.

“Sorry about your vehicle,” he said.

“It’s just my SUV that’s totaled,” she muttered. “That’s a small price to pay for my life.”

Kody nodded, but his pulse was still racing. He couldn’t believe she’d been so close to death like that, and the thought of her losing her life terrified him and he didn’t know why.

Probably because you know her and you watched it happen.

Kody pulled away from the scene of the mudslide and took his time making his way carefully down the road and turning down the other road that led to Denham, but the moment he turned the corner, it was gone. The road was washed away and Burl’s Creek now looked like an angry river gurgling and rushing past them.

“Well, I guess we can...” There was a rumble and Kody watched in horror as the road behind them washed out. They were trapped on a small stretch of road and Burl’s Creek was inching toward them.

“We have to go on foot. There’s a small cabin not far from here. It’s on the edge of my property. It’s high ground,” she said.

Kody nodded. Sandra helped him grab what he needed from his truck, but it was hard for her since one hand was holding the now-wet blob of tissues against her head wound.

“Just lead the way, Sandra. I’ll follow,” he ordered.

Sandra nodded and headed up a trail off the road, higher than the river, up onto the range. It was a slippery climb, but she seemed to know her way up the stony embankment, through the cottonwood trees, and eventually they were out on the plains. It looked as if it was an old cattle ranch.

“My house is in that direction, but we’d have to cross the water to get to it,” Sandra shouted.

Kody nodded, but he couldn’t make it out, not through the rain, which was getting heavier. However, she had led them right—there was a cabin about five hundred feet away and they should be safe there, provided he could get a fire started and figure out a way to contact help.

“Let’s go.” He slung his pack of supplies over his shoulder and without thinking he took her hand and led her through the wind and rain to the cabin. She pulled out her ring of keys and unlocked the door.

Kody followed her in.

The cabin was dark, but it was dry, and it was shelter.

“There’s no electricity yet,” she explained through chattering teeth. “I was planning on having it renovated soon, to rent it out.”

“It has a fireplace, so I can get to building us a fire.” He set down his bag and Sandra sat on a sheet-covered chair, pulling the damp blanket around her tighter.

He pulled out his fire starters and was relieved that there was a bit of wood still in the cabin, so it would be dry. He knelt down and built a pyramid and set his homemade fire starters under. It didn’t take long before they had a fire going.

He pulled off his jacket and set it on the floor, while he rummaged in his bag for some rope. Something they could hang their wet clothes on so the fire could dry them. He pulled out the twine and set about making a makeshift clothesline.

“You’ve thought of everything,” Sandra said. She was visibly shivering, and the tissue was blood-soaked and wet under her fingers.

“Come closer to the fire and I’ll check out that wound.”

“It’s superficial,” she said.

“Dr. Fraser, get over here. Now.” He shook his head and she came closer to the fire and sat on the floor in front of him.

“I’ve never heard you be so forceful before,” she said and there was a twinkle in her eye, like one he’d never seen, and she was smiling. He liked her smile.

“I think you have a concussion,” he said dryly.

“Why do you say that?”

“You’re joking with me.” He smiled at her and she laughed softly.

“I don’t think it’s a concussion. I think the adrenaline is wearing off.”

“So you’re saying it’s nerves?” he asked.

“I don’t know.” She laughed. “Thank you for saving my life.”

“It’s my job.”

“Still, if you hadn’t been there...” She trailed off and he knew what she was thinking because he thought it too. She would’ve died.

“Hold still,” he said as he gently peeled away the wet tissue to examine the wound. She was right, it was superficial, and it had mostly stopped bleeding.

“Superficial, isn’t it?” she asked.

“Doctors make the worst patients,” he muttered as he pulled out some antibiotic ointment and gauze.

She laughed again. “I suppose we do.”

Kody didn’t respond and bandaged up her head. “There, you’re all done.”

“Thanks,” she said and pulled the blanket tighter. “The fire feels good. You have a lot of stuff in that bag of tricks.”

“I have wilderness survival skills training and am a tactical paramedic.”

“Wow,” she said, sounding impressed. “I usually don’t meet a lot of paramedics with that level of training in an urban setting.”

“Well, when I got my certifications, I was preparing for a different life than being an urban EMT. Of course, fate sometimes has a way of kicking you in your soft spot.” He snapped the lid shut on his first-aid kit.

“I hear you,” she said. “I never thought in a million years that I would be here, in Austin, and living on an old cattle ranch.”

“Where did you expect to be?” he asked.

She cocked an eyebrow. “If I tell you, then you have to tell me about this different so-called life you were preparing for. Tit for tat.”

“Tit for tat?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m not going to give you my life story without something in return. Just know that it stays between us.”

“Deal,” he said, because they had to kill time somehow and the rain was starting up again something fierce. At least he knew that Lucy was safe, so he didn’t have to worry about that. And he wouldn’t mind getting to know Dr. Fraser better. He admired her and she was a closed book. “So, where did you expect to be? How has your life gone sideways?”

“I got divorced,” she said. “And we worked together in San Diego and I couldn’t stand seeing him all the time, so I came here.”

“There’s more to it than that.”

“What do you mean?” she asked carefully.

“San Diego is a large city. You transfer to another hospital—you don’t pick up everything and move a couple of states away.”

Sandra sighed. “Fine. I couldn’t have kids... He didn’t want to adopt. It was a hard and emotional breakup and I knew to put it properly behind me I’d have to leave.”

“So why Austin?”

“I was adopted and grew up with my parents in San Diego, but I was born here. Since my adoptive parents are gone, I thought I would come home. Besides, a few months ago my ex remarried and is having the biological family he always wanted.”

“And you desperately wanted kids,” he said softly.

She nodded and he could see the tears in her eyes. “I did, but it wasn’t meant to be. I can’t get pregnant. Trust me, we tried, and I went through a lot of procedures. He found someone else who gave him the kids I couldn’t.”

“Now I get it.”

“You get what?” she asked.

“Why you moved from San Diego and why you bought an old cattle ranch in the middle of nowhere.” He reached into his bag and dug out a couple of granola bars. He tossed her one.

“You get that?” she teased, opening her granola bar and taking a bite.

“I think so, and I see the appeal. Living in a city is not at all how I planned my life.” He leaned back against the wall. “I wanted to be an air paramedic in Alaska.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Wow, that sounds adventurous and explains the wilderness training.”

“It was going to be.” He smiled. “Of course, then my high-school girlfriend got pregnant when we were twenty-one, so we got married and both became paramedics. There wasn’t much work in North Carolina and with a baby we couldn’t pursue our dreams of Alaska right away. I took a job in Austin...” He trailed off because it was hard even now to talk about Jenny. It brought back all those memories. All their hopes and dreams that never saw fruition.

He never talked about this with anyone. Ever. Those were his hopes and dreams. Their hopes and dreams, Jenny’s and his.

He never shared Jenny with anyone but her parents, Sally, and Lucy; Jenny and their plans he kept locked away. It was easier to cope with the grief that way.

Is it?

“What happened?” Sandra asked softly.

“My wife died of cancer five years ago.” And he fought back the tears that were threatening to fall. Even after all this time, admitting it was hard.

“I’m so sorry.”

Kody nodded. “At least I have my daughter, Lucy. I have a piece of my wife still.”

“So, Alaska is on hold?”

He nodded. “My late wife’s parents followed us from North Carolina to Austin and are a huge help to me with Lucy. I could never take Lucy away from them.”

“I never knew you had a child.”

“You never asked.”

“No. I suppose I didn’t, but I haven’t made a lot of friends here in Austin,” she admitted.

“You will.”

A strange looked passed briefly over her face. “We’ll see.”

“Well, I’m your friend.”

“Are you?” she asked.

“Of course. I don’t talk about my personal life with just anyone.”

What he didn’t say was that he didn’t share any of this with anyone. He wasn’t even sure why he was telling Sandra all of this. Maybe because she’d let down her guard too and it felt good to let it all out. He’d been bottling it up for so long.

“Well, there are flying paramedics in Texas. Perhaps you can get your license?”

Kody scrubbed a hand over his face. “It’s costly and you need to invest a lot of time in learning to fly. Perhaps one day. Right now, Lucy needs me.”

“You’re a good dad.” She smiled at him, her brown eyes twinkling in the flickering firelight. “I misjudged you.”

“How?” he asked.

“You were this fun-loving, charismatic guy. Men I know like that often play the field.”

He was shocked. “I’ve never been a player. There’s only been Jenny, and a handful of dates I went on about a year ago that went nowhere. That’s hardly playboy material.”

“I understand that now,” she said. “And I’m glad you’re not. Guys like that aren’t good for the heart.” She blushed. “What I mean is...”

He chuckled. “I understand. Still, it does secretly please me you thought I was charming enough to be a player.”

And it did. It made his pulse quicken in anticipation that she thought he was something of a bad boy. That she thought of him like that. That she thought about him more than just as a paramedic who annoyed her.