Cinderella and the Playboy / The Texan's Happily-Ever-After (37 page)

“You and Mitch are already friends,” Raina pointed out. Mitch had always been a special friend to her and
Troy, because he'd served in Iraq and had also been a member of the Texas National Guard.

“Yes, he is a friend, and he's made going back to work easier. I always told Troy I didn't need anyone to look after me, and he just laughed at that. But it
is
true. I've got to stand on my own two feet, for my sake and the baby's.”

“You can stand on your own two feet and still depend on your friends,” Angie insisted.

Lily smiled a little. “I guess so. But I want you to understand, I'm going to focus on the positive. I'm going to remember all the love Troy and I shared and how much he would have loved our baby. Then I'm going to give this little one the best welcome into the world he or she could ever have.”

Lily addressed Gina. “So I
will
be there tomorrow, walking down the aisle ahead of you, witnessing one of the happiest days of your life.” She turned her attention to Raina. “So tell us what's going on with you.”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Anything,” they all chorused.

“How long does it take for a man to open up, to share what he's been through in his life, to share what he's feeling now? I don't want to compare, but Clark was very different from Shep. At the beginning of our relationship, Clark was a talker. We spent hours on the phone when we first met, talking about everything. Now I just feel…that I'm trying to open doors Shep doesn't want opened…that he's still holding back.”

“Your lives are busy,” Lily pointed out. “And having three kids around doesn't give you a whole lot of time to talk, does it?”

“No, I guess not.”

“So, how's your sex life?” Angie asked with a straight face.

Open-mouthed for a moment, Raina finally burst out laughing. “Are you saying that's a gauge?”

“It could be an indicator,” Gina agreed.

Raina remembered the night when, in some respects, their lovemaking had been hotter than it had ever been. “When we're in bed, or not even,” she added mischievously, “Shep makes me feel like the most loved woman in the world. But sometimes I wonder…”

“What do you wonder?” Gina asked, gently prodding.

“If all of it isn't duty on his part. He married me because of the baby. Maybe he's just making love to me because that's what a husband is supposed to do.”

“Why did
you
marry
him?”
Lily asked.

“Because I love him,” she admitted out loud.

“Then give it all time,” Gina advised her. “After all, it took Logan and me fourteen years to get back together. Both you and Shep are adjusting to a whole new life. Let yourself settle into it.”

But just how long should Raina give their adjustment period before she should really start to worry?

Shep didn't like feeling front and center, but Gina had insisted he sit in the pew with her brother. Since he was Raina's husband, Gina now considered him family, too.

At the altar, Gina and Logan knelt for their blessing before the priest. Shep's gaze reflexively drifted toward Raina, seated in the front pew with the other bridesmaids, her beauty in the candlelight almost socking him in the gut.

This ceremony tonight had been so much different than theirs. The century-old Catholic church had a hallowedness about it that the gazebo on the courthouse lawn couldn't match. A priest had directed Gina and Logan's vows, rather than a judge.

What was wrong with him? There were good reasons why he and Raina had married as they had—Raina's pregnancy, Manuel's adoption, an urgency he'd felt as much as she had. But this church wedding had shaken him up a bit, nudged him to again think about the questions Raina had been asking. He was sure there would be more to come. She insisted that's what emotional intimacy was all about.

When in his life had he been emotionally intimate with anyone? Was he going about this marriage all wrong? But how else could he go about it, knowing that her husband had been the kind of hero that Shep didn't believe he could compete with. Not with his background.

In the pew in front of him, Gina's mother held Daniel, who was getting restless. The eighteen-month-old saw his mom and dad up at the altar and he wanted to be with them. With this wedding, Gina, Logan and Daniel would truly become a family. He and Raina and the boys were a family. What would happen when the little one was born?

Shep had to admit he couldn't wait. He just didn't want Raina to feel overwhelmed, and he'd do whatever he had to to make sure she didn't. She'd had morning sickness again today. He was afraid she was doing too much with her practice and her new responsibilities. They had a meeting tomorrow night with the adoptive parents group. He'd insisted he could go alone, but she wanted to come, too.

They were a couple.

A happily married couple?

Music began to play and Shep stood, along with everyone else, as Gina and Logan walked down the aisle, their hands intertwined as they smiled at their family and friends. Shep recognized that they shared something that he and Raina hadn't found yet.

But then he and Raina had married for a different reason than Logan and Gina—a baby.

The guests left the church pew by pew. When Shep arrived in the vestibule, his gaze cut to his wife, who stood next to Angie in the receiving line. At first his attention was caught up in the guests congratulating the newlyweds and Logan holding his son. But as his gaze drifted back to Raina and he saw her sudden pallor, he realized something was wrong. As unobtrusively as possible, he edged behind the receiving line to her side.

“What's wrong?” he murmured, close to her ear.

“I'm having cramps. They started toward the end of the ceremony. I don't want to make a scene.”

“A scene be damned. Let's do what you need to do.” He touched Angie's arm. “Raina's not feeling well. We're going outside.”

Angie's eyes were troubled. “Should I—”

“Don't alarm Gina,” Shep said. “I'll handle this. Raina will leave a message on your cell phone if we leave.”

Lily, who was speaking to somebody she knew, glanced over her shoulder. Raina clutched her arm and said, “I'll see you in a bit,” and left with Shep, her hand on her midriff.

“Jared already left for the reception,” she told Shep as they stepped outside.

“Do you want me to call him?”

“No, I will. My cell phone's in my purse in your truck.”

“Have you ever had cramping like this before?”

She shook her head.

That was all he needed. He swung her up into his arms and carried her to his vehicle. By the time he climbed into the driver's seat, she was already calling Jared.

“Jared, it's Raina. I'm cramping. What should I do?” After another pause, she responded, “Are you sure?” She looked at Shep. “He wants me to meet him at the emergency room in Lubbock.”

Shep's whole body was tight with tension and his heart was doing double time. “Whatever he thinks is best. We'll be there in ten minutes.”

When she closed her phone, she said, “Jared warned you to drive safely.”

“As if I'm going to do anything to put this pregnancy in jeopardy,” he muttered. He backed out of the parking place and headed up the main street of Sagebrush while Raina called Angie.

Ten minutes later, he parked at the emergency room lot and carried Raina inside. She didn't protest, and that told him more than anything else that
she
was scared. The fact that
she
was scared almost panicked him.

Jared must have arrived just moments before them, as he was at the registration desk already, talking to the clerk. She recognized Raina. “Dr. Gibson…McGraw. I'll do this as quickly as I can.”

Shep tapped his foot, unable to define all the turmoil raging inside of him, unable to express to Raina what the thought of losing their child did to him.

The three of them made a sight, standing there in
their wedding finery. Only a half hour ago, he'd been comparing his wedding to Gina and Logan's. Only a half hour ago, the possibility of losing his child hadn't entered his mind.

Finally Jared said to Shep, “Why don't you wait out here until I examine her and do an ultrasound. I'll send someone for you when we're through.”

Shep wanted to be inside there with Raina, but he didn't say so. She was sitting in a wheelchair now, looking a little lost, and he just wanted to take her into his arms and tell her everything would be okay.

“Why don't I wheel her back? I'll wait outside the exam room, but I'll be right there.”

Madison looked from one of them to the other, then agreed. “Okay, follow me.” Shep took hold of Raina's wheelchair and pushed it, following Madison, remembering the night he'd brought Manuel to the emergency room, the night he and Raina had really connected.

By the time Jared beckoned Shep inside the cubicle, Shep had removed his suit jacket and opened two buttons of his shirt above his bolo tie. He didn't care how he looked. He only cared what was going on in that room.

Piercing Jared Madison with his hardest stare, he asked, “How's the baby?”

“From what I can tell, everything looks fine. A few cramps and a little spotting aren't necessarily anything to be alarmed about. But pregnancies are always in a state of flux. So I'd like Raina to take a couple of days, rest, put her feet up and just give her body a chance to adjust to everything that's going on.”

“Physically, you mean?”

“Emotionally, too. She's had a lot of stress.”

“Good stress,” Raina interjected.

“Good stress is still stress, and you know that. Fortunately, you said you have a housekeeper to take care of the boys. Right now, take advantage of that,” Jared suggested.

“Can she do steps, ride in the truck?”

“What I'd like is for Raina to rest through Thursday. Can you sleep downstairs for a few nights?”

“There's a guest bedroom downstairs, where Eva sometimes stays. Raina can sleep there,” Shep informed him, his chest tight with worry about Raina and their child.

“Terrific. Call my office tomorrow morning and make an appointment for Friday.”

“Can I drive?” Raina asked.

“I'll drive you to the appointment,” Shep cut in. “There's no use taking any chances.”

Raina's voice seemed a little thick as she responded, “All right.”

With a compassionate expression, Jared glanced from Raina to Shep. “I know this is scary, but what happened tonight doesn't mean there will be any trouble. Let's just take this a day at a time.” He patted Raina's shoulder. “If you have any more symptoms, or if the spotting gets worse, you call me immediately.”

“I will,” she assured him.

At the door, Jared said, “I'll send someone back to get you checked out.”

After the obstetrician left the room, complete silence enveloped it. Crossing to his wife, Shep looked down at her. “How are you doing?”

“I'm okay. How about you?”

“Shaken up. The thought of losing this baby really threw me off balance.”

“Me, too,” she said, but she was searching his face, looking for something.

“What?” he asked.

She shook her head. “Never mind.”

He was ready to pursue the question when a nurse came in, a sheaf of papers in her hand. He knew any further talking he and Raina wanted to do would have to wait. It seemed something more was troubling her than the possibility of losing their baby.

In the car, they seemed to be locked in their separate worlds, tied up by personal thoughts. Shep didn't know how to express his worry, didn't want to add stress to a tense situation, so he kept quiet. But she was quiet, too, which was unusual for her. Maybe she was just tired. It had been a long day. Maybe her body was trying to tell her she couldn't be a doctor and a mother, too. Was she trying to reconcile that thought?

Raina's cell phone rang and she fished it out of her purse. Opening it, she answered, “Hi, Gina. You should be throwing your bouquet about now…I know you were worried, but I'm okay. I have to rest for a few days, then Jared will examine me again…Okay, put her on…Hi, Lily. No, I don't need you to come over tomorrow. It will just be me and Eva and Manuel until the boys get home…Well, sure, if you want to visit, that's fine. A laptop is only good company for so long. Okay.”

Shep thought Raina was going to close the phone, but then she said, “Hi, Angie. I know. This could be nothing to worry about. I promise I'll call you if I need anything. Thank you. I'll talk to you soon. Bye.”

As Raina closed her phone, Shep glanced at her. “You've got good friends.”

“They all want to help.”

“The problem is, they can't.”

“No, they can't,” she agreed. “The only thing I can do is give this time.”

Shep was not going to let Raina lift a finger for the next few days.

If she lost this baby…

He wouldn't even give the thought a home in his head.

Raina walked aimlessly around the house late Saturday afternoon, stopping to stroke two of the kittens who'd curled up on the wide windowsill. After a morning of the boys roughhousing and Manuel demanding attention, Shep had decided Raina needed a break. Eva had taken Manuel along with her to her cousin's to play with her children, and Shep had taken Joey and Roy with him to run errands. Shep had been very quiet since their scare at Gina's wedding. Raina was afraid the tension between them since then had to do with an underlying question. What if she had lost the baby?

For her, Manuel and Roy and Joey had become even more precious. Yesterday Jared had given her a clean bill of health. But Shep was treating her like a piece of delicate glass, and she was worried.

Her feelings for him had grown deeper each day. She so desperately wanted him to say, “No matter what happens with your pregnancy, it's you and me against the world. I love you.”