Page 23 of Bryson

"They're waiting for us."

She remained silent and simply laid her head back, her hand on her stomach as if shielding her baby even now.

"I cannot lose my baby."

"You won't." He wished he had some sort of authority on the subject. He wished he wasn't feeling so scared about losing not only his first child, but the woman he loved too. He wished this wasn't happening. Pressing on the gas, he ignored the speed limit and came to a screeching stop inside the parking lot.

The hospital, like most of the public buildings in town, had been donated by his family, so he wasn't in the least bit surprised that there was a team of doctors and nurses waiting outside with a gurney.

He insisted on taking her from the vehicle himself and putting her on the gurney. He held her hand while they wheeled her into the examination room and stood at the door watching, as he was not allowed any further.

Now he was reduced to waiting in the room where several nurses had dropped by to offer him coffee and refreshments. He was, after all, a VIP, he thought bitterly. So, they had to cater to him. He accepted the coffee but firmly said no to the tiny sandwiches and delicious-looking cakes. He had gone through three cups before he switched to water. He was already wired enough, and he needed his wits about him.

His mother had called several times, but apart from answering once and telling her that there was no news yet, he had ignored her other calls. He was not in the mood to speak to anyone, not now, not while he felt as if his life was tearing apart.

Tossing the empty bottle into the recycling bin, he surged to his feet and went to look out the window. The storm had not spared the hospital grounds. Trees were uprooted and flower bushes strewn over the cobbled driveway like discarded weeds. Ironically, now that the storm had come and gone, the sky was a brilliant velvet midnight blue with stars twinkling. Raking a hand through the side of his hair, he turned expectantly, his heart hammering as the doctor came into the room.

"Well?" he demanded harshly, the suspense unbearable.

"We managed to stop the bleeding." Dr. Hawthorne was the head of the OBGYN department and was very good at his job. He had been asleep in his bed after being at the hospital for forty-eight hours straight, but when he got the call from Bryson McNab, he had not hesitated to leave his wife and head back to the hospital. When a McNab called, people jumped. The family made it possible for them to have a hospital, and their clinics and research were on par with the big hospitals in the US.

"She was having a miscarriage, but we've managed to save the fetus."

Bryson leaned back against the window and closed his eyes, his breath whooshing out.

"And Julianne? How's she?"

"Sleeping right now. Her blood pressure was a little high, which is expected under the circumstances. But she's sleeping peacefully now." The doctor tugged off his skullcap in a gesture of weariness and wiped at the balding spot at the front of his head. "We're going to recommend keeping her for at least a week and afterwards, she will be on bed rest for the next couple of months."

"Bed rest?" Hope sprang inside his chest and had Bryson straightening. "Which means she cannot travel? Is that what you're saying?"

The man nodded. "We're going to be doing everything we can to save the baby. So, no. No traveling."

"Thank you, Michael."

"You're welcome. If you want to sit with her-"

"Oh, absolutely."

She had been assigned a private room, of course, and the minute he walked in, he stood there staring at her slight form on the bed. She wasn't hooked up to anything much, which was a relief to him. Crossing the room, he pulled up a chair and sat next to the bed. She had intended to leave this morning, but fate or whatever had intervened. Last night he had been so angry and filled with despair that he had harbored a hell of a lot of vengeful thoughts towards her. He had vowed to call his lawyers and demand they find something to work in his favor.

But now, sitting here with her, seeing her as he had earlier, with blood on the sheets and her face twisted in pain, he just wanted to hold her and never let her go. Everything that hadtranspired between them in the past was minuscule. He knew her, knew that as soon as she was awake and received the news about her confinement, she was going to rebel. The woman he loved was not one to sit still for even a second. He was going to have a difficult time convincing her that it was for her own good. Knowing her as he did, she was going to fight him tooth and nail, especially when he told her that she would be staying at the ranch.

Taking her hand, he lifted it and pressed a kiss to the palm, savoring the soft flesh.

"I have some very strong ropes in the barns and if I have to tie you to my bed, then that's what I'm going to do," he whispered. "You're not going anywhere. I love you and it's time you stopped running. We're going to be a family. We've been given another chance and I'm taking it." He slid his fingers over her palm and linked their fingers together.

Even wearing a hospital gown did not diminish her beauty. They had brushed her thick dark curls and twisted them on top of her head. Already, strands were escaping down her cheeks. Her lips were slightly parted and she was snoring. Just hearing it made him smile. Everything about her made him smile, apart from when she was making him so mad, he wanted to strangle her.

"You're stuck with me, baby," he continued, placing their joined hands against his hair-roughened cheek. "I refuse to let you go. You're just going to have to live with that."

"How's Ms. Merrywood?" Barbara had spent the hours since he left contemplating what it all meant. The Lord had not seen fit to answer her prayers. Apparently the fetus was still alive.

Bryson lifted a brow at the informal address of a woman his mother had known for more than a year now. "She's hopping mad about staying in bed." Strolling over to the sidebar, he poured himself a cup of coffee and realized from the emptiness in his stomach that he had not eaten anything. He had been at the hospital for the past six hours and was feeling the lack of sleep. "Don't you think it's a tad ridiculous for you to be calling her by her surname considering?"

Lifting her cup of tea to mask the furious expression on her face, she took a sip. "I really don't know her that well."

Bryson sent her a quizzical glance before selecting bacon and eggs from the warming trays. Taking them with him to the table, he sat across from her. "You will get a chance to remedy that. Julianne will be moving to the ranch as soon as she's released from the hospital."