Page 47 of His Curvy Woman

“Whitley. Whitley!” I say louder the second time, hoping to walk her up. Kneeling down beside her, I try shaking her, and quickly realize my mistake. I’ve been trained for this situation.

I take her pulse, and while weak, it’s still there. “Whitley. Baby. I’m going to need you to hang on for me, okay?”

Standing, I pick Whitley up and carry her limp body in my arms. We all walk back to where we are parked, and once we break the tree line, I see an ambulance parked in front of my truck. I carry her over and lay her on the gurney the EMT’s have quickly pulled out.

“Fuck. We didn’t know it was Whitley, Captain.” One of the guys says, speaking to John. I think his name is Gage. We’ve only worked together a few times, but he usually works on my off days, so I haven’t gotten to know him well yet. He, along with his partner, another guy I don’t know well, start assessing her injuries.

“We’re taking her to Emerald Isle General. You can follow us.”

“Fuck you, I’m not leaving her side.”

They look to John, and he nods his head. “I’ll be right behind you, boys. I need to give her momma a call so she can meet us.”

The guys push the stretcher into the ambulance, and I jump in with her. For the entire ride to the hospital, Whitley doesn’t move or make a sound. They start an I.V. pushing fluids into her and then begin assessing her. “Are you thinking the same thing I am?” I ask.

“Possible concussion?” Gage asks.

I nod.

“It’s very likely why she hasn’t woken up yet. Except for the head wound, everything else is surface level and will heal in time.”

“She’s pregnant,” I say, and the comment hangs in the silence.

“Damn.” The other guy says.

We arrive at the hospital after only about ten minutes. The EMTs talk quickly as they pull her stretcher out of the back, telling the doctors and nurses who are waiting for us to arrive everything they know. I follow along, walking beside Whitley when one of the nurses turns to me. “Are you the husband?”

“Fiancé.”

“You’ll need to wait in the waiting room, sir.”

“No.”

They continue to push her down a hall, and one of the male nurses stops me with his hand to my chest. “You aren’t allowed back here. Once we have news, someone will update you.”

I shove away from him. “She’s pregnant. About ten weeks.”

I tell him and go to the waiting room and pace.

John and Diane enter the waiting room about five minutes later.

John walks to the front desk, while Diane walks up to me and engulfs me in one of her hugs. “She’s going to be okay. You have to believe that she’s going to be okay. Our girl is strong, she’s a fighter, and she’s not going anywhere, especially with that baby growing inside of her.”

John walks back to us from where he was speaking to a nurse at the front desk. “She doesn’t know anything yet since she was just brought back. She’s in a room, and the doctor is seeing her now, though.”

After about an hour, Ramsey and his girlfriend, Tina, James, and Trevor have all arrived and are waiting with us in the waiting room. A doctor comes out and speaks to the nurse who points in our direction. Walking over, he shakes John’s and Diane’s hands. “Mr. and Mrs. Grant?” They nod. “I’m Doctor Kittery.”

“How is she doc?” John asks.

“We believe Whitley has suffered a concussion and is part of the reason she hasn’t woken up yet. She has a deep wound to the front of her head that we cleaned and stitched up. She’s resting right now while she gets fluids.”

“How is the baby?”

Dr. Kittery smiles. “Your child’s heartbeat is strong.” We all breathe out a sigh of relief, making the doctor smile. The doctor looks between the Grants and I. “What your daughter, your fiancé, needs right now is rest. We’re going to keep her until she wakes, and then go from there. Right now, only immediate family are allowed back to see her, and only one or two at a time.”

John and Diane follow the doctor back to see Whitley. I sit in one of the chairs in the waiting room. The day’s events finally hit me. Ramsey punches my shoulder lightly. “She’s going to be okay, Hunt. You know that, right?”

“I know. Thank God nothing else happened to her, it could have been so much worse.”

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