Page 30 of Tangled Up With You

A shot her a quick look before rubbing a hand over my face. “Then why’d he kick us out when she went down, huh?”

“Uh... because you started freaking out, and he couldn’t deal with your shit and check on her at the same time,” Lennix said like the answer was obvious. And, damn it, she might have been right. I hadn’t exactly been in the best frame of mind.

“Do you think...?” A sudden ache in my chest had me rubbing at my sternum. “Do you think there’s something wrong with the baby?”

Lennix stood up and walked over to me, placing a comforting hand on my forearm. “I’m sure everything is perfectly fine. Youheard what he said. She’s super dehydrated. I’m sure they’ll take care of her and she’ll be feeling better in no time.”

I blew a slow stream of air past my pursed lips and nodded. “Yeah. Okay.” I nodded, grabbing onto what she said and treating it as fact. “You’re right. She’ll be fine. Everything will be fine.”

The doors to the emergency bays swung open and the doctor who’d been treating Ivy came out. I immediately shot in his direction. “Is she okay? Has she woken up yet? Are you sure it’s not more than dehydration?”

He held up his hands to halt my frantic line of questioning. “Ms. Young is perfectly fine,” he answered with certainty. “I have an IV hooked up to her as we speak, giving her fluids her body has needed. Dehydration on her level can lead to dizzy spells, and it’s not uncommon for the person to faint since their body is diverting all the necessary nutrition to the baby. That, coupled with stress, set off a panic attack. Her body needed a little break. She and the baby are fine. In fact, as soon as the IV bag is empty, I feel confident releasing her.”

The man’s eyes darted between the three of us gathered around him. “I assume there is someone who can look after her at home?”

“Yes.” I blurted the word out before he’d finished his sentence, making it clear that I would be the one looking after Ivy, no one else. “I will. I’ll take care of her.”

“Great. I’ll get started on the discharge paperwork. I’ll also include a prescription for anti-nausea medication that is safe for both mother and baby, as well as things that can be done to alleviate it naturally. It’s best to stick with bland foods for a few days until we’re certain she can keep it down. A BRAT diet would be best. And I’ve also instructed her to make an appointment with an obstetrician at her earliest convenience. In the meantime, she needs plenty of rest.”

I was nodding so much by the time he finished rattling off his instructions, I felt like a bobble head. I didn’t have the first clue what the hell a BRAT diet was, but I was sure I could figure it out. “BRAT. Obstetrician. Got it.”

I didn’t have it. Not at all. I felt seconds away from a panic attack myself, but I knew I needed to suck it the hell up and take care of this for her. She’d been dealing with everything alone for the past several weeks, now it was time for me to step up and carry the weight so she could get better.

I could do this. Ihadto do this.

“She’s resting right now, so you can come on back and sit with her while she finishes with her IV fluids.”

I took a step, intent on following after the doctor, when I felt a tug on my arm. I stopped and looked back over my shoulder at Rae and Lennix.

“We’re going to let you handle this,” Rae informed me with a resolute nod. “I think there’s a lot the two of you need to talk about, and it’s probably best if you guys don’t have an audience.”

I gave her a small chin dip. “Appreciate that. You guys have a ride home?”

One corner of Lennix’s mouth hooked up. “Zach’s on his way to pick us up. Don’t worry. We’ll keep him from storming in here and kicking your ass.”

“You aren’t?—”

Rae elbowed Lennix in the ribs and shook her head. “Don’t worry. We aren’t going to tell anyone. This isn’t our news to share. It needs to come from you guys.”

I gave them one last nod then spun around and booked it through the double doors, needing to be close to Ivy.

Her color had already improvedafter one bag of IV fluids. When I’d returned to her room earlier, I could tell she was still feeling as shellshocked as I was, so neither of us spoke as we waited for the bag to drain.

That had been an hour ago. She’d been discharged from the hospital and I’d driven her back home in complete silence. I understood she had a lot to process. Hell, we both did. But the silence was starting to drive me out of my goddamn mind. I needed to know what she was thinking. How she was feeling. If she knew what she wanted to do, because I felt like I couldn’t move, couldn’t take that first step, until I knew what direction she wanted to go in.

I made the drive from the hospital to her house with a whole new awareness. I didn’t think I’d been this cautious of a driver since I was sixteen and wanted to prove to my folks that I was a responsible driver so they’d get me my own car. I now knew the meaning of the phrase, precious cargo, because I was petrified of doing something that could possibly hurt Ivy or the baby she was carrying. There was no way in hell I would put either of them at risk, so I was slow with the gas pedal and eased to a roll before braking so I didn’t jerk her around and cause the seatbelt to cut into her middle.Was that even a thing?

I didn’t know, but I wasn’t taking any risks. I didn’t miss the way her eyes kept cutting over to the speedometer, but I refused to go any faster than I was going, which happened to be about five miles below the speed limit.

When we finally pulled up outside her house, I felt like I was coming out of my skin.

“Thanks for the ride,” she muttered as she grabbed the door handle.

“No problem,” I replied as I shifted into park and push the ignition button, killing the engine.

Her brows rose high as she stared at me. “What are you doing?”

I felt my forehead pinch with confusion as I looked across the cab at her. “I’m coming around so I can help you down.”

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