Page 1 of Secret Baby at Mountain Creek Ranch
1
TRIS
I never thought I’d see the day that Jameson Holloway would walk back into my life. He was never looking for anything serious, but then again, neither was I. We were young when we met, and the time we spent together was fun. That is until the pregnancy test read positive, and my life changed forever.
That was six years ago…this is now.
“Ma’am,”
“Is he going to be okay?”
“Ma’am, please.” The doctor pulls me to the side. “We’ve stabilized him for now, but we have a problem with his blood type.”
It feels like everything happening around me is moving so quickly that my brain is struggling to catch up. I feel entirely helpless. All I can see is my son laying still on the hospital gurney, and I can’t do anything to help him.
“Ma’am, I really need you to focus.”
I turn to the young doctor standing in front of me. There’s blood on his scrubs. It’s probably Sam’s. I’m on the edge of falling apart, but I can’t. I have to stay strong for Sam.
“What about his blood type?” I ask.
“Your son has a rare blood type—”
“AB negative.”
“That’s right. Our supply is low right now, and we can’t operate on your son until we can find some. We are calling neighboring hospitals, but if there is any chance you know someone with your son’s blood type, now would be the time to call them.”
An image of Jameson Holloway pops into my mind. It's been a while since I thought of him, but for some reason, a calm washes over me. I don't know he's a match to Sam, but I have to call him at least to see if he is.
“I may know someone,” I tell the doctor.
“Good.” He nods, taking a step back to the others working on Sam. “Call them now. There is no time to waste.”
The helpless feeling inside me fades a bit. All I can do is make a call and hope that the number I have for him is still good. I don't want to leave Sam, but the one thing I can do to help him right now is call his father—Jameson.
JAMESON
When I woke up this morning, the hardest thing I thought I’d have to do is take care of my nieces for a few hours so my older brother, Nash, could get a rare morning to sleep in. But one call changed all that. One call flipped my world upside down in a way I couldn’t have imagined.
Instead of attempting to make smiley face pancakes for my nieces, I'm driving across the state. I’m racing a ticking clock to get to the hospital in time to try and save the son I never knew I had. The almost five-hour drive from Centennial Springs to Boulder feels like it’s never going to end. I push my foot down on the gas pedal, not caring that I’m probably breaking a handful of laws right now. I need to help my son.
My cell phone on the passenger seat rings again. It's Nash. This is his third call in as many hours. I’m so close to the hospital I don’t answer, letting it ring a few times before it goes to voicemail. How could I possibly explain to him what is going on? I barely know what is going on.
When she called, I remembered her voice the moment she said my name. The image of my time spent with Tris so many years ago flashing back to me as if no time had passed between us. But then she dropped a bombshell on me that I couldn’t have seen coming from a million miles away.
She’s been in a car accident. Her car had been t-boned, by some asshole too busy texting on his phone to see the red light. Her son…ourson's side of the car, took most of the impact, injuring him enough that he needed surgery. She asked, her voice breaking if I knew my blood type.
It was only by chance that I remembered back in high school in biology class, taking our blood type. There was a blood drive that week, and I was one of the older kids in my grade that was old enough to donate. I remember them telling me that my blood was the rarest blood type you could get, which is why I knew it offhand to tell her.
I finally see the exit for Boulder. I’m so close, but a part of me is scared to death at what I will find. Am I too late? No. I can’t think that way. I need to stay positive for my son.
A hospital attendant is waiting for me by the door when I pull up. I don’t know why I thought Tris would be there, but it makes sense she’s wherever Sam is in the hospital. They lead me to a private area and take my blood. I usually hate needles, but for once in my life, I'm entirely unfazed. They make me wait a few minutes before another hospital attendant takes me up to Tris.
She’s sitting on one of the sofas in an alcove waiting room. She’s got her head in her hands. I run towards her, ignoring the looks I get from patients and hospital staff when I call out to her.
“Tris!”
She looks up. There is a bandage on her head and blood on her clothes.
