She shook her head dumbly, staring up at him from where she still lay on her right side. The ice pack had slid off her left side, and he picked it up, returning it to its place on her ribcage. She winced slightly at the light pressure, and his brows drew into a deep V again.
“Jesus, Shaun,” he whispered, running his hand over her gently again, his eyes roving over every inch of her. “Free texted me, told me you’d been hurt at work. That bastard put his hands on you, I’ll fucking kill him—”
Squeezing her eyes shut, she took a deep breath in at the annoyance that flashed through her. Meddling brother-in-law. “Of course he told you.”
“Well, I’m glad someone did,” he snapped. “Since obviously you had no intention of telling me yourself.”
“I had nothing to say to you,” she hissed through clenched teeth as she struggled to a sitting position. Gingerly, she moved her legs to the opposite side of the bed and stood.
“Sit down,” he said gruffly and then his hands were on her shoulders. She shrugged away, baring her teeth as the motion caused another flash of pain to lance through her side. “Sit down, Shaun. Don’t make me say it again.”
“You don’t get to come in here and boss me around,” she snapped, backing up a step, her eyes fierce. “I’ve had enough of people telling me what to do the last three days.”
Kasey scrubbed one hand down his face, over the scruff that was dusting his upper lip, chin, and cheeks.He needs a shave, she thought absently. “I’m sorry. I’ve just been worried sick. You wouldn’t answer my texts or calls.”
“I didn’t have anything to say,” she said again, crossing her arms over her stomach.He didn’t know, did he?There was no way he could know. No one knew yet.
Kasey’s face went taut as he stared down at her. “So, you just weren’t going to tell me? About any of it? You didn’t think I would want to know?”
Shaun raised one shoulder in an indifferent shrug, her face pulling with the pain of the movement. “Nothing has changed.”
Liar. Everything has changed. He deserves to know.
Oh god, she thought miserably, then turned and raced toward the door, barely making it to the toilet before vomiting violently. Agony shot through her side and head as she vomited, the action making her ribs ache abominably. Sweat broke out along her entire body in swells as the pain undulated over her.
She moaned when she realized Kasey had followed, and that he was kneeling next to her. He smoothed her hair away from the side of her face, then rubbed her back as she continued to dry heave.
“Is it normal to vomit this long after a concussion?” he asked, still rubbing along the curve of her back.
The doctors had said that it was normal to have nausea for up to two weeks following a concussion… but to expect the morning sickness could last much longer.
Oh my god, I’m pregnant, she thought again and moaned miserably. She panted, squeezing her eyes shut against another wave of nausea that enveloped her, sweat making her feel clammy and cold. Embarrassment made her nose sting with unshed tears as he continued to rub her back soothingly.
When she had finally spent herself, she flushed the toilet and then rested her cheek along her arm as it rested on the seat of the toilet. She shivered in the aftermath and protested only mildly when Kasey scooped her into his arms as gently as possible, carrying her back to the bed, where he deposited her carefully.He disappeared for a moment, returning to sit on the edge of the bed beside her with a cool, damp cloth that he used to dab at her forehead and temples, wiping away the sweat there. Tears blurred her eyes, and she squeezed them shut again. Why was he being so sweet to her when she was only ever awful to him? She didn’t deserve this, or him.
His thumb swept away the first tear that escaped as it rolled down her cheek. “Are you in pain?”
Shaun shrugged, not wanting him to know just how badly she was hurting. Physically, emotionally, mentally. It all hurt.
“What can I do to help you?” he asked, still rubbing his thumb over her cheek. She stared up at him, then her lower lip began to wobble. His eyebrows pulled together in a worried V, those wonderful storm cloud eyes troubled. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead, which just made her cry harder. “I’ve been worried out of my mind, darlin’. Let me help you, please.”
“I think you helped enough,” she accused weakly. When confusion clouded his eyes, she caught a sob, her lip trembling more as she whispered, “You knocked me up.”
His face went completely blank, his gaze bouncing from one of her eyes to the other. Color drained from his face, but then he asked, “Is— fuck. Is everything okay? With the baby? Is the baby okay?”
She nodded, just barely, tears leaking unchecked down her face. “You’re not mad?”
Surprise made him lean back. “Mad? No, darlin’, of course I’m not mad. Is that why you didn’t answer the phone? Because you didn’t want to tell me?” She lowered her gaze guiltily, and then he murmured, his voice harder than before, “You were going to tell me, right?”
She shrugged, twisting her fingers in her lap. “I already said, this changes nothing.”
Kasey stood, pacing several feet away, scrubbing his hand down his face before turning to fix her with a chilling stare. “This changes nothing? You don’t think the fact that you’re carrying my baby changes anything?”
“No,” she snapped. “I don’t see how it changes anything.”
Making a quarter turn away from her so she was staring at him in profile, he tilted his head up to stare at the ceiling before turning again to stare at her. “You’re coming on the road with me, so I can take care of you. We’ll get married.”
Shaun’s eyes widened and she sat upright in bed, gasping sharply in pain. “Like hell we are.”
