Trish wished that was possible, but she was too realistic to believe that. She’d turned her life upside down with her pregnancy and her divorce and the move. So of course she was stressed.
And she was also unsteady, often feeling as if she couldn’t quite get her balance, as if she was about to fall. But she had a feeling that wasn’t because of stress.
That was because of Brett Lemmon and the things he made her feel: things she hadn’t wanted to feel again. She’d wanted to focus only on her babies and her plans for the ranch. She didn’t want to fall, but she was worried that, if she wasn’t careful, she would fall…for Brett.
* * *
Livvy couldn’t getover the way Brett had carried the pregnant woman into the ER just moments ago. Or the way he was looking at her now, and at the ultrasound monitor. He looked stunned and maybe a little scared, too. That surprised her so much that she had to duck out of the ER bay. “I’ll be right back with that ob-gyn referral. Maybe we can find one in the hospital today who might be able to see you.”
Livvy would feel better for Trish if she made contact with her doctor now, because she had a feeling these twins weren’t going to wait around for another seven weeks before coming into the world. She also needed to see if Sue was all right. She found the older woman at the nurses’ station. “Are you getting that referral?”
Sue’s silvery eyes widened. “Yes. Was it okay that I showed your brother back?”
Livvy nodded and glanced toward where she’d left them alone together.
“This seems to be a habit with your brothers, coming into the ER with women,” Sue said.
“Women? Liam brought Lucy here after finding her in the barn.”
“He wasn’t alone,” Sue reminded her. “Elise Shaw was with him, and now they’re married. And your other brother…”
“Blake,” she said.
“He came in with the woman who’d passed out in the brewery.”
“Yeah, he did.” And he would probably propose to Maci Bluff soon.
“And now this brother…”
“Brett,” she said. “He’s the oldest.”
Sue made a strange noise, then cleared her throat. “And he carried in this pregnant woman…”
A slight shiver passed through Livvy as she remembered how Brett had looked. “I’m not used to my oldest brother showing any emotion,” she admitted. “He’s always acted so tough, so stoic. When we moved away from Willow Creek and Blake and Liam were crying, Brett never showed that he was upset, too. And when Mom died…” She blew out a breath and shook her head. “Sorry, Sue, I know you hate this personal stuff.”
Sue shrugged, but her shoulders moved stiffly. “It’s fine. Your family seems to come in and out of this ER quite a bit. I guess I’ll have to get used to it, especially now with things about to change…”
Before Livvy could ask her what she meant by that, Sue picked up the phone from the desk and made a call to Obstetrics, asking them to send a doctor to the ER. Livvy heard Brett’s deep rumble and turned around to find him on his cell in the wide corridor outside the bay where Trish Dempsey was. He was calling the Four Corners Ranch, letting them know where he and Trish were. He also gave them some instructions.
Livvy smiled at him after he disconnected the call. “That was smart. She really has to take it easy and avoid stress.”
Brett nodded. “I’ll make sure that she does.”
That shiver of uneasiness passed through Livvy again. Brett always took on so much responsibility that his shoulders seemed to bow from the weight of everything he carried. He also had dark circles beneath his dark eyes as if he hadn’t been sleeping much. He worked so hard at the Four Corners, had gone through so much with losing his boss and best friend, and then Trish Dempsey had fought the will. While they’d all been at Grandpa’s birthday party, Trish had sent Maci a text that she was coming back to the Four Corners to work things out, and the last time she’d talked to Liam, he’d seemed positive that everything would be fine.
But Brett didn’t look like everything was fine. He looked exhausted. She reached out and touched his shoulder. “You need to take care of yourself, too, Brett.”
He nodded. “I’m fine, Dr. Lemmon.”
But she knew that he would say that even if he wasn’t. He didn’t want to worry anyone else. But Livvy was worried.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Stress. Brett understoodit well since he so often felt it himself. But that was something that Trish couldn’t have in her life anymore. The obstetrician had confirmed what his sister had told them. Her blood pressure had to get down and stay down for her health and the health of her unborn babies.
He glanced across the console at her in the passenger seat. Her hands rested on her stomach, maybe for comfort, maybe for reassurance that the babies were still moving.
She had been so scared. Brett had been, too. And instead of feeling comforted when he’d seen the babies on the ultrasound machine, more concern had coursed through him. The babies were real to him now with little personalities showing in the way the girl had moved around and kicked. And the way the boy had sucked his thumb, the same way that Liam had as a baby and toddler.
