The Forbidden Brother by Joanne Rock

Author:Joanne Rock
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2018-08-17T16:00:00+00:00

Nine

A baby.

Cody listened carefully to the doctor’s answers to all his questions, knowing he’d think of more once they left. He needed all the information he could get to do everything in his power to make sure Jillian remained healthy.

She looked even more shell-shocked than he felt at the baby news, so he knew that how he handled things going forward was important. He didn’t want to upset her. And he needed to stay close to her. As they left Dr. Simmons’s office that afternoon, he treaded carefully. Her appointment with the obstetrician specializing in cancer patients in Denver wasn’t until tomorrow afternoon, but he wanted to see if they could consult with any other local doctors who might tell them more.

He didn’t want to overwhelm her, though.

“Are you all right?” He studied her face in the sunlight, searching for clues to how she was feeling.

Worried? Full of regret? Ready to run? He truly had no idea how she was handling this.

“I’m just so stunned.” She hesitated beside the car he recognized as hers, then rested a hand on the fender and closed her eyes for a long moment.

“Would you let me drive you home? Or to my office behind Wrangler’s? We could head over there, maybe get something to eat from the bar and bring it in back with us where it’s quiet.” He liked the plan. They wouldn’t see any of his family there. And he didn’t think either of them was ready to face outsiders. “I’d like to make a few phone calls to see if we can learn more today. My father is friends with the chief of staff at Cheyenne Regional. I could give him a call and see if there’s anyone in oncology who could answer questions for us.”

“Sure.” She nodded, her eyes unfocused when she opened them. “I would appreciate that. I’d like to call my doctor back home, too. See if I can speak to anyone in the office there.”

“Of course.” Cody took the papers she held and added them to his stack, then slid a hand around her elbow. “The truck’s over here.”

She followed him through the parking lot to his pickup. He unlocked the passenger door for her.

“I know we have a lot to talk about,” she said, pausing and meeting his gaze directly before stepping into the vehicle. “But I wonder if we could table the discussion until we find out more?”

“I understand.” He nodded, recognizing the fear in her voice. “We’ll find out all we can and then figure this out.”

A baby required their absolute focus and attention, yes. But he understood that Jillian’s health could be at risk. And he didn’t feel equipped to address her concerns until he knew more about what she’d been through. More about what she might face in the next nine months.

No wonder she was afraid.

As he fired up the truck engine to drive them to his office, he felt his grip on the steering wheel slip a bit. He’d never had sweaty palms in the rodeo arena when he could have been trampled to death on any given night.

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