The Seventh Mother by Sherri Wood Emmons

Author:Sherri Wood Emmons [Emmons, Sherri Wood]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2014-07-29T00:00:00+00:00

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Brannon’s face was white and his hands shook as he brushed the hair from my forehead.

“I’m all right.” I smiled up at him. “I’ve got a sprained ankle, but the doctor said the baby is fine. I had some spotting, but I’m not going to miscarry or anything like that. They just want me to stay overnight, to be on the safe side.”

“What happened?” he asked. “How the hell did you fall?”

I shifted in the hospital bed. “I was helping Mrs. Figg give her cat a bath, and the bathroom floor got wet and I slipped.”

Brannon stared at me for a long minute, his face slowly changing from white to red.

“You were giving her cat a bath? What were you thinking?” he finally asked. “You don’t need to be doing stupid shit like that while you’re pregnant. God, Emma! You almost lost the baby.”

“I’m fine,” I said softly. “I was just clumsy, I guess. But I’m okay and the baby is okay. Everything is fine, honey.”

He paced around the small room, running his hand through his dark hair.

“Everything is not fine,” he said, his voice low and flat. “What the hell is wrong with that woman? If she can’t take care of her own damned animals she shouldn’t have them. Asking you to put yourself in danger so she can give her damned cat a bath. And you . . .”

He turned to face me. “You of all people should know better. You know how easy it is to lose a kid. What kind of mother puts her baby at risk like that?”

My cheeks burned as if he’d slapped me.

“It was an accident,” I said, struggling to keep my voice steady. “It’s nobody’s fault, Brannon. Sometimes things like this happen.”

“It wouldn’t have happened if you had the sense God gave a goose.” His voice rose.

“Mrs. Bohner?” A nurse stood in the doorway, eyeing Brannon distastefully. “Is everything okay in here?”

Brannon stared at her for a long minute, then ran his hand through his hair and smiled at her.

“Sorry,” he said. “I guess I lost it for a minute. I’m just worried about my wife.”

“Well, I think the best thing for her right now is to get some rest,” the nurse said firmly.

Brannon nodded and smiled again. “You’re right,” he agreed. “She definitely needs her rest.”

He leaned down to kiss my forehead, then smiled at me. But his eyes were still hard and cold.

“I’ll come back after dinner and bring Jenny,” he said. “You get some sleep.”

“I love you,” I called after him, but he just kept walking away.

“He’s just upset about the baby,” I said to the nurse.

“Mm-hmm,” she said.

“Really,” I went on. “Brannon is a wonderful father and a good husband. He just got scared.”

The nurse smiled at me and patted my hand. “I’m sure he is,” she said. “Now, you should get some rest.”

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