Page 246 of Mountain Men Heroes
I glared at Amber while the doctor hurried from the room. “I think this is totally unnecessary.”
“Mmhmm. I’m sure you do.”
“But I really don’t?—”
“Stop being a chicken shit and get this over with so we can go out tonight and celebrate me becoming an aunt.”
Amber ignored my spluttering and moved around the room, pulling a screen out from the wall and placing a paper gown on a stool behind it. “Get changed.”
Her set expression told me two things. One, she wasn’t about to let me get out of here without a full workup to figure out what was wrong with me. And two, she’d tackle me if she had to.
I’d known Amber long enough. I wasn’t about to put her to the test. I grumbled while I did it, but I jumped down and stepped behind the screen, and stripped off my black sleeveless T-shirt. I adjusted my bra with a sigh. My already abundant curves had begun to spill over the tops of the cups in recent months.
I pushed my jeans over my hips, pausing to run my fingers over the red welts left behind on the curve of my waist. I wiggled them the rest of the way down and kicked off my black Converse as I went.
The extra snug fit of my clothing lately hadn’t escaped my notice. I’d just attributed it to my addiction to caramel macchiatos with extra whip cream, White Russians, and late-night trips to the café next to my apartment for beignets.
A shot of cold fear raced through me at the thought that it was none of those things that turned my figure from curvy to downright voluptuous.
“I’m not pregnant,” I called over the screen, though I’m not sure if I was trying to convince Amber or myself.
“Okay, babe,” was her only response.
I tied the strings around my waist and stepped out from behind the screen, the paper gown sticking out from my body at odd angles and rustling with every step I took.
Amber’s lips pressed together and she scanned my face. “Are you all right? You’re not gonna faint, right?”
“I’m fine. I promise.” I stretched my lips into what I hoped would pass for a smile and stopped in front of the waist-high counter that ran along one side of the small exam room.
I straightened a folder so it sat at a right angle to the counter’s edge, and lined two pens up in straight lines beside it. I eyeballed the jars containing cotton balls, tongue depressors, and cotton swabs. Pushing one back against the wall so it was even with the others, I twisted another so the sign on the front faced out.
“You are most definitely not okay,” Amber accused, her gaze tracking my busy hands.
I opened my mouth with a smart retort when Dr. Walker came in pulling a small cart with a monitor behind her. “Want to hop up on the table, Gabriella?”
I couldn’t think of anything I would rather do less, but I was pretty sure she didn’t actually expect an answer.
Amber helped me to get up on the table and lie back. My eyes must have popped open wide when I saw the wand Dr. Walker held and she explained where it would go.
“Don’t worry. It’s not as bad as it looks,” she reassured me.
All I could do was blink and turn my attention to the ceiling tiles. If I was a praying kind of person, I might be asking for a little help here. But I wasn’t sure what I’d ask for.
I gripped the sides of the table tightly until Amber slid her hand under mine. I squeezed it and she squeezed right back.
“You’ll be fine, no matter what,” she whispered. “And I’ll be right here by your side.
I looked up into her face and nodded. She was right. Everything would be okay. She and I had gotten through so much together. This wouldn’t be any different, no matter what the doctor found.
“Okay, here we go,” Dr. Walker said.
I turned my head to the side and found myself staring at a black and white mishmash on the ultrasound screen. I squinted, trying to decipher something that might tell me what was going on.
Dr. Walker pressed a button on the machine and the image froze. She leaned in and put a finger on the screen. “Gabriella, say hello to your baby.”
Air stopped flowing to my brain and tiny flashing dots swam in front of my eyes. Thank goodness I was lying down. My head got light and for a moment I had the sensation I floated right out of my body. The words echoed over and over again in my head.
My baby.