Page 6 of Her Shifter Babe

She shrugged, her lips downturned in a grimace. “I don’t know. I haven’t been able to see a doctor yet.”

My jaw dropped. “Oh...”

Damn it!

If I’d known she was pregnant, she would have received the best of care. But instead, she’d been all alone, searching the damn country for me. “Well, we can go right now if you want. I’ll do the ultrasound myself.” I needed to get her booked in with an OB-GYN as soon as possible. I had a friend from college that practiced in town and was only about twenty minutes away.

She looked as pale as the off-white walls of the study. She was probably anemic and needed bloodwork done. And from the looks of her, she was struggling to keep anything down, which wasn’t ideal for her or our baby.

“Thank you, I’d like that, but maybe not today. I think I need to rest a little longer. I’ve been on the road a long time.” Her small, determined smile hit me in the stomach like an anvil to the head in old cartoons, hard and low, stealing my breath away.

Nancy coughed, clearing her throat. “Okay, well I might go and get Stacey something to eat... but Tommy?”

I dragged my gaze away from the beautiful woman carrying my child, to my cousin’s mate. “Yeah?”

“Has she met David yet?”

Oh... shiiiitt...

“Who’s David?” Stacey asked, her forehead crinkling with confusion from the other side of the room. “I don’t know anyone by that name.”

I swallowed hard. “Thanks, Nancy.”

She nodded and headed for the door, shutting it behind her as she went to offer us some privacy.

When I turned back around to Stacey, she’d moved to the couch and was sitting on the edge, with a hand pressed into her lower back. “She’s so nice,” she offered. “I can’t believe my luck in running into her and then her being able to bring me straight to you after all this time.”

I nodded and gulped, not even sure what to say next. How the hell was I going to explain to her that my brother and I were a perfect pair, designed for the love of one woman? What would that mean for our future together? And what was David going to do when he found out about Stacey and her present situation?

“Yeah, Nancy is amazing,” I agreed, walking over to the window to stare out at the street.

My brother would be arriving soon.

What am I going to do?

“I’m sorry to just... surprise you like this,” Stacey said. “I never meant for this to happen, and then I didn’t have anywhere else to go,” she trailed off.

I turned around and gaped at her. “Never apologize for finding me, Stacey. I only wish you’d come to me as soon as you found out you were pregnant.”

She rubbed her belly in a circular motion. “Yeah... again, I’m sorry. I wasn’t exactly in the best place when we met, then I had to get my life on track, only for the pregnancy to kind of derail everything.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, feeling my heart squeeze tight with regret. “I would have helped you if I’d known.”

David and I had an older sister, so we knew firsthand how difficult pregnancy could be, and how unforgiving some employers were when it came the unexpected miracle of life.

“I know,” she said with a sigh. “I’m just so glad I found you.”

I didn’t ask her how she’d managed to track me down this far on her own. All she’d had from that fateful night was my first name and the knowledge that I was a doctor.

Perhaps that was enough?

I shoved my hands into my pockets to stop myself from reaching out for her. Even though she looked exhausted and had lost weight, she was still incredibly beautiful, and I didn’t want to overstep boundaries. She’d come to me for support, to get help for our child. That didn’t necessarily mean she wanted to be immediately thrust into a relationship again.

“Hey, what was Nancy saying before, about a David. Who’s that?”

I inhaled sharply and ignored my cell phone as it rang in my pocket. “He’s my brother. Fraternal twin, actually.”

Stacey’s eyes widened at the sudden realization of what that truth could potentially mean. “Oh my God! You’re a twin? I hope I don’t have more than one in here.” She rubbed her belly quickly, her stress showing.

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