Page 5 of One Night Diamond

“That was fun, mummy!” Her bright eyes swing to Gage. “Can we do it again?”

My sweet girl has no idea what awful things could have happened. She could have been swept out to sea… a shark could’ve attacked her…she could’ve drowned…she could’ve…

Gage sets her down. He’s soaked from head to toe with water running down his face, his white linen shirt clinging to his washboard abs like a second skin. I quickly look away. Lilah runs to me, throws her arms around my waist, and gives me a big squeeze. “That was fun! This is the best vacation ever!”

I gather her to my chest, trying not to cry.

Gage tilts his head, confusion written all over his face.

“Peanut, would you please run up to the chairs and get towels for you and the nice man?”

“It’s okay, mummy. I’ll be dry in no time at all.” She bounces away. “But I’ll get him a towel. His nice clothes are all wet.”

“You have a daughter?” He blinks.

My hands shake. My heart takes off like a rocket. And I know…I can’t run…it’s time.

I swipe my sweaty palms across the skirt of my dress, take a deep breath, and look Gage dead in the eye. “There’s no easy way to say this…so I’m just going to say it.” I inhale deep. “We have a daughter.”

Gage gasps, his hands fly to his chest, and he drops into the sand like a stone.

“Gage!” I shout, shaking his shoulders. “Gage!”

Jake rushes over. “Call 911!” He flips Gage onto his back and starts feeling for a pulse.

Dear God. I’ve killed him.

“Thank you, Jesus. He’s got a pulse.” Jake runs a hand through his hair. “What happened?”

I’m too stunned to speak. Lilah slides her hand into mine. “Is the nice man going to be okay, mummy?”

“He’s going to be just fine, sweetheart.” Emily takes the towel from Lilah and pats her dry.

“Is it my fault?” Lilah asks. “Did I hurt him?”

“No, my sweet baby.” I pull my daughter close. “I did.”

Chapter Four - Gage

“I’m fine.” I bark at the ER doctor hovering over me, which is a massive lie. I’m as far from fine as a man can get.

“You are young and in tip-top physical condition with a normal EKG, normal vital signs, and a benign medical history who lost consciousness. That is not fine, Mr. Harlow. We need to do more studies. Your MRI was negative. Your bloodwork is perfect. However, we need to do an EEG to rule out seizure activity. We also need to set you up with Cardiology for a Zoll patch so we can monitor your heart for any abnormal cardiac arrhythmia.”

I fall back against the pillow. “Look…I think I passed out.”

“Yes, you did.” The doctor sat down on a stool. “We need to find the cause. Have you ever passed out before?”

“Once.” My face flushed. “When I found out my father was dead.”

“I see.” He rolled the stool closer to the bed. “This is making a bit more sense. I think you may have had a vasovagal response.”

“What’s that?”

“Insufficient blood flow to the brain caused by excessive stimulation of the vagus nerve. In your case, when you heard about the loss of your father, the traumatic news was your trigger. Your nervous system kicked in, your blood vessels dilated, and your heart rate slowed down, which then caused your blood pressure to drop, and boom, down you went.” He watched me for a minute. “So, what bad news did you get today?”

We have a daughter.

I grip the side rails of the stretcher so tightly that the metal starts to groan. The monitor on the wall emits frantic, piercing beeps.

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