Page 43 of Prognosis Christmas Baby

CHAPTER SEVEN

It was hard gettingout of bed at three a.m. under the best of circumstances and Maggie knew in a few short months she was going to have to get used to it, but when you were exhausted and morning sickness had kicked in with a vengeance, it was that much harder.

Alas, she was on retrieval call and a four-year-old child in Rockhampton with epiglottitis needed intensive care.

So she dragged herself out of bed, threw up in the toilet, brushed her teeth, donned some jeans and a T-shirt, pulled a comb through her hair and drove to the hospital.

‘Hell, Maggie, you look awful!’ Linda exclaimed as Maggie entered the unit.

‘It’s three in the morning,’ she grouched. The festive decorations failed to distract her precarious constitution or her mood.

Linda gave her a this-is-my-third-night-I-have-six-kids-and-I’m-almost-a-decade-older-than-you look but wisely commented no further about Maggie’s early morning roughness.

‘Nash is already here,’ she announced.

Maggie almost threw up again. God, not Nash. Please, not Nash. ‘Great,’ she muttered under her breath as she walked to the retrieval room where all the equipment was stored.

Nash had already started loading what they needed into a large trolley, which would accompany them to the airport. His broad back was facing her and her gaze was automatically drawn to the way his retrieval shirt pulled across the width of his shoulders and how his Levi’s lovingly hugged the contours of his butt.

A rush of love welled in her chest, stirring her nausea, and she took a deep, cleansing breath. ‘Hi.’

Nash turned at the sound of her voice, the neutral greeting he’d been practising since he’d learned they’d be going out together tonight dying on his lips. It had been four days since he’d seen her and she looked like hell. He took a step towards her. ‘Are you okay?’

Maggie gave him an exasperated look. ‘It’s three a.m.,’ she said, wishing she’d taken the time to slap on some make-up.

Couldn’t a girl look a little rough around the edges after a rude early morning wakening? How the hell he managed to look so good she’d never know. Her heart was doing a crazy love-sick dance just looking at him.

Nash’s heart thudded in his chest. He’d seen her early in the morning both at work and at play so he knew it wasn’t that. ‘Is everything okay with...the baby?’

Maggie glared at him, taking a quick look behind her to see if anyone had overheard. ‘Baby’s doing just fine,’ she said tersely.

She, on the other hand, was not. Another wave of nausea hit her and Maggie prayed for a smooth flight.

‘Maybe Linda should call someone else in?’ Nash suggested.

‘There isn’t anyone else,’ she replied irritably. ‘I’m it.’

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