Page 53 of Single Mom's Christmas Wish

“Dakota!” Archer calls out.

Everything goes black before I hit the floor with a heavy thud.

18

Dakota

The buzzing of a neon light prompts me back into the real world.

My mouth feels like it’s been stuffed with dry cotton balls.

There’s a nagging sting in my right hand. I glance down and see an IV line. Suddenly, the discomfort grows as I realize there’s a needle attached to that IV, and it’s in my vein. What the hell happened?

There’s a steady beeping coming out of a device next to my bed. My vitals bounce on the black screen with calm, even green lights. At least I’m alive. I’m pretty sure I can get out of bed, but I don’t want to risk it. The last thing I remember is passing out in front of Callie and Archer…

Oh, God.

“Fucking hell,” I hear myself say.

I follow that up with a frustrated groan as I realize the repercussions of everything that came out of Callie’s spitefulmouth. She’s not going to stop there, either. She will do everything in her power to keep me from getting my inheritance, which is beyond infuriating, yet I can’t exactly blame her for wanting to try. I’m a stranger who barged in and took one of the most important things in her life—money.

The door opens, and a nurse walks in.

“Ah, you’re awake,” she says. “Welcome back, Dakota. I’m Jackie. I’m a nurse here at Cedar Crest.”

“What the hell am I doing here?”

It’s a private hospital. My insurance definitely can’t cover the cost.

“You need to stay calm, Dakota. You had quite the fainting spell,” Jackie says as she checks my vitals on the machines, then proceeds to make sure my IV line is working properly.

“How did I end up here?”

“Mr. Faulkner insisted that the paramedics bring you to Cedar Crest,” she replies. “He is so worried about you. His brothers, too. They’re in the waiting room as we speak.”

“Oh, God, all three,” I gasp. “What about my sister?”

“Is that the mouthy redhead?”

“Yes.”

“Yeah, she’s out there, too.” I can tell by her tone that she’s already not a fan.

“I haven’t been eating that much lately, and I’m under a lot of stress. That must be why I passed out,” I say more to myself than Jackie.

“That could be part of it for sure. You need to take better care of yourself while you’re pregnant.”

“Wait,what?”

The whole world comes to a sudden halt. My brain freezes. Not one thought is able to pass through any of my synapses as I stare at Jackie with sheer disbelief. She smiles softly as she goes over my chart again, nodding to confirm.

“Ah, so you didn’t know. We took blood. You’re pregnant, Dakota.”

“Fuck,” I blurt out.

“I take it you weren’t planning it,” Jackie concludes.

I shake my head slowly. “Does anybody else know?” One of the triplets is the father. We hadn’t paid attention to any sort of protection, obviously. We’d been too busy having fun, losing ourselves in the moment, and making the most of every night.

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