Page 1 of Storm's Embrace

Prologue

“Josie,I wish you’d stay home tonight. Let someone else take the shift."

Eli Storm held his wife loosely in his arms at the open doorway leading to their garage and stared down into her beautiful face. He loved how dedicated she was to her work as an ER nurse, but she had to slow down. “You should be staying off your feet. The swelling isn’t good for you or the baby.” He pulled her close and brushed his cheek over her dark auburn hair, then rested his chin on the top of her head. “I’m a doctor. I know these things.”

“Are you saying my ankles are fat?” Josie groused, leaning back, her gray eyes frowning up at him.

“Um…" Pregnancy hormones were up and down and he didn’t want to take the chance she might start the whole crying thing. "No?”

He breathed out a sigh of relief when she shook her head and smiled. “It’s fine. I’m fine. Besides, I’ve got forty-eight hours off after this. So stop worrying.” She pulled his head down and gave him a quick peck on the lips. “But I gotta go. Elaine couldn’t find anyone else and she really needed to take care of things with her dad.”

“Hold on,” he said, tugging her back into the circle of his arms when she started to turn away. “Are you sure? I honestly think you’re doing too much.”

“I’m positive. And it’s just this one night.” She held up and pressed the three middle fingers of her right hand together. “I swear on my oath as a former Girl Scout, this is the last extra shift I take. And just think,” she said, lovingly looking down and rubbing over her distended belly sticking out between them, "starting next week I’m on official pre-maternity leave. It’ll just be you and me for two whole weeks.” She lifted her gaze back to his and gave him a cheeky grin. “Once Matthew arrives it all changes—midnight feedings, dirty diapers, sleepless nights, and no sex for months.”

“Oh, you dirty talker, you.” Eli pulled Josie back into his body and held her as tightly as he dared before bending down to get a much longer kiss. He loved the feel of her against him.

“Down boy,” Josie said, chuckling against his lips. Even in full-blown pregnancy, his wife could have him at full attention in a matter of seconds. “We'll have plenty of time for that soon enough.”

Matthew chose that moment to kick hard enough Eli felt it against his abdomen. Josie complained all the time about how she had a field goal kicker in residence. But getting to experience all those kicks and wiggles was something Eli envied. So he savored the rare times he felt his son's presence in that way. It was like Matthew was saying, "Hey Dad. I'm here."

He let Josie go and placed his large hands on her belly, then let them roam over where Matthew grew bigger every day. He smiled up at her when his son's foot pressed into his palm. He sure was active tonight. “The no sex aside, I can’t wait—for all of it.”

“Me too,” she said on a contented sigh while covering his hands with her own. “But right now, I really have to go or I’ll be late.”

Josie gave his hands a squeeze before turning to waddle down the steps to the floor of the garage and get in her car. He waited while she backed out and smiled at the quick wave she gave him through the windshield as the garage door closed.

“I have a feeling I’ll be giving her foot rubs for the next two days,” he murmured as he shut the connecting door and started back through their home. But that was okay. Foot rubs often led to other activities they could both enjoy. He grinned at the possibilities.

All thoughts of foot rubs and sex went out the window when he stepped into Matthew’s nursery, while another kind of grin spread over his face. “Just a few more weeks and you’ll be here.” He eyed the box holding the crib they’d yet to put together lying in the middle of the floor and frowned. “So, I guess you need a place to sleep.”

He spent the rest of the night putting together Matthew’s crib before hanging the mobile over it they’d found with geometric shapes in bright primary colors. It looked good. He snapped a picture with his phone and texted it to Josie. She wasn’t allowed to get calls while on the floor, but an occasional text was okay. Seconds later a heart emoji popped up on his screen and he smiled.

Eli lingered in the nursery for a while after that, but finally got up from the padded rocking chair when he felt himself dozing off. It was getting late, and he needed to get a good night's sleep. Monday always seemed to be the busiest day in the pediatric practice he had with his partner. Weekend holdovers could be overwhelming sometimes.

So he turned off the light in the nursery and went across the hall to his and Josie’s bedroom and got ready for bed. Once he'd set his alarm and settled under the covers, his thoughts went back to his wife and concerns over how she had been overworking herself. He let out a quiet, satisfied sigh as he finally drifted off to sleep, knowing this was the last night he'd have to worry about her pulling extra shifts.

* * *

An incessant ringing brought him awake with a grumble.

“Mmm… Sorry sweet—” He turned over in bed. “Right, you’re not here.” He reached out and found his cellphone. He wasn’t on call, but it could be an emergency with one of his patients. He checked the screen—2:13 AM, with the call coming from the main City General Hospital line. God, he hoped it wasn’t the Marshall baby again. “Hello?”

“Dr. Storm?” He didn’t recognize the woman’s voice, but that didn’t mean anything.

“Yes, this is Dr. Storm.”

“Dr. Storm, this is Melissa Carlton at City General.”

“Which one of my patients is it?” he asked, sliding out of bed and yawning as he stood.

Melissa didn’t speak for a few seconds, but finally said. “Um, sir, it’s not one of your patients.”

Eli turned on the bedside lamp. “It’s not? Then…" He took in a quick breath. "Is Josie okay?”

“Sir, we need you to come to the hospital as quickly as you can.”

Eli’s heart set up a rapid beat as he dashed across the room. “Is it the baby?” God, Matthew wasn’t due for another few weeks. “Is she in labor?” He pulled out a pair of sweats, socks, and a t-shirt from his chest of drawers.

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