Page 76 of Lyrical

Chase’s phone went off next. “Someone’s trying to get a hold of us, Jillian.” He grabbed it, holding it in front of us so we could both see the screen.

Is Jills with you? Sorry to bother you, but she needs to check her phone. It’s important.

I groaned. “Correction. Someone’s trying to get a hold of me.”

I dug into my purse, not understanding why Perry thought important equaled texting, and displayed the screen in front of us as Chase had done.

At the movies, can’t call.Okay, mystery solved.Mike texted me. He’s trying to reach you. He saw your car at St. Mary’s and can’t find you. He’s there too with Candace. She’s in pain. He didn’t go into details, but I said I’d get a hold of you. I didn’t tell him why you’re there. I’ll leave and call soon if you don’t respond.

Shit, she’s in pain?She wasn’t out of her first trimester yet. What if there were problems with the baby? Lots of scary thoughts went through my head. This was Daniel’s little brother or sister, after all.

“That doesn’t sound good, Jillian. You should probably go in and find out what’s going on.”

“I know,” I said softly.

Thanks, I’m on my way in now, I texted Perry.

Keep me posted xoxo.

“Come with me?” I asked.

“I can’t leave all this here. You go ahead.”

“It’s just food. We’ll come back and get it later.”

He kissed me, picking me up and planting me on the ground. “We don’t want to attract every animal in the forest. No, I’ll clean it up now, and we’ll find each other later. It might be better for you to go in alone anyway, until we find out more details. Now go. I know you, Jillian. You don’t want to ignore this.”

No, I didn’t. I felt connected to the baby since it was also a part of Daniel. And even if it weren’t, I’d never wish something like this upon anyone.

“Okay.” I gave him another quick kiss and darted back out to the path.

It wasn’t until I was wandering around the hospital lobby that I realized I’d forgotten to take my purse, with my cell tucked away inside it. That was fine; Chase would take care of it.

The front desk was unmanned, and I figured it was because of the later hour. I didn’t see Mike anywhere. I scanned the directory, looking for obstetrics. It was on the third floor. I hopped on the elevator and went up. If a pregnant woman was in pain, I assumed that was where she’d be.

I stepped off, taking a brief walk around, still not seeing Mike. I went to the desk, which fortunately had someone behind it.

“Excuse me, I’m looking for a Candace….” Shit, what was her last name again? “She’s almost three months along and in some kind of pain. That’s all I know.”

“Do you have the last name?”

“No, sorry. But this would’ve been recently, within hours I’m guessing. I know she’s here, but I don’t have any details. Sorry,” I apologized again. I should’ve texted Mike back first and at least got some details. “Oh, the baby’s father is Dr. Michael Hudson. He’s here on occasion, shoulder surgeon.” As if any of that mattered.

“So, the last name is Hudson?”

“No. Just the father, not the mother.”

I could see her eyes scanning over the computer screen. “There wasn’t anyone admitted recently on this floor with the first name of Candace.” She looked up at me. “Could she be in a different area, getting treated for something unrelated to the pregnancy?”

Shit, I hadn’t thought of that. But then why would Mike be trying to get a hold of me? “I’m sorry, I really don’t know.”

“If we had the last name, I could check the system.”

“Okay, thanks for your time. I’ll try to find something out.”

I circled the entire wing, peeking in room windows but not getting a good view of anything. I suppose the dark curtains were there for a reason. I was starting to get antsy. I went back down to the main lobby and did another check around for Mike. Too much time had already passed with me getting nowhere, so I headed back to the woods.

I came upon the clearing, and it was empty. No Chase in sight. Argh. I had no idea where he parked because I hadn’t seen his car when I first pulled in. Hmm… my car. Maybe he was waiting for me there with my purse? He had my keys too. I wouldn’t be getting too far without them.

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