Page 26 of Not the Bodyguard's Widow
He shook his head. “I tried not to.”
Kimberly closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I’m scared something might be wrong.”
“What do you need from me?”
“I know it is totally inappropriate, but can I have a hug?”
Alex opened his arms, and she walked into them. Kimberly counted to twenty and stepped back out. “Thank you. Will you show Mrs. Capps to my room when she returns?”
Alex nodded.
“Thank you, Alex. And I am sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable.”
He reached out and cupped her elbow. “A hug is never inappropriate when you’re scared.”
Kimberly nodded, afraid that if she opened her mouth, tears of gratitude would follow. She retreated to her room and waited for Mrs. Capps.
* * *
Alex paced the living room and checked his watch again. Thirty-two minutes. How long did these exams take? Finally, he heard the door to the back bedroom open. Mrs. Capps came down the hall, lips pinched. Kimberly followed slowly. Alex wanted to pull her into another hug and solve everything, anything, something, but his gut told him he couldn’t solve what ailed Kimberly.
“Kimberly needs an ultrasound today. I’m not qualified to give one. The doctor I usually refer to is not available until next Wednesday. I suggested the hospital, but Kimberly is concerned about being recognized with her insurance card. I have a plan. But you might not like it.”
Kimberly sat down on the couch, her face pale. Alex sat next to her and rubbed her back, trying to get her to look at him. She slumped into his side. Something was very wrong. Could this be the same woman who’d held a gun on him yesterday? He turned to the midwife. “What is your plan?”
Mrs. Capps sat down on the chair. “Because of your job, I assume you have excellent health insurance, the kind that covers your spouse the second you get married. If I were to loan Kimberly one of my dresses and a cap, you could present yourselves at the county courthouse and be married in less than an hour. Then you could go to the hospital and register Kimberly as Mrs. Alexander. No one looks too closely at the Amish or Mennonite women, and no one will ask her to remove her cap. Few people can tell the difference, anyway. Even if they notice the earring holes, they won’t ask questions and assume she had a wild rumspringa. They’ll register her without a social-security number, and your insurance will cover it. I assume you can go online and quickly change it.”
Alex didn’t want to insult her by asking how she knew stuff about insurance. “Do I have to dress Mennonite or Amish too?”
“No. Your lack of beard can’t be easily disregarded, and it is common enough for a woman to marry outside and keep her dress and traditions. The people at the hospital will have seen it before, and those privacy laws will keep them from asking questions.”
Kimberly lifted her head. “Are you suggesting we get married?”
“Certainly. It solves all your problems.”
“That’s not very fair to Alex. He doesn’t need a pregnant wife and then a divorce.”
“Annulment. I read about it in a book. I’m not sure what the laws are, but you could try that since you are not intimate.”
Heat rose on the back of Alex’s neck. He pulled a hand over his face, hoping to erase any blush. “What about the baby’s birth certificate?”
“Kimberly can still put the father’s name on it.”
Kimberly stiffened next to him. “I see how this plan keeps me hidden and my father-in-law from finding me, but I can’t ask Alex to do this. There must be another way to get an ultrasound.”
“I would never recommend them, but maybe in this case...” Mrs. Capps tapped her chin. “There is a clinic in Elkhart where you can pay cash for an ultrasound. They offer them cheap, as a way to bring people in. Unfortunately, they will try to get you to terminate as they aren’t interested in birth options. Rumor says they don’t check ID too closely.”
Kimberly shuddered. “I can’t go there.”
Alex knew enough about clinics of that caliber to know he wanted nothing to do with them. He tightened his arm around Kimberly. “Are there any other options?”
Mrs. Capps leaned forward. “Today? No. And I want Kimberly to have an ultrasound yesterday.”
“Can Mr. Alexander and I talk about it?” asked Kimberly. When Mrs. Capps didn’t move, she added, “Alone?”
“I’ll go to my house and find the dress. I sewed it for my daughter. It is a pretty blue. I think you’ll like it. The color will match his eyes.” Mrs. Capps let herself out.
Kimberly pushed herself away from Alex, then wiped her eyes with a folded tissue.
