Page 47 of The Virgin's Baby
“I’ll do that then. I’ll pack enough for a week.” She closed the door, and I went to my room.
Somehow, knowing she would be with me made me feel a little lighter inside. Aspen was different. Not like any woman I’d ever known. And she cared about me. And even my grandfather.
Although I knew that I didn’t deserve her, I was thankful for her. Life would’ve been so much harder without her in it. And to think that I’d thought my life had been a piece of cake up until my grandfather put that stipulation on me to have a baby.
It had been easy, that much was true, but it hadn’t been filled with much. Since finding Aspen, my life had become richer than it ever had been. And my heart had never felt so full, either.
With the pregnancy, Aspen glowed in a way I’d never seen a woman do before. She’d always been gorgeous, but now she radiated pure beauty. It was all I could do not to toss her over my shoulder like a caveman and take her to my bed.
But I knew what would happen to me if I did that.
Women couldn’t be trusted. Aspen would steal my heart if I let her. She’d been the first girl I’d ever met who had that ability.
At home, it had been easy to stay away from her most of the time. In a hospital, it wouldn’t be that easy. And then there would be hotel rooms too. I needed to make sure to get her a room all her own.
After packing up and putting my shoes on, I went down to the garage. She’d already put her luggage in the back of the car and was waiting in the passenger side.
Just as I placed my bags in the back, I heard the sound of a vehicle pulling up in front of the house. Pressing the button to open the garage door, I saw that it was the ambulance to pick up Grandad.
Aspen got out of the car. “They’re here. Let’s tell him that we’re going to be right behind him, Ransom.” She walked to me, taking me by the hand to pull me along with her.
We waited by the ambulance until the paramedics came out with my grandfather on a stretcher. “I hate seeing him this way,” I said.
“I know you do.” Aspen leaned her head on my shoulder. “At least he’s going to a place that will be more likely to help him get over this.”
Nodding, I agreed, “At least there’s that.”
Grandad’s eyes were closed. It looked as if he were sleeping. Aspen let my hand go to touch his cheek as the paramedics stopped before loading him into the back.
“Lucius, we’ll be right behind you,” she said gently.
His pale blue eyes opened, and he looked at Aspen. “Are you coming too?”
She nodded. “Of course I am. I don’t want you to worry one bit. I won’t leave your grandson alone for a minute.”
He reached out from under the blanket to take her hand. “You’re a good girl, Aspen. Thank you.”
I began to feel a little misty eyed, and I had to clear my throat to stop the emotions that were building up inside of me. “Okay, Grandad, like she said, we’ll be right behind you. See you at the hospital. You just rest, and the trip will go by a lot faster. That’s what you used to tell me when we took long trips.”
“Not to worry. I’ll be sleeping. They’re gonna give me a little morphine to make sure I feel no pain.” He winked at me. “See you guys at the other end of this journey.”
Aspen elbowed me in the ribs; her lips were so close to my ear that I could feel the warmth of her breath as she whispered, “Tell him that you love him.”
I took her hand in mine, squeezing it. “Come on. Let’s get in the car.”
She came along with me, but I could feel disappointment radiating off of her. She would have to learn that my grandfather and I didn’t talk that way to each other. We were men, damn it.
Letting her hand go when we got to the garage, she made her way to the passenger side of the car. As I watched her go, I felt kind of bad for not being more gentlemanly toward her. “Hold on.”
She stopped and turned to look at me. “For what?”
I hurried past her to open the door. “Allow me.”
A light laugh filled my ears. “Oh. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” It was the least I could do since she was doing so much for me.
I knew that putting off her classes wasn’t anything she had planned on doing. Getting that degree was her number one priority. Or at least it had been before this all happened.
