Page 91 of Nanny for the Doctor

Hands greet me as I struggle to climb out of the ditch, and I see that several other drivers have stopped to help.

Two men have jumped down into the muck with me so I can use their hands to boost me up the side. I reach for a woman’s waiting hand, and she pulls me the rest of the way out.

Looking down as I catch my breath, I see how filthy I am, and my arms are bleeding. I reach up for my head.

My scalp burns, and I pull back bloody fingers. I start to notice the warmth sliding down my face, and weirdly, I remember that head wounds have a way of bleeding quite a bit.

The woman standing near me takes my hands, leading me somewhere.

She has a gentle smile, and I realize she’s hurrying me over to her car, where she sits me on the tailgate of her SUV. A blanket is wrapped around my shoulders, and she’s telling me something about staying calm.

I can’t make out her words, the adrenaline of the wreck backing off and being replaced with pain. A lot of pain.

My shaking continues, but at this point, I don’t feel the cold. I remember my first aid training mentioning something about shock.

Yeah, that seems right. I’m going into shock.

Staring around the woman’s trunk for God only knows what reason, I notice a stroller. A thick black bag is off to the side, too, with a stack of diapers sticking out.

Looking down, I see I’m sitting on a folded-up changing mat, and there’s a portable toilet like the one I used for the family that was potty training their son.

Suddenly, nausea pulls at my gut, and my heart rate ticks back up. I feel it pound behind my eyes as fresh tears spill out.

“Hey, now.” The woman’s hands smooth down my arms. “You’re alright. It’s okay. You’re safe now.”

I shake my head.

“Kids. You…” It’s all I can get out.

She looks around the trunk, a sympathetic smile on her face. “Yeah. I have kids. A girl and a boy. Just try to breathe for me, okay? Do you have any kids?”

I know she’s trying to distract me, but the sobs worsen, ripping through my body.

“I…” My teeth chatter as my whisper barely breaks the air. “I…I’m pregnant.”

“What’s that, honey?”

My eyes flare wide as a fear I’ve never felt grips my heart. I turn toward her, reaching out to grab her shirt.

“I’m pregnant!”

The woman’s brows raise with understanding, and she sits next to me on the tailgate, smoothing my hands back beneath the blanket.

Her hands keep rubbing up and down my arm, but I can barely feel it.

“Oh, okay, honey. It’s alright. I’m sure you’re both okay.” She lowers her face into my field of vision, holding my gaze. “You’re okay. Babies are strong. And we’re built to carry them, protect them. You’ll be just fine.”

“If anything happens…” I cry harder, unable to stop the suffocating sobs from choking out my voice.

“Help is coming. We called 911, and the paramedics will be here soon. You’re okay.”

But her words fall on deaf ears. I can’t hear anything anymore—not her, not the traffic, nothing.

All I can do is think about the life growing inside me and how I've put it in danger. If anything happens, I don’t know if I can take it.

Chapter32

Reed

---