A baby to change their l.., p.18
A Baby to Change Their Lives,
p.18
The front airbag hadn’t activated. It was an old car, and probably didn’t even have side bags.
‘I don’t know.’ She looked down at her trembling hands and his eyes followed: no wedding ring. There was no ring at all where her platinum bands used to be. ‘I think... I’m okay. My chest hurts a little. And my shoulder...it’s not bad. Probably from the seatbelt.’
‘I bet. You want me to take a look?’
She edged sideways away from him and for a moment he thought she was recoiling at his suggestion, but in fact she was making room in the tight space. ‘I think it’s just bruised. Yes, look—check.’
Her gaze caught his and for a moment his need to look after her almost overwhelmed him, even after all these years apart. Even after she’d walked away.
He drew his gaze from hers. Just looking at her made his heart sore. He couldn’t bear to see her hurting too, and he reached in and moved the soft fabric of her blouse away from her shoulder. Her familiar perfume of rose and sweet citrus hung in the air, spinning him back in time. ‘Ouch. Yes, it’s red raw. You’re going to have a nasty bruise there. Do your ribs hurt?’ He quickly moved his hand away and closed down more memories that assaulted his brain.
She blinked up at him and something flickered across her eyes: gratitude? He wasn’t sure. She gave him a shoddy attempt at a smile. ‘Only if I move.’
‘So, stay still. What about your feet? Legs?’ He could see bent metal close to her knees but not around her feet. It was a miracle she hadn’t been badly hurt.
‘They’re okay, not hurt. I’m just wedged in by the door. Oh, Lewis, I need to get to work. But I need... I can’t leave Stella. I can’t take her to nursery. Not now after this.’
Work? She lived here now?
‘Oh, no, you don’t.’ He peered into the car and tried to get a better view of her body so he could assess for any more injuries. ‘We need to get you out of this vehicle and checked out at the hospital. You’re in shock. You could be hurt and not even realise—whiplash, for example.’
‘Hey.’ Brin came round to this side of the car, a baby cradled in his arms. ‘Someone needs their mama.’
Charlie’s face filled with love and panic. ‘Is she...?’
Brin grinned. ‘She seems fine, love. A little bewildered by all the drama, but absolutely fine. I’ll give her a proper check in a minute, but thought you’d want to see her first.’
‘Thank God.’ Relief flooded Charlie’s face as she reached through the cracked window and stroked little Stella’s head. ‘I’m sorry, baby. I love you. You’re okay. You’re okay.’
The baby gurgled and giggled, her arms stretched out to be held by her mother. But Charlie smiled through her tears and shook her head. Lewis recognised the brave face she’d spent a good eighteen months out of their four-year marriage trying to put on as she cooed, ‘Hey, hey, baby. I’m a bit stuck. I’ll hold you when I can get out of here.’
Lewis’s gut hollowed out.
Charlie and a baby: all they’d ever wanted.
But how? It didn’t matter, right? She’d got the baby she’d so desperately wanted...just with another guy.
He tugged again at the door and breathed out in relief at the sound of a siren. ‘Sounds like help is on its way. We’ll get you out in no time.’
‘The car is wrecked.’ She shook her head.
‘Thank God it was just the car, right?’
She put her head on the steering wheel. ‘Ugh. Lucy’s going to kill me.’
‘It’s Lucy’s car?’
‘Yes. I haven’t had time to find one for me yet.’ She slowly sat up and rubbed her shoulder. ‘And I don’t even know what happened. How the hell am I going to explain this?’
So she hadn’t been back long enough to buy herself a car. Why was she back? And why did he care? Why did it matter? They were ancient history. She’d been so unhappy back then she’d fled to the other side of the world without him. What mattered now was that she and her baby were safe and unhurt.
‘Truck driver said his brakes failed.’
‘Oh. I guess it could have been much worse.’ She closed her eyes and swallowed, as if imaging what worse would look like.
‘Do you want me to call her—Lucy? Your parents? Call...someone else?’ She’d moved on, right? Was Stella’s father still in the picture?
‘No!’ Her eyes flashed pure panic for a brief moment, then she relaxed. ‘No, it’s fine. I’ll call Lucy when I’m done at the hospital.’
‘Okay...’ He thought about asking her more about some significant other she might need to call, but thought better of it. It wasn’t his business.
But she was still looking at him. ‘Look, Lewis, I need to explain...’
‘Like I said, the truck driver seems to be taking responsibility.’ He got the feeling she wasn’t referring to the accident, but he didn’t want to get into anything deeper here. She had a family now; she’d moved on. Just as he had...kind of. Sure, he’d thought he had, but the ache at seeing her again had blindsided him. ‘Honestly. We just need to get you safe. The firies are almost here; I can hear the sirens. They’ll lever the door open, then we can take you and your baby to Central.’
She put her hand to her head. ‘Ugh. A patient at my own workplace. That sucks.’
‘You’re working there?’
‘Yes. I came back a few weeks ago. It’s a long—’
‘Hey, Lewis. Missy’s getting a bit antsy.’ Brin handed him the baby who was now wriggling and fretting—not quite crying but it was a definite overture before the big crescendo. ‘Can you have a go at soothing her? She might like your face better than mine.’
‘Damn right she will,’ Lewis quipped with a smile that he didn’t feel as he took baby Stella into his arms. She was a good weight, about six months old, maybe seven. Same shock of red hair as her mother. She was healthy; cute as a damned button.
He cleared his throat as it had become surprisingly raw all of a sudden. ‘Um...hey, you. Look who’s here. She’s right here. And she wants to give you a cuddle, but she’s stuck in the car. So you’re stuck with me.’
Little Stella gazed up at him and tapped his nose with her little fist. She had huge navy eyes which were swimming with tears. Lewis’s heart contracted. No. He did not want to feel anything. Not the hurt he’d felt at Charlotte leaving. Not the tug towards her that was as natural as breathing. Not the softening, or the care. He did not want those things again—ever.
This was not Charlie’s and his baby, but his chest hurt, his throat burning as he held her. Panicked, he turned to hand her back to Brin, but he was over checking on the truck driver.
So, there he was, holding his ex-wife’s much-wanted baby with feet feeling like clay and his chest like a vice around his heart. A weird and unexpected start to a Monday morning.
Copyright © 2024 by Louisa George
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ISBN-13: 9780369738943
A Baby to Change Their Lives
Copyright © 2024 by Rachel Dove
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Rachel Dove, A Baby to Change Their Lives
