Pregnant With The Paramedic's Baby. Amy Ruttan

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       CHAPTER TWO

      “DADDY!”

      Kody was nearly barreled over when he walked in the front door of his small west-Austin home. Even though Lucy was a big girl of seven, he still scooped her up in his arms and gave her a kiss. Lucy looked more and more like his late wife, Jenny, every day. Strawberry blond hair, with curls and his blue eyes.

      “You did your nails,” Kody exclaimed as he checked her hand and saw the wildly garish colors on her tiny nails.

      “Aunt Sally helped,” Lucy said.

      “It’s about time,” Sally, his little sister, said, coming in from the kitchen. “Ross is waiting for me. He’s driving me to the station.”

      “Sorry, Sweet Pea. I was held up at the hospital.” Kody set Lucy down. “My patient was a passenger in a head-on collision with a Texas longhorn.”

      Sally cocked one of her finely arched brows. “A cow?”

      “Oh, no, was the cow hurt?” Lucy asked.

      Kody plastered a fake smile on his face. “No. The cow’s fine.”

      Then he shot a look to his sister and shook his head. No, the longhorn did not fare well at all. Sally made a face.

      “Well, I fed Lucy...macaroni, beef and tomato sauce casserole,” Sally said.

      “Thanks,” Kody said dryly as Lucy plopped herself on the couch to read her book.

      “That doesn’t sound appreciative,” Sally teased.

      “Sorry. It is, Sweet Pea. It was just a very long rescue. Very messy and now I get to eat a casserole of beef.”

      What he didn’t mention was his run-in with Sandra was partly to blame. He didn’t need Sally teasing him about Dr. Fraser.

      It was bad enough that Ross bugged him about dating again, he didn’t need Sally siding with her new boyfriend.

      “Hey, I didn’t know you were dealing with a cow accident at work.”

      “I know.” Kody scrubbed his hand over his face and there was a crack of thunder in the distance, before the slow and then fast patter of rain on his metal roof.

       Great.

      Sally winced. “Well, I’d better get home so Ross can take me to the station. I am working another twenty-four-hour shift again.”

      “It’s part of the job,” Kody teased.

      “Don’t I know it.” Sally walked over to Lucy and gave her a kiss on the head. “Later, love bug.”

      “Bye, Aunt Sally.”

      “Thanks, Sally.” Kody walked his sister out as she dashed from his front porch to her car on the street.

      Kody let out a heavy sigh and headed to the kitchen. He was going to heat up some of the dinner and then make sure that Lucy’s grandparents, Jenny’s parents, who had moved from North Carolina to be with Jenny and Lucy, were around so that he could drop Lucy off there if he was called in.

      He was one of the few medics at the station who had advanced life-support training as a tactical paramedic and wilderness emergency medical technician.

      If there was flash flooding, he’d be called in.

       I should just take Lucy there now.

      He knew he’d be called in. It was only a matter of time and he was thankful his in-laws were so close.

      At first, he’d grumbled when Jenny’s parents, Ted and Myrtle, had decided to follow him and Jenny to Austin, but he was so glad they had and that they’d stayed. They were a huge source of help to him and they’d got to be with Jenny when she’d passed.

      What had started out as a strained relationship when he and Jenny had been in high school was now a close relationship. He thought of them as a second set of parents.

      They’d been his rock here in Austin, before Sally had followed him out here after her divorce.

       Davises are cursed in love, apparently.

      He punched in the number and Myrtle answered.

      “Hey, it’s Kody.”

      “Kody! So glad to hear from you. I take it you’re on call tonight?” Myrtle asked.

      “I am and it’s raining hard. I’m worried there’s going to be some flash flooding up in hill country.”

      “Bring Lucy over whenever. It’s been a while since she had a sleepover with Grammy and Gramps.”

      “Thanks, Myrtle. I’m going to have dinner and spend some time with her before I bring her over.”

      “See you soon, Kody.”

      Kody ended the call and then took the plate that Sally had made up for him. He zapped it in the microwave and then sank uneasily into the kitchen chair. There was a flash of lightning and Lucy came scurrying into the kitchen.

      “Hey, love bug. Do you think you could pass me some Parmesan cheese from the fridge?”

      “Sure, Daddy.” Lucy opened the fridge and handed him the Parmesan cheese, taking her seat right next to him. He smiled at her. She reminded him of Jenny so much.

       “Promise me you’ll open your heart again,” Jenny whispered.

       “Don’t say that. How could I do that?” he asked.

       Jenny smiled weakly. “I don’t want you to be alone. I don’t want Lucy to grow up without a mother.”

      A lump formed in his throat and he shook the memory away. He was breaking his one promise to Jenny. She’d wanted him to be happy again. She’d wanted a mother for Lucy, but he couldn’t risk opening his heart again.

      He couldn’t risk losing another mother figure for Lucy.

      He couldn’t СКАЧАТЬ