That sure as hell didn’t make me feel any better. What the fuck happened?
Covering the receiver, I shouted, “Ricky!” His head whipped up, and I frantically motioned for him to get his ass over here. I either needed a ride or his keys. Didn’t care which. I only knew I needed to get to Penny.
“Where are you?”
“Outside of Rosie’s Sweet Treats on Main.”
My chest felt like it was caving in, and I couldn’t draw in a full breath. “Okay. I need you to stay there with her. Can you do that?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Mighty grateful. Now, what I need you to do next is call an ambulance. Her name is Penny Sullivan, and you need to let them know that she’s pregnant.”
He sucked in a sharp breath, likely realizing for the first time the seriousness of the situation he’d gotten himself caught up in. There was so much at stake, and I was counting on the kindness of a good Samaritan.
“You make that call, and I’ll be there as soon as I can.” My voice grew gruff as emotion began to choke me. “Please tell her that for me. Tell her I’m coming.”
The young man on the opposite side of the connection promised he would, and the line went dead.
A hand clamped down on my shoulder, and I spun around to find Ricky. Words weren’t needed; he could tell by the look on my face that time was of the essence.
We hightailed it to his truck and were in motion before either of us had our seatbelts buckled. “Where to, Boss?”
“Main Street. Some sweet shop.”
Ricky gave a firm nod. “I know the place.”
Hold on, Lucky. I’m on my way.
The crowd gathered outside the bakery had my heart dropping to my stomach, and I hopped out of the truck before it came to a complete stop.
Boots pounding the pavement, I hopped the curb and shoved my way through the lookie-loos, barking, “Out of my way!”
There were a few indignant huffs, but I didn’t give a damn about being rude. All I could focus on was getting to Penny.
As I cleared the last of the onlookers, my girl came into view, surrounded by a mess of frosting and the contents of her upended purse. The sight of her curled onto her side and hugging her knees was enough to bring me to mine. Hand pressed over my racing heart, I sucked in a shaky breath, reminding myself that I couldn’t fall apart. She needed me to be strong right now.
Stepping forward, I gave a nod of acknowledgment to the guy standing watch over her, who couldn’t be more than twenty. He offered me a sad smile in return, and that was all the attention I could give him before focusing on my wife.
I crouched down before her, failing miserably to keep the tremble from my voice. “I’m here, baby.”
Penny’s red-rimmed eyes snapped up to meet mine, and she lurched off the ground and into my arms so forcefully it knocked me on my ass. With my arms wrapped around her, I was able to breathe for the first time since I’d gotten that call.
Sobbing into my neck, she practically wailed, “I’m so sorry.”
I stroked her hair. “Nothing to be sorry about, darlin’. Are you hurt?”
Almost as if on cue, sirens sounded, growing louder on approach.
Glassy eyes wide, she pulled back. “That’s not for me, is it?”
Using my thumbs, I wiped the tears from her face. “Your friend here—” I looked up at him, hoping he would provide his name.
“Jeremy.” He ducked his head.
“Right. Jeremy here said you collapsed. We need to get you checked out.”
Penny shook her head. “No, I’m fine. It’s nothing like that.”
