An Inconvenient Obsession (22 page)

Dr. Slattery bustled in, dragging an ultrasound machine and shaking his head. “Well, I’ve run the tests three times and I keep getting the same result.” He lifted the lab papers between them, as if the maze of letters and numbers would make sense to either of them.

“What is it?” Ethan asked, worry lending urgency to his tone.

“I have to check one more thing before I can tell you for sure.” Dr. Slattery moved to place a hand on Cate’s shoulder. “We need to do an ultrasound. Are you okay with that?”

Cate nodded and slowly lay back on the examining table, trying to make her mind go blank.
Don’t borrow trouble,
she thought, just as Mrs. Bartholomew would advise. But when Dr. Slattery spread the cold gel on her abdomen and aligned the hated ultrasound wand over her abdomen, she felt her world narrow. Blackness encroached on the edges of her vision while her heart thrashed violently in her chest. What if her internal wounds had caused new complications to develop? She closed her eyes, not wanting to see the evidence of more tragedy on the grainy screen.

Soon, the silence in the small room gave way to the familiar shushing sound of the machine. Dr. Slattery cocked his head and moved the wand farther down, transcribing a slow, circular arc over her lower abdomen.

Cate pressed her cheek against the paper lining of the padded table and tried not to cry. She didn’t want to know what was wrong. Not yet. She wanted to pretend everything was okay for a little while longer. She wanted to savor her time with Ethan, to continue enjoying the lovely marriage they’d
built together. Things were perfect. She didn’t want her stupid body or its flaws to change things.

“Well, Cate, it looks like the tests were right,” the doctor said.

Cate felt Ethan tense beside her and then his big body pressed against her side as he leaned forward to see. “What?” His low voice was a strained whisper. “What is it?”

“It’s impossible, that’s what it is.” The doctor angled the ultrasound wand until a new rhythm, rapid and faint, unfurled in the small room.

Cate’s eyes flew open while Ethan’s grip upon her icy fingers tightened. “Doctor?”

Dr. Slattery’s round face pleated in a smile. “You’re pregnant, Cate.”

“What?” they blurted in unison.

“It looks like you’re about twelve weeks along.”

Ethan stared at the doctor in a shocked silence that mirrored her own. “But we thought … How …?”

Dr. Slattery’s smile deepened. “I imagine it happened the usual way.”

Ethan’s stunned gaze drifted to hers while Cate’s hands lifted to hover over her exposed abdomen. “But we were told,” she said before shifting her focus back to Dr. Slattery.
“You
told us we wouldn’t be able to conceive.”

“I know.” Dr. Slattery lifted both palms as he shrugged. “I guess nature had a different plan.”

“But you were the fifth doctor to give us the same opinion. How could all of you be wrong?”

Again, he shrugged. “Bodies don’t always behave the way we think they will. Sometimes, that one in a million chance pays off and everyone gets surprised.” He smiled as he offered Cate a paper towel to wipe her belly. “I’d say this little
tyke wants to be in the world so much, he’s willing to fight the odds.”

She and Ethan exchanged a glance and then turned back to the doctor. “He?”

“You might want to start investing in blue.”

“It’s a miracle,” Cate breathed.

“No.” Ethan turned shining eyes to Cate, a slow smile claiming his mouth.
“You’re
the miracle.”

Cate’s trembling lips curved while dizzying happiness winged through her chest. She reached blindly for Ethan’s hand and then pulled it to her lips. Blinking through her tears, she kissed his palm and then moved it lower to press his long fingers against her belly. “You’re going to be a father, Ethan.”

“A father to our baby. Ours, Cate.” His cheek creased with the dimple she’d never stopped loving. “And I can’t imagine loving our son’s mother any more than I do right now.”

All the characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all the incidents are pure invention.

All Rights Reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises II BV/S.à.r.l. The text of this publication or any part thereof may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storage in an information retrieval system, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

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First published in Great Britain 2011
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of Harlequin (UK) Limited,
Eton House, 18-24 Paradise Road, Richmond, Surrey TW9 1SR

© Natasha Tate 2011

ISBN: 978-1-408-92577-5