Free Because of the Baby by Debbie Macomber Page B

was with the pain, weeping and nearly hysterical, Karen had felt sure she was suffering a miscarriage.
    Although he hadn’t known where to even find a hospital, Matt had been clearheaded and efficient, calling 911 for instructions and accompanying her in the ambulance. Not until they arrived at the emergency room had he displayed any emotion. And then only because the medical staff insisted he wait in the outer room.
    She caught a movement out of the corner of her eye and turned her head to see her boss, Doug Sullivan, entering the room.
    â€œKaren, how are you feeling?” He’d brought a large bouquet of arranged flowers and set the vase down on the nightstand.
    Karen was so surprised to see him she didn’t answer. “How did you know I was here?”
    â€œMatt called me.”
    â€œMatt?” At the sound of her husband’s name she swallowed hard. Apparently he’d left Oakland, because she hadn’t seen him again. She’d asked the nurses about him, but no one seemed to know where he’d gone or when.
    â€œMatt thought he should tell me you’d been hospitalized, and he was right.” Doug moved to the foot of her bed. “What happened?” he asked gently.
    â€œAll at once I had these excruciating pains. The doctors seem to think they’re related to a bladder infection. That, plus stress and fatigue.”
    â€œSo Matt said.”
    â€œWas there anything else he told you?” she asked, resenting the way her ex-husband had taken it upon himself to interfere in her life. It wouldn’t bother her nearly as much if he hadn’t disappeared without a word—which just went to prove what she’d been saying all along. The man wasn’t reliable.
    â€œMatt did mention that he wanted you to return to Alaska and move to—What’s the name of that town again?”
    â€œHard Luck,” Karen supplied.
    â€œRight, Hard Luck. How could I forget that?” Doug Sullivan smiled, then said in a kind voice, “It might not be such a bad idea, Karen.”
    â€œBut—”
    He raised his hand, stopping her. “Just until the baby’s born. Matt has every right to be concerned about you…and his baby.”
    The last person Karen had thought would side with her ex-husband was her boss. Typical of Matt to have someone else do his arguing for him! “Do you realize how far Hard Luck is from Fairbanks or a town of any real size?” she asked. “There isn’t a doctor within a five-hundred-mile radius.”
    â€œTrue, but Matt says the public-health nurse is a fully qualified midwife. I believe he said her name’s Dotty something. She’s one of the women who went up there last year—she married the shopkeeper, I think.”
    Karen looked away, annoyed that Matt had brought Doug in to make a case on his behalf. He was obviously very serious about getting her to move to Hard Luck.
    Doug’s blue eyes twinkled as he spoke. “We got quite a chuckle out of that story, remember?”
    Karen wasn’t likely to forget. The news article about a group of lonely bush pilots advertising for women had attracted national attention. Her own connection with Alaska had made the topic especially fascinating for everyone at the Paragon office. Karen had laughed and joked with her friends—until she’d learned that Matt had moved to Hard Luck. Then the whole story had ceased to amuse her. With women said to be arriving every week—a gross exaggeration, according to Lanni—Matt could easily fall in love with one of the newcomers. Why that should concern her, Karen didn’t care to question.
    â€œSo this Dotty was recruited by the O’Hallorans?” Karen asked, reining in her memories.
    â€œYes, and then she married a guy named, let me see, Pete. Unusual last name. Lively or Liver or something.”
    â€œLivengood,” Karen remembered. A man with a thick gray beard came to mind.