“He’ll need rest for a few days, nothing major though.” Aspen stands up.
“Oh God, Ruthie, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I was hogging Jasper.” She looks mortified.
“Oh, honey, don’t you worry about me.” She moves to let my mom come in closer, yet both of them are still peering at the tablet.
“What about my collarbone?” Hank already sees the writing on the wall, the same as I do. I’m out of work, which is going to suck for him. I know how much he doesn’t like the guy who will replace me.
“About that. It’s a more complicated issue. It seems you’ve done this before when you were a teenager. Except then it was more of a fracture. This one is a clean break. You’ll be in a sling for six to eight weeks at the most. I’m afraid in your line of work, it may be hard for you to work at all during this time frame. I can say without a doubt that no surgery will be necessary.” He nods his head after he’s done talking.
“That’s good. How long do I need to stay in the hospital?” I ask. If I’m gonna be off of work, I may as well be at home with Aspen.
“I’d like to keep you overnight. If there are no other symptoms, you can go home tomorrow,” he replies.
I look at the woman who’s my world. She’s biting at her thumb, something I know Aspen does when she’s stressed.
“Mom, let me check on Aspen,” I whisper. She looks at her, then moves to a chair in the corner.
“Wildflower, come here, baby.” I grab her attention. She was so deep in thought. I hate that I’ve caused her to worry.
“Huh?” I notice her walking isn’t quite right. She’s almost swaying.
“Hank, grab her,” I demand before she faints, and I fucking hate like hell that I wasn’t the one to be there for her.
“Oh dear,” I hear my mom say.
“What the hell? Is she okay?” I’m starting to get out of the bed. There’s no way I can’t be there for her.
“Mr. Knight, stay in the bed. Hank, can you put her in the chair?” He points at the chair Mom has just vacated.
“She needs to be admitted. There’s no way she should be randomly fainting.” My voice is croaking with worry.
“I’m going to run some tests, don’t worry. Aspen, there you are, welcome back.” He’s putting a pen light to her pupils.
“I’m okay.” She moves her head towards me.
“You don’t know that. Listen to the doctor for me, okay? It’s not like they’re going to let me get out of bed to hold you.”
“I will, Mr. Bossy.” She rolls her eyes at me.
“Okay, let’s go over a few things. Have you eaten today? Anything different that’s not as normal?”
“Yes, I’ve been more tired than normal, but life’s been hectic.” Aspen doesn’t look at me, and it makes me feel guilty as hell. She’s been working her ass off, then staying up and talking to me if I’m able to.
“And what about your last menstrual cycle?”
Aspen’s mouth forms an ‘O’. Fuck, if that could be a possibility, there’s no way I won’t be getting out of this godforsaken bed and holding her in my arms.
“Well, then I think the first step is getting you a pregnancy test and go from there.”
“Can it wait? I don’t want to leave Jasper just yet.” She looks over at me. I need to know now.
“Baby, you won’t be gone long. Let’s see if it’s even a possibility and if we need to worry about it in the long run. Do this for me, please?”
“Fine, damn alpha growly bear,” she mumbles under her breath.
“I’m going to get a nurse, let her know what’s needed, and then she’ll bring in a wheelchair. We’ll work on the pregnancy test and do some blood work too, okay?” I watch as Aspen reluctantly nods her head.
“Mom, Hank, can you guys give us a minute?” I ask once the doctor finally leaves.
“Yeah, sure. I’m actually gonna head back to the rig. There’s going to be a mountain of paperwork waiting for me.” He puts his hat back on his head, shakes my good hand, and I say, “Thank you, for everything.” He knows what I mean. He’s done the same thing I’d do for him, no questions asked.
“I’ll go grab a cup of coffee. It seems I’ll have two patients to fuss over, or maybe three.” She winks before leaving as well.
“Hey, we make quite the pair, huh?” Aspen’s sitting next to me. My hand reaches for hers.
“Yeah, we do, but if it turns out you’re pregnant, I’d go through this all over again.” The nurse asked if I needed more pain medicine, but I won’t take anything stronger than Tylenol. I’ve seen what happens to some people who get injured and who work in the same line of work as I do. They use it to get away, and not just from the pain.
“Well, I’d like you not to be injured, but if I am pregnant, I’ll be just as happy, though I’m not too thrilled that I’ll have to leave you, even if it’s not for very long.” She smiles. It lights up her whole face, a soft glow playing on her cheeks.
“Mom will be here with me. Hell, she’ll probably run back and forth between us. We’re going to talk about you being tired too.” I cock an eyebrow, letting her know I heard what she talked to the doctor about.
“It’s our busy season. Plus, I really do need to see if Berkley wants to come in and help out,” she replies.
“That’s not a bad idea,” I agree. It’s not much longer until a nurse is whisking my woman away. Mom is standing at the door, a hand over her heart, the other holding a cup of coffee. Yeah, this might be the best day of my life.
Thirteen
Aspen
“Whelp, big guy, it seems like you and I are going to be parents,” I announce as I stroll back into the room Jasper’s in for the night, something I know he loathes. It’s not like they’re going to let anyone stay with him either, which means Ruthie and I will stay in his camper. We’ll probably pack it up too. A few months sitting empty in the camp site will piss Jasper off even more, so we’ll get it ready and I’ll see if Hank and Marge wouldn’t mind keeping it at their house for the time being.
“Fuck, yes!” Jasper bellows out. I’m so glad they let me out of the wheelchair. The doctor seems to think everything is okay. The stress of what was going on with Jasper, the tiredness, and the pregnancy, it all just caught up to me.
“Jasper,” I admonish as I walk to him. I want his scent surrounding me even with the use of only one arm. I need him.
“Come here, little mama.” God, this man, he moves me.
“Hi.” I sit beside him, lean down so our foreheads are touching.
“You’ve made me the happiest man alive. The minute I’m out of here, I’m going to make you my wife,” he states.
“While I’m all on board with that, we aren’t having some shotgun wedding. I want a real wedding,” I tell him.
“You’ll get it. The only thing we need to figure out is if it’s okay for you to fly and when it’ll happen. I already know it’ll take place in Lodgeview, even though I’d marry you tomorrow.” Jasper knows I want my dad to walk me down the aisle and to be surrounded by family.