Broken Vows (Domestic Discipline Romance) (19 page)

Once he had Adam and Emmie secured in the back seat of the double-cab truck, Kevin rolled down the long lane. There were already at least four inches of new snow; it was accumulating quickly.

He pulled out his cell phone, but it only had one bar and he could not make a connection. Mila handed him her phone. It was a newer 4G model, and he thought it had enough reception to get through to the hospital. He gave her his phone. "Look in my contacts, the number to the hospital should be at the top of the emergency numbers."

Mila gave him the number. He called the hospital and gave them the pertinent information. Then he made another phone call. "Mom, I need help. Can you and Dad meet me at Mercy in the emergency room? No one you know, but there are kids and I need someone to watch them."

"You shouldn't have disturbed your parents," Mila exclaimed.

"We need someone to watch Emmie and Adam, I don't know anyone better. My folks only live a few miles from the hospital. Trust me, they will be there."

"They don't even know me!" Mila exclaimed.

"They know me, and they know I wouldn't call unless I needed them," Kevin promised. He looked in the rear-view mirror to see both children sound asleep. When he looked over at Mila, she was breathing quickly and rubbing her head. She hunched over with another pain.

"When was the last one?"

"Seven minutes," Mila said. When he offered her a hand, she gripped it and squeezed hard, then the pressure released, and she slumped in her seat.

"Oh, Jesus," Kevin exclaimed. He stopped in the middle of the road, ripped off his gloves, and felt her face. She was clammy. He yanked off her gloves to inspect her hands. They were swollen and damp. He took her pulse.

"Mila! Mila." He shook her slightly.

"What?" she asked faintly. "I'm ready to go swimming. Are we at the pool yet?"

"Mila," Kevin repeated, shaking her again but she was confused and disoriented.

He grabbed her cell, hit the recent-calls list, and redialed the hospital. He told them to have a gurney ready and be prepared for his arrival. Then he put a call through to the fire department telling them to get the rescue squad out and ready. He was bringing in a pregnant woman exhibiting symptoms of preeclampsia with shallow breathing. She needed oxygen.

When he entered the town limits, a police car with flashing lights pulled out in front of him staying there until they reached the fire department. Once there, three EMTs immediately ran out, removed Mila from the truck, put her on a gurney, and hooked her to oxygen.

"We have her," an EMT, Charlie Mason, shouted as Kevin shut the ambulance door and the driver took off with sirens blaring and all lights flashing. Kevin pulled out behind the rescue vehicle and the police car followed him in a little convoy.

When Kevin pulled in behind the rescue squad at the emergency entrance, his parents came through the emergency room doors behind the orderlies. In their sixties, both of them wore jogging suits and snow boots. Each of them gathered a sleeping child in their arms and threw the bags over their shoulders.

"Give me the keys," the police officer said. "I'll move your truck to the parking lot."

"Thanks, Jim." Kevin tossed his keys at the young man and jogged to catch the gurney. As he went by, he noticed his parents already settling the children in the emergency room waiting area. A nurse was handing his mother pillows and blankets for the children. Adam had not re-awakened since Kevin had put him in his car seat and it had taken them well over an hour to make the eighteen-mile trip to town.

* * *

"Wow! You look fantastic," Josh said, crossing the room and kissing his wife. "Are you feeling better?"

"I feel mellow," Jenny admitted. "Two massages, aspirin, and all-day spa treatments have produced these results."

"Make-up isn't what makes you beautiful, Jen," Josh disagreed. "You didn't answer my question. How are the muscles?"

"The aching is almost gone," answered Jenny. "I will be back on the slopes tomorrow, but I admit I enjoyed today. It was a perfect day, except for how my morning started."

"You deserved the spanking," Josh said, dropping another kiss on her lips. "I have to shower and dress. Tyrell has reservations at The Left Bank tonight, and he wants to go to the Tivoli Lodge Lounge afterward."

Jenny gave him an assessing look. "Did you two get into an argument? You don't sound as if you want to go."

Josh sat down on the edge of the bed to remove his boots. "No, actually we got along great. He only called me an idiot twice today. I think it's a record. I'm not much into these fancy meals lasting all evening. My taste buds don't take to fancy food. I would rather have your mac and cheese, or chili and a burger. When we get home, I want to hit the diners in town. I keep hearing how good they are, and diners have more of my kind of food."

Jenny laughed. "I was thinking the same thing, but we only have one more day. I miss my babies, too."

"Me too," Josh agreed. "We have officially become
stick in the mud
parents, and I like it."

"I do too!" she agreed. "Come on, we can suffer through one more day of luxury."

"It does sound stupid to complain," Josh growled. "We are in the equivalent of a five-star hotel and we want to go home to our little guesthouse with our kids."

"We have enjoyed ourselves here. However, it would be better if we brought Emmie and Adam along the next time… with a babysitter. We are family people, not trendsetters."

"I can live with that," Josh said, capturing her in his arms. "Do we have time for a quickie?"

"No. I am lotioned, powdered, and perfumed, and I do not want a quickie now. After dinner, and after the lounge," she trailed off.

"What?" Josh asked, nibbling her lower lip.

"I want a marathon," Jenny whispered. "I want it all."

Josh sucked in his breath. "Hmm… the anticipation will certainly keep me going for the next few hours. You better not back out on me, sweetheart."

"Oh, I don't intend to," Jenny said, sashaying away from him and bending over to put on sky-high heels. "I am going
commando
tonight."

Josh was almost to her when she scurried out the bedroom door laughing. He was already at the bathroom door when she stuck her head inside. "The reservations are in thirty minutes, hurry."

"You are so going to pay for this," Josh threatened with a smile.

"I know," she taunted.

* * *

"Wow," Josh exclaimed leaning back in his chair. "Okay, I take back what I said earlier. This was the best trout I have ever eaten."

"So was my lobster," Jenny agreed. "When I think of French food, I don't think of seafood for some reason; I only think of rich sauces. Why is that, when much of France is on the ocean?"

"Let's face it, kiddo, we are hamburger and chicken people," Josh teased. "Violet said her lamb was the best, and Tyrell really liked his elk."

"I cannot eat something I watch outside my kitchen window," Jenny exclaimed.

"With the fence installed, you may not see them anymore. The contractor is supposed to sweep the area and drive them out before the property is closed in. They did say the fence may still trap some inside, which will actually protect them from hunters."

"Do you want to share a dessert? I am stuffed."

"Not unless you want me so stuffed we have to forego our planned activities for later," Josh teased.

"Not a chance," she teased back. "You are… oh, here they come."

"I'm sorry about the interruption," Tyrell exclaimed coming back to the table with Violet. "It was Mr. Ethan Travis, of Signa Intel Corp. I saved his company's ass last year in court. As a thank you, he paid the tab for our meal."

"Which means Tyrell regrets not ordering the most expensive item on the menu," Violet laughed.

"I have news for you, babe, I did order the most expensive thing on the menu. Who is ready for dancing?" Tyrell demanded.

"We are. We were considering dessert, but we are too stuffed," Jenny said. Heads nodded in agreement all around the table.

"Good, we are off to Tivoli Lodge Lounge," Tyrell announced, glancing over his shoulder. "Give Ethan a few minutes to pay the bill and we are out of here."

* * *

"How are the legs holding out?" Josh whispered later. They were dancing in a dark corner, his hands cupped around Jenny's ass.

"I'll be back on the slopes in the morning, and Violet wants to go shopping in the afternoon. I didn't mean to spoil her vacation, so I said I would go with her. I won't buy anything, though."

"I'll give you the credit card. I trust you will not go crazy… just be careful and keep the receipts. Vail is expensive, all ski resorts of this caliber are. However, we haven't spent anything on meals so we can afford a little spending spree."

"Little being the operative word," Jenny said, laying her head on his shoulder. "How much longer will we stay here? This is the third club we have hit tonight. I'm tired. As you said earlier, we are family people, not barhopping people."

"Let them have their fun," Josh whispered in her ear. "We will have ours, later."

The band announced they were taking a break, and Josh led the way back to the table.

"Josh? Josh Grayson?"

Josh stopped and turned to see a man rising to his feet.

"Mr. Whiting!" Josh exclaimed, offering his hand, "Nice to see you, it's been a while. This is my wife, Jenny."

"This is my wife, Barbara. Please call me Bill. Join us for a few minutes," Mr. Whiting offered.

"Sure," Josh said pulling out a chair for Jenny and sitting down beside her.

"Would you like a drink?" Mr. Whiting asked.

"No thanks, we have drinks at our table," Josh said.

"I have been looking for you," Mr. Whiting said.

"Bill, is this business?" Barbara Whiting interrupted.

"Yes, but I won't be long."

His wife rolled her eyes and looked over to Jenny. "Now is the time for us ladies to go the restroom. Will you join me?"

"I will," said Jenny smiling.

After the women had left the table, Bill Whiting looked over at the young architect. "I never figured out why women go to the John in packs."

"Me, either, my wife told me I never would, so don't try. You said you were looking for me?"

"Yes, I was," exclaimed Bill Whiting. "I wanted you to know the only reason we offered Pugh and Barkley a shot at the Richfield Towers Project was because their initial bid listed you as the Manager of their Design Team. I had worked with you before and trusted you would do the job right. We wrote the contract specifically designating you as Lead Architect, a clause they apparently ignored.

"Their final presentation was a joke. They tried to pass off the preliminary drawings, which we had already seen, as their final drawings but had not even made the changes we had discussed earlier. They were completely unprepared. When I demanded to know why you were no longer leading the project, David Pugh hemmed and hawed. At first, he said you were on medical leave, and then finally explained they had fired you 'for cause.' Well, I did not believe that for a second. We politely left and dropped them from the project the next day. After the fiasco, I tried to contact you, but they would not give me any information."

"I was fired," Josh admitted.

"Yes, and you sued their asses and won, from what I hear. I got the scoop. However, if Pugh and Barkley are still claiming they fired you, it is defamation of character," Bill said. "I have been in this business long enough to know what's what. DQ&H had better get their act together and send a management team in there pronto. I personally called Mark Sydney at DQ&H and told him I did not appreciate Pugh and Barkley wasting my time. I don't think he had a clue what was going on in his own acquisition. I apologize. I went off on a tangent.

"The point is we shelved the project temporarily because I want an architecture firm I can trust. I wanted you. I tried to locate you, but you had moved out of the area. Where are you working? I still want you on this project. We even considered opening a subsidiary to fill our architecture requirements. You know, keep it all under one roof."

"I am affiliated with a new company, a partnership," Josh said.

"I hope it is a reliable company."

"Actually, it is a new fledgling firm. Are you serious about wanting me to work on the Richfield project? Is it legally out of Pugh and Barkley's hands?"

"Technically, it was never in their hands. They were only one of four companies vying for the final contract. Richfield Towers will be worth seven million dollars the first year alone to whoever lands the contract. The overall project will span five years and its estimated total value to the architecture firm will be near twenty million. It's too bad you don't own the preliminary drawings; they were a good starting point."

Josh sat back in his chair. "I own both the preliminary and the
final
designs."

Bill Whiting's drink stopped mid-way to his mouth. "Final?"

"Final," said Josh. "The presentation needs a bit more work. I can't divulge much about the lawsuit. I can tell you one reason I was fired was my refusal to offer an incomplete presentation to you. I also refused to turn over my work to an incompetent."