Gordon's Dawn (13 page)

Gordon squeezed her hand, stepped closer, and she felt his lips come down on her neck before he rasped against her ear, “I love you.”

Relaxing against him, her annoyance at how he was acting and what Bran thought evaporated. “I love you, too,” she said loud and clear.

Bran seemed to gather himself. “It’s nice to meet you, Gordon. Your wife and I were discussing what time she should come tomorrow.”

Dawn felt the tension leave Gordon the more he and Bran spoke. Amber wandered back in with her hands full of shopping bags.

By the time they were ready to leave, Bran was behind on his appointments, but had gained someone interested in a business venture that could earn him some big bucks. He was getting her to come back tomorrow to talk about the website, working at the shop, and adding to her tattoo. Dawn felt like a piece of her new life was coming together. Now she just needed her sister and nephew to move to America.

Gordon and Bran were shaking hands and saying their goodbyes. She stood from the sofa, beyond ready to go, and if she admitted it, quite hungry. Stretching, a light headed feeling washed over her and before she could sit back down, blackness clouded her vision.

****

He’d called and
told James and Brad where Dawn was, and he’d arrived, packed, and watched his security enter the tattoo parlor. As he waited for an okay from James or Brad, he called Mathew and told him to deal with the police on the threat until he had the chance to get to it. He gave Mathew a quick rundown of Dawn and told him he wasn’t sure how long he’d be.

He got out of the car and moved closer to the shop. When he saw the clear interest in the guy talking to Dawn, his blood had boiled, and he decided not to wait and followed his security into the shop. Bran wasn’t as bad as he thought. He’d stayed and talked to him, and by the time they were ready to leave, Bran knew his place and had also been given an opportunity and a potential business venture for Gordon.

Amber was back, and they were all ready to go. Gordon gazed over at Dawn to see she looked tired and a bit pale. Shaking Brans hand, he turned to Dawn to help her but she stood on her own and stretched. Then, as if in slow motion, she swayed, and all the color left her and she dropped to the ground. Amber screamed, and he bolted the last couple of steps to her fallen form, kneeling.

Gordon could hear James on the phone to the ambulance, and Brad dropped down on her other side. Gordon reached out only for Brad to bat his hand away. “Don’t touch her, Gordon. We can’t risk moving her, or you touching her until we know what’s wrong.” Brad checked her pulse and spoke to James like it was just another day, and Gordon’s whole world hadn’t just shattered. His security team’s voices and visuals faded in an out. The only thing he could see was Dawn’s pale form.

Seconds, minutes felt like hours as he stared at the love of his life. When the ambulance finally came, Gordon watched and followed sitting in the truck, still unable to speak. It wasn’t until they reached the hospital—and his father and mother were there already ordering people around and throwing whatever weight they had to make sure Dawn had the best—did he snap out of it.

He hadn’t seen his mother since he and Dawn arrived in Dallas, and she did something he couldn’t remember her ever doing. She came over to him and wrapped her arms around him. “It’s all right, son. Dawn will be okay, Gordon.” She squeezed him, and blinking, he gazed around him and gathered himself together.

Wrapping his arms around his mother, he leaned down and kissed her head. “Thank you. Yes, she will be. She has to be.” Gordon wouldn’t allow it to be any other way. He wasn’t willing to ever live without Dawn. He loved her too damn much.

Dawn could hear
yelling to her left. The room she was in was an off white, and as she turned her head to the right, she saw green curtains on the window. Blinking as she got used to the light, she turned to the sound of the yelling. Gordon stood towering over a man in a white lab coat.

“Why the hell isn’t she awake yet? If you tell me she should wake soon, I swear, there won’t even be a hospital in the middle of nowhere who’ll take you.”

Ah, she was in the hospital. That made sense since the last thing she remembered was feeling dizzy. “Gordon,” she croaked. Clearing her dry throat, she tried again. “Gordon. Gordon, stop intimating the doctor.” His whole body froze, and he spun around and bolted to her side.

“Sprite, you’re awake.” He leaned over and kissed both her cheeks before brushing his lips over hers. “How are you feeling?”

“Like crap.” Lifting her arm that felt like lead, she stroked his cheek. “How long have I been out?”

“Two days.”

“What? What happened?” she rasped and tried lifting her other hand, which had a drip going into it.

Gordon turned and went to a shelf and came back with a bottle of water. “Take a small sip.” She nodded and did as Gordon said. “You passed out.” Gordon narrowed his gaze on her, clear anger on his face. “You hadn’t eaten or drunk anything all day, and that’s one of the reasons. I agreed to let you look after yourself, and not have Jane or the security so close and always there, and this is what happens.” Gordon sat and gathered her hand in his. “Not anymore. Never again.” He reached up and brushed the hair away from her face. “Dawn, sprite, um, did you forget to tell me something?”

Racking her brain, she tried to remember if there was anything she needed to tell Gordon. Nothing came to mind. “No. Why what’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Well, something. Dawn, you’re pregnant.”

Dawn shook her head on the pillow. “No, I can’t be, I’m on the pill, remember.” She went back over in her mind, and she hadn’t forgotten any. She had changed the time she took it, but… “No, I can’t be.”

“Sprite, you are.”

Holy crap, she couldn’t remember when she had her last period. Wow, she was pregnant. That would explain why she’d been so moody and emotional.

“The doct—” 

Gordon was cut off as a doctor walked in with two others. “Hello, Mrs. Wilks. I’m Dr. Field. This is Dr. Trent, and to my left is Dr. Rockstin.”

“Hello,” she mumbled, still trying to process what Gordon had said.

A big machine was pushed through her room door, and Dawn felt her heart rate speed up as she saw what it was—an ultrasound machine.

“Now, has your husband had the chance to tell you what happened?”

She nodded. “He says I’m pregnant, and I passed out due to lack of food and being dehydrated.”

“That’s the rough story,” Dr. Field said. “We’ve had some tests come back, and before I go any further with your permission, I’d like to do a scan.” Nodding, she looked at the machine. “Would you like your husband to leave while I get ready or is he welcome to st—”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Gordon growled.

“I want him with me.”

“Okay. We think, for how far you are, we will need to use the stick, which will mean we will put this,” he picked up a long round looking nozzle looking like a scanner. He put a protector over it and covered it in gel. Dawn felt her eyes grow and didn’t know if she wanted to do this. Dr. Field moved down to the end of the bed and lifted the sheet. She squeaked in surprise when she felt the stick go up where only Gordon had been before. Surprising, it didn’t hurt.

The other doctors fiddled with buttons on the ultrasound, and then weird looking shapes showed up. Dawn stared at the three round shapes with white flashes in them on the screen.

“Just as I thought,” Dr. Field said as he looked at the screen. “Triplet.”

“What?”

“Congratulations, Mrs. Wilks, you are…. I would say six and half weeks pregnant with triplets.”

Gordon made a choking noise and stared down at me in amazement as he looked at her to the screen.

“Triplets?” she repeated over and over. Sure, she was a twin, but triplets? Holy shit, she wasn’t just pregnant with a baby, she was pregnant with three babies.

Dr. Field did measurements and pointed out that the white flutter was the heartbeat. They listened to the sound of three little heartbeats, and Dawn fell instantly in love.”

“What do I do now?” she asked staring at all the doctors.

Dr. Rockstin looked down at his tablet then back at her. “Your blood pressure is low. Your iron levels are the same. I understand you’re very lucky as Dr. Field is personally taking your case, but you also need a nutritionist. I have been assigned. You will need to eat at least five meals a day, more as your pregnancy progresses. Your water levels were low, and that is something we can’t have. You will get dehydrated very easily.”

Dawn took in all the information, her mind on overload, as Dr. Rockstin continued to talk. Gordon seemed to be listening and almost taking mental notes of what was being said. He didn’t look terrified, which was how Dawn felt the more she heard and thought about everything.

Dr. Trent smiled down at her. “I know this is a lot to take in, but you’re lucky that you can afford the best of the best. Your age is on our side. I’m told you’re a twin yourself.”

Dawn nodded, and Gordon brought her hand that he’d been holding up to his lips and kissed it. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she responded. She did, but she was just shell shocked and scared.

“We’ll leave you two now,” Dr. Field said as he walked toward the door. “I’ll see you every two weeks until you are twenty-six weeks. After that, we will go weekly. If you have any problems, I’ll give you my personal number. Don’t hesitate to call. I’ll have the nurse give you my goals. Right now, I need you to eat every three to four hours at least, and I want at least six bottles of water drunk a day.”

Ha, the guy was on crack. There was no way she could eat that much or even drink that much. Dr. Field, Dr. Trent, and Dr. Rockstin left, leaving her alone with Gordon.

When the door shut, Dawn gazed up at Gordon. “Holy crap, you knocked me up with not one, but three babies. Damn, you’re so lucky I love you.”

Gordon’s grin, as he looked down at her, was full of male pride like he’d solely performed a miracle. “I guess I have super sperm.”

Blinking, she stared up at his serious face before bursting out into giggles. Dawn may be terrified but she knew, with Gordon, they could tackle anything.

****

They’d kept Dawn
in the hospital for five days. Gordon knew his family name was one of the reasons they kept her so long. His family donated money to the hospital and had many influential friends. They were home now, and Gordon didn’t plan to let Dawn out of his sight for a long time.

Both Mathew and his father had been trying to contact him, but Gordon was ignoring them. He was beyond furious at what they’d done. He was so angry that he didn’t know how much danger he and his wife had been in. The only reason he hadn’t strangled them with his bare hands was that Dawn was fine. The last couple of weeks, he’d been struggling with nightmares of what could have happened if the threat hadn’t been caught and they’d hurt Dawn. Seeing her pass out and on the floor in the tattoo shop had scared the life out of him. It made him realize he couldn’t live without Dawn, not after he’d had the blessing of being with her. They may not have been together long, but they’d sure been through a lot. 

Nathan buzzed his phone. “Your father is at the gate again. Can I let him in this time?”

Pressing the button to reply, he snarled, “No.”

“Your mother is with him.”

“Hell no.”             

“Gordon, what is going on? Why won’t you let them in?” He snapped his gaze from the phone to see Dawn standing in his home office doorway, her hands on her hips.

He hadn’t told Dawn anything about the threat. He didn’t want her to worry, and now, with the babies, he was even more determined to not only keep her stress free but safe. He’d given his statement to the police and had his own security on the case now. The threat was a rival company Gordon had barely heard of. From what the police and his own team had learned so far, he and his company weren’t the only ones they were trying to sabotage and kill.

“Gordon,” Dawn snapped.

He debated if he could distract her, or tell her he didn’t want his parents to interrupt their time together, but he knew she’d get pissed the longer he kept things from her. Groaning he growled, “Let them in,” to Nathan. He hoped, when she found out, she wouldn’t be too angry with him.

Getting up out of his chair, he went to Dawn and gathered her to him guiding them to the sofa. He sat and placed her across his lap. “I’m angry with my father for keeping something major from me.” He rested his head on her shoulder. “I’m sorry I kept this from you too, but I only found out when you went to the hospital. I found out the day you passed out that I’ve had a major threat to me and that the accident I had over a year ago wasn’t an accident. Supposedly, there have been more occurrences, but I’ve been kept out of the loop. They’ve found the threat, and that was why my family’s head of security and my father were willing to finally tell me.”

“Oh, my God, Gordon. I’m so sorry this was kept from you.” She cupped his face and brought it down so their lips meet giving him a gentle kiss.

Relief she wasn’t angry settled over him. “I’m so sorry I kept this from you, but with you passing out and us learning of the triplets, I’ve been so worried about you. I don’t want to add any more stress on you.” 

“I underst—”

“Triplets!” His mother screeched from the doorway.

Hugging Dawn tighter to him, he rested his hands on her stomach. He didn’t bother to get up as his mother and father strolled into his study. “Yes. Dawn’s pregnant with our triplets.”

His mother whole face lit up, and Gordon couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen her genuinely this ecstatic. “Oh, this is fantastic.” She looked down at Dawn. “Are you okay?” Gordon was shocked. This wasn’t at all like his mother.

“I’m feeling much better. The hospital and staff have been amazing.”

His mother nodded. “Good, good. The doctors wouldn’t tell us any information, besides basic things like you’d fainted and needed fluids and you were getting better.” His mother yanked his father around and pushed him forward. “You’re father has something he wants to say.” She nudged him.

His father stared at him down to Dawn and to Gordon’s hands covering her stomach. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled.

Dawn giggled when his mother elbowed his father. “Louder and like you mean it, you idiot.” Gordon had never been so shocked in his life. His mother never acted like this, let alone swore.

His father cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, son. I shouldn’t have kept what was going on from you.”

As much as he wanted to stay angry, Gordon knew he couldn’t. He’d kept things from Dawn, so he knew what it was like to be on both ends now. “No, you shouldn’t have. But I’ve done what you’ve done and expected to be forgiven, so I can’t be a hypocrite.”

“Great,” his mother said. “Now that’s all sorted let’s focus on these babies. I can’t wait to tell them down at the club that my son is having triplets. I’m going to be able to shove how viral you are in their face for years.” Argh, there she was. That was more like his mother.

Dawn’s hands settled over his, and he threaded their fingers together as they listened to his mother. Home, Dawn made any place feel like home, not just a place he came to sleep. Dawn was his family, the love of his life, his home.

****

She lay in
bed exhausted. Gordon’s parents had been around until late. Catherine, had started organizing exclusive appointments with baby places, and in the end, Gordon had to practically kick them out.

Snuggling her head on Gordon’s chest, she sighed in contentment as his arms squeezed her tight to him. “Thank you for being so patient with Mother.”

“It’s nice she’s taking an interest in the babies. We’re going to need all the help we can get.”

“I’ll make sure we have only the best.”

“I know you will. But I don’t want our children raised by other people, and that brings me to my next question. Are you going to go back to work now? I love that you’ve been home. I now know why you’ve been so over the top protective, but as much as I love you, I need you to go back to work because you’re driving me nuts.” Easing up so she could stare at him, she kissed his lips. “I know now how important my security is. I promise I won’t go anywhere without them. I want these babies just as much as you so I won’t miss taking my vitamins or eating the colossal amount of food and water I’m supposed to ingest.”

“I’ll trust you to do all that, but it’s just I’m scared. I love you so much. I don’t think I could function without you now.” He brushed kisses over my face before lingering on my lips. “I’ll go back to work. Just give me time. When you fainted, I swear I almost had a heart attack. I knew I loved you before that, but when I saw you there on the floor, it was like my whole world crashed. You, Dawn, are my world. Before you, I didn’t know what I was missing. I didn’t know what it was like to be loved and to love. You’ve giving me everything I wanted and more.”