Stormy Passion (28 page)

Dani gave him a half-laugh. “I got into
trouble the last time I wore that shirt.”

“
I remember, he said,
smiling. “Here put it on. You can’t get in any more trouble than
you already are now.” He handed her the garment, but before she
could slip it on she grabbed at another pain.

“
This is a bad
one.”

“
Focus on me, Dani, and
breathe.” Adrian waited for the contraction to let up, then he
eased his wife back into the bed, helping her to quickly change her
clothes.

“
I--I can't remember
everything I learned, but I do remember the cord has to be cut.
Wait, it's starting again.”

“
I'm right here. It's all
right. As soon as this one is over, I'll get some scissors and
string.” He felt her squeeze his hand. He'd give anything if she
didn't have to go through any of this. “Good, that one is over.
I'll be right back.”

He was all thumbs as he frantically tried to
find everything he thought he would need. If only he had time to
get her to a hospital.

“
What little I saw of the
house looks lovely,” Dani said as she tried to relax on the fluffy
pillows.

“
Thanks. Do you realize
that every time you've come here you have ended up in my bed?”
Adrian joked, trying to keep her mind off the situation.

Dani giggled. “I guess I do. Can't imagine
why.” She gasped again. “Wait! Another one.” She regained her death
grip on his hand.

Hours went by with Dani's contractions
getting worse all the time. Dani’s cries went from whimpers to
gut-wrenching groans. Adrian felt useless.

“
I--I need to
push!”

“
Put your knees up,
sweetheart.”

Adrian was beginning to think the baby was
too big when, he finally saw the child's head. “Dani I see the
head. Give me another push.”

“
I--I can't,” she wailed.
“I'm so tired.”

“
Yes, you can. Come on, you
can do it once more.”

Dani gritted her teeth and pushed as hard as
she could. The baby slid into Adrian's arms. What a beautiful baby
it was. Quickly, he slapped the child on the rump to get it
breathing and when he received a loud wail, Adrian cut the
cord.

What a perfect baby. He counted all he
fingers and toes and smiled. They had just created perfection.

“
Would you like to see your
bab--” Adrian stopped in mid-sentence because Dani lay completely
still, her eyes closed. “Oh my God!” He felt for a pulse then
breathed a small sigh of relief. His hand went to her forehead. She
was alive, but exhausted and burning up with fever.

He wrapped the baby tightly in a towel and up
laid it in a dresser drawer, then raced to the store where he
instructed Angus to radio his pilot.”Get a helicopter out here
fast! I need to get my wife to the hospital. She might be
dying.”

Chapter
Seventeen

Looking through the glass at his wife, Adrian
impatiently waited for the doctor to finish examining her.

“
How is she?” Adrian asked
when the doctor finally came outside.

“
Under the circumstances,
you did the best you could do, but -- your wife is hemorrhaging. I
need to go in and make some repairs.”

“
Surgery? Now? She's just
had a baby.” Adrian’s voice sounded strange even to his own
ears.

The doctor nodded curtly, then with
apparently no time to waste, turned to leave.

Adrian grabbed the doctor's arm. “She will be
all right, won't she?”

“
We'll do everything we
can.”

The next few hours seemed like the longest of
Adrian’s life. He paced. He prayed. And then he paced again. Adrian
almost wished he could cry, because he felt like he was suffocating
inside.

If something bad had to happen, why couldn't
it have been to him? Dani was the sweet one. She only deserved the
best. He ran a trembling hand through his hair. God, maybe he
didn't deserve her at all.

He had put her life in danger during the
hurricane; she'd almost choked to death when he surprised her at
the restaurant, and now this. He was the one who had insisted on
taking the damned trip. It was all his fault.

Adrian looked around and found he had
wandered back to the chapel. Getting down on his knees, he began to
pray. “Please don't take her from me. I know I don't deserve her,
but please give me another chance. Please.” Finally, hot, wet tears
slid down his face. Never did he think one person could mean so
much to him.

After awhile, Adrian pushed himself to a
standing position and wiped the tears from his face. Feeling oddly
relieved, he went back to the cold, stuffy waiting room.

Finally, the doctor came through the doors,
removing his green surgical cap as he came forward. He wasn’t
smiling. “It would be best if we sit down.”

Adrian stiffened. “I’ll stand.”

“
She came though the
surgery. Seems your wife had a cyst on her ovary, and it ruptured
during delivery. It’s likely the same thing would have happened at
the hospital, so, it wasn't your fault.”

Adrian let the breath out that he’d been
holding.

“
How is she?”

“
She's in critical
condition I'm afraid, and she’s lost a lot of blood. But she seems
strong. With time and luck, she should pull through. She's weak, at
the moment and is still unconscious.”

“
She'll pull through.”
Adrian stated with firm authority. “Where is she? I want to see
her.”

“
You need some rest,
son.”

“
No! I need my
wife.”

“
Look. She’ll be in
recovery room until she comes out of the anesthesia. They monitor
her for a while, and when she’s stabilized, she’ll go to a room.
The charge nurse will let you know. Go get something to eat, or
better yet, try to get some rest. You need your strength, too.” He
reached into his pocket. “Here is a pager to carry. We’ll buzz you
as soon as we put her into a room.”

Adrian nodded and went to the cafeteria. He
knew there was no way he could sleep. He placed the pager on the
table next to his sandwich, but he couldn’t eat. Instead he drank a
cup of black coffee and he waited. Sometime later the buzzer went
off and Adrian almost tipped over his second cup of coffee.

Adrian stopped at the nurses’ station. “Where
is my wife?”

The nurse glanced up at him with a patient
frown. “And you would be?”

Adrian smiled then, realizing these people
had no idea who he was. “Adrian Massimino.”

“
Ah,” the nurse said. “I've
put Mrs. Massimino in room 320.”

Adrian wasted little time finding Dani’s room
four doors down from the nurses’ station.

Dani was much too pale, he thought as he
stood by her bedside. Tenderly, he brushed a tendril of blonde hair
from her cheek and began to talk to her about anything and
everything. He held her hand while he explained his childhood and
how he started his own business. Soon one hour led to three, and
still he talked.

“
I'm sorry I didn't tell
you about my job when you asked, sweetheart. But if you'll just get
well, I'll never keep anything from you again.

“
Do you know we have a
beautiful baby? You’ve got to wake up, so I can show you. We can't
live without you, Dani. You must get well.” Adrian swallowed the
lump in his throat. “I love you more than life itself. I don't want
to go back to the way my life was before I met you. Fight,
sweetheart. Do it for me. If not for me, then do it for the
baby.”

Adrian wasn't sure when he stopped talking,
but it had to be somewhere close to dawn when he pulled a chair
next to the bed and slumped down.

Someone was shaking his shoulder.

“
Wake up, Mr. Massimino.
You've been here all night.”

Sleepily, Adrian raised his head and with a
scratchy voice asked, “How's my wife?”

“
I checked her vital signs
before I woke you,” the nurse said. “They’re better. See, look at
her cheeks. They have color in them. Now, why don't you go wash up
and see the baby. I bet you your wife will be awake when you get
back.”

“
I--I don't want to leave
her.”

“
You won’t do any of us any
good with you passed out on the floor.”

“
Guess you're right. But
promise me you won't say anything about the baby. I want to tell
her.”

The nurse nodded as she said, “I promise.
Now, shoo.”

Dani could barely hear Adrian's voice. Why
was he babbling so about his childhood? She was so tired. Much too
tired to open her eyes, but she had to try because she had to take
care of the baby.

“
The baby!” Dani came
straight up into a sitting position, a stabbing pain in her stomach
made her cry out. Her head swam, but she fought for control while
she ran her hand over her stomach which was very tender.

However, she was no longer pregnant. Wait.
She remembered having the baby, but she didn't remember hearing the
baby cry. “Oh God, no!”

A man in a white coat entered her room with a
stethoscope draped around his neck. “I'm glad to see your eyes
open. You gave us a bad scare.”

“
Where's my baby!” Dani
looked frantically around the room. “Is something wrong? And where
is my husband?”

“
Calm down, you’ll just
upset yourself. And we don’t want you to pull your
stitches.”

“
Stitches? What happened?
And where am I?”

“
You're at Ocean Way
Hospital. Your husband had you flown over here.”

“
My baby. What happened to
my baby?” She clutched the doctor's arm.

The baby is fine. Your husband has gone to
get the baby,” the doctor said. He eased her back against the
pillows. “Let me explain what happened.” The doctor filled her in
on the events that had taken place while he made notes on his
clipboard. “If your husband hadn't been such a quick thinker, I'm
afraid you wouldn't have made it, young lady.”

A nurse entered the room, carrying a vase
full of flowers. You're a well-loved young woman. I had to
practically push your husband out of the room this morning. Do you
know he sat beside your bed and talked to you all night until he
fell asleep sometime this morning?”

“
He did?” So she hadn’t
dreamed about all that.

“
Yes, ma'am. It's plain to
see how much he loves you.”

“
And he took care of you
and the baby,” the doctor added. “I think you've got a good man.
Someone you can always count on.”

“
Thanks to you both.” Dani
shook her head, trying to clear the cobwebs between her and
remembering. “But my baby--what did I have?”

“
Sorry, Mr. Massimino told
me he wanted to tell you himself,” the nurse said with an
apologetic smile.

“
Did I hear my name?”
Adrian entered her room carrying a small bundle wrapped in a white
receiving blanket. Dani couldn't stop the tears that gathered in
her eyes.

“
I believe we have someone
here who would like to meet their mother.”

“
If you'll excuse us. I
don't think we're needed anymore,” the doctor, gesturing for the
nurse to follow him out of the room.

Dani held up her arms to take the tiny
bundle. She pulled back the blanket to see a beautiful, olive
skinned baby with a thick thatch of dark hair wearing a pink diaper
shirt. She gazed up at her with wide, dark eyes. “She's
beautiful.”

“
Just like her mother.”
Adrian smiled down at her as he sat on the bedside.

“
Thank you, Adrian.” She
leaned up stretching to kiss him. “You were there for us when we
needed you most. I love you so much.”

“
Not half as much as I love
you, sweetheart.” Adrian wrapped his arm around her, but had to
pull back quickly when their bundle protested at being caught
between them.

“
Sweetheart, I've taken the
liberty of naming our daughter since we never got around to
discussing that issue. I think you'll approve.”

“
Well.” Dani hoped she'd
like his choice. “Tell me.”

“
Meet your daughter, Stormy
Massimino.”

“
Oh, Adrian. It's
perfect.”

Without warning, thunder rumbled outside, and
Dani glanced out the window to see that it was dark and rainy. Then
she turned back and smiled at her husband. She knew where Adrian
had gotten the name.

“
Yes, sweetheart. A
beautiful new home, a beautiful new family, white sandy beaches,
and it's going to rain like hell all weekend.” Adrian
grinned.

“
September storms
,
God, how I love them!”