She gave him one back, love warming her throughout. ‘How’s Lucas?’
The smile slipped.
That bad, huh? Her smile faded too. ‘Damon, any luck with the helicopter?’
‘It’s coming, but will have to land on the other side of the flood waters, especially now there’re more slips occurring. The houses further along have been evacuated but if we can avoid them being bowled over then we will. Merv’s going to take the boys across one at a time in a motorised dinghy.’
‘I’ll go with them if they don’t send a doctor,’ Cole announced to the room in general.
Vicki saw Karen stiffen.
‘I want to go,’ the boys’ mother cried out.
‘There won’t be room for anyone else in the chopper,’ Damon told her briskly. ‘I’m sorry. It’s more important for a doctor to accompany the boys.’
‘We’ve asked for the ambulance to come for you, Karen,’ Cole said. ‘But it could be some time off. There’s a high demand for more urgent cases at the moment. Vicki will stay with you in the meantime. And me, if I’m not required to go in the chopper.’
Again tears steaked down Karen’s face. ‘I tried phoning Arlo but got no answer. I need him. The boys need him.’
‘Keep trying,’ Cole said. But it wasn’t Karen he was looking at. It was Vicki.
She felt it a punch in her chest. Longing soared. Likewise relief. Cole understood Karen’s despair because he’d heard it all before. But did he really understand? Properly? Fully? Did he get that unless things changed and he discussed future plans with her, made sure they were on the same page, wanted similar things, they weren’t going anywhere together? She deflated like a balloon stabbed with a pin. So far they hadn’t achieved much when it came to resolving their differences, and it looked like they wouldn’t be getting home where they could talk together any time soon. There was a badly injured boy in the room, not to mention a baby on its way. ‘Karen’s definitely in labour.’
Surprisingly, Cole grinned. ‘Why wouldn’t she be? It’s the way the night’s going.’
Karen grimaced at him. ‘All very well for you to be cheerful.’
‘I’m not really,’ Cole said apologetically. ‘But I’m grateful you’re all out of that building and the boys will be taken care of in hospital. Is there someone you can call to be with them until you get there?’
‘My in-laws. They won’t hesitate. I’ll phone them.’ Then Karen’s face scrunched up with pain, and she clasped her stomach with the hand that wasn’t holding onto Toby.
Vicki was with her instantly. ‘Breathe. That’s it. You’re doing well. Hey, Toby, do you want to give Ester a hug?’ Thankfully, the little boy reached across to Ester’s open arms, giving his mother room to move.
‘Tell me when it stops. I’m going to time the next contraction.’
‘They’re about seven minutes apart,’ Karen gasped. ‘I don’t believe this. Where the hell are you, Arlo?’ She stared at Vicki. ‘Okay, it’s going away.’
Glancing at her phone, Vicki noted the time. ‘Think I should examine you now.’
‘Hang on.’ Karen held her phone to her ear. ‘Arlo, call me as soon as you hear this. We’ve got problems. Big ones. The house has gone. The boys are going to hospital. And the baby’s coming. We need you. Love you.’
Vicki sucked in a breath, and glanced at Cole. She hadn’t ended her call to him that night of the miscarriage with an ‘I love you’. No, she’d said she’d had enough, couldn’t do it any more. Her gut churned. How soon could they get away from here? More than anything else she wanted to talk with Cole, explain her feelings and find out more about his own needs, find a way out of this together.
An array of emotions crossed his face as he watched her. Sadness, sorrow, disbelief all mixed up there. Similar sentiments to those slamming around her skull.
Guilt battled with her sadness. She hadn’t uttered those three special words to him once since that night. Not when he’d been listening, anyway. She’d been afraid he’d see right through her attempt to stand up for herself. Though often in the middle of the night, when she couldn’t sleep and her pillow was drenched with tears, she’d cried out how much she loved him.
In the beginning Cole had regularly told her he loved her, but as the months had passed he’d said it less often, until finally he’d stopped altogether.
Why hadn’t she kept her mouth shut and held those terrible words inside? Or at least stopped long enough to think about what Cole had to be feeling about the miscarriage? Right from then they should’ve talked about it. It would’ve been easier without these past months hanging between them when she’d disappeared to the other side of the world, and he’d been fighting to get back on his feet while still occasionally talking to her as though she hadn’t done something so horrible to him.
Yes, she had been selfish, and it had taken Karen’s reaction to her husband not being there when she needed him so desperately to see that. Did that mean she’d go back to Cole without talking about their futures? Did it? No. She couldn’t do that either.
‘Are we going to get some time to ourselves?’
He nodded. ‘Yes. Definitely.’ He turned to focus on Lucas, though there was little to be done. A fully equipped operating room was required. In the meantime, Cole would do everything possible to keep the boy stable while they waited for the rescue flying machine to arrive.
‘What are the chances of a doctor being on board the chopper?’ she asked. Usually there would be, but who knew tonight when the rescue service was in high demand?
Cole answered without looking up. ‘I told Damon one was necessary and Headquarters confirmed they’d send someone from the rescue centre. Otherwise I’ll go with him and one of the paramedics might have to walk home.’
‘That’ll make you popular.’ Disappointment flared. So far everything had worked against them.
‘I figure, but too bad. This wee man comes before egos. Though, seriously, if they have to they’ll probably squeeze all of us on board and it will be me walking back here. Not the other way round.’
‘You could stay with my in-laws,’ Karen said from the other side of the room.
No, he couldn’t. He had to get back somehow. Vicki swallowed the expanding disappointment, and gave in to the urge to be with him. She was tied in knots of desire, and it was getting close to impossible to ignore them with each passing hour. Not that sex had been on the agenda this weekend. Not unless they suddenly made everything go away and were happy. They’d worked well together with all the injured people they’d been with, which went to show they were still in sync on some things, but it wasn’t anywhere near enough. They’d be in sync in bed, for sure. The heat in her veins dissipated, replaced with sadness.
Cole was telling Karen, ‘I’m here to spend time with my wife so I’ll find a way back to Palm Beach no matter what.’
Her heart melted. Maybe giving in and following him wherever he chose to go next, get a job and have all the spare time available to spend with him—if he was around and not off on some medical project or working every hour available in a hospital or clinic—was the right thing to do.
Looking at him, she couldn’t help but smile. He was gorgeous. The almost five years they’d been together hadn’t changed her feelings. That physical attraction that had had her falling into bed with him the very first time they’d met still hummed in her
veins. That instant rapport and understanding of each other still lit up her mind, and other parts of her body. Combine everything and no wonder she’d fallen head over heels in an instant and not once had come up for air—until the miscarriage.
She had lost a lot of time with Cole so he could follow his career choices, and mostly she’d coped by working long hours and surrounding herself with friends, not acknowledging that unsettling feeling she was missing out on so much. Until the last year when too much had gone so wrong and her world had rolled over. Julie had even asked if she was depressed, but she was certain she wasn’t. Now Cole was here, and so far refused to let her walk away without a fight. Typical Cole. And one of the qualities she admired about him, she reminded herself.
‘Cole?’ she called quietly. ‘We’ll get time to ourselves, I promise.’
He grinned his special just-for-her grin. ‘As long as nature backs off and gives us a break.’
‘We’ll hide up in the folks’ house and ignore any more knocking or phone calls.’
‘As if either of us would do that.’
‘True,’ she sighed. ‘Let’s hope—’
‘Ahh...’ Karen groaned, cutting through their moment. ‘That hurts. Like a knife in my belly.’
Vicki nodded. Interruptions were the way of things tonight. ‘I wouldn’t know what that felt like.’ Her smile dipped. She would if she hadn’t lost the baby. Don’t go there. Not now. There was enough drama going on without thinking about her own problems. ‘Your contractions are now at six minutes. Long way to go yet.’
‘Thanks for nothing.’ Karen grimaced. ‘Cole, how’s Lucas?’
‘No change. Which is better than him getting worse.’
‘I can’t complain about you not giving it to me straight,’ Karen muttered. ‘So what’s taking so long with that helicopter?’
‘There’s a bit of a storm going on out there.’ Cole leaned over Lucas and listened to his breathing. Hopefully, his mother didn’t notice the unease creeping into Cole’s demeanour.
Damon walked into the room. ‘Right, we need to get Lucas and Toby across to the other side now. The chopper’s minutes away. Cole, we want you to go with them in the boat. Merv will take you and both boys. It’ll be a tight fit but the pilot doesn’t want to stay on the ground any longer than he has to. Vicki, you okay holding the fort here?’