Read Online Her Baby Dreams by Debra Clopton - Free Book Online

him just as he was collapsing. And that’s when Ashby moved, knowing they were still in danger. First she grabbed the picture frame Dan was clutching, then she scooted beneath his arm and helped Brady get him to clean air.
    He was coughing so hard she thought he would break in two as they reached the truck. Brady yanked the tailgate down, told him to sit, and gave him oxygen.
    â€œWatch him, Ashby. And don’t let him do any more stupid stunts. The ambulance is on its way.”
    Ashby nodded, meeting Dan’s red eyes over the rim of the oxygen mask. To her surprise, he winked!
    Brady squeezed her shoulder. “There’s bottled water in the pickup. Would you get him some? And call me if you need me.”
    Ashby nodded again and went for the water as Brady hurried off. She snatched a bottle out of the twenty-four pack in Brady’s back seat. Obviously, he stayed prepared for trouble.
    Dan was still coughing as she set the picture on the tailgate beside him. He took the water from her, and after a few swallows his coughs eased a little.
    â€œHad to get—”
    â€œDon’t talk,” Ashby said, gently pushing the hand holding the oxygen mask back up to his face. He watched her as he took a breath.
    Foolish man. She glanced at the picture. It was of him several years younger, and a woman who looked enough like him that it had to be his mother. Ashby felt the prick of tears. He’d risked his life for a picture of his mother. Her heart melted.
    She met his gaze. Behind the mask she could perceive a faint smile. “Your mother?” she asked, though she knew the answer.
    He nodded. “Important,” he wheezed between coughs. “She died.”
    Ashby looked toward the house as emotion took over and tears slid down her cheeks. He’d gone into a raging fire to save a photo of his dead mother.
    She wanted to tell him it was stupid to have risked his life for a picture. But she couldn’t.
    The ambulance pulled into the yard and she swiped the dampness off her cheeks, catching him watching her as she waved the emergency vehicle over.
    He touched her arm. “Don’t cry,” he said, his voice hoarse. “Just stuff.” His eyes, red from the smoke, held her gaze. He’d just lost everything and he was comforting her. Before she could react, the EMTs were there, telling her to step aside.
    She did, though she hovered close. For the first time since she’d known Dan Dawson, she let herself admit her curiosity about him.
    Â 
    And so that was that, Dan thought, standing near the heap of ashes that had been his home up until four hours ago. Parts of the house remained standing, charred and smoldering. The roof was caved in, and what was left inside…if the fire hadn’t destroyed it, the water had. It was almost easier to look at the ashes than at the smutty residue that fire and water left on the few things that remained: pots and pans, framed pictures, the images behind the glass spoiled by the smoke and water that had seeped through the edges.
    He thanked the Lord for giving him time to save the picture of him and his mom. That was all he had left of her now. If he’d arrived five minutes later, he wouldn’t have been able to make the mad dash into the house to snatch the framed eight-by-ten off the wall in the den.
    Brady hadn’t given him a dressing-down for the stunt, and Dan was sure the only reason was that he knew it wouldn’t have done any good. The sheriff had tried to get him to go to the hospital, but Dan had refused. That hadn’t made the EMTs or Ashby happy.
    He thought of the tears he’d seen in her eyes, and his chest grew tighter than it already was. Her tender heart had touched him.
    The growing mental list of what needed to be done quickly pushed his thoughts away from Ashby. But until the adjuster came out there wasn’t much he could actually do. First thing tomorrow, he intended to have copies of the