Read Online Ladd Haven by Dianne Venetta - Free Book Online Page A

vitamins, right?”
    “ Yes,” she replied
glumly.
    “ Okay, then there’s nothing
to worry about.”
    Except the funny feeling she had.
Insistent, gnawing, she felt like something wasn’t right. Not like
she’d ever been pregnant before, but she was starting to sense
things before she thought them. Know them before they happened. It
was weird. She was beginning to feel like she had a sixth sense.
Did all pregnant women feel this way?
    “ You’re anxious. It’s
normal. This is your first pregnancy. It happens to a lot of new
mothers. I was anxious when carrying you.”
    Casey looked into her mother’s face,
searching for what she wasn’t saying. Did she know something? Was
she keeping something from her?
    The door opened and the doctor walked
in. Older, his hair receding, his midsection rounded from lack of
exercise, the man reminded her of a grandfather type. A good thing.
Casey wasn’t sure if she’d feel comfortable with the new guy in
town. What if he didn’t know what he was doing yet?
    With a manila file folder in his hand,
he greeted, “Good morning, Casey. Mrs. Foster.”
    “ Hello,” her mother replied.
Casey remained mute.
    “ How’s momma
feeling?”
    “ Good.” Shifting position,
the stiff paper bed cover crinkled beneath her.
    Nodding, he flipped through pages in
his folder, made short grunting sounds. He didn’t say anything,
only uttered his noises as he thumbed through his notes. Casey and
her mother exchanged a look. Were they supposed to ask questions
right now? Wait? Casey fidgeted with the hem of her dress. It was a
simple white cotton shirt dress with a bright floral pattern, a mix
of blues and yellow. It wasn’t bad, but none of the maternity
clothes appealed to her. They were frumpy, dowdy. Then again, she
didn’t expect them to be fashionable or trendy. Comfortable. That’s
what she needed from her maternity clothes. Large tent dresses—as
she had come to call them—weren’t attractive but they suited her
needs.
    Peering at her over black-rimmed
reading glasses, he asked, “Do you have a history of high blood
pressure?”
    Casey looked to her mother. “No,” Annie
responded for her. “Mine is normal. So is my sister, Lacy’s. I
don’t recall any trouble with my parents.”
    Centering on her mom, the doctor asked,
“What about on the father’s side?”
    “ I don’t know,” came the
automatic reply.
    The doctor raised a brow. When her mom
didn’t elaborate, he looked to Casey. “Is there a way we can find
out?”
    “ Is there a problem?” Annie
asked, her posture stiff.
    “ Casey’s pressure is on the
high side. It’s not unusual, considering the added stress on her
body, but with her lack of weight gain and elevated heart rate, I’d
like to rule out anything more serious.”
    Annie sent a sketchy gaze to her
daughter. Casey swallowed. Neither of them knew anything about her
father’s family history, other than Ernie had been a grumpy old
man. He died of cancer. His brother Albert was still alive, living
in a small cabin Nick Harris had built for him in a private wooded
section of the property, just beyond and out of sight from the
hotel. Albert was a loner, his two sons long since gone from Ladd
Springs. Casey’s throat constricted. Were they even
alive?
    She didn’t have a clue.
    “ I can get the information,”
Annie said quickly. “I’ll talk to her aunt. She’ll
know.”
    Her mother was going to ask Delaney?
Would she know any details about Jeremiah’s health?
    “ Are you looking for
anything specific?” Annie inquired.
    Setting his file aside, he removed his
glasses and massaged the red dent of skin at the bridge of his
nose. Taking her mother in with gray eyes a shade bloodshot, he
said, “I’d ask about any known history of high blood pressure,
heart disease, diabetes. Find out if there were any issues with low
birth weight, premature delivery.”
    Her mother snatched the phone from her
purse and began to type furiously into the keypad.