Read Online Seeing Stars: A Loveswept Classic Romance by Fran Baker - Free Book Online
Authors: Fran Baker
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in, clearing her head. The snow that had piled up against the storm window collapsed and fell onto the bedroom floor.
Not until Nick knelt beside her and drew in several drafts of the fresh, freezing air did she understand what an incredibly close call they’d just had.
“How do they heat this house?”
“Curtis converted from oil to gas a couple of years ago.” She looked at him quizzically. “Why?”
“Unless I’ve missed my guess, their furnace has a carbon-monoxide leak.”
“But the pilot light was on when we checked the basement.”
Nick stood, and Dovie followed suit. “A lit gas burner only means the furnace is operating; it has no bearing on the CO.”
She opened the rest of the windows without a hitch, and the room immediately felt like the inside of a meat locker. “CO?”
“The odorless, colorless, silent killer.” He scooped Linda up off the bed and carried her to an open window for some fresh air.
“I never even suspected it.” Dovie shivered, not entirely from the cold, when she sat down on the window seat and helped Nick lower Linda to her lap. Later she would remember with amazement how they had worked as a team. But the danger was still too recent. Still too real. “Law, we could have died—all of us!”
“That’s my fault.” He briefly relived another reaction, the one that had cost him his eyesight. Surprisingly enough, the memory wasn’t nearly as bitter now as it had been a couple of days ago. Before he’d met Dovie. Dear Lord, if anything had happened to her because of him … He crossed back to the bed, appalled at his own recklessness. “I didn’t stop to think that carbon monoxide can put the rescuers at risk too.”
Watching Nick heft her two-hundred-pound-plus brother with no more difficulty than he’d have picking up an infant, Dovie felt a surge of emotion that ultimately clouded her eyes. “When will they start coming around?”
“The sooner the better.” His thigh brushed hers when he sat down next to her and turned sideways so Curtis could get a lungful of life-giving air. The strength of his physical response to touchingDovie really jolted him, and it was all he could do to check the urge that stiffened his jeans.
“Are you saying they still might …?” Fear made sailor’s knots in Dovie’s throat, and her voice faded to nothingness.
Nick reached over with his free hand and squeezed her shoulder, wishing he could absorb some of her pain. His heart thundered when he felt Dovie’s first soundless spasm, the sob that was not yet a sob. She was so alone … so vulnerable.
Deep in her own misery, Dovie rubbed her palms over Linda’s abdomen. As she did it she felt the muscles begin to tighten, starting at the sides and rippling upward. Suddenly she felt immensely relieved, then full of excitement.
“Look, Nick!” She took his hand and laid it at the base of her sister-in-law’s stomach, then placed her own on the opposite side.
Their fingertips touched, their hands forming a light cradle around Linda’s abdomen as, together, they shared the thrilling affirmation of life amidst the tragic possibility of death.
“She’s in labor, isn’t she?”
“The first stage of it, yes.”
“Did you hear that, Linda?” Dovie spoke excitedly into her sister-in-law’s ear. “The
doctor
says you’re in labor!”
Nick didn’t have the heart to correct her.
When a tiny foot—or was it a fist?—poked at the flat of her palm, she leaned over and shook her brother’s shoulder. “Your baby kicked me, Curtis!Here”—she took his limp hand and held it in place—“feel for yourself!”
Linda shifted restlessly then, as though she recognized her husband’s touch, and Nick felt a little chill that had nothing to do with the cold air flailing through the bedroom when his burden, too, began to stir.
“Where the hell is Harley?” Rationally he knew it had only been about ten minutes since Dovie had called his houseman, but it seemed like
Not until Nick knelt beside her and drew in several drafts of the fresh, freezing air did she understand what an incredibly close call they’d just had.
“How do they heat this house?”
“Curtis converted from oil to gas a couple of years ago.” She looked at him quizzically. “Why?”
“Unless I’ve missed my guess, their furnace has a carbon-monoxide leak.”
“But the pilot light was on when we checked the basement.”
Nick stood, and Dovie followed suit. “A lit gas burner only means the furnace is operating; it has no bearing on the CO.”
She opened the rest of the windows without a hitch, and the room immediately felt like the inside of a meat locker. “CO?”
“The odorless, colorless, silent killer.” He scooped Linda up off the bed and carried her to an open window for some fresh air.
“I never even suspected it.” Dovie shivered, not entirely from the cold, when she sat down on the window seat and helped Nick lower Linda to her lap. Later she would remember with amazement how they had worked as a team. But the danger was still too recent. Still too real. “Law, we could have died—all of us!”
“That’s my fault.” He briefly relived another reaction, the one that had cost him his eyesight. Surprisingly enough, the memory wasn’t nearly as bitter now as it had been a couple of days ago. Before he’d met Dovie. Dear Lord, if anything had happened to her because of him … He crossed back to the bed, appalled at his own recklessness. “I didn’t stop to think that carbon monoxide can put the rescuers at risk too.”
Watching Nick heft her two-hundred-pound-plus brother with no more difficulty than he’d have picking up an infant, Dovie felt a surge of emotion that ultimately clouded her eyes. “When will they start coming around?”
“The sooner the better.” His thigh brushed hers when he sat down next to her and turned sideways so Curtis could get a lungful of life-giving air. The strength of his physical response to touchingDovie really jolted him, and it was all he could do to check the urge that stiffened his jeans.
“Are you saying they still might …?” Fear made sailor’s knots in Dovie’s throat, and her voice faded to nothingness.
Nick reached over with his free hand and squeezed her shoulder, wishing he could absorb some of her pain. His heart thundered when he felt Dovie’s first soundless spasm, the sob that was not yet a sob. She was so alone … so vulnerable.
Deep in her own misery, Dovie rubbed her palms over Linda’s abdomen. As she did it she felt the muscles begin to tighten, starting at the sides and rippling upward. Suddenly she felt immensely relieved, then full of excitement.
“Look, Nick!” She took his hand and laid it at the base of her sister-in-law’s stomach, then placed her own on the opposite side.
Their fingertips touched, their hands forming a light cradle around Linda’s abdomen as, together, they shared the thrilling affirmation of life amidst the tragic possibility of death.
“She’s in labor, isn’t she?”
“The first stage of it, yes.”
“Did you hear that, Linda?” Dovie spoke excitedly into her sister-in-law’s ear. “The
doctor
says you’re in labor!”
Nick didn’t have the heart to correct her.
When a tiny foot—or was it a fist?—poked at the flat of her palm, she leaned over and shook her brother’s shoulder. “Your baby kicked me, Curtis!Here”—she took his limp hand and held it in place—“feel for yourself!”
Linda shifted restlessly then, as though she recognized her husband’s touch, and Nick felt a little chill that had nothing to do with the cold air flailing through the bedroom when his burden, too, began to stir.
“Where the hell is Harley?” Rationally he knew it had only been about ten minutes since Dovie had called his houseman, but it seemed like
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