Page 25 of Love’s Patient Journey (The Relinquished #2)

At the top of the steps, Ryan caught a glimpse of an old wooden baseball bat that someone had stowed in the corner.

It looked pretty old, but Ryan was confident that it could still knock someone senseless.

He grabbed the bat and tiptoed to the dining room, where all the ruckus was coming from.

Thank God the Hulk in the corner had his back turned to Ryan while he was going through Jenna’s China hutch.

She kept some papers in there, and the guy was carefully going through them.

With his attention diverted, the asshole never even knew what hit him.

Ryan swung the bat so hard that he could hear a cracking sound when the bat made contact with the thug’s skull.

Still, the giant didn’t fall right away, turning to look at Ryan, his surprise evident.

Ryan swung once more, knocking the Hulk out with another hit to the head.

“Yeah, that’s right, asshole, I escaped.

” Ryan found a rope in one of the guy’s cargo pants pockets and tied him up.

He also found some duct tape in another pocket and ran it around the guy’s wrists and ankles, just in case he came to and taped his mouth.

On his way back into the kitchen, he grabbed his cell from the family room.

After calling 911, he hit Drew’s number into his phone and told him to haul ass over to Jenna’s.

Ryan rushed to where Jenna lay on the floor, careful not to move her too much.

The gash on her forehead had stopped bleeding, but she was still unconscious.

“Jenna, honey,” he brushed some of her blood-crusted hair out of her eyes.

“Jenna, baby, open your eyes.” She moaned and reached for her head.

“Don’t move too much, princess. The EMTs are on their way, and you are safe.

” Ryan reached for her hand and squeezed.

“Honey, open your eyes and try to talk to me.” She licked her lips and moaned again.

Ryan was just happy that she was moving.

“Don’t call me princess,” she mumbled, trying to open her eyes.

He knelt and kissed her softly on her lips. “I’m not arguing with you, Ry,” Jenna croaked, causing him to bark out a laugh.

“No, honey, you aren’t. I just needed to kiss you. I love you so much. Are you in a lot of pain?” Jenna’s hands instantly went to her belly, and she tried to sit up. Ryan gently held her down.

“Don’t move, honey, you need to stay still until the ambulance gets here.”

Jenna moaned and agreed. “I don’t think my head wants me to move either. I think I see two of you.”

“Yeah, honey, I think you got clocked pretty good. You just lie still for me, okay?” Jenna nodded.

“I know the guy, Ry.” Jenna tried to tell Ryan everything that was on her mind, but the words came out a little jumbled. “He works for the Ashbrook’s,” she at least managed to get that out. Why were her eyes so heavy? She felt so tired.

“Jenna, honey, you need to stay awake,” Ryan said, squeezing her hand in his, causing her a little pain. Her eyes shot back open when she remembered the baby.

“Is the baby okay?” Ryan looked at their little bump and couldn’t tell if their baby was okay or not.

He nodded, “The baby looks fine, honey. He’s a fighter, just like his mama. He’ll be just fine.” Ryan smiled down at her, trying to be as convincing as possible, but the truth was, he was just as worried as she was.

“She’s just fine, you mean to say, because I know she’s a girl.” Again, Ryan laughed at his new bride, bending to give her another soft kiss, thankful that she was alive.

∞

The EMTs decided Jenna should be taken to the emergency room and checked out by a doctor.

They also wanted to do a sonogram on the baby to make sure everything was all right.

Jenna was relieved when Drew showed up to handle the police and their intruder.

She wanted Ryan to go to the ER with her.

Her head felt like it was in a vice, and someone kept tightening the hold.

She didn’t want to have the sonogram without Ryan; she needed his strength to get through the rest of the morning.

And, truth be told, she wanted Ryan to have his head looked at.

He was pretty banged up, and she wanted to make sure that he didn’t have a concussion, too.

When the EMTs first arrived, he refused to let them look at him.

He made them take care of Jenna and the baby.

When Drew arrived, he disappeared into her dining room, where he tried to question the man who broke into her house, but the guy seemed pretty out of it still.

All she could hear was a lot of moaning, but not any talking.

When the police showed up, Drew explained what had happened. Ryan never left her side. He was questioning everything the EMTs did to her, so protective. She loved the way he wanted to take care of her. She needed him to be looked at, but her new husband had a stubborn streak a mile long.

The ER was quiet, not at all how she imagined it.

The bright lights made her eyes hurt, and the doctors moved her around on the gurney so fast that she felt nauseous.

Ryan was with her the whole time, holding her hand, smiling down at her, telling her everything was going to be fine.

But she could tell by his expression that he was just as worried about the baby as she was.

First, the doctor checked out her head and determined that she did indeed have a concussion.

He told her that she was going to have to stay awake for the next 24 hours, which was going to be a problem because, after the morning she just had, all she wanted to do was sleep.

Next, they wheeled a sonogram machine into her little cubicle, and she couldn’t help but burst into tears.

All her worries came to a head when she saw the machine.

She was so worried that the baby was hurt or worse.

She hadn’t felt her kicking since she was in bed this morning.

“Hey,” Ryan soothed her, stroking her hair back, “Why are you crying?”

“I’m just so worried about her—I can’t stop crying,” Jenna sobbed. “What if she’s not okay?”

“Baby, she’s fine. Let the doctor take a look at her, and you’ll see. She’s strong like her mama.” Jenna smiled back at Ryan, through her tears.

“You said ‘she’, ” Jenna said, causing Ryan to laugh.

“Have you felt the baby move yet?” the doctor asked, squirting gel onto her bump.

“Yes, I felt her this morning.” Jenna held her breath waiting for the image to appear on the monitor.

“Do you know what you are having?” the doctor questioned.

“No, this is our first sonogram,” Ryan offered, “My wife thinks it’s a girl.” The baby’s image appeared on the screen, and time seemed to freeze for them both. The doctor moved the wand around on Jenna’s belly, pressing down slightly.

“Well,” the doctor cleared his throat, “do you want to know what you are having?” He looked up at Jenna and Ryan, smiling.

Jenna couldn’t help it; tears started falling down her cheeks.

“Yes, we want to know, right, Ry?” She looked up at her husband and saw that he, too, was crying.

He sniffed and rubbed at his eyes, nodding his head.

The doctor moved the wand over her bump again and froze.

He seemed to be studying the monitor. Jenna held her breath.

“Oh my—well, it looks like you are having a girl.” Jenna squealed with delight, causing Ryan to laugh. “And a boy,” he quickly added. Jenna and Ryan both went mute.

“Wait,” Jenna suddenly felt very confused. “How can the baby be a girl and a boy at the same time?” The doctor laughed and pointed to the screen.

“The baby isn’t both, you are having one of each—twins.” The doctor continued his examination of the babies on the monitor. Jenna felt a little woozy and very emotional. She couldn’t stop crying.

“What do I do with twins?” she asked the doctor between sobs.

“We love them.” Ryan was smiling down at her, unable to hide his own emotions. “So, I guess that we are going to be a family of five here soon.”

Well, that thought didn’t make Jenna feel any calmer.

“They will outnumber us, Ryan. How can you be so calm about this?” She felt the need to get up and run out of the ER.

Her world was spinning out of control, and Ryan was happy about it all.

How was she going to take care of two babies and Zac all at the same time?

Ryan must have seen the panic in her face because he pulled her hand to his lips and gently kissed her fingers.

“We’ll be okay, baby,” he soothed. “You aren’t alone this time. You have me, and I’m not going anywhere. We’re a team now, or have you already forgotten the vows we made to each other yesterday?”

Jenna shook her head, “No.” She knew that she wouldn’t be alone with these babies, the way that she was with Zac, but a part of her was still a little panicked.

The doctor finished up the examination. “Everything looks great. You need to take it easy for the next few days. No sleeping until tomorrow with that concussion.” He turned to Ryan, “If she does fall asleep, wake her every hour for the next 24 hours.” Ryan agreed and even let the doctor take a look at his head.

Luckily, Ryan’s head was thicker than Jenna’s, and he didn’t have a concussion.

“We will keep your wife for a while, monitoring her and the babies, and then you should be able to leave, probably sometime tomorrow.” The doctor shook Ryan’s hand and was gone.

“Some honeymoon,” Jenna groaned. “I’m so sorry, Ryan.”

“For what? You didn’t do anything wrong, but we are going to find out who did this to you, and they will pay.

” Ryan’s look was murderous. “I know that Mr. Ashbrook was behind this. Drew and the police are questioning the asshole who did this now. We will have some answers soon.” Ryan bent to kiss Jenna’s forehead.

“So, two babies? Well, I guess we were both right—a boy and a girl.” He smiled down at her, and for the first time all day, Jenna felt that everything was going to be all right.

“Two babies,” she smiled back up at him and closed her eyes. “Wake me in an hour,” she mumbled and fell asleep to Ryan’s sexy laugh.