“I want you more. Alive. With me. With Draya and Kyle and this one.”

“I need you to go see him. They won’t let me, Jake, and I need you to go and make certain he’s all right. He’ll know if you don’t go. His leopard will know. He has to realize right away how important and wanted he is to us.”

There were tears in Emma’s voice. That was difficult. Having your woman cry was like shredding one’s soul. Alonzo had learned that. Evangeline had taught him that lesson.

“Baby, listen to me.” Jake’s voice gentled. He leaned into his woman and cupped her chin, his thumb sliding gently along her cheek as if he could erase the tears. “I didn’t say we wouldn’t have more children. You want a dozen, we’ll have them. You know I would love every one. We can adopt. We can have a surrogate. I don’t care how it’s done, only that you don’t carry them. Promise me you won’t even ask me.”

“I heard Doc,” Emma whispered. “I wouldn’t risk leaving all of you. It’s just hard when a doctor tells a woman she can’t have any more children. For me, it makes me feel less.”

“That’s bullshit, Emma.” Jake was back to snarling. “No woman is less because she can’t have children. And for me, there is no other woman.”

“I didn’t say it was rational. I said it was how it made me feel. I just need a little time to process everything without you snarling at me.”

Jake was silent for a moment and then he leaned closer to brush his mouth over the tears on her face. “Stop crying for me and I’ll go see our boy. Give me a minute with Alonzo and I’ll be right back.”

Alonzo forced a frozen smile when Emma lifted her gaze to his. Clearly Jake hadn’t said anything about Evangeline or the shooting because he straightened, turned slightly and shook his head.

“I’ll come back later, Emma,” Alonzo said. “Let you get some rest. I just wanted to make certain you were all right.” His allowed his gaze to drift up toward the bags of blood they had obviously been used for transfusions.

“Just tired,” she said.

“I’m glad you and the baby are all right.” Alonzo backed out of the room and moved out of sight of the doorway, allowing Jake privacy to say good-bye to his woman.

He didn’t understand certain things in relationships. Jake had allowed Emma to get pregnant and carry a child even though she’d nearly died and now he was angry—not, he knew, at her but at himself. He was taking it out on her. Making her miserable. Sad. Upset.