“I mean it. You aren’t my mother. I have no mother. I have no family save Kelly and our child. I’ll never forgive you for this. Stay away from me. Stay away from Kelly. If you ever come within a hundred yards of my family, I’ll forget that you gave birth to me and I’ll have you hauled away in handcuffs. Are we understood?”

She stared wordlessly at him, suddenly looking every one of her sixty years. If she hadn’t so callously tried to destroy the woman he loved, he would have felt sorry for her. But she showed no remorse. No regret.

“I have nothing more to say to you,” he bit out.

He turned and walked away, his mother’s cries for him to stop ringing in his ears.

He walked out of her house, never looking back. He got into the waiting cab and directed the driver back to the hospital. Kelly needed him. Their child needed him.

Chances were she’d never forgive him, but he’d make sure she never wanted for another thing in her life. He’d provide for her and their child. He’d spend the rest of his life making it up to her if only she’d let him.

* * *

Kelly awoke to silence. She was so relieved to no longer hear the horrible ringing in her ears that she could weep. The vile headache was gone. It no longer felt like the top of her head was going to explode.

She was oddly free of pain.

It took her several moments of staring at her surroundings to discover that she was in a hospital room.

Then the events leading up to her collapse came back to her in a flash. Her hands flew automatically to her belly and she was only partially reassured to feel the tight ball there. Was her baby okay? Was she herself okay?

She blinked harder to bring the room more into focus. There was light shining through a crack in the bathroom door. A glance at the blinds told her that it was dark outside.

Then her gaze fell on the chair beside her bed and she found Ryan staring at her, his gaze intense. She flinched away from the raw emotion shining in his blue eyes.

“Hey,” he said quietly. “How are you feeling?”

“Numb,” she answered before she could think better of it. “Kind of blank. My head doesn’t hurt anymore. Are my feet still swollen?”

He carefully picked up the sheet and pushed it over her feet. “Maybe a little. Not as bad as they were. They’ve been giving you meds and they’re monitoring the baby.”

“How is she?” Kelly asked, a knot of fear in her throat.

“For now, she’s doing fine. Your blood pressure stabilized, but they might have to do a C-section if it goes back up or if the baby starts showing signs of distress.”