Page 24 of Second Chance At Love

Putting the last of the laundry in the basket, she managed to pull herself up from the couch which was getting more difficult by the day. She ignored the stitch in her side. It was just one of many she had been having lately.

Nick and Oliver were already asleep so Cora quickly checked on them before grabbing her room keycard and heading across the hall to knock on Henry’s door.

There was no answer.

Starting to worry, Cora knocked on the door again.

Nothing.

She didn’t dare call out his name as there were other people on the floor. Going back to her suite, she grabbed Henry’s spare keycard that he had given her and her cellphone. Heading back across the hall, she opened the door and flicked on the lights. A quick look around the suite told her Henry wasn’t there.

He hadn’t texted her.

Over the past two months, Henry had let her know his comings and goings so that she wouldn’t worry about him. It was good for someone to be checking in on him to be sure he was okay considering his health issues. Cora had told him heneeded to report to her as his friend and Henry had simply agreed.

Something was wrong.

She didn’t have any calls or texts and Henry wasn’t here like he was supposed to be. Dialing Ben’s phone number, Cora began to pace the floor, holding the two keycards tightly.

“Ben here,” came Ben’s slightly breathless voice.

“Do you know where Henry is? He was supposed to be back at the hotel but he’s not here,” explained Cora worriedly.

“We’re at the hospital. Henry was helping to find Holly and he slipped into the river. He’s alright but they are just checking him out to be sure,” replied Ben.

“Slipped into a river?” echoed Cora in disbelief. “What is he doing out near the river? Couldn’t he let other people handle it?”

Ben hesitated. “We were lucky he was there. Henry found her. He found Holly and called it in.”

“He found her?” Cora sat down on the couch. “How is she? Is Holly okay?”

“She’s alive. The doctors are working on her now,” responded Ben. “She’s lucky. It was really cold out and she wasn’t dressed for the elements. They think she’s drugged up with something. If Henry hadn’t been there, it might have been hours before she was found.”

“I’m coming to the hospital,” decided Cora, standing up.

“There’s no need. Henry is just about to get released. I’m going to give him a lift to the hotel,” calmly stated Ben. “By the time you get here, we will be leaving anyway. You might as well just wait for him.”

“I guess,” reluctantly said Cora as she shut off the lights. She winced as another stitch caught her side, taking her breath. “Thank you for taking care of him, Ben.”

“He’s my brother,” Ben told her simply.

They said their goodbyes and Cora made her way to her room.Really, this baby needed to shift and get off whatever organ he was crushing,thought Cora as she rubbed her side again, putting pressure on the stitch that was paining her.

She picked up the laundry intending to take it to her room when suddenly a hard pain wrapped itself around her abdomen, causing her to drop the basket. Grabbing the table, Cora gasped at the intensity.

Her thoughts raced. Was she in labor? She had been ignoring little pains all day. Her back hurt but that wasn’t uncommon late in a pregnancy.

Cora wasn’t ready. The house wasn’t ready. The baby was supposed to be another three weeks and she hadn’t given it the best start, starving herself to stay small. What if she had harmed the baby doing that? Surely it would be better for him if he stayed to term in thepregnancy.

Feeling a wetness, Cora looked down at her damp pants. Her water had broken.

Grabbing her phone, she called Addison.

“Cora?” came Addison’s surprised voice. “Is everything okay?”

“Can Lincoln watch the boys? Henry and Ben are at the hospital. I’m in labor and I was hoping you might come with me,” she said in a rush. “My water broke.”

“We will come to the hotel. Unless you want me to meet you at the hospital? Are you calling for an ambulance?”asked Addison in concern.