Enticed by His Forgotten Lover (Pregnancy & Passion #1)(42)

Eighteen

Bryony’s phone rang in the middle of the night. She pried herself from Rafael’s arms and reached blindly for the phone on her bedside table.

“Hello?”

“Bry, it’s Silas. You need to come to the hospital. It’s your grandmother.”

Bryony scrambled up, shaking the fuzz of sleep from her eyes. “Mamaw? What happened?”

“She had one of her spells. Blood sugar dropped. She called me and I couldn’t understand a word she was saying so I rushed over and took her to the hospital.”

Dear Lord, and she and Rafael had slept through it all.

“Why didn’t someone come over and tell me?” she demanded.

“There wasn’t a need to alarm you if it turned out to be nothing. I still think it’s nothing but the nurse insisted I contact you so you could come down and sign some paperwork. They just want the insurance stuff squared away. You know these damn hospitals. Always wanting their money,” Silas grumbled.

“Of course, I’ll be right there.”

Bryony hung up to see Rafael sitting up in bed, a look of concern on his face.

“Is Laura all right?”

Bryony grimaced. “I don’t know. She’s a diabetic and she doesn’t always take care of herself. Sometimes she doesn’t always take her insulin and at other times she doesn’t eat when she should. I never know if she’s in insulin shock or on the verge of diabetic coma.”

“I’ll go with you,” he said as he hurried from the bed.

Twenty minutes later, they strode into the small community hospital. Silas met them in the main hallway.

“How is she?” Bryony asked anxiously.

“Oh, you know your grandmother. She’s as mad as a wet hen at having to stay overnight. She didn’t even want to go to the hospital. I made her drink some orange juice at the house and she came right around but I thought she ought to be checked out anyway. She’s not speaking to me as a result.”

Bryony sighed. “Where is she now?”

“They moved her out of the emergency room to observation. They won’t release her until they know for sure they have someone to watch over her for the next twenty-four hours.”

“Take us to her,” Bryony said.

As Silas predicted, Mamaw was in a fit of temper and ready to go home. The doctor was attempting to lecture her on the importance of not missing a meal and Mamaw’s lips were stretched tight in irritation.

She brightened considerably when Bryony and Rafael walked through the door but glowered in Silas’s direction.

Bryony went to the bed and kissed her grandmother’s cheek. “Mamaw, you scared me.”

Mamaw rolled her eyes. “I’m fine. Any fool can see that. I’m ready to go home. Now that you’re here, they should let me go. They seem to think I need a babysitter for the next little while.”

“Glad to see you’re all right, Laura,” Rafael said as he bent to kiss her cheek.

Mamaw smiled and patted Rafael’s cheek. “Thank you, young man. Sorry to drag you and my granddaughter out of bed at this hour. Pregnant women need their rest, but no one but me seems to be concerned with that little tidbit.”

“Is she okay to go home, Doctor?” Bryony asked, directing her attention to the physician standing to the side.

The doctor nodded. “She knows what she did wrong. I doubt it’ll do any good to tell her not to do it again, but she’s fine otherwise. You’ll need to keep an eye on her for the next twenty-four hours and check her blood sugar every hour. Make sure she eats properly and takes her insulin as directed.”

“Don’t worry. I will,” Bryony said firmly. “Can we take her home now or does she need to stay?”

“No, as long as she goes home with someone, she’s free to leave as soon as we get her discharged. That’ll take a few minutes so make yourself comfortable.”

Mamaw shooed the doctor away with a scowl and then stared pointedly at Silas, who still stood by the door. With a sigh, Silas nodded in Bryony’s direction and walked out.

Bryony shook her head in exasperation. “When are you going to stop being such a twit to him, Mamaw? He’s crazy about you and you know darn well you’re just as crazy about him.”

“Maybe when he stops treating me like I’m incapable of taking care of myself,” she grumbled.

Bryony threw up her hands. “Maybe he’ll stop when you prove that you can. You know better than to skip meals, especially after taking your insulin.”

Rafael picked up Mamaw’s hand and gave her a smooth smile. “You cannot fault a man for wanting to ensure the safety of the woman he loves. It’s a worry we never get over. We always want to protect her and see to her well-being.”

Mamaw looked a little gob-smacked. “Yes, well, I suppose…” She cleared her throat and glanced at Bryony again. “I thought you two were leaving in the morning.”

“Rafael will have to go without me,” Bryony said brightly. “You come first, Mamaw. I’m not leaving you alone after promising the doctor I’d look after you.”

Rafael slid his hand over Bryony’s shoulder. “Of course, you should stay. Hopefully my business in the city won’t take long and I’ll be back to see my two favorite women again.”