Undone by Her Tender Touch (Pregnancy & Passion #4)(50)

A few moments later, Gloria returned. Once again she had that odd look on her face as she came through the door.

“What did the doctor say?” Pippa asked.

Gloria blinked. “Oh, I didn’t talk to him. I spoke to the nurse. She says you’ll be ready to go home in just a couple of hours.”

An uneasy feeling crept over Pippa. Something was up with Mrs. C. “Is anything wrong?”

Gloria looked up at the sharpness in Pippa’s tone. She glanced back toward the door and then she sighed. “You’ll know soon enough, anyway. Cam’s outside the door. Looks like he’s been there all night. He refuses to budge. Just sits there in that chair and broods. He wanted to come in, but I told him not to. I didn’t want to upset you.”

Pippa’s heart thudded painfully. Her fingers automatically curled into fists and she went quiet. Her breathing was loud in the silent room and she stared at the wall as if she could see through it to Cam sitting on the other side.

“I don’t want to see him,” she whispered.

Gloria put her arm around Pippa’s shoulders and squeezed. “You don’t have to, baby. I just didn’t want you to get a shock when you left and he was there in front of you.”

“No, it’s okay. Thank you for the heads-up. It’s just that we have nothing left to say to each other.”

Gloria kissed her temple and squeezed her a little harder. “Ashley’s being discharged today and is bringing Katelynn home. We’ll all just go to my apartment together once you’re released.”

Pippa nodded numbly, her mind still on Cam. She wasn’t a coward, but the very last thing she wanted right now was another confrontation. His words had cut her to the core and it was a wound she wouldn’t recover from in a day or even a week.

One day at a time. Things would get better. She had to believe that.

Twenty-three

Cam paced the hallway outside of Pippa’s door, wondering at one point why he didn’t just walk in and force a confrontation. Then he shook his head. It wasn’t the time or the place. Devon and Ashley were right. Pippa was holding on by a thread. This wasn’t about him.

He glanced up when he saw Devon coming down the hallway.

“Have you been in to see her?” Devon asked as he stopped in front of Pippa’s door.

Cam shook his head. “Ashley’s mom is in with her. She didn’t want me anywhere near Pippa. I don’t blame her. Where’s Ashley and Katelynn?”

“They’re in the car. I pulled it around to the exit. Ashley’s father is out with her. He’s going to drive Pippa and Gloria home.”

Cam grimaced and rubbed a hand through his hair. Pippa had no home to return to. But she should. It was with him. Always with him. She should have never been anywhere else all these months.

He blew out his breath, not knowing what to do. It was a feeling he wasn’t accustomed to. He was always decisive even when he was dead wrong. He never had a problem knowing what to say even when he was putting his foot in his mouth. Right now he lacked for words.

And then Pippa’s door opened and there she stood, Gloria hovering just behind her. His gaze zeroed in on Pippa. She was pale and wan, deep shadows under her eyes. Her hair was pulled back into a rough ponytail and her cheekbones were more pronounced than ever. Her arms even seemed more slender. The only part of her that seemed normal was the bulge in front where their son rested.

“Pippa,” he said in a low, unsteady voice. “Thank God you’re okay.”

He reached out, wanting to touch her, to somehow confirm that she was really standing before him, but she flinched away. He withdrew his hand, curling his fingers into a tight fist at his side.

She started to move past him and he closed his eyes knowing he couldn’t let her walk away. Not again. Not like this.

“Pippa, wait, please.”

She halted in midstep and stood there a long moment, her back still to him. Then she slowly turned, her eyes dull and lifeless as she stared back at him. Then her chin came up and she squared her shoulders.

“Wait outside for me,” she said to Devon and Gloria. “I’ll just be a minute.”

Gloria Copeland looked very much like she wanted to argue but she kept her mouth tightly shut.

“I’ll wait down the hall so I can walk you out,” Devon said.

Pippa nodded and then turned back to Cam as Devon and Gloria walked away.

No longer able to keep from touching her, Cam reached out to capture Pippa’s hand. He pulled her close so he could feel the steady reassurance of her heartbeat against his chest. She sagged against him, her sigh hitting him right in the gut. It was a forlorn, tired sigh that told him she was at the end of her rope physically and emotionally.

She closed her eyes and turned her face into his neck for just a moment before she pulled away, her expression locked in stone once more.

“I need to go. They’re waiting for me.”

Cam’s protest was automatic. “You can come home with me, Pippa. I’ll take care of you. We have a lot to talk about. There’s a lot I need to say to you. But my first priority is you.”

“No.”

He expected more. An argument. Something he could counter. But all she uttered was a clipped no and stared woodenly back at him.

His heart lurched. This was so much worse than he’d imagined. All the emotion he’d held back since the night before came rushing forward, bulging in his throat.