Rachel gives a yip of embarrassment and I immediately pull back, dragging the paper down to cover her legs. Rubbing the tips of my fingers over my mouth, which is still tingling from that kiss, I turn to face the doctor with a sheepish grin.
He blinks at us from behind his frames and actually apologizes, “Oh, God… Sorry to have interrupted you.”
Chuckling, I step away from the examination table and move to Rachel’s side. “Hey, we’re on your time, Doc. We just got a little carried away with each other while we were waiting for you.”
The doctor laughs. “I was running late but when I saw you were the patient Henry McCullough sent over, I jumped you up in the queue, so you didn’t have to wait for me.”
Guess that’s one of the perks of working for The Jameson Group.
He shakes each of our hands. “I’m Bill Anchors. And you must be Rachel Hart and Bodie Wright?”
“That would be us,” Rachel says with a nervous laugh.
Dr. Anchors turns to the sink and washes his hands. “Today, I’ll examine you, and then we’re going to talk about what the game plan will be to monitor you through your pregnancy.”
Rachel looks at me, and I give her a reassuring smile.
Dr. Anchors turns from the sink and takes a seat on the rolling stool. After snagging a pair of latex gloves from a box on the counter, he puts them on with practiced efficiency.
He rolls the stool up to the edge of the exam table. “Go ahead and put your feet in the stirrups and scoot down to the edge of the table. I’m just going to give you a quick pelvic examination.”
I take a few steps back to stand near Rachel’s shoulders as she does what the doctor requests. She stares at the ceiling blankly while the doctor squirts some lube on his finger and proceeds to insert it inside of her. Rachel flinches from the invasion, and my hackles rise. Not because another man has his hand between her legs, but because it’s causing her discomfort. But I know this is part of his job, so I’m going to make it mine to try to ease that for her.
Putting my hand on her shoulder, I give it a squeeze. “You are seriously like the most beautiful and sexy woman I have ever known.”
Rachel’s head snaps my way and her eyes lock onto mine, filled with disbelief.
I nod encouragingly. “Seriously, Hart. All the guys have their tongues hanging out at you behind your back. If you ever want to stop being a mercenary, you could totally be a supermodel.”
Rachel rolls her eyes and growls, “Will you seriously just shut the fuck up, Bodie?”
Dr. Anchors pulls his hand away with a suppressed chuckle and rolls his chair toward the garbage while pulling the latex gloves off. My hand goes behind Rachel’s back and I help her sit up, bending down to whisper in her ear, “I’m not going to lie, I was trying to distract you. But I’m not lying about you being the most beautiful and sexy woman I know.”
Rachel’s face flushes. In that moment, it’s obvious not many men have whispered sweet nothings to her. I find that to be very sad and in need of remedy for sure.
“Okay,” Dr. Anchors says as he stands from the stool. He leans against the counter and crosses his arms over his chest. “Everything looks and feels good on your examination. Going to run some bloodwork and get a urine test to get some baseline readings. Assuming those all look good, you won’t need to come back to see me for another thirty days. You’ll start coming to see me biweekly at the end of your second trimester.”
“And that’s it?” I ask incredulously.
Dr. Anchors gives me a reassuring smile. “That’s pretty much it. Not much to do during the first trimester. We’ll do your first ultrasound at sixteen weeks, and we should be able to check the baby’s gender at that point. Although given the fact that you’re thirty-five, Rachel, you’ll need to be thinking if you want to get some advanced testing.”
“Advanced testing?” she asks hesitantly.
“Amniocentesis for starters,” Dr. Anchors says. “There are a variety of tests we can do to check for abnormalities of the brain and spinal cord or genetic conditions. You two can discuss it and decide if you want to go that route. I’ve got some pamphlets that describe what each of the tests are and what they look for.”
“Okay,” Rachel says. She sits up straighter on the table, wrapping her arms tight over her stomach as if she’s protecting the baby. Shooting me a quick glance, she then looks back to the doctor. “If it’s possible, Dr. Anchors, I would like to be able to talk to you privately.”
A zap of what feels like electricity skitters up my spine in surprise over her request, particularly because there’s no mistaking the slight hint of worry in her voice. She’s not looking at me, though. Her gaze is pinned on the doctor.
He gives her a warm smile. “Of course. That’s not a problem.”
I want to object because I don’t want cut out of any discussion, particularly if there is something worrying Rachel. She says she’s going to go through with this pregnancy for me, but what if she’s having second thoughts?
Her hand comes down on top of mine, and she gives me a squeeze. “Bodie… it’s just personal stuff I want to talk to him about. I haven’t changed my mind about anything.”
Relief floods through me because I hear the truth in her words, and I trust her. I nod and bend down to brush my lips over her cheek. “Okay. I get it. I’m just going to wait for you in the waiting room.”
“Thank you,” she says softly. “I won’t be too long.”
I shake Dr. Anchors’ hand before leaving Rachel in the room to ask whatever secret questions she has, hoping she will eventually confide in me what has her worried so I can help her get through it.
CHAPTER 6
Rachel
I make my way down an empty corridor of gray concrete flooring and white cinderblock walls. I’m not particularly fond of security details, even less so when they’re of some diva pop princess whose highest risk is getting stampeded by thirteen-year-old girls. It’s not exciting enough for me and it’s below my comprehensive skill set, but at least they’ll have me perched in the catwalk that runs above the stage with a rifle. This pop star has had what have been deemed to be credible death threats, and while metal detectors are used at the venue, they’re not foolproof. Her manager felt that adding specialized security through the Jameson Group was a wise use of her money, and I probably agree. I’m on the team covering tonight’s Los Angeles concert. Another team will meet her in Houston for her next one.
Still… I’d rather be running black ops in a foreign country or protecting an important government official. Those are the jobs that gets my juices flowing, and make me feel vital and important.
I’m on this detail because I volunteered for it, and I volunteered for it because I don’t know how many job details I’ll be getting over the next few months given my pregnancy. Dr. Anchors and I discussed that privately.
I didn’t want Bodie involved because I don’t want him to know I’ve been pregnant before and had it end in a miscarriage, an event I still blame myself for to this day, despite being told repetitively by medical personnel that it hadn’t been my fault.