Hostile Ground (The Arsenal #7) - Cara Carnes Page 0,141
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Ellie Mason glanced at the clock and silently cursed her stupidity. She should’ve waited. Bree would be leaving The Arsenal for a vacation in a few hours. Ellie still had a cake to ice and decorations to hang and….
Exhaustion plagued her as the list appeared in her mind. The tiredness had finally forced her hand and now she was in Medical. She sat on the examination table and willed the terrifyingly dark thoughts away. She twirled her wedding band around and around. She’d seen Johnny do that whenever he was nervous about something. If it helped a kickass commando, maybe it’d give her enough courage to face this monster head-on.
Tears pooled in her eyes as she silently cursed the possibilities listing in her brain. As much as she wanted to ignore the symptoms that’d been bothering her the past few weeks, she wouldn’t make the same mistakes her mom did.
How many times had she wished her mom had sought treatment sooner? How many times had her mom shared the regret she carried for ignoring the signs and not going to the doctor sooner?
God.
It’s not fair.
She’d rode the waves of anger to get her into Logan’s examination bay. She should’ve gone into Nomad and seen a stranger—a doctor who wouldn’t be as torn up about the likely diagnosis as she would.
Brant wasn’t a possibility. That man had seen her mom through so much over the years, as his father had before he’d taken over. So, yeah. Here she was. In Logan’s examination bay waiting for him to walk in and…
As if summoned by the terror running through her veins, he entered. His semi-unruly hair gave him a rakish look. If he’d chosen acting over medicine, he would’ve given Doctor McDreamy a run for his money.
“Ellie. This is a surprise.” He glanced down at Ariana, where she slept in her carrier. “Is Ariana sick?”
Ellie blinked away the tears and wiped at her cheeks. “No. I-I think I am.”
He sat on the small stool and took her hand. “Take a deep breath, honey. Where’s Jesse?”
“He’s working with Mary and Vi and Zoey and Cord and Jacob on the intel Mia and Spade provided.” She forced a watery breath. She could get through this. Really, she could.
“Let me give him a call.” He reached for the phone.
She snagged his hand and squeezed. “No. Please. I-I need to know first. I have to be strong. Please.”
“Honey.”
“She ignored her symptoms.”
“Ellie.”
“I’ve had them a few weeks now. They weren’t too bad at first. I figured I was just eating too much or had gotten a stomach bug. But I’m so tired. All the time. I figured it was just because…”
“You’ve had a lot on your plate. You both have.” He glanced down at Ellie. “Being a mom takes a toll.”
“It does.”
“And your mom hasn’t been doing well.”
Mom didn’t have much time left. Ellie cherished each day they had together because it could be her last. Ariana and Jesse were new joys in her mom’s life.
And Ellie’s.
“If you’re stressed and need more help, you should talk to Jesse or one of the girls. We can get you more help for the office. A sitter.”
“No. I love everything I do,” Ellie said. “Ariana’s perfect. Jesse’s perfect. I’ve never been this happy.” Ellie let the tears flow. “I don’t want to be sick, but I’ve got the nausea and the fatigue and a bit of pain.”
Logan’s eyes narrowed. “When was your last cycle?”
“I can’t remember. I spotted for a couple days two weeks ago. My cycles haven’t ever been regular, though.” Her gaze darted about the small room. She looked down at her lap and kicked her legs back and forth. “I’m sorry. I should’ve gone into Nomad. You came here to treat commandoes, not…” Potentially cancer-ridden women.
“Ellie.” Logan squeezed her hand. “I’m glad you came here. We’ll figure this out, okay?”
She nodded as he stood. She sat through the routine checking of the pulse and blood pressure—both unhappy given her current emotional state—and suffered through the embarrassment of providing a urine sample.
She trekked into the bathroom and did what needed to be done and washed her hands. She set it down on the tray and got back onto the table.
“Now what?” Fear softened her voice to a barely audible volume.
“Now I’m going to draw some blood and we’ll see what we find out.” He offered a smile, but it didn’t hit his eyes. She recognized that smile. He gave it to her mom all the time.