Diamond was standing closer to her than Darien. He caught Serena in his arms just as she crumpled.
Darien's hands curled into fists. The sight of his wife in his half-brother's arms bit into his gut like a vicious dog. He yanked open the rear door of Serena's car. "Here," he said shortly. He brushed his hand over Mattie's head as the girl leaned over the back of the front seat, her eyes wide.
Diamond, having settled Serena on the back seat, backed away. Darien rounded the car and climbed behind the wheel, starting the engine with a savage motion. He shot out of the parking slot, marginally aware of Diamond jumping out of the way, and drove straight to the doctor's.
"Daddy? Is Mommy sick?" Mattie's face was pinched and pale.
"She'll be okay," Darien promised gruffly. He turned sharply and pulled into the parking lot of the medical clinic, parking right in front of the entrance. "Grab Mommy's purse," he told Mattie. He went around to the back and gently lifted Serena from the seat.
In just the few steps to get to the clinic, snowflakes fell on her hair, glistening like diamonds against her golden curls. He carried her inside, Mattie trotting behind. "She needs the doc," he said, heading right past the receptionist toward the examining rooms.
It helped that he was familiar with the new Weaver medical clinic. He ought to be, considering he'd helped build it, fitting in the work between the hours he spent doing his real work as a cutting horse trainer. The door to the second room was open and he carried Serena inside, lowering her to the high, padded exam table.
Serena's eyes opened and she stared up at him, confusion clearly written in her blue eyes. She started to sit up. "Darien? What happened? Where—"
"So, what's the problem here?" Dr. Patricia Sorenson glided into the room, moving around Darien to look at Serena. She'd already flashed a light in Serena's eyes before anyone could speak.
"I just…I got a little dizzy. That's all."
"She passed out cold," Darien corrected grimly.
"Don't be ridiculous," Serena said defensively. "I'm fine. I guess I'm hungry. I missed lunch and—"
"And we'll just talk for a minute, okay?" Patricia was calm as she managed to quietly, but implacably, nudge Darien and Mattie from the room. "My nurse, Gloria, brought in brownies to the office today," she whispered with a quick wink to Mattie after assuring her that her mom would be just fine. "They're in the reception area if you want one."
"I want to know what's wrong with my mom first," Mattie said, all young and determined.
Somehow, the sight of his little girl looking the doctor's square in the eyes that way made Darien's tension ease a little. "Come on, sweet pea. Relax." He closed his hand over Mattie's shoulder. "It'll just be a few minutes. Then we'll take your mom home and make sure she eats that lunch she missed. Right?"
Mattie didn't look too enthusiastic, but she nodded and went in search of the brownies.
"You have one, also, Darien." Patricia's voice was soft, but firm. "Give me a minute with her alone. We won't be long."
He looked over the top of the doctor's head. If Serena gave one indication that she wanted him to stay, there was nothing the physician could do to keep him away. But Serena's gaze met his for only a moment before she looked aside.
"Go relax, Darien," Patricia urged again and with nothing else to be done about it, Darien joined Mattie in the reception area.
But relax? He doubted it.
Particularly when he saw Diamond step into the office and look around…
"Have you had other episodes of dizziness?"
Serena finished buttoning her blouse and started to shake her head. "Well, a few, yes," she admitted to Patricia, flicking a glance at her. There was something about the female physician that inspired trust. "But nothing this bad."
"Nausea? Missed periods?"
She felt the blood drain from her head and sank back against the exam table. "You think I'm pregnant?"
Patricia's lips twitched. "You know better than I at this point, Serena. Is it a possibility? Might as well look at the most obvious explanation first, don't you agree?"
Despite everything, she and Darien had never discussed having more children together. They'd married because of Mattie and anything beyond that had never been an issue. Perhaps that was odd, considering how long they'd been together, but Darien had never brought it up, and Serena had taken her cue from him. Besides, she'd been too busy trying to walk the tightrope of being a wife without letting her husband know that she'd gone beyond their original arrangement by actually falling in love with him.
"I suppose it's a possibility," she admitted, feeling the color return to her face with a vengeance. Though for what reason, she couldn't say. She and Darien were married, after all. "But I'd have to be pretty early along. And I really think that it's unlikely…"
"Let's run a test to be certain. Okay?"
Ten minutes later, Serena walked out of Patricia's office, feeling more dazed than when she'd come to and found herself in Darien's arms in the exam room.
The tableau that greeted her, however, was a blow she could have done without.
Darien standing near the wall, his expression closed.
Diamond sitting on a chair next to Mattie, their two heads close as they looked at the handheld video game that Mattie was playing with.
"What are you doing?" Her voice was sharper than she intended.
Mattie's head lifted and she bounded over to her, wrapping her arms around her waist. "Mommy, you're okay?"
She leaned over and kissed her forehead. "I'm fine," she assured him. Then she straightened and looked at her husband. "Nothing to worry about at all. I'd like to go home, now, though."
"Hey, great," Diamond pushed to his feet. "Ma told me that Darien there built a house with his own two hands. Could hardly believe it. Can't wait to see it. I guess that's the house you two share. Strange how Ma never said you guys were hitched."
"No!" She flushed and looked at Darien, wishing that he would say something. She wasn't surprised at all that Lenora hadn't mentioned her. The woman would prefer to pretend she didn't exist at all. "I mean…perhaps another time. I am feeling a bit tired."
Diamond shrugged. "Sure. Whenever. I'll be around a while, after all."
At that, Darien looked over at his half-brother. "Why?"
"Because I'm going to be working at GameZone. I'm moving to Weaver, man. I thought Ma told you all this. Isn't it great? It'll be almost like old times again."
Serena felt Darien's dark eyes like a physical thing. "Sure," he said sardonically. "Like old times."