The Pregnancy Surprise,Used

Excerpt. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. The crash from the kitchen was so loud, it sounded like a car coming through the wall.Sara Kaufman's heart hammered inside her chest as she dropped her dust cloth and ran toward the noise."Help! Sara, are you there?"It was Miss Greer. The thready voice calling for help confirmed Sara's worst fears. Her elderly employer was hurt.Sara reached the kitchen door at the same time as Reece Remington, one of the guests at the Sunsetter BedandBreakfast where Sara lived and worked. They bumped each other trying to fit through the door side by side.Reece stepped back and let Sara enter first. "Was that Miss Greer?" Concern etched his handsome face.Sara was about to answer, but Miss Greer called again. "Sara?" The voice came from the open pantry. "Is that you?""I'm coming, Miss Greer!" Sara and Reece rushed to the pantry. Through the doorway they could see their whitehaired landlady lying amidst an avalanche of boxes and canned goods. Flour covered her faceit looked as if an open bag of the stuff had fallen on her head."Oh, my God, what happened?" Sara's first instinct was to reach for Miss Greer and get her back on her feet, but Reece stopped her with a hand to her shoulder."Don't move her," he said. "If she's injured, that might make things worse.""What happened?" Sara asked again."I'm not sure." The elderly lady sounded less panicked now that help had arrived. "Maybe I slipped on something. When I started to fall, I grabbed the shelf and pulled half the pantry down on top of me and now I'm stuck. Thank goodness it was the flour that hit me in the head, rather than the economysize can of cling peaches.""Are you injured, Miss Greer?" Reece asked. "Does anything hurt?""Now, don't fuss over me," she groused, moving her head around so they could see she at least hadn't broken her neck. "I think I can stand up if you two help."Sara and Reece both squeezed into the pantry. It was a tight fit, with all three of them in there, and under other circumstances Sara would have enjoyed the proximity. Reece was a thoroughly delicious man, tall and rangy with broad shoulders showcased perfectly by the starched, buttondown shirts he wore. If only he would relax a littleReece took one of Miss Greer's arms and Sara took the other, and they tried to pull her up. But they'd moved her only a few inches when she howled in pain and they were forced to gently set her back down."Where does it hurt?" Sara asked."My hip.""I'm calling an ambulance." Reece exited the pantry, which at least made it easier for Sara to breathe in there. All that maleness crammed into such a small space was a little distracting."I'm sure it's not serious," Sara said, though she wasn't sure at all.It scared Sara to see Miss Greer like this.Sara had worked at the Port Clara, Texas, B and B for more than ten years. The older woman wasn't just her boss; she was family."What am I going to do?" Miss Greer asked. "What if I've broken something? You hear about old people breaking their hips and never coming home again."Sara wished she had an answer, or even some believably reassuring words, but she'd never been much good in an emergency. All she could think to do was hold Miss Greer's hand and squeeze it.Reece was already on the phone. He was calm, no sign of panic, and Sara took several deep breaths, trying to follow suit. The paramedics would come, and maybe they would determine it wasn't a serious injury.Then they could all laugh over the mishap, and Sara could clean up the pantry, fix the broken shelf and make soup and sandwiches for everyone.She was glad Reece was here. He obviously knew how to handle a crisis.She squeezed Miss Greer's hand again. "How bad does it hurt?""It's not too bad if I lie still," the old lady said, but her brow was creased with tension.Sara nibbled at her lower lip. Maybe Miss Greer's hip wasn't broken. Maybe she'd justsprained it or something.Reece returned and got down on his knees beside Sara