He started to step back, but she grabbed him by the shirt. “You realize what you’ve done might mean I get to keep them both?” she asked wide-eyed. “You’ve basically given me myfamily.”
Jacques felt the power of her words and the love, gratitude, and undisguised awe behind them. His smile grew as the thought — the most blissful, promising thought — occurred tohim.
“Well,” he said, leaning in and capturing her bottom lip between his teeth before letting it go and looking into her eyes. “I hope in a few years you’ll return thefavor.”
Chapter 31
Dr. Leland Hawthornecouldn’t keep his eyesopen.
He’d failed to get used to the twenty-four-hour shift, even in the fourth year of his residency. The fact that he worked two a week didn’t make life anyeasier.
Lee still had hours ahead of him before he could go home for the night, but if Mrs. Clark didn’t transition too quickly, he could crash in the bunkroom until his shiftended.
It was 4:03 p.m., and he’d come back to University Medical Center at six o’clock the night before. After eight deliveries — two of them preemies — Lee figured he’d need another twenty-four hours just to catch up on hischarts.
But first, he had to sleep before he fell over. He waved to Elaine, the charge nurse, and pointed to the bunkroom. She smiled and gave him thefingers crossedsign. Lee opened the door slowly, just in case Mercer had found a few minutes to slip away, but the resident anesthesiologist was nowhere to befound.
He claimed the bottom bunk farthest from the door andcollapsed.
Six o’clock. When six o’clock comes, I’ll head home and sleep for twelve blessedhours…
With his face in the pillow, Leefrowned.
Are we going somewhere tonight...? What dayis...
* * *
“Dr. Hawthorne? Dr. Hawthorne?Lee!”Elaine’s voice pulled him up from thedead.
He had to be dead. If he wasn’t dead, why was it so hard tomove?
“Yeah?” He forced the word past his zombie tongue. His awful breath was further proof that he’dexpired.
“Mrs. Clark says she’s ready to push. Should I tell Bev to have herwait?”
Lee bolted up. He hadn’t become an OB so he could have mothers and babies wait on him. It was supposed to be the other wayaround.
“No... no. I’m on myway.”
Lee blinked to unglue the contacts from his corneas. He stumbled out of the bunkroom and dragged a hand through his hair, sure that his cowlick stuck straight up like a rooster comb. At least Marcelle wasn’t around to see it. Glancing at his watch, he saw it was only 4:19.
How’s thatpossible?
“Well, hello, Sleeping Beauty,” said Bev Champagne, the labor and delivery nurse with as much sass as she had height. At 5’11”, she could look Lee straight in the eye when she laughed in his face — which happened more times than he cared to admit — but she was the best LD nurses atUMC.
“Is someone ready to be born?” Lee asked, ignoring herjab.
“Mrs. Clark is one-hundred percent effaced, ten centimeters, and ready to push,doc.”
Lee crossed to his patient. She stared at him with alarmed brown eyes, so hesmiled.
“How you doing, Mrs.Clark?”
“I still hate needles, but think I’d like to change my mind about that epidural,” she said, still wide-eyed.
Lee tried not to let his smile grow. “Mrs. Clark, it’s a little late for that now, but this isn’t your first rodeo,” he said, shaking his head. “You did great the lasttime.”
The laboring mother didn’t look convinced. “Yeah, but this one’s coming a bit faster than Desiree. I mean—” She stopped mid-sentence and grabbed Lee’s hand. The fetal monitor echoed proof of her contraction, and Lee checked the baby’s heartrate. “Lord, I gottapush!”
