Virgin River (Virgin River #1)(100)

When they got to the hospital they entered the emergency room and, once inside, Mel handed Jack her coat and said, “You should move the SUV. Jeremy and I will take her up to labor and delivery. John’s meeting us. I hate to ask you, but…”

“Of course I’ll wait. I’ll be right here. Don’t worry about me.”

“Am I going to be allowed in?” Jeremy asked while they were in the elevator.

“That’s going to be up to Dr. Stone,” she said. “If it were up to me, I wouldn’t have a problem with it.”

Mel pushed the gurney through the swinging doors and was very happy to see John standing at the sink, finishing his scrub. Hands held up, he turned toward her and gave a nod and a smile. “Number two is set up, Mel. The anesthesiologist is here.”

Beside him at the adjoining sink, pumping the faucet pedal with her foot, was a nurse in scrubs, her mask tied around her neck. She looked over at Mel and with a sarcastic twist of her lips, said, “Another botched home birth?”

Mel’s mouth dropped open and her eyes widened as if slapped. John whirled on the nurse, glaring at her. Then John turned back to Mel and said, “Can you scrub in with me, Mel?”

“I’m prepared to assist, Dr. Stone,” the nurse said from behind him.

“Thank you, Juliette, but I’m leaning toward someone more professional. You and I will talk later.” And to Mel, “You have less than fifteen minutes.”

“Certainly. Jeremy wants to be there,” she said.

“Of course. Juliette, find the father some scrubs. Mel, you’ll find some in the locker room. Shake a leg.”

Mel pushed the gurney to operating room number two and let the circulating nurse pull Anne into the room. She donned green scrubs in the locker room and joined Jeremy at the sink, saying, “If you scrub in, the doctor might be inclined to let you hold your son when he’s born. Just like this,” she said, demonstrating the scrubbing technique. “No guarantees on that, so no pouting. And you’ll have to stay at Anne’s head.”

“Have you done this before?” he asked her. “Assisted in a C-section?”

“Many times,” she said.

“Mel?” he asked. “It wasn’t botched, was it?”

“Of course not. What Anne experienced wasn’t all that unusual. You were there, Jeremy. You see anything happen that bothered you? I trust you would’ve said something or at least asked a question or two.” She smiled at him. “You have one stubborn little boy to raise. Fortunately, we have a very good surgeon at our disposal.”

By the time they entered the operating room, Anne had received her spinal from the anesthesiologist and was much more comfortable. John was ready to begin and Mel took her place next to him, her instruments lying out on the mayo stand.

“Scalpel,” he said.

She slapped it into his hand. “Thank you,” she said. “For what you did out there.”

“She’s a good nurse, but I never figured her for jealous. I apologize for her. We’re ready to retract,” he said. He chuckled. “You do a damn fine job, Mel. I’d let you deliver my wife in a second.”

The ride back to Virgin River wasn’t exactly quiet—Jeremy was a literal motormouth. Jack heard the details of the surgery several times. While Jeremy’s wife was in recovery and his son in the nursery, he needed a lift home to fetch his own vehicle so he could go back. He chattered while Jack drove, and Mel’s head lolled on the seat beside him.

“Exhausted, baby?” he asked her.

“I’ll be fine after a nap,” she said.

“Mel assisted Dr. Stone,” Jeremy sounded from the back. “He asked her to. It was incredible. The things she knows how to do.”

Jack glanced over at her and smiled. “You know what’s incredible, Jeremy?” Jack said. He reached over and squeezed her thigh. “She never surprises me.”

It was 9:00 a.m. before they got back to Virgin River. Mel checked in with Doc.

“Mother and baby came through very well. John Stone is a wonderful, fast surgeon.”

“Good call,” he said. “For a city girl.” And then he treated her to a rare smile. She found there were only three people scheduled for morning appointments and Doc was more than capable. She had asked Jack to give her a call in five or six hours—she didn’t want to sleep all day or she wouldn’t sleep that night. But the labor and delivery had been taxing and she was spent.

Jack helped Preacher serve lunch, then he went to the river to fish for a couple of hours. He had a lot on his mind. It hadn’t escaped him that Mel had been moody lately. He’d seen suspicious evidence of tears. And she wasn’t drinking that end-ofthe-day beer—she played with it for a little while before pushing it aside and asking for ice water.

At about three in the afternoon, while Preacher worked on preparing the evening meal, he went out to the cabin. He took off his boots on the front porch and tiptoed into the house. He stripped down to his boxers and slipped into the bed beside her, gently kissing her neck. She stirred slightly, turned her head and smiled at him.

“Now this is a good way to wake up,” she murmured, closing her eyes again and snuggling closer to him.

He held her for a long while, then his hands began to move. Softly and sweetly. Before even seconds passed, her hands began to move, as well, and she pressed herself against him. When she began to strain against him, he got rid of the T-shirt she slept in and the boxers he still wore. He made gentle love to her, careful to keep her comfortable and safe, even as she picked up that eager pace, that frenetic yearning that drove him wild. He knew her body as well as she did herself by now, and he knew exactly what gave her the most pleasure.