Virgin River (Virgin River #1)(107)

“He tried not to. May I see him?”

“Of course.”

She found Doc in a raised position in the bed while the nurse was fiddling with the IV. The E.R. doctor was writing in the chart and when he saw her, gave a nod of hello. And on Doc’s face was the unhappy expression she had come to view with fondness. Mel looked around the E.R.—far smaller and less crowded than the one she was used to in L.A. Still, memories flooded back to her—the days and nights she had spent working in that environment. The adrenaline rush of emergencies; the edgy environment that had excited and stimulated her. At the nurses’ station a young doctor was bent over a nurse, reading over her shoulder, making her laugh at some whispered remark. That could have been Mel and Mark a few years ago. She let her eyes slowly close as she realized that she had moved completely beyond that. That familiar pang of longing did not plague her anymore. Now the only man she longed for waited for her just outside this room, prepared to go through anything with her. Her hand crept absently to her tummy, resting there. It was all right, she realized. What I suffered was very bad; what I have is very good.

“Young woman,” Doc snapped. “You gonna be sick?”

“Hmm?” she said, coming out of the haze. “No. Of course not.”

“For a minute there you looked like you were going to cry. Or puke.”

She just smiled at him. “Sorry. I was on another planet there for a second. Are you feeling better?”

“I’ll live. You’d better go. There might be patients back at the house.”

“I’ll come back for your surgery,” she said.

“No! I’m probably going to die in surgery anyway with that young pup cutting me up—you’re needed back in Virgin River. Someone has to look after things. I guess you’re in charge. God help us all.”

“I’ll call to see how you’re doing, and I will come back when you have surgery. And Doc? Try to behave yourself. Try not to get thrown out of here.”

“Ach,” he scoffed.

She put her small cool hand on his wizened brow. “Feel better. I’ll watch your practice.”

In an uncharacteristically soft voice, she heard him say, “Thank you.”

On the drive back to Virgin River Mel said, “He’s going to need time to recover before he can start seeing patients again. I suppose I’ll be staying at his house for a while after he gets home.”

Doc’s age, weight and blood pressure put him at a disadvantage in both surgery and recovery. It was a week before the surgeon could operate, and while the normal hospital stay for a cholesystectomy was brief—couple of days at most—they kept Doc for another week.

For those two weeks, Mel drove back and forth to Valley Hospital to check on him, plus managed the meager amount of patient care in Virgin River. June and John offered assistance, should she need it, but she was holding up fine. She stayed at the clinic during the days, spent her nights with Jack across the street, and the only huge inconvenience was planning and executing a wedding.

Jack told his dad and sisters that he and Mel were marrying, news which was met with much approval and excitement. He saved the news about the baby; he wanted to see the looks on their faces when they found out. Since there were no inns or motels in Virgin River, the couple decided they’d have a small, family-only wedding in Sacramento as soon as possible—at the Sheridan house. Jack told his sisters to plan something simple, quiet and quick for three weeks from the date Doc had gone into the hospital. He and Mel would drive down, tie the knot, and hurry home. “What about a honeymoon?” Sam asked.

“Don’t worry about that,” Jack said. And what he thought was, I’m going to be on a honeymoon for the rest of my life.

Rick took the news of the pregnancy and fast approaching marriage with a bit of shock. “You okay with this?” he asked Jack.

“Oh, yeah. Big time. I’m ready for a family, Rick.” He put his hand around the back of the boy’s neck and pulled him against his shoulder. “In addition to you and Preach, that is. You okay with it?”

“Hey, man. You’re not too young, that’s for sure.” Then he grinned. “I really thought she was out of your league.”

“She is, buddy. But what the heck.”

The evening before Mel was due to pick up Doc at Valley hospital and bring him home, Jack asked, “Do you have to spend the nights at Doc’s?”

“Probably just for a few days—long enough to make sure he’s getting around all right. He’s ambulatory at the hospital, but he’s miserable. His grimace isn’t just from being ornery at the moment. He’ll need pain medication—and I don’t want him administering his own. He could get confused and overdose.”

Jack sat in the big chair in his room and said, “Come here,” to Mel. She went to him and he pulled her down onto his lap. “I have something for you.” He pulled a small box out of his pocket, shocking her into silence. It was definitely a ring box. “I don’t know how practical this is in a place like Virgin River. It might be a little fussy. But I couldn’t help myself. I want to give you everything—but this will have to do.”

She opened the box to find a diamond ring so beautiful it brought tears to her eyes. It was a wide gold band with three large diamonds set in; classy and understated, yet very rich and unique. “Jack, what were you thinking? This is beautiful! The diamonds are huge!”