Nursing in Northlake (At the Altar Book 9) Read online

  “Let’s go.”

  “You’re moving faster than usual. Something I don’t know?”

  “Yeah, you remember the woman you met in the waiting room at my office?”

  “The one who said this was her third baby you were going to deliver?” Heidi asked.

  “Yes, her. Well, she likes to go into labor and have babies fast. Most women take fifteen or more hours. She takes two. And she waited for her husband to get home from work to go to the hospital. We have barely enough time to get there. I hope we have time to get there!”

  Heidi grinned at that. “I’m glad we didn’t change out of our scrubs then.”

  Slade looked over at her, seeing the tired lines on her face. “I’m sorry about this.”

  “I really don’t mind. I’ll wait with the other nurses. It’s always fun to sit at a hospital nurses’ station.” She really wanted to see him in action. She knew it was crazy, but seeing him and how he was with the nurses under him could break through a barrier for her. It would either tell her that he wasn’t to be trusted or that he was as wonderful as she thought he was.

  When they got to the hospital, he went to the physicians’ lot and parked in a place reserved for someone else. “You can’t do that!” Heidi protested.

  “He’s out of the country at a conference. Won’t be back ‘til next week, and his spot is closer than mine.” He got out and started jogging toward the entrance to the hospital, Heidi racing to keep up.

  They were both breathing heavily on the elevator, and as soon as they got to the right floor, he hurried straight to the nurses’ station. One of the nurses had a mask and gloves waiting for him, and he quickly pulled them on. “This is my wife, Heidi. Who’s with me tonight?”

  “I drew the short straw,” said a young nurse with a grin. She hurried after Slade, telling him what room to go into.

  Heidi took her empty seat. “You guys draw straws to see who has to work with him?” she asked, wondering what kind of gossip she’d learn about Slade while he delivered the baby. Nurses always had the best gossip, and they were never afraid to say anything.

  The nurses all looked at each other and laughed. “You’re kidding, right? Whoever ends up with the short straw gets to work with Dr. Henderson. He’s our favorite. We don’t have a lot of rude doctors delivering here, but Dr. Henderson is the best.” The nurse grinned at Heidi, who noticed her name was Bailey by the tag on her shirt.

  “Really?” Heidi asked. “Y’all can tell me the truth.”

  “That is the truth,” another nurse responded. “I was with him late one night, and the baby just didn’t want to come. The patient asked if she could get up and walk around, and he took her arm and walked with her, singing the whole time. He danced with a woman in labor. It was amazing.”

  Heidi blinked a couple of times. “How did the patient react to that?”

  “She started laughing, and the labor moved much faster after that. He thinks that if you can get the laboring woman to relax and forget her pain, even for a minute, that you’ve made her delivery special, and made it go quicker.”

  “How often does he yell?”

  Bailey shook her head. “He’s never yelled at me. I’ve seen nurses do really stupid things, and he’s never yelled at anyone. I’ve never even seen him angry.”

  “How much did he pay you to tell me this?”

  The second nurse raised an eyebrow. “I would be the first to give you dirt on any other doctor here, but Dr. Henderson really is special. He did his residency here, and there are even good stories from those days. He’s just always been a nurse’s dream. His mom is a nurse, and she’s instilled a true love and respect for nurses in him.”

  Heidi grinned. It was what she’d started to suspect but couldn’t really let herself believe. He really was a good doctor as well as a good man. Now she was going to have to eat crow and tell him how wonderful he was. And how much she loved him.

  She yawned. Probably not tonight. Maybe tomorrow night. “Thanks for the information, ladies.”

  “Any of us would die for Dr. Henderson. We fight over who gets to call him to tell him to come in, and then we draw straws for who gets to help him during delivery.”

  “Does he know?” Heidi asked.

  Bailey shook her head. “He knows we draw straws, but I don’t think he knows that we’re all hoping to get to be the one to work with him.”

  Heidi leaned back in the chair she’d taken, smiling.

  A phone rang then, and Heidi realized it was her on call phone. She pulled out the schedule and on-call list along with it. “This is Heidi.”

  “Heidi, this is Jessica. I just got home from the ER with my son. He broke his arm during football practice today.”

  “Well, why’d he go and do that?” Jessica was one of their nurses, so it would be a bit harder to find a replacement.

  “He was watching the cheerleaders, and he tripped over the bleachers. Can you believe?”

  Heidi laughed. “I can believe. I was in high school once too. I’ll get your shift covered. Can you work tomorrow night? Or do you think you’ll be off then too?”

  “I think I can handle tomorrow. I just want to make sure he’s comfortable and can do for himself tonight.”

  “Okay, thanks for letting me know.”

  Heidi looked at the nurses, who had resumed their own jobs. “Sorry, my on-call weekend.”

  Bailey turned to her, shaking her head. “We all get it. Deal with your people.”

  She looked down the list and found the nurse who was most likely to be willing to work and dialed her number. “Susan, this is Heidi. Jessica’s kid fell and broke his arm. Can you take her shift tonight? It’s a graveyard.”

  “Absolutely. I’ll be there at midnight.”

  “Thank you! I’ll call and let Amy know.” She hung up and then called the line for the charge nurse for the night. “Amy, this is Heidi. Jessica has a kid with a broken arm. Susan will take her shift.”

  “Sounds good. Thanks for letting me know.”

  Heidi hung up and dropped the phone back into her bag. Bailey turned around to look at her. “That was easy.”

  Heidi nodded. “It was. It helps that all my people are healthy, and I’m not trying to cover four shifts at a time.”

  “I know how frustrating that is. Where do you work?”

  Heidi named her nursing home. “It’s up in Northlake.”

  “I see. So how long have you and Dr. Henderson been married? We need the gossip on that.”

  Heidi laughed. “Three wonderful weeks.”

  “How’d you meet him?”

  Heidi wasn’t sure how much Slade would want them to know, so she answered as honestly as she could without giving away too much information. “We met at church.”

  Bailey smiled. “That’s so sweet.”

  “It was magical from the first moment I met him.”

  Slade came out a minute later, covered in blood. “I’m going to go to my locker and change, and then I’m ready to go.”

  “Mom and baby?”

  “Both fine, and I made it before she started pushing. We’re going to call this a win! Eight pounds three ounces and that little girl is as perfect as perfect can be.” He wandered off to change, and Heidi waited with the other nurse.

  Bailey smiled at Heidi. “You want kids?”

  Heidi nodded. “I do. I really, really do.”

  “He’ll be a great father.”

  “Honestly, I can’t figure out anything that man doesn’t excel at. He’s pretty great.”

  “He’s a Dr. Dreamy that’s for sure.”

  Heidi laughed. “Dr. Dreamy?”

  “That’s what we all call him and have for years. So many of the nurses have thrown themselves at him, but I don’t think he even noticed.”

  “That’s funny.” Heidi wondered why he hadn’t dated one of the nurses at the hospital instead of calling Dr. Lachele. She’d have to ask him. Eventually.

  On the drive home, Heidi was quiet for a b
it, before she figured out what it was she wanted to ask him. “Did you know the nurses draw straws to see who gets to work with you? Not who has to work with you?”

  Slade laughed. “They do not! They draw straws with all the doctors.”

  “Yeah, but it’s different with you. They all love working with you because you’re so good to them and the patients.”

  “Really? They told you that?” His voice was filled with skepticism.

  “They sure did. And they have a nickname for you.”

  “Oh, I don’t even think I want to know what that is.”

  “Dr. Dreamy. They said just about every single nurse has been throwing herself at you for years. Why didn’t you date one of them?”

  He shrugged. “I guess I knew there were some nurses interested, but honestly, I had no desire to date someone that I worked with. I like the separation of church and state as well. If you’re looking at vaginas with me, then I really don’t need to be looking at yours for fun.”

  She laughed. “I can see that. I’m glad I went with you.”

  He looked over at her. “You are?”

  Heidi nodded. “Yeah, all the best gossip comes from the nurses’ stations.”

  “I don’t even want to know.”

  It was late when they got home, and Heidi was exhausted. She curled into a little ball on the bed, and Slade pulled her to him, shutting off the light. “Sorry we didn’t get the grocery shopping done.”

  She yawned. “We can do it tomorrow.”

  *****

  Heidi woke before Slade did the next morning, and she immediately started planning. She wanted to tell him she was in love with him, but she wanted to do it in a big way. She knew he had feelings for her, even though he hadn’t said anything, but he was waiting for her to tell him she felt the same.

  She slipped out of bed, and went into the kitchen to start the coffee, realizing it was already after ten. She drank a cup, put her hair in a ponytail, and went to the store in shorts and a T-shirt after writing a quick note to Slade, letting him know she was going to let him sleep, so she was doing the shopping alone.

  Heidi had always been a good cook, even though she wasn’t fond of it. She called his mother on her way to the store. “What’s Slade’s favorite meal?”

  Judy had to think about it. “He loves spaghetti with meat sauce. And garlic bread. He could eat a whole loaf of garlic bread on his own.”

  “Then that’s what he’s getting for supper tonight. You raised a pretty incredible son, you know?”

  “I know. But thanks for reaffirming. I’m glad he’s making you happy, Heidi. Are you pregnant yet?”

  Heidi laughed. “Not yet, but we’ve only been married for three weeks. Give me a few months.”

  “As long as you’re trying, I’m happy.”

  “Oh, we’re trying.”

  “Glad to hear it!”

  Heidi laughed as she put the phone down, tucking it into her purse. A nice dinner for her husband and a good conversation was just what she needed.

  When she got home, she carried the first two bags of groceries inside and Slade, who was awake, dressed and sitting on the couch watching TV, jumped up to take them from her. “You shopped. Let me carry the groceries in.”

  Heidi nodded. “I’ll put them away while you bring them in.”

  He kissed her softly after putting the bags on the counter. “Sounds like a fair division of labor to me.”

  Heidi browned the ground beef while she was putting things away. She wanted to put the sauce into the crock pot to keep the house from getting too hot. She always hated to cook in the summer. She was glad August was almost over, and it would start to get cool before too terribly long.

  Slade carried everything in and looked over her shoulder. “What are you making?”

  “I’m just starting something for supper. Putting it in the crock-pot so we can laze around all day.”

  “Laze around with our phones at the ready to deal with emergencies.”

  Heidi grinned, turning to kiss him. “We’re ready to take on all the world’s challenges!”

  He laughed. “Or all the pregnant women and all the elderly at least!”

  “Go wait for me by the pool, and I’ll be out in twenty minutes.”

  He nodded, wandering off into the bedroom to change into his swim trunks. A day by the pool was exactly what he needed.

  Their day was uneventful, much to Heidi’s surprise. No one called in, and he didn’t have any deliveries. He called to check on his patient, but there was no need for him to go up to the hospital.

  Heidi fixed the exact meal his mother had suggested, leaving him to lounge by the pool while she got it on the table. When he came in and smelled the sauce, he smiled. “That’s my favorite!”

  Heidi grinned. “I know. I called your mom and asked her.”

  He blinked at her a couple of times. “What a good wife you are.”

  “No, but I plan to be a better wife in the future.”

  “How could you?”

  She just smiled at him, taking her seat at the table.

  She waited until they were done eating, and she’d cleared the mess, refusing to let him help at all before she had the conversation she’d been wanting to have with him. She went into the living room and sat beside him on the couch, curling up with her head against his shoulder.

  “Thanks for making me my favorite for supper tonight. I really appreciate it.”

  “I won’t say anytime because I probably won’t do it really often. But I wanted to do it tonight to let you know how much I care.” She turned, looking at him. “I love you, Slade Henderson. I don’t care if you’re a doctor or a garbage collector. You are a good person, and that’s all I wanted to make sure I got in a husband.”

  “You don’t think I’m an egotistical jerk anymore?”

  She frowned. “I never really thought you were. I thought most doctors were. I didn’t bother to get to know you before jumping to those conclusions about you, which was really unfair of me.”

  “I’ve worked with many of the doctors that you’re talking about, and I understood from the first day we met why you felt the way you did.”

  “You did?”

  He nodded. “That was why I thought it was so funny when you told me that you hated doctors. It made sense to me, especially when I found out you were a nurse. Thank you for changing your mind about me.”

  “I didn’t change my mind, though.”

  “You didn’t?”

  “No, you did. You showed me who you really are. I never dreamed I’d end up with a man half as wonderful as you are. Thanks for being patient with me while I got to know you.”

  He smiled at that. “Well, it’s not like I could leave. There was this little thing we signed…”

  She made a face. “And that’s the only reason you stuck around?”

  “Of course not. I saw you walking down the aisle toward me, and I knew you would be the perfect woman for me. Somehow, I just felt like we connected the instant our eyes met.”

  “I did too. Until you admitted you were a doctor, of course.”

  “You made your feelings clear, but you never treated me badly because I was a doctor. You were an amazing wife from the first moment.”

  Heidi sighed. “So you forgive me for waiting so long to tell you I love you?”

  Slade cupped her face in his hands, kissing her sweetly. “Of course I forgive you. I love you.”

  “Forever.”

  Epilogue

  Heidi put her feet up on Slade’s lap, sighing when he immediately started rubbing them. “I needed that.”

  “Only one more month. Do you think you’ll be able to keep working the whole time?” he asked.

  She nodded. “I promised Vicki I’d at least try. And Dr. Slocum is pleased with me so far. I’m not having any complications.”

  “I just worry because twins come early.”

  “I know they do, doctor, but ours don’t seem to be doing so.”

&nb
sp; He grinned. “Mom is going to be here in another month. She’s excited to help out after the babies are born.”

  “And if she’s not here right on time, my mom will be right there helping. Even Miss Molly has offered to help with the babies.”

  “Oh, please not Miss Molly! She’d try to race with them in her lap!”

  Heidi laughed softly. “She won the motorized cart race at the Olympics last month. I still think she found someone to soup up her engine, but she swears she didn’t.”

  “When are you going to start interviewing nannies?”

  Heidi shrugged. “Probably when the babies are three weeks old. I’m going to take a full six weeks off work if it kills all of us. And it might.”

  Slade smiled. “I hope you can handle it. I give you a week before you start worrying about everyone at work and feel like you need to go in and help out.”

  “I think the twins will keep me busy enough at home that I’ll be able to resist.” She wiggled her toes. “That feels so good.”

  “I can’t believe we’re having twin girls,” he said grumpily. “I wanted boys.”

  She shrugged. “Not my fault. I’m just carrying them. You determine the sex.”

  “I know how it works. I’m an obstetrician, you know.”

  “I know. Just don’t pass out during delivery.”

  He laughed. “No way. I’ll be the calmest doctor that hospital has ever seen.”

  *****

  Heidi held her small pink-wrapped babies and smiled at the nurse who had helped deliver them. “Thank you so much.”

  The nurse, Tanya, shook her head with a laugh. “I still can’t believe Dr. Henderson turned green and passed out on the floor of the delivery room. He’s delivered so many babies.” She looked over at Slade who was slumped in his chair from utter exhaustion. “He’s the calmest doctor around in an emergency.”

  “None of those deliveries were his daughters or his wife.” Heidi sighed contentedly. “He loves me, you know.”

  “You’d never know it by the way he talks to you…and about you.”

  Heidi laughed. “I’ll tell him you said so if he ever wakes up.”

  “Are you sure you want to have them room in with you? We can take them to the nursery just for tonight.”