Wanted by the Warrant Officer

1

Piper

“Are you ready to help deliver some babies today?”

I grinned at Cindy, the charge nurse for our unit. “Always.”

Working as a maternity nurse, I loved being a part of one of the biggest moments in a woman’s life—when she became a mother. I almost couldn’t believe it when I was hired to work in the labor and delivery unit straight out of school. I’d worked hard to achieve my dream of becoming a nurse, taking as many dual enrollment credits as possible when I was in high school, so I had a jump start toward my degree. Then when I was in college, I took a full course load every semester, including over the summers, and graduated with my bachelor’s in nursing when I was still a few months from my twenty-first birthday.

I took the NCLEX test to get my state nursing license as soon as possible after graduation, but the forty-five-day wait felt like forever. Then even though I’d paid extra to get my preliminary results, I had to cool my heels for the next six weeks before the official score came in the mail. But once I got my license, everything went at warp speed, and only two weeks later, I was working at my first official nursing job. Cindy asked me the same question that day and every time I clocked in since then, and my answer had always been the same.

“Good.” She arched her brow and sighed. “Because the shift before us was slow, and you know what that means.”

I groaned and shook my head. “It’s probably all my fault since this is my last shift before eight days off. Of course, we’re going to be super busy.”

“We’ve gotta wear you out properly before you enjoy your time off.” Cindy grinned at me. “Do you have any big plans?”

I returned her smile as I thought about how relaxing the next week would be for me. “Nope, I’m just going to spend some time at the beach after catching up on sleep, cleaning, and errands.”

I glanced down at the carry-out coffee mug next to the computer at the nurses’ station and wasn’t too surprised to see my name written on the side of it. I was the youngest nurse on the team, but it hadn’t taken me long to fit in with my co-workers. Bonds were quickly formed when you worked twelve-hour shifts together doing a job with emotional highs and lows. We depended on each other and brought babies into the world. “Did you see who left this here for me?”

Cindy shook her head and shrugged. “No, but it was probably Stephanie. You know how fanatical she is about her coffee, and she had a cup from the same place with her when she got here about five minutes ago.”

Taking a sip of the latte made exactly how I liked it, I made a mental note to thank my co-worker for her thoughtfulness. Then I focused on the computer to scan through the charts of the patients on the floor, glancing up when I heard a man yell, “We need help over here!”

The woman in the wheelchair he was pushing was holding her rounded belly while grimacing in pain. After setting my latte down, I ran over to them and dropped to my knees in front of her. Lightly pressing my index and middle finger to her inner wrist, I assessed her radial pulse. After counting for thirty seconds and multiplying by two to confirm she was in the normal range, I asked, “When did the contractions start, how far apart are they, and how many weeks into the pregnancy are you?”

Before she could say anything, another contraction hit, making her groan before she started to pant through the pain. Her husband stroked his hands over her shoulders while he answered, “She’s six days past her due date. Her water broke about thirty minutes ago, and that’s when the contractions started. They’re already less than five minutes apart. I called our doctor from the car, and she’s already on her way here. My wife is pre-registered, so you should have all her details in your system under Audrey Ashford.”

I flashed him a grateful smile for the detailed rundown before returning my attention to Audrey. “Let’s get you into a room so you’ll be all set when your doctor arrives.”

As I got to my feet, another man rushed through the doors and called out, “Everything okay, Merrick?”

When I looked up, my years of training and months of experience flew out of my brain at the sight of the guy striding toward us. There was something compelling about him, and it wasn’t just his incredibly good looks. I felt trapped in place by the intensity of his blue eyes, but that didn’t stop me from taking in his dark hair, facial scruff, and tall, muscular body.