Chapter 1
“We’ve got action in room four.”
The coffee Haleigh Mitchner had been pouring when Nurse Dottie Parish burst through the break room door splashed onto the counter. She resisted the urge to slurp the black fuel off the Formica.
“We’ve had three false alarms in the last six hours,” Haleigh said, dropping paper towels onto the mess. “At this rate, I might as well change careers from delivering babies to delivering pizzas. At least that would be a sure thing.”
And oh, how such a career downgrade would drive my mother bonkers.
False alarms came with the job description, as Haleigh knew well, but they made for a boring shift. County General served at least four towns in the surrounding area, which meant lots of babies took their first breath beneath its roof. Tonight, lots of babies were preferring to stay right where they were.
“You’re a laugh riot, doc,” the nurse said, holding the break room door open. “This one is not a drill. Now forget that mess and let’s go.”
“What do we have?” Haleigh asked, following the nurse into the hall.
“Jessi Rogers. Nineteen years old. BP 140 over 85. First pregnancy and it doesn’t sound like she’s had much prenatal care.” Dottie gave Haleigh a skeptical side-eye look. “She thinks she’s thirty-eight weeks. Fully dilated, we’ve had her pushing for fifteen minutes and she’s progressing fast.”
Adrenaline lit through Haleigh’s system. “Is the OB kit ready?” she asked. Even after bringing hundreds of babies into the world, the exhilaration never ebbed.
“All set up with a box of six and a half gloves, thanks to those false alarms.”
“Is she by herself?” Haleigh asked. Childbirth was scary in the best of situations. Being a petrified teenager with no support only made it more so.
“Not alone,” Dottie said. “She’s got a vise grip on a guy who looks about as scared as she does. Serves him right for messing with a girl so young.”
Haleigh ignored the censure in the nurse’s tone. During her four-year residency in Memphis, she’d seen enough unlikely pairings to know lust didn’t discriminate or encourage high standards. A muffled scream echoed from behind the next door down.
Picking up her pace, Haleigh said, “Time to go to work.”
Dottie charged through the door first with Haleigh close behind. Two steps into the room, she stopped cold.
“Cooper?”
What in the world was Cooper Ridgeway, the most upstanding guy Haleigh had ever met, doing with a pregnant teenager? Surely her best friend, Abby, would have mentioned if her own brother were on the verge of parenthood.
“Jessi, is it?” she asked, catching the mixture of panic and surprise that crossed Cooper’s chiseled features. Haleigh hadn’t seen much of her former classmate since returning to town six months before. Though the pictures around the house she shared with Abby revealed a man larger than the boy she’d known in high school, film didn’t do the mechanic justice.
Between the greasy ball cap, bulging biceps, and tattered Carhartt jeans, Cooper Ridgeway looked like a redneck body builder. A mute one if his current drowning fish impersonation was any indication.
“Jessi, I’m Dr. Mitchner, and I’m going to help you meet your little one.” Sliding on the gloves Dottie passed her way, Haleigh eased onto the stool at the end of the exam table. “I need to see where we stand. You’re going to feel some pressure.”
Dottie’s report had been accurate. This baby was coming fast.
“Is everything okay?” her patient asked, speaking for the first time. The accent wasn’t local. Contrary to what many assumed, there were countless variations on the Southern accent, and as a lifelong Tennessee native, Haleigh knew immediately that Jessi was not from the Volunteer State.
“All good.” Haleigh shared a reassuring smile. “We should be meeting this little one in no time at all.”
“Wait,” Cooper said. “I’m not—”
Jessi bore down with a growl, and Dottie said, “That’s right, honey. Chin to your chest and push through it. Don’t forget to count for her, coach.”
“Count?” Cooper asked. The green eyes that cut to Haleigh silently begged for rescue.
Haleigh ignored him. She didn’t know how he’d landed in this particular mess, but she couldn’t resist letting him see this mission through. Cooper had a knack for playing the white knight role. He’d certainly done so for her once upon a time. And in a somewhat similar circumstance.
“Up to ten.” Dottie barked at Cooper, lack of patience heavy in her tone. “You’ve got to step up for your girl here. Let’s go.”