LITMIR.BIZ

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Okay, Lori, now push!”

      Lori gave a mighty groan and raised herself off the bed, puffing her cheeks out. Volta watched the monitor. Lori’s BP was high, but it wasn’t spiking out of control.

      “Good, good.” Scott always had such a soothing voice. “A little harder if you can. We’re making progress.”

      “Come on, Lori, you can do it.” Volta laid a hand on her arm. “Push.”

      “I’m trying!”

      “I know. You’re doing great,” Volta assured her.

      A minute later Scott sat back. “Okay, contraction’s over. Good job, Lori. Now rest.”

      Daniel handed Volta a moist cloth. She used it to wipe the sweat from Lori’s forehead and distracted her with a little meaningless chatter. Almost before Lori could catch her breath, the next contraction hit, and they all jumped into action.

      Ten minutes later, Scott lifted a wet bundle. “It’s a boy.” The baby squirmed, a good sign, and let out a cry of protest at the bright lights and sounds. Scott handed the baby to Bridget and cut the cord. Bridget carried the tiny child to a table to clean him up.

      Volta peered over her shoulder. The baby was small and on the skinny side, but for a premature twin, he was well developed, with a healthy color. Paul stared. “He’s so little.”

      “Not that little for a twin,” Scott said. “We’ll want to keep him in the incubator for a bit, but right now, why don’t you hold him?”

      Bridget wrapped the tiny baby in a soft blanket and handed him over. With a look of wonder, Paul accepted the baby into his arms. Lori craned her neck to see, and the baby stared back at her with solemn blue eyes. Suddenly, Lori stiffened as another contraction hit.

      “Okay, Lori,” Scott said. “It’s time for the second act. Get ready. Push!”

      It took several more contractions, but fifteen minutes later, the second baby was born. But this one didn’t squirm. Bridget handed Scott the aspirator. He cleared the mucus from the baby’s throat and rubbed the baby’s back.

      Lori reached for Volta’s hand, and Volta squeezed it, but she was ready to run for the prenatal ventilator waiting outside the door with the incubator. An eternity passed in the next couple of seconds, but then the baby sucked in a breath and let out a cry. Volta closed her eyes and sent up a silent prayer of thanks.

      Scott smiled. “You have a girl. A beautiful little girl.”

      He beamed down at the tiny baby in his hands. Scott must have delivered hundreds of babies, but he seemed as excited as if these twins were his first. This really was his life’s purpose. It had taken Volta a long time to accept that.

      As Volta watched Lori and Paul’s new little girl, images of Emma as a newborn flashed through her mind. She’d been twice the size of the baby Bridget was swaddling, but no less a miracle. Emma had been born with a red face, a thatch of dark hair and a voice that left no doubt of her opinion on the whole procedure. Almost eight years later, she still held strong opinions and expressed them enthusiastically. Volta was so grateful to have her daughter. Something that wouldn’t have happened had Scott not quit their relationship.

      Scott handed the baby off to Bridget so that he could deliver the placentas. Bridget cleaned and wrapped the baby and carried her to Lori. “Meet your daughter.”

      Lori held the baby and smiled down at her. “Hi, little one. You gave us a scare. Don’t ever do that again, okay?”

      According to the numbers on the monitor, Lori’s blood pressure was already down a few points, and now that she had delivered, she should be back to normal soon. Volta relaxed for the first time since she’d arrived.

      Scott pulled down his surgical mask. “Paul, you have a beautiful family. Congratulations.”

      “Thank you, Doctor.” Paul seemed to be trying to figure out how to shake hands while holding the baby, but Scott just laughed and patted him on the shoulder.

      “You concentrate on that baby. He and his sister are your top priorities from here on out.” He rested his hand on Lori’s shoulder and leaned over to admire the other twin in her arms. “You did well today, Mom. We’ll bring in that incubator to make sure the babies stay warm and we’ll keep an eye on your blood pressure, but y’all will be fine.”

      Lori beamed. Scott shook hands with Daniel and Bridget, and finally he turned to Volta. “Thank you for pitching in.” His eyes caught hers and held. “Why don’t we step into the other room and see about that incubator?”

       CHAPTER TWO

      SOME OF SCOTT’S colleagues at DEMA called him Dr. Chill. The more chaotic his surroundings, the calmer he got. Three weeks ago, he’d performed a cesarean delivery in a tent during a tropical storm while the lights flickered and then went out, leaving him to finish the surgery by lantern. A month before that, he’d hiked seven miles over a mountain for a breech delivery. Neither of those circumstances had tested his ability to remain calm. But when Volta had walked into that room, his heart rate skyrocketed.

      He’d known she lived in Alaska. In fact, Volta was the main reason he was here. A local health organization had commissioned help from DEMA to study the quality of prenatal care in the rural areas of the state and give recommendations on how it could be improved. Ordinarily, Scott chose assignments where he could work directly with the people who needed medical care, but he’d volunteered for this assessment project in Alaska because he wanted to see Volta one more time.

      He’d tried to forget her. After all, he was the one who broke it off. Few marriages survived the sort of life he’d chosen, and with his background, he was a particularly bad risk. Just like his father, Scott was the sort of man who focused on a job and forgot to eat and sleep and spend time with his family. Volta deserved so much better than that.

      Once he realized their relationship was beginning to feel serious, he’d pulled the plug, and he’d never seen Volta again.

      Scott’s life had turned out exactly the way he’d planned. He’d been with DEMA for ten years now, one of only a handful of full-time doctors ready to go wherever and whenever he was needed. Most of their medical staff consisted of volunteers who took a week or two off from their regular practices to volunteer with DEMA, but Scott worked year-round delivering babies and performing surgeries. And yet, even after all this time, Volta still appeared in his dreams.

      He smiled to himself. She’d never liked the name her electrician dad had given her, but it suited her, with her electric-blue eyes and high-wattage smile. Not to mention the way his skin used to tingle when she touched him.

      He’d figured he would go to Alaska, get a good start on the assignment and then take a day or two off and find Volta. Once she looked him in the eye and told him she’d moved on and was happy, her memory would quit haunting him. At least, that was the plan.

      But instead, she’d just walked into the room while he was in the middle of a delivery. In a tiny clinic in a tiny village in an enormous state. Volta. He followed her into the waiting room, quietly shutting the door behind him. She turned back to look at him, her bright blue eyes focused on his face. So many things he wanted to tell her. So many questions. What was she doing in emergency response instead of physical therapy? Did she ever think about their time together in Hawaii? Was she happy?

      In fact, he didn’t ask any questions at all. Instead, he opened his arms. After only the slightest hesitation, she rushed into them. And suddenly it was years ago, he was holding Volta in his arms, and for a moment, all was right with the world.

      * * *

      VOLTA CLOSED HER EYES, her cheek nestling into that familiar hollow between his shoulder and his chest, just as though it hadn’t been years since she’d last held him. She breathed in the clean scent of citrus from his aftershave. It felt so good. But she couldn’t do this.

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