“Thanks, son!” his father shouted as Zac ran out of the room. “Now, go get that girl of yours.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CARMEN WAS AT work the next evening, catching up on her documentation from the last two deliveries she’d done. With spring right around the corner, it seemed everyone was going into labor these days.
Speaking of labor, there was a certain phone call she’d been putting off that she needed to make...
“Hey.” Priya came up beside her at the counter. “How are you doing?”
“Fine.” And perhaps if she kept repeating that word one day it would be true. Carmen glanced sideways at her friend, glad to see her color had improved. “And you?”
“Okay.” Priya leaned an elbow on the counter. “Getting ready for the big move?”
Carmen exhaled slowly. She’d not shared her decision with anyone else yet, but now was the moment. The moment she admitted she wanted to try and repair things with Zac and see if he wanted to try having a real relationship. The moment when she declared to the world that the future she wanted for herself was right here in Anchorage.
“I’ve decided to decline the job in Big Sur.”
“What?” Priya took her by the arm and led her into the nearby staff lounge, shutting the door before continuing. “Why? That’s been our whole focus for months.”
“I know, but things have changed.” Carmen sank down onto the sofa against the wall and toyed with the hem of her lavender scrub shirt. “My heart’s just not in it anymore.”
“Does this have anything to do with a certain hot paramedic in the ER who pretended to be your fiancé?”
“No. I mean, yes. I mean...” She shook her head, sending her curls bouncing around her face. “Zac’s definitely part of it, but he’s not the whole reason.”
“But you guys are still into each other, right?” Priya took a seat on the other end of the sofa, facing her. “I mean, I’ll admit I was suspicious at first, but then I saw you guys dancing and there was no denying the chemistry. I felt like I needed to get a room afterward.”
Carmen chuckled. “We did like each other. A lot. But we made mistakes.”
“I’m sorry.” Priya patted her on the arm. “Relationships are tough. Even fake ones. But what’s the rest of the reason you’re not taking the new job?”
“I’m happy here.” She shrugged. “I love Anchorage Mercy and you guys and my patients. I don’t want to give all this up and start over again from scratch.”
“Makes sense.” Priya twirled a piece of her long dark hair around her finger. “What about the money, though?”
“I make plenty here, and after talking with my mother and my sister the other night I found circumstances have changed. Some things are more important than money, you know?”
“I do know.” Priya placed her hand on her stomach. “You’re sticking around, then?”
“I am. I still need to call Ellen, though, and let her know. And I’m going to recommend you as my replacement.” Carmen smiled.
“Oh, don’t do that.”
“Don’t recommend you? Why?”
“My circumstances have changed as well.” Priya grinned and patted her tummy. “Lance and I are expecting our first baby in December.”
“Oh, my gosh!” Carmen hugged her friend tight. “That’s fantastic. I’m so happy for you both! It also explains why you looked a bit green at the conference.”
“Right?” Priya yawned. “Between all the naps and the morning sickness it’s been a challenge. Anyway, we’ve decided to stick close to Anchorage too. My parents are in Sitka, and his are in Vancouver, so not that far away. Plus, we’ve picked out a plot of land and we’re talking to the builders next week about constructing our new house.”
“How wonderful!”
Carmen sighed. She really was happy for her friend. Happy for Lance too. And for her mama and Clara. Everyone seemed to have found their place in the world. Her as well, even if that place would be a bit lonelier without Zac to share it. Still, she’d gotten this far in life on her own—she could keep going.
“I’m so thrilled for you both. Really.”
“Thanks.” Priya narrowed her gaze. “Will you be my midwife?”
Touched beyond words, Carmen nodded. “Yes! Of course!”
“Good.” Priya took her hand. “Now for some advice. Don’t give up on him.”
“Who?”
“Zac. Lance says he’s going through some stuff right now with his parents. Who knew the guy’s family was loaded, huh? He never acted like that around any of us.”
“No, he didn’t...”
He’d never seemed anything but real with Carmen, even when they’d been pretending to be engaged. Yes, he’d hurt her by not telling her the truth about his family and his background, but then considering the stories of his father’s infidelity and Zac’s estrangement from him because of it, she couldn’t say she blamed him. Plus, given the conversation she’d had with her mother about her own papa and the falsehoods she’d believed about him growing up, it seemed they both had their share of daddy issues to deal with.
“He’s a good man.”
She closed her eyes and pictured Zac that first day at the airport, so handsome in his tweed blazer. Then later at the welcome reception in his tux, all suave and debonair. Then at the animal reserve, rugged in jeans and a T-shirt, kissing her under the stars. The bowling alley. The night they’d slept together. His scent, his taste, his voice...
God, she missed him so, so much.
Yearning squeezed at her chest before she pushed it aside.
Beat de iron while it hot...
Her mama’s words echoed in her head. She was right. Carmen needed to stop wasting time and make use of the opportunities she had now. With her mother going into assisted living and her sister living in the dorms at college, for the first time in forever Carmen would have no one to look out for except herself. She could go where she wanted, do what she wanted, be whoever she wanted. She should stop being scared about it and instead embrace her freedom.
But first she had a phone call to make.
She pushed to her feet and walked over to the phone on the wall. “I need to call Ellen.”
“Right. And I need to go check on my patients.” Priya started out the door, then leaned back into the room to give her a thumbs-up. “You got this, girl.”
“Thanks.”
Carmen waited until she was alone to dial the number, swallowing hard as it connected.
“Big Sur Women’s Health Clinic,” said a receptionist in a bright tone. “How may I direct your call?”
“Ellen Landon, please. Tell her it’s Carmen Sanchez calling.”
“Certainly. One moment, please, Ms. Sanchez.”
Generic instrumental music played in the background before Ellen picked up.
“Carmen! Great to hear from you. How are preparations going for the move? Liz and I were just talking about you last night. I planned to call you later in the week to invite you down to stay with us for the weekend. Thought we could show you around Big Sur and help you get acclimated before the big move.”
“Oh, that’s very sweet,” said Carmen, digging the toe of her white running shoe into the tile floor. “But I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news. I won’t be accepting the position after all.”
There was a slight pause, and Carmen lived and died in those few seconds.
“I’m so disappointed to hear that, Carmen,” Ellen said. “Can you tell me what changed your mind? At the conference you seemed so interested in the job.”
“I was. It’s a great opportunity. But after a lot of thought and introspection I’ve come to realize I’m happy here and I want to stay in Anchorage.”
“This doesn’t have anything to do with your friend Zac, does it?” Ellen asked.
“No. Not really,” Carmen
said. “I actually haven’t even seen him since we got back home. My circumstances here have changed, though, and I’ve decided to go in a different direction for my future.”
“I’m sorry to hear that for us, but I wish you the best of luck.” Ellen sighed. “Well, I guess I need to get a hold of Ms. Shaw, then.”
Carmen wanted to tell her not to, but then figured it was Priya’s news to tell. “I do want to thank you again for the opportunity, Ellen. It was such an honor to meet you and I hope we can stay in touch. You never know what might change down the road.”
“Absolutely.” Ellen’s warm smile was palpable through her tone. “It was a pleasure meeting you too, Carmen. Finding such caring and dedication is rare these days and much appreciated. I’ll keep in touch.”
Once the call had ended, Carmen went back down to the ER just in time for a new case.
“Anchorage Mercy, this is FA18. Stand by for arrival of suspected placental abruption. Twenty-five-year-old patient in labor, thirty-nine weeks’ gestation. Bleeding vaginally. Over.”
Carmen rushed to slip into a clean gown and gloves, and was ready by the ER bay doors as the ambulance pulled up. The mother was full-term, but there were any number of problems that could develop if the placenta detached before the baby was born—including death. Tom Farber, the OB on call that night, stood beside her, ready and waiting in case the worst happened.
Within seconds the automatic doors whooshed open and the EMTs raced inside with a woman on a gurney, her harried husband beside her. Carmen quickly scanned the team, but there was no sign of Zac. Even under these circumstances her heart still ached for him.
She forced the errant thoughts from her head as they wheeled the patient into Trauma Bay One. Susan, Zac’s usual partner, gave her the rundown.
Carmen waited until they’d transferred the woman to the hospital bed, then moved in beside her. “Hello, my dear. My name’s Carmen Sanchez. I’m the midwife on duty in the ER tonight. Can you tell me if this is your first pregnancy?”
“No.” The woman’s breath caught on a sob. “My third. My daughter’s five and I had another baby, but it was stillborn last year. Please save my baby. Please.” She cried out as another contraction hit hard.
Carmen looked down to see Tom performing the pelvic exam.
“Fresh red blood,” he said. “Right. Let’s get Mom hooked up to the heart monitors and see how Baby’s doing.”
Fresh blood wasn’t good. Not good at all.
The woman clung to Carmen’s arm. “Please, no surgery.”
“She’s terrified after her sister had a bad experience,” the husband said. “She hates hospitals all around, actually. That’s why we were trying to have the baby at home.”
“Without any help?” Carmen gave him a side-glance. “With her history, that’s very risky.”
“I just wanted to make her happy,” the husband said, clearly distraught. “Don’t let her die, please. Save her and the baby. Please.”
“We’ll do our best,” Tom said, motioning with his head for one of the nurses to get the husband out of there. “Now, Ms....?”
“Woznichak,” Susan supplied helpfully.
“Right. What’s your first name, hon?” Carmen asked, holding the woman’s hand.
“Lonnie,” she managed to say between panting breaths. “The baby’s coming!”
“Yes, it is.” Carmen gave the woman her best reassuring smile. “And we’ll be here with you every step of the way.”
“Okay,” Tom said from the end of the table. “Fetal heart rate looks good, no distress as yet, so we’re going to continue in the traditional way for now.” He smiled at Lonnie, then checked the nearby monitor. “On the next contraction I want you to push as hard as you can, okay?”
Lonnie nodded and gave a primal growl, bearing down hard, her back arched.
“Yes!” Carmen said, happy to take the role of cheerleader. The patient’s face had turned a mottled mix of red and purple with effort. “That’s it, Lonnie. Very good!”
At last the contraction subsided, only to give way to another. They were coming close together.
“Won’t be long now,” Carmen said, nodding to Tom.
“Nope. Almost there,” he said. “I can see the head.”
Lonnie screamed as another contraction hit, and gripped Carmen’s hand so hard she thought her fingers might snap.
“Breathe!” Carmen said, coaching her through the pain. “That’s it! That’s it!”
“Head’s out,” Tom said. “One more push and you’re done, Lonnie.”
A squelching “pop” sounded and Lonnie went limp on the table, tears and sweat streaming from her face as she stared down at the newborn in Tom’s hands. “Is that him?”
“Yes.” He placed the baby on her chest before cutting the umbilical cord. “You have a gorgeous baby boy.”
The father came around the curtain to kiss his wife and dote on his son and Carmen couldn’t stop grinning. This was what she loved most about her job. Welcoming new life into the world.
After helping with the delivery of the placenta and the clean-up, Carmen felt tired but proud. She exited the trauma bay to see Susan at the nurses’ station, clearly waiting for her.
Huh? That was odd. Usually the EMTs went back to their rigs after a call.
She discarded her soiled things into the biohazard bin, then washed up in the sink in the hall. Once she’d dried her hands, she walked back to where the other woman was standing. Her first thought was to ask how Zac was doing, but she didn’t want to come off as unprofessional.
“Hey,” she said, feigning interest in the calendar on the wall. “How are you, Susan?”
“Okay,” the EMT said. “But I’ll be better if you can help my partner out.”
“Huh?” Carmen glanced over her shoulder, frowning, only to stop short at the sight of Zac, standing there in the ER in his tux—the same one from the conference—looking just as handsome as she remembered.
Susan grinned. “Seems Zac, here, lost his heart a few days back, and he thinks you’re the only one who can help him find it again.”
“I got it from here, Susan—thanks,” said Zac. Then he stepped forward and dropped to one knee in front of Carmen. “I know I screwed up, big-time. And I know I have no reason to expect you to trust me ever again. I know I lost the best thing that ever happened to me when I let you go, Carmen Sanchez, but if you can find it in your heart to forgive me, I swear I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”
Stunned, Carmen stared down at him, trying to take it all in. People were starting to stare, and heat crept up her cheeks. “Zac, get up. What are you doing?”
“I’m bowing before my queen.” He looked up at her and winked. “Can you forgive me?”
She sighed and shook her head, laughing. “There’s nothing to forgive, Zac. I’m as much to blame for what happened at the resort as you. It was my plan in the first place.”
“But I went along with it. And I lied to you about who I really was.”
He glanced around at the small crowd of staff who’d gathered. Word had spread like wildfire about his wealthy background once they’d gotten back to Anchorage Mercy. He knew Carmen had never said a word, but somehow the hospital rumor mill knew all.
“I should’ve been honest with you from the start, but back then I couldn’t even be honest with myself.”
“I wasn’t exactly winning any awards in the honesty department myself,” she said, then gestured toward a small empty supply room nearby. “How about we get some privacy?”
He nodded and followed her into the tiny room. The overhead fluorescent lights flickered on automatically, sensing their presence.
“So...” he said, his hands in his pockets and his gaze focused on his toes.
“So.”
This close to him she could feel his heat thro
ugh her thin scrubs and smell his cologne. She’d missed both those things more than she could say. Missed everything about him, really.
“I guess you’ve been busy packing for California?” he said at last.
“Actually, I turned down the job.” She huffed out a breath. “I decided everything I wanted was already here in Anchorage.”
Zac did look up then. “You did?”
“I did. Called Ellen earlier to tell her. I was going to recommend Priya take my place, but then...” She stopped before spilling her friend’s secret, in case Zac didn’t know.
“Yeah. Lance is over the moon about the baby. It’s all he talks about anymore. ‘My son this’ or ‘my daughter that.’” He grinned. “Not that I blame him. Hope to have a couple of my own someday.”
“Me too.” She pursed her lips and rocked back on her heels. “Look, Zac. I’m sorry too—about the things I said to you. How you choose to live your life is none of my business. I’m afraid I let my old biases affect my life now, and for that you have my apologies. I talked with my mom after I got back, and she straightened me out on a few things.”
“Like what?”
“Like the fact that my dad did want to take care of us, but she chose to refuse his help because she was stubborn and wanted to do things on her own.”
“I see.” He bit back a smile. “Sounds like someone else I know.”
“Do you want to hear my apology or not?” she asked, needing to get it all out before she couldn’t. “I shouldn’t have judged you for your past any more than I would want you to judge me for mine. Neither of us had any control over what happened back then.”
“Agreed.”
“But I do think it might be good for you to at least talk to your father and try to reconcile. Family is one of the most important things there is in this world, Zac. It’s not healthy to be alone. Especially with your father’s illness. If he died and you’d never made amends that would haunt you for the rest of your days.”
“Also agreed. My father’s doing fine, by the way. He’s had three stents put in and is being released from hospital today,” Zac said. “And we did talk. My mom too. It’s all good. Well, as good as can be expected for now. They’re heading back to the resort.”
A Weekend with Her Fake Fiancé Page 16