by Barbara Lohr
“Well, Dennis, I think you know what we need,” Warren said with one of his magnanimous smiles. He’d won the support of this Board over his tenure, and they trusted his judgment. “The question is, how much would you pony up? And is it enough for both projects?”
Wow, the breath left her body. McKenna couldn’t even look at Logan, although he’d become very still. Would the Board back both initiatives?
“Of course we’re willing to dig into the coffers,” Dennis began, glancing around the table. “Montclair is known as a leader in healthcare innovation. If it makes sense to do both, well, then, that’s what we should do.” The other Board members seemed to agree. No objections were voiced. “But it's customary to also raise funds. When donors are excited about a project, the Board feels more sure that we’re heading in the right direction.”
Logan leaned forward. “We’re happy to be involved in any fundraising effort.”
Dennis inclined his head. “With your family history, Logan, we would expect nothing less.”
A muscle twitched in Logan’s jaw. Probably wasn’t easy to work in a place where you continually had to live up to your family name.
“I'll second that.” McKenna jumped in to draw attention from Logan’s obvious discomfort. “Our committee will be involved as well.”
“That’ll be great, McKenna,” Dennis said while Fay smiled her way.
Granted, McKenna’s experience with fundraising was a lot more informal than what the Board was considering. Someone in her family was always having a potluck for a neighbor down on their luck or a bingo night for a hospitalized fireman. Still, might be fun to work on the outing.
Dennis nodded. “Just occurred to me that we have our golf outing in August. Haven't designated a specific beneficiary for those dollars. Might it be possible to rev up that initiative for the new OB projects?”
A rustle of approval filtered through the group and they took a show of hands. McKenna felt heady with relief as she walked to the parking garage fifteen minutes later. The Board’s support for both projects helped her side step any open confrontation with Logan. Still, she wanted him to feel more comfortable with the whole concept.
The breeze blew cool on her bare neck and arms. Clouds scudded across the night sky. Not many cars left on the upper level, and she hurried, not wanting to run into Logan. His mischievous teasing under the table left her heady and breathless.
Tossing her jacket and purse onto the passenger seat of the jeep, she slid inside. In her rear view mirror she saw Logan’s red Porsche in a distant corner. He was always so careful.
Before starting the engine, she rested one hand on her thigh.
Tonight he’d been reckless.
And she wasn’t one bit sorry.
~.~
When Logan reached the top level, McKenna’s car was gone. Damn. Warren had grabbed him on the way out with questions.
Now Logan ripped off his tie, undid his top shirt button and whipped off his jacket. Summer was settling on Chicago like a blasted suit of armor. He’d hoped to corner McKenna up here with some pretty direct questions. Heck with being polite. He was going to have to make his point, and he didn’t intend to be subtle. The independent redhead might call for a more direct approach.
Chapter 9
Anytime McKenna saw Logan later in the week, Priscilla was always with him.
Hanging on his every word.
Tuning into him with soulful nods.
McKenna should have felt relieved instead of downright annoyed. At herself.
As the week wound down, McKenna’s elation following the Board meeting eased. The weekend loomed and no word from Logan. Her relief held a hint of disappointment she hoped would dissipate with time. She just wasn’t ready. The timing was off.
Usually girlfriends were safer, but not right now. They’d ask too many questions. When her younger sister Harper called from Savannah, they had a long chat. Harper always needed advice, and McKenna felt flattered that her younger sister turned to her for suggestions.
McKenna gave no indication that she was struggling herself.
That weekend, she chilled out. Had one patient in labor and she thoroughly enjoyed the process. Lily Green and her boyfriend Ralph were as unconventional as they come. Lily was the kind of woman who milled her own corn meal and made yogurt all the time. No need to talk to Lily about watching her sodium or sugar.
When Petunia Green was born, Ralph just about turned inside out. Lily had been a trooper throughout the labor and birth. By that time, it was late Saturday night and McKenna told herself she was glad she didn’t have any plans. Sunday was a recoup day—time to sip her hazelnut coffee and read the paper, feet up on the hassock where Sasha slept, sprawled in the sunlight.
Then Seth called and invited her over for pizza. “Whole family coming?” she asked.
“Nope, just Selena.”
“I’ll be there.”
The casual meal quickly turned into an interrogation.
“Did you see Logan last night?” Selena asked as they split the last piece of Santa Fe pizza.
“Nope,” McKenna managed around a mouthful.
Selena groaned and rolled her eyes, cheeks bulging while she chewed.
“Okay, I’m out of here. This is turning into girl talk,” Seth mumbled, pushing up from the table.
“That’s right. Run away,” McKenna teased. “We’re going to talk about feelings.”
Seth disappeared into the family room.
“So what's this about no plans? I tell you, that man is into you. He can hardly look at you without blushing in those meetings!” Selena’s protest ended on an outraged uptick.
“You know, I don’t think I’m ready for this. After, you know, my last relationship.” McKenna pushed her plate away.
“Girl, you are the woman who is ready for anything, no matter what the day or time,” Selena sputtered.
“Maybe Logan needs a different type of woman,” McKenna said quietly.
Selena snorted. “I think you should let that man decide who he does or does not want.”
“Don’t want to end up investing another two years in the wrong guy.” Might as well put it out there. But she wasn’t about to share the information about Logan’s son. Was he even ready to have a relationship, especially one that might lead to children?
Her mind took a huge leap that left her breathless.
Selena’s brow furrowed. “But you don’t really know him yet. I'm talking to him tomorrow about the Midwives in Action meeting Thursday night.”
“Don't get your hopes up.” Logan in the mountains of Guatemala? Two weeks ago, McKenna couldn’t picture it. Now? She wasn’t sure.
“We’ll see.” Selena smiled mysteriously as she began to clean up. “How about some rocky road ice cream?”
“Chocolate with marshmallows? You’re on and make it a double.”
The following day, McKenna’s morning was filled with patient appointments. By noon she'd seen six women including three new patients, all interested in water birthing. It was amazing. In fact, she'd had a call from the Chicago Tribune, asking for an interview. But she needed to talk to Selena and Bethany before she called the writer back. Her one fear was that any article might sweep in more business than they could comfortably handle.
She kept herself busy and left the office late, glad to see that Logan’s car was gone. When she got home, she went out for a run. Physical exhaustion helped her sleep and staved away the memory of a warm thigh or a laughing pair of gray eyes.
~.~
“My goodness, Ashley just can't stop talking about you,” Priscilla told her at the next OB meeting. She looked a little miffed, and McKenna almost laughed.
“Your daughters are really special,” McKenna told her, opening her portfolio and taking out a pen. One was especially bratty and the other, especially sweet.
“Aren't they something?” But Priscilla looked a little unnerved instead of blissed out.
Logan began the meeting. The arc
hitects were hard at work on plans for the new unit. Designers were completing several sample boards with swatches of paint, fabric and flooring. Oh, how McKenna wished it were eighteen months from now. Lost in her eager anticipation, she almost missed Logan's comment.
“…and so of course we’ll have birthing pools in half the rooms,” he threw out. “That should take care of it.”
“Oh, I would certainly think so,” Priscilla quickly agreed.
Stunned, McKenna glanced up to find Regina's eyes on her.
“Do you think that will be adequate, McKenna?” the VP of Nursing asked.
McKenna blinked, struggling to pull her mind back from la la land. “Ideally, I'd like to see every woman have an opportunity to use water birth, if that’s what she chooses.”
Logan tilted his head as if he were trying to get his mind around that concept. “You really think that's a possibility, McKenna?”
“I definitely think it's a possibility.” The room fell silent. There they were, nose to nose again. The clock on the wall ticked loudly.
Priscilla was staring holes in McKenna. She had begun to shadow Logan in the OR, and the word was that she was exacting—like him. Logan’s face cleared and he leaned toward her. “Mind if I stop in some time, McKenna, to learn more about water birthing? Do you know if your group anticipates any cases today?”
“Hard to know but I’ll text you if we do, how about that?”
Really? Truth was, it was about time. She knew he was insanely busy, but still, it would be good for him to see what really went on in that room. The meeting was just wrapping up when Logan mentioned that the vendor who carried the special beds for the proposed unit would be coming soon.
“Why not have some fun with that?” McKenna suggested, her mind leaping ahead.
Logan’s brow wrinkled. “Fun? How?”
McKenna glanced around the table, ideas forming in her mind. “We could ask vendors to bring samples to create a model labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum room. Everything from the bed to the bassinet to the big screen TV. Let's get the entire hospital involved in the excitement. Employees can tour the model room, enter a drawing, and fill out a suggestion card.” Her mind kept flashing ideas with strobe light intensity.
Enthusiasm sparked in the room while they brainstormed to make A Day in the LDRP fun and memorable. The adrenaline rush carried McKenna through the first part of the morning. When she returned to her office following the meeting, patients crowded the waiting room. Dorothy was busy answering phones at the front desk while Lucy dashed from room to room, taking urine samples and vitals.
“Where’s Bethany?” McKenna asked Lucy. Selena had just disappeared into an exam room.
“In the birthing suite,” Lucy told her. “Sandy Johnson went into labor early this morning.”
Taking out her phone, McKenna texted Logan. Of course she’d get patient approval before bringing Logan in to observe, but Sandy was the type of girl who wouldn’t mind if her birthing experience became a teaching moment.
“So, I guess you got to him?” Selena commented when they passed in the hallway a few minutes later.
Puzzled, she turned. “Who are you talking about?”
“Logan,” Selena murmured. “He’s coming to the meeting of Midwives in Action Thursday night.”
“Really?” The man was full of surprises. “We can always use more docs, right?”
“You bet.” Snatching her next chart from the wall, Selena disappeared.
McKenna was giving Trish Carter a pep talk on cutting down on the salt when a knock came on the door. Lucy poked her head in. “Got a minute, McKenna?”
“Be back in a second,” she told Trish. “And you can get dressed.”
“Bethany's having some trouble with Sandy Johnson,” Lucy told her in a low whisper once McKenna had stepped out and closed the door behind her. “Shoulder dystocia. She said to call you.”
McKenna was already rushing down the hall, binding her hair back with a scrunchie. “Ask Selena to finish up with Trish, could you?”
The warm air of the birthing suite swallowed her as McKenna slipped inside and the door whooshed closed behind her. Despite the soothing guitar music, tension wired the room. Quickly she scrubbed down, grabbed a mask and snapped on her gloves. Face flushed, Sandy was hard at work in the birthing pool, supported by her husband. Jason’s face was tight with concern.
The downy head turtled in and out with each contraction. The baby was stuck.
A reassuring smile stayed on McKenna’s face as she turned to Bethany. The younger woman had been through this situation before and McKenna trusted her. God bless her, Bethany's voice was cool and measured as she gave the instructions they’d used the last time. “Now, Sandy, for the next contraction, I want you to hold back. Let's just give the baby a minute to turn.”
“No pushing?” Sandy’s blood shot eyes bulged with frustration.
“Not yet, okay?” Bethany told her.
Jason’s lips tightened. Like most guys, he wanted to help but didn’t know how. McKenna knew him from the natural childbirth class. “We’ve got time,” she assured them both. Any additional stress now could make Sandy tense her muscles. “Just nice and easy. No pushing. Just pant.”
McKenna had some experience with this problem, which had come up a couple of times in her practice. The baby’s shoulders could get hooked on the mother’s pubic bone. For one delivery, Bethany had been with McKenna. Sure helped to have another midwife in the room because things could get tricky.
“With a little patience, the baby will often eventually find the right position,” Bethany assured the parents, echoing McKenna’s words from their similar delivery. She’d come a long way during her months with their practice.
McKenna and Bethany settled in. Another contraction came and went. Sandy’s face paled with disappointment when her baby didn’t budge. The little guy’s shoulder was probably still lodged tight. Frustrated tears trickled down the laboring mother’s cheeks.
“Honey, you can do this,” Jason assured his wife. Stress sharpened his usual jovial features.
“Time to change positions.” McKenna barely heard the door open behind her. “Sandy, let's get you on your feet. Jason, can you help with this?”
Soothing his wife with soft words, Jason coaxed her from her crouched position. She leaned against him and he blotted her face with a towel.
“Now, let’s just put one foot on the edge of the pool,” McKenna suggested as Jason held Sandy steady. “Picture your body opening to give the little guy room. Bet you’ve already picked out a name.”
“Shaun,” Sandy whispered. “Shaun Jason. Oh, God. Here it comes.” Below her pink sports bra, her tummy grew shiny hard.
“Pant, no pushing,” Bethany reminded her. “Pant.”
As Sandy panted, her face turned red from holding back the muscular push that just seemed so right at this stage. The baby needed time to move.
“The head is rotating.” A small measure of relief rippled through McKenna as she watched the furry top of a tiny head turn just a bit. When the contraction eased, they all relaxed. A little movement might release that tiny shoulder.
“We’re making progress,” McKenna told the parents.
“Gosh, I sure hope so,” Sandy sobbed.
Jason kissed the top of his wife’s head and she clutched his arm tighter.
“Oh, so soon?” Sandy squeaked, as the next contraction caught her.
“Everything’s fine.” Bethany kept her voice low and calm. “Pant and keep your muscles relaxed. I know that’s hard, but settle into it.”
Sandy panted, her husband gently swiping back the blonde hair that had escaped her topknot. These moments could seem so long—for both the parents and the midwives. As the contraction eased and Sandy’s features relaxed, McKenna’s heart lifted. “I’m seeing more baby now. A couple more might do it.”
Jason gave his wife a concerned smile.
At the end of the next two contractions, the baby
had made some progress and was rotating. “Next time, push,” she told Sandy.
But even after pushing during the next contraction, the baby’s head was still turtling.
Still caught. Damn it.
Sandy’s hopeless sob broke in the silence. Jason’s head dropped.
“That’s okay.” Angling her position, McKenna crouched in front of the laboring mother. “When the next one comes, I’m going to slip my fingers up inside. You’ll barely feel them. I’m just going to help him out.”
“Anything. Anything.” Sandy’s voice held a note of desperation.
The next contraction came, and Sandy gave it her all. When the baby’s delicate head bobbed out this time, McKenna slipped her fingers into the birth canal on either side, like one of those devices for stubborn wine corks. Rotating the baby’s body just a bit, she eased one slippery shoulder past Sandy’s pelvic bone. The baby sprang free.
Thank God. Sandy laughed and cried when her son gave a hearty wail as Bethany lifted him from the water. McKenna rested on her heels and called the time of birth while Bethany settled the newborn into his mother's arms. The pediatric nurse who’d been waiting in the shadows stepped forward, taking the infant to the bassinet while Bethany worked with Sandy to deliver the placenta. McKenna got to her feet.
“Nice job.” Logan’s voice startled her as she was stripping off her gloves.
“Have you been here long?” She’d forgotten she’d texted him.
“Long enough to see exceptional work.” His smile held admiration.
Her exhaustion fell away. Bethany could handle it from here, and she waved good-bye. She welcomed the cool air when they pushed through the door into the hall.
“Thanks for that compliment, Logan.” Her chuckle clutched in her throat. “Heck, I feel like I’m the one who just had that baby.”
“You handled it well. Got a minute to come with me to the unit?”
“Sure.” Pleased that he wanted to do rounds with her, she felt the heat rise in her face.
Maybe now Logan would understand the water birthing process better. They’d have a minute to chat, one professional to the other. Too bad her thoughts were anything but professional as they walked onto the OB floor, nodding briskly to staff in the nurses’ station.