Tasha was incredibly excited, nerves tumbling around in her stomach. She couldn’t wait to see Quinn. Couldn’t wait to stand by his side.
And then she saw him, dressed in a white shirt and khaki trousers, ensuring that the yellow ribbon stretched across the entrance was fixed securely for the grand opening.
‘Quinn!’ she called, beaming when he turned round and smiled at both of them.
He held out his arms and Abeje went running into them. He scooped her up, hoisting her onto his hip.
‘You’re getting a bit big for this now.’
‘Never!’ Abeje laughed.
‘Well, when my back gives out we’ll stop, okay?’
‘Okay.’
He kissed her on the cheek and then put her down, reaching out to embrace Tasha.
She sank into his arms happily.
Today was a great day.
They’d had many great days together. The day Abeje had left the hospital...waving goodbye to the Serendipity as it sailed out of port, leaving Quinn by her side...moving in together...getting married...adopting Abeje.
And now this day. The opening of their clinic. Their dream.
It meant so much, what they would be able to do—not only for this community but those around it. Cutting down treatment times, getting healthcare to those who desperately needed it. And they’d even got a small team of trucks to use as mobile hospitals, after remembering the trips they’d taken out to Mosa and the more remote villages.
Many lives were about to change for the better.
As were theirs.
Tasha kissed Quinn, revelling, as she always did, in holding him close, feeling the strength of his love for her.
The intensity of their love for each other was overwhelmingly wonderful. She’d never felt anything like it. She had a family of her own. Was this what other people had? This happiness? This belonging?
‘I’d better make a start, then.’ Quinn said.
‘Good luck.’
She let go of his hand as he stepped up onto a small podium and the assembled crowd grew quiet. A sea of expectant happy faces looked up at him.
Tasha handed Abeje the pair of scissors she was to use for the ceremony. ‘Stay with me. Wait for Daddy to finish.’
‘Hello, everyone! Welcome to the Ntembe Clinic! It’s good to see so many of you here today. So many familiar faces.’
Tasha could see Maria and Rob in the front row. They stood holding hands, beaming smiles up at their old colleagues. It was good to see them here. They’d taken leave from the Serendipity—just for a month for their honeymoon—and they’d promised to be here, despite no doubt having many more important things to be getting on with!
‘My wife Tasha and I have long held a dream to open up a clinic here. To serve you—our friends, our family, all the people we have come to know and love here. We hope it will become a vital site—not just for healing, but for education and support for everyone.’
They certainly had grand plans. They wanted to teach here. Teach communities about safe sex, about immunisation, about first aid practices and how to do CPR. They wanted to run a volunteer centre here, a blood clinic, a midwifery centre, and most of all they wanted to accept medical students—to give them the education and experience they would need to advance in the medical world. It wasn’t just going to be a clinic to patch people up and send them on their way.
‘So, without further ado, I would like to invite my daughter, Abeje, to do the honours and open up the Ntembe Clinic!’
He stepped down from the dais and moved back so that everyone would be able to see her cut the ribbon.
Shyly Abeje stepped forward, and held the ribbon. She looked up at her father and he nodded encouragingly. Then she took the scissors with both hands and with a huge smile cut through it. The two pieces fluttered to each side as everyone behind her cheered and clapped their approval.
‘Well done, sweetpea!’ Tasha took her hand and together they stepped into the clinic. Their brand-new, clean-as-a-whistle clinic, with the crowd following in behind them.
She felt a hand slip into hers. Quinn.
‘This is it. The start of everything.’
She smiled, looking back at him. ‘It is.’
‘Was my speech too short, do you think?’
‘It was perfect. It’s too hot to stand out there listening when everyone wants to be inside to see it for themselves.’
‘You’re right. As ever.’ He kissed her cheek.
They stood there, accepting congratulations from everyone who passed. They shook countless hands, thanked hundreds of people, it seemed, and spent hours explaining what each room was for, what services they’d offer, and said that everyone was welcome—whether they could afford to pay or not.
And when the crowds were gone, and the last person had said goodbye, the three of them stood in what would be the waiting room of the clinic and looked about them.
‘Can you believe we did it?’ asked Quinn.
‘Yes,’ she said. ‘Because we did it together.’
He stroked her cheek. ‘I couldn’t have done it without you, Dr Shapiro.’
‘Well, in a few months you might have to,’ she answered, her cheeks flushing as her hand went to her belly and she began to tell him the secret she had held inside her since discovering the good news just a few short days ago.
He frowned. Then his eyes widened. ‘You’re pregnant?’
She nodded. ‘About ten weeks.’
He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight.
She was so happy that he was thrilled. She’d been dying to tell him, but had thought that telling him today would be the best thing. She’d wanted to be sure. And it had taken a few days for it to sink in with her, too.
Her own baby. Her own flesh and blood. She’d never had that.
Tasha kissed him, looking into his eyes, and then she knelt down, beaming at Abeje.
‘You’re going to be a big sister!’
* * * * *
If you enjoyed this story, check out these other great reads from Louisa Heaton
PREGNANT WITH HIS ROYAL TWINS
THEIR DOUBLE BABY GIFT
REUNITED BY THEIR PREGNANCY SURPRISE
CHRISTMAS WITH THE SINGLE DAD
All available now!
Keep reading for an excerpt from REDEEMING THE REBEL DOC by Susan Carlisle.
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Redeeming the Rebel Doc
by Susan Carlisle
CHAPTER ONE
“RETRACTOR!” SNAPPED Dr. Rex Maxwell
.
His surgical nurse quickly placed it in his palm.
“We need to find this bleeder. Suction.” With a gentle movement, Rex lifted the liver as his assistant, standing across the OR table from him at Metropolitan Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, obeyed his command.
Rex watched intently for any sign of red liquid. This patient had come through the emergency department the night before and one of his colleagues had patched the man up but the patient wasn’t recovering as he should. His midsection had swelled. There was internal bleeding. Rex was known as the “go-to man” who handled hard-to-find problems like this. He didn’t disappoint. Confident in his skills as a surgeon, his success rate had proved him more than competent. Except in one case.
His heart jumped as he spotted the problem. “Found it. Sutures.”
“That figures. You find them when no one else can,” the anesthesiologist said, admiration in his tone.
Rex looked over his mask at the man. “Thanks.”
Over the next few minutes Rex repaired the leak. He was almost finished when the phone on the wall rang. A nurse answered. Seconds later she hung up. “Rex, you’re wanted in Administration as soon as you’re done here.”
He muttered a word that his mother would scold him for using. Polite people didn’t use words like that. But, then, to her, life was about always making the right impression.
An hour later he trudged down the wide tiled hallway toward the hospital administration offices. With a patient in surgery prep who had been pushed back hours because of the bleeder, Rex should be back in surgery, not on his way to a meeting he wasn’t interested in being a part of. Hadn’t he spent enough time in the last twelve months with Dr. Nelson, the hospital administrator? Being arbitrarily summoned to Nelson’s office should have stopped when the unpleasant malpractice suit had been settled.
Rex had endlessly replayed the details of that night and that surgery in his mind and had told lawyers the tale of what had occurred more than once.
He’d been called in late on a Saturday night after having been to a club on a date. Since he had been on call he hadn’t been drinking and when he’d arrived at the hospital the patient had already been prepped for surgery. It hadn’t been until after he was in the OR that he’d learned his patient was Mr. Royster, the man who had been both his father’s best friend and chairman of the board of the country club when his father had filed for bankruptcy. Royster was also the father of Rex’s ex-girlfriend, who had dumped him because she’d been ashamed of being seen on Rex’s arm after his family’s financial downfall had become public knowledge.
The situation with Mr. Royster’s perforated stomach had by now deteriorated to the point that he’d had little chance of surviving even with surgery. The repair hadn’t been difficult but the chance of serious infection had been high. Less than twenty-four hours post-op Mr. Royster had steadily been going downhill. In another forty-eight, he was gone.
Devastated and grief-stricken to the point that they couldn’t accept what had happened, Royster’s family had lashed out by filing a malpractice suit against Rex, accusing him of not taking the necessary medical steps to save Royster’s life in retaliation for how he and his family had been ostracized all those years ago. Powered by the family’s money and influence, the case had gone further than it should have. The most damage had been done by the Roysters’ manipulation of the media, which had dragged the hospital into the nastiness.
The relationship between Rex and Dr. Nelson had been contentious at best while the hospital had been faced with the possibility of paying millions in damages. Rex’s career, as well as his and the hospital’s reputation, would still take years to repair. Thankfully, though, both he and the hospital had come through the experience bruised and battered, and both were still in business. So what could Dr. Nelson possibly want now?
Opening the glass door of the administrative suite, Rex went straight to the assistant’s desk. “Marsha, please let Dr. Nelson know I’m here.”
She nodded toward a closed door. “Go on in. He’s waiting on you.”
Relief washed through him. At least he didn’t have to waste time waiting. He checked his watch as he entered Nelson’s office. He was determined to get to his patient sooner rather than later. As Nelson looked up from his chair behind the desk, Rex closed the door.
Dr. Nelson waved him toward a chair. “I’m glad you could make it on such short notice.”
Rex dropped into the seat, elbows resting on his knees, and looked squarely at Dr. Nelson. “I have a patient waiting.”
“I won’t keep you long. After the unpleasantness of the last year, the hospital’s reputation has taken a hit. The community is left with the impression the hospital doesn’t provide quality service.”
Without thinking, Rex uttered that foul oath again. Dr. Nelson’s eyes narrowed. In turn, Rex straightened in his chair. “Everything about my service is high quality. Was and will be in the future. I’ll put my skills up against any surgeon’s.”
“The question is, does the public believe that?” Nelson countered. “This is a serious situation. I’m sure you’ve noticed the downward turn in your workload.”
“Yes, but I’m still very busy.” Rex was confident people would soon forget about the long-drawn-out court case. Especially since it was no longer nightly news. Time was the secret. After all, he’d lived through scandal before and survived.
Dr. Nelson’s face sobered. He leaned forward, placing his arms on his desk and clasping his hands. Maybe there was more to this meeting than Rex had originally thought. He gave Mr. Nelson his full attention.
“Because of the situation, the board of directors has decided to bring in a public relations firm to help minimize the fallout. With the hospital accreditation committee planning a visit at the end of the month, we need to bolster public opinion as much as possible. Since you were involved in the lawsuit they want your cooperation in the matter. The idea is that if the public perception of you improves then so will the hospital’s and vice versa.”
Rex held back a frustrated groan. Nelson must be joking. There wasn’t time in his day for PR stuff. Instead of voicing his real opinion, he said, “Do you really think that’s necessary?”
“It’s not what I think but what the board has decided. However, I agree with them. I expect your full cooperation.”
Rex started to open his mouth.
Dr. Nelson raised his hand. “The board knows you’re a talented, dedicated doctor. They want to keep you but the hospital’s reputation must improve. If you plan to continue working here, I highly recommend you go along with this.”
Rex was invested in Metropolitan Hospital. With his surgical skills he could work anywhere, but that wouldn’t be enough to get him the promotions he craved and if he were to leave it was highly likely that any hospital he applied to would take a dim view of him, given the malpractice lawsuit, even though he had been legally cleared.
He’d been able to start work at Metropolitan as his own person without the worry of the negative connotations of his family name. He’d been exceptionally successful, despite being what some would call a free spirit. There had been no issues until this recent incident and he didn’t anticipate any more problems in his future. His intention was to achieve the position of departmental head in this hospital.
Now he was being pressured into unnecessary PR nonsense with no say in the matter.
Just like when he had been a teen and his family had become the subject of too much outside attention.
After his family’s fall from their high-society status, he’d vowed he would never be forced into putting on a façade to impress people. However, it seemed that that was what it was going to take if he wanted to achieve his goals in medicine. Even though experience had taught him that putting a pretty face on an ugly reality could backfire badly.
His mother and father had lived that way. The best
clothes, nice cars, private school for their children, big house and membership to an exclusive country club. The problem was that they couldn’t afford it. Everything had been outward appearance and no substance. When Rex had been seventeen it had all come crashing down. His parents had been exposed and the family had gone bankrupt.
Reality was a too-small apartment on the other side of town, a ten-year-old car, cheap clothes and no more country club.
Most of Rex’s friends had turned their backs on him because they’d no longer had anything in common. What had really hurt, though, had been the girl he’d been in love with ending their relationship. When he’d been snubbed by country club snobs, she’d declared they had no future. He wasn’t enough for her. So much for love.
Rex had promised himself then that he’d never judge someone by where they lived or what they drove, neither would he ever put on pretensions of wealth and social status to impress again. He was who he was. People could like him or not. That was one of the reasons he wore a T-shirt, jeans and boots to work. He might be a well-paid physician, but his open, honest lifestyle had nothing to do with his salary, his brain or his skills in the OR. He would not tolerate pretense in his life.
Forcing his attention back to the dilemma Dr. Nelson had just created for him, he decided that during this new PR push he’d just lie low and concentrate on his patients. Refuse to get any more involved than he absolutely had to. He had nothing to prove to anyone and nothing to hide.
The moment Rex sighed, satisfied with his decision, Nelson punched a button and told his assistant to send in Ms. Romano.
* * *
Tiffani Romano waited apprehensively in the outer office of the administrator. She’d already seen Dr. Nelson but he’d asked her to wait while he spoke to Dr. Maxwell in private, then he would introduce them.
When her boss at Whitlock Public Relations had asked her into his office and explained that Metropolitan Hospital wanted to hire the firm to improve their image she had been excited that he was putting her in charge of the job. Tiffani saw this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to advance in the company. Success in the campaign would give her the two things she desperately wanted—a promotion that would move her to the corporate office in another city and the chance to no longer encounter Lou, her ex-boyfriend, daily.
A Child to Heal Them Page 16