Chapter 4
By the time Jenny was ready to push at one in the morning, Victoria suspected she regretted her decision to forgo pain meds.
Jenny was having trouble focusing on her breathing, despite Alex’s steady support and encouragement.
Her friend Erin Barton had come in around ten and stood by the other side of Jenny’s bed, wiping her face with cool cloths and feeding her ice chips to keep her hydrated.
Victoria prepared the bed and the room for delivery, again proceeding through the checklist. She had long ago memorized the steps involved in delivering a baby and went through each one with ruthless attention to detail.
Ensuring the safety and comfort of her moms was her top priority along with delivering a healthy baby.
Although it wouldn’t be her preference to deliver an older mom on the island, Victoria was determined to make sure the delivery was smooth, and David and Katie were nearby in case she needed them.
She eyed the monitor, watching for the next contraction. “All right, Jenny. Let’s get this baby out. On the next contraction, I need a big push.”
Jenny pushed for a long, difficult hour before her son emerged into the world, screaming with outrage at the bright lights, the noise and the general inconvenience of leaving the womb. He was absolutely perfect—and close to nine pounds.
“You have a son,” Victoria said to Jenny and Alex, who were overcome with emotion. She wiped away a few tears of her own, knowing the long and difficult path Jenny had traveled from losing her fiancé in the World Trade Center on 9/11 to falling for Alex many years later to now becoming a mother.
Katie quickly cleaned up the baby and wrapped him in a receiving blanket before taking him to meet his elated parents and Aunt Erin, who was the twin sister of Jenny’s late fiancé.
“Hello, little man,” Jenny said softly to the baby, who stared up at her with big dark eyes. He had a smattering of dark hair and his father’s olive-toned skin.
“What’s his name?” Victoria asked as she tended to Jenny’s post-delivery care.
“George Alexander Martinez the second,” Jenny said. “After Alex’s dad.”
“I love that,” Erin said. “He looks like a George.”
“My dad would be so thrilled,” Alex said, wiping away tears.
George let out a lusty cry.
“I think your little guy might be hungry,” Victoria said. “Let’s see how he takes to breastfeeding.”
Two hours later, Victoria was dead on her feet but had two successful deliveries completed and two breastfeeding moms who were doing great. David had checked both babies again, declaring them healthy and strong.
It had been a great day for the clinic team—or was it two days now?
“Go on home,” David said to Victoria and Katie. “I’ll stay.”
Victoria would’ve argued with him, but his policy was to remain on the premises any time they admitted a patient. Besides, she was so damned tired, she could barely function let alone argue.
“We’ll clear your schedule until noon tomorrow,” he said. “Sleep in.”
“You’re the best boss I ever had.”
“I love how she says that, as if she’s not the boss around here.”
Katie laughed. “Seriously.”
“Whatever,” Victoria said, yawning. “I’m outta here.”
“I want my bed and my man,” Katie said as she walked with Victoria to the dark parking lot, which held many more cars than usual due to their patients.
“What you said.” Victoria’s stomach ached at the thought of having to talk to Shannon about what she’d learned about him. But that wasn’t going to happen tonight. She’d wait and choose her timing carefully. “Sleep well, and thanks for staying.”
“Of course, no problem.”
The three of them made a good team, supporting each other through the various challenges they confronted on a daily basis as the island’s only medical providers. That they were also great friends made their work environment much more fun and dynamic than it would’ve been otherwise.
After finishing the Certified Nurse Midwife postgraduate program five years ago, Victoria came to Gansett intending to spend a year gaining experience in midwifery before moving on to something bigger and better.
But Gansett had worked its magic on her, and now it felt like home.
She thrived on the challenge of providing top-level prenatal care to isolated island moms and liked feeling needed in her professional life.
Now she couldn’t imagine living anywhere but on the remote island where she’d found such a satisfying life. That life had become a heck of a lot more satisfying a year ago when Shannon O’Grady arrived.
She drove home to the small house they shared near the Salt Pond, close enough to smell the sea air, which, along with the scenic water views, had become one of her favorite aspects of island life.
Shannon had left the outside light on for her, and she tiptoed inside, hoping she wouldn’t wake him. He had an early morning on the ferry.
In the bathroom, she changed into an oversized T-shirt and brushed her teeth before creeping into the bedroom, where she plugged her phone into a bedside charger. She made sure she was always reachable by the expectant moms who depended on her.
When she crawled into bed, Shannon reached for her, the way he did every night when they went to bed together.
“Did I wake you?” she asked.
“Nah, I was dozing, waiting for you.”
If she lived forever, she’d never get tired of listening to that lovely accent. She took a deep breath and let it out, aching all over again as she recalled the things Seamus had told her. Thinking about what Shannon had been through broke her heart.
“Long day, love?”
“Long but good with two healthy new babies. Tiffany Taylor had a girl named Adeline, and Jenny Martinez had baby George.”
“That’s great news.”
“It’s always a huge relief when island deliveries go well.”
“They usually go well when you’re involved.”
“That’s the goal.” Yawning, she turned to face him. “How was your day?”
“Less eventful than yours.”
Victoria kissed him. “I missed you today.”
“Missed you, too. It’s not the same around here when you’re not home. It’s far too quiet. I went over to Seamus’s for a little while. It’s definitely not quiet over there.”
She wanted to ask about Jackson and his troubles at camp, but then she’d have to tell him she’d been to see Seamus. So she didn’t ask. “That’s actually good news. I love to hear the boys are acting like little boys again.”
“They certainly are. We played football in the yard with them, and I’ve got a few new bruises.”
“Aww, poor baby.”
He slid his leg between hers and tugged her in closer to him. “You could make me feel better.”
Victoria laughed at his shameless ploy. Suddenly, she wasn’t quite as tired as she’d been a few minutes ago. Being close to him this way always had the same effect on her. If he was nearby, she wanted him. It was one of the simple facts of her life.
“But if you’re too tired—”
She kissed him, pouring all the love she felt for him into that single kiss, wishing she could take away the pain he carried with him, even if he never spoke of it.
He rolled her under him, kissing her face and neck.
Victoria wondered if he remembered his lost love when he was with her this way. Did he close his eyes and imagine she was someone else? The thought of that possibility broke her heart and had tears pooling in her eyes that she hoped he wouldn’t notice.
They’d come such a long way from the first night they met, or so she’d thought.
As he helped her out of the T-shirt she’d worn to bed and left a trail of kisses down the front of her, she thought about the steps they’d taken in the beginning that had led her to believe they were starting a lasting relationship.
They’d been tested so they could have sex without condoms and then officially moved in together after spending every night together that first month.
Now they shared meals and bills and a bed and a life that had come to mean more to her than anything ever had before.
She’d never lived with a man or engaged in the kind of relationship she had with Shannon.
But now she had reason to wonder if they’d been building a life or a house of cards that would collapse under the weight of his past. And why hadn’t he told her about Fiona himself?
In all the time they’d spent together, how could he have kept such a big part of himself from her?
“Where have you gone off to, love?” he asked, his cock hard against her center.
“I’m here,” she said, reaching for him. “I’m right here.”
He thrust into her, filling her so completely in every possible way. Her heart overflowed with love for him, with the desire to have everything with him. She wanted little Irish babies who looked just like him and yearned to watch them grow up with him by her side.
Victoria hadn’t often entertained those thoughts, because she’d always suspected something was holding him back from fully committing to her.
Now that she knew why, it was like the floodgates had opened and all the things she wanted so desperately surged to the surface, making her cling to him as he made love to her.
They’d been together long enough that he sensed something was wrong. “What is it, Vic? Why’re you so tense?”
“I’m sorry,” she said, unable to let go and relax after the emotionally charged day she’d had.
Soon she would have no choice but to do something with the information Seamus had given her.
But not now. Not tonight. She wrapped her legs around his waist and ran her fingers through the thick hair that curled at the ends.
“You’re sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine. Don’t stop.”
He grasped her hips and picked up the pace.
Normally, she couldn’t form a coherent thought when he was inside her, but tonight, pleasure was no match for the insecurities that filled her mind.
“Tell me you’re close, love,” he said, sounding tense.
“So close.” She wasn’t. She’d never faked it before with him. She hadn’t had to.
“You feel so good.”
Victoria held him tight, fighting the emotional firestorm that threatened to erupt at any second.