“Why would anyone want to do that?”
“Because it can be amazing with the right person.”
“I’ll pass.”
Her mother tickled her until she fell to the ground, squealing. When her laughter subsided, she stared up at her mother’s smiling face as she peered over the side of the bed.
“Like I said, sex is something you experience when you are much older, so you can pass for now. Someday, though, I want to be a grandmother.”
“Ew, Mom!”
“Noel! Hey!”
Noel jumped when she heard her name called and spun around to find Hannah Draper striding toward her, all business. Hannah was her favorite co-worker, a hard-working whirlwind who remembered everything.
“You about to come on?”
She checked her smart watch with a nod. “Yeah, another ten minutes. Everything okay?”
Hannah shook her head. “We have a mother of triplets with some bleeding and I have a feeling her hubby is gonna be a fainter. Two women who are overdue and begging to be induced now. One of them has tried every old wives’ tale in the book, including trying to sex the baby out.” Hannah shrugged at Noel’s raised eyebrows. “Her words, not mine. I have a feeling with the full moon, it’s going to get even crazier so hold onto your scrub bottoms.” Hannah snapped her fingers. “Also, Rayleen Givens was admitted about fifteen minutes ago and she’s asking for you.”
“Crap! Is she okay?”
“Get changed and I’ll fill you in. It’s not looking good.”
A lump lodged in her throat as Noel took off for the lounge at a near run. Rayleen and her husband, Tate, both worked in the hospital cafeteria. They’d been married ten years and while Tate moved up until he was managing the kitchen, Rayleen preferred creating the meals patients and their families enjoyed. When people talked about bad hospital food, that wasn’t the case in Mistletoe. Noel told Rayleen often that she could be a chef in a five-star restaurant, but Rayleen waved her off.
Noel caught up to Hannah. “What’s the sitch?”
“They think she’s got preeclampsia. They are still waiting for the results to come back on her urinalysis.”
Noel grimaced. Rayleen turned thirty-five in October and suffered a string of miscarriages before that. “This sucks. She’s only twenty-eight weeks.”
“Hopefully, if it is that, they can keep her comfortable for a few more weeks. She wants you in there with her.”
“I’ll go in after I do my rounds.” Noel patted Hannah on the shoulder. “Thanks for the heads-up.”
“Any time.”
It took her about an hour to do rounds and when she finally made it to Rayleen’s room, the sheer joy on the woman’s round, freckled face tugged at her heart.
“Hey Ray.”
“Thank God you’re here tonight, Noel.” Rayleen pushed back a strand of flyaway red hair and took a deep breath, her voice breaking as she spoke. “Tate went to pick his parents up in Boise but their flight was delayed. I had this blazing headache and thought it was probably just me not drinking enough water, but then the swelling in my ankles kept getting worse. I called the after-hours nurse and she told me to come straight here.”
“It’s a good thing you did. You should always listen when your body is trying to tell you something, but don’t worry. We’re going to get you sorted.” Noel washed her hands and went about checking Rayleen’s vitals, noting the worn paperback on the side table. “Good book?”
“It’s an old favorite of mine. I read it when I’m feeling low and anxious.”
“Hmmm, I’ll have to write it down.” Noel checked out Rayleen’s ankles and feet. There was no indentation where the ankles should be. She cleared her throat, covering the worry eating away at her. “I liked the last one you recommended. I got it in audio book and it took me about a month to get through it, but it was funny. And hot.”
“I’ll write down the name of this one for you before I go home tonight.” Rayleen took another shaky breath and Noel noted the tears in her eyes. “I can’t lose this one, Noel.”
Noel squeezed her hand. “We’re going to do our best to make sure you don’t.”
“Hi Rayleen,” Dr. Copeland said, breezing in through the door with heavy, sympathetic eyes. Noel’s heart sank as she broke contact with Rayleen and turned away to wash her hands again. She didn’t know if she could bear to see Rayleen’s expression crumble if the news wasn’t good, but it was her job. Rayleen needed her to be strong.