Code Triage (38 page)

The bride’s sister came first, then Sandy from Pacific Mercy, and—Nick’s heart wedged toward his throat as Leigh’s eyes met his. Her shiny hair was lifted high off her neck, shoulders bare, cheeks flushed. She carried her bouquet—shells, lavender sea fans, beach grasses—considerably lower than all the other bridesmaids. She’d practiced it in the mirror all morning, shifting the bouquet over the front of her gown, up, down, sideways, then turned to Nick. “Can you tell how tight this waist is? There’s no way to let it out. Truth now: do I look fat?”

“You look gorgeous,” he’d said, wrapping his arms around her from behind and smiling into the mirror. “More beautiful than any woman I’ve ever seen. And like you’re carrying our child.”

My family.
His heart crowded his chest.

“There’s Mommy,” Logan whispered against his daughter’s tiny ear as Claire moved into step behind Leigh. He watched for a moment, then turned toward Nick, his blue eyes saying it all. Though Cody, the best man, had unwittingly given it voice:
“So many mercies.”
He’d meant hospitals of course—Sierra, Pacific, Golden Gate—but Nick and Logan knew better. And now Scott McKenna would too.

Mercy and grace and a love that endures. God promised it all, and they were blessed to receive it in their marriages to these three amazing women.

The wedding march began and the stunning redhead appeared, gliding forward on her proud father’s arm and smiling like it was the first day of a glorious forever.

Nick’s thoughts were already on the reception: he wanted his family back in his arms.

+++

Leigh clutched Erin’s hand and laughed again. “I can’t believe your grandmother caught your bouquet. She leaped like an L.A. Laker—isn’t Iris seventy-seven?”

“Seventy-eight now.” The bride smiled, her gaze on the couple in the distance, her grandmother and Scott’s grandfather holding the Chihuahua—now wearing Erin’s lace garter around his neck. “And after that double score, I’d say we’ll be seeing another McKenna wedding before too long.”

Leigh shook her head and sighed, then turned to Erin and Claire. “It’s something, isn’t it? How we’ve all come to feel like family?”

Claire brushed her lips against her daughter’s hair. “And become that, literally. I never dreamed that first day I walked into Sierra Mercy ER and butted heads with ‘Dr. McSnarly’ that I’d be here today as his wife—and a bridesmaid for his charge nurse.” She smiled at Erin. “Back then you were far more comfortable in boxing gloves.”

Leigh nodded. “I was always a little nervous she’d show up at Pacific Mercy wearing them. I think Scott was too, not that he’d have admitted it.” She gazed to where their husbands stood talking, fast becoming tall silhouettes in a dusk dotted with white paper lanterns. “The two of you were pretty stubborn.” She heard Erin laugh and turned to see the bride’s green eyes light with amusement.

“You’re talking stubborn, Dr. Stathos? I seem to remember screening your calls in the ER: Yes to any contact from the horse stables. No to all messages from a very determined police officer in San Francisco. And now . . .” She stepped close and touched her palm gently to the rounded front of Leigh’s gown. “Now look at you. Look how beautiful, happy—” she grinned—“and how great it’s turned out for all of us. A miracle, considering the disasters we’ve dealt with these past couple of years.”

“Explosion, pesticide spill, the shooting at Golden Gate. So much tragedy and chaos. You’re right; it could have done the same thing to all of our lives.” Claire glanced toward the tables. “We’ve seen God’s blessings. All of us.”

Leigh smiled, warmth filling her heart as she caught sight of Nick walking toward them. “And here comes one of mine, right now.”

“Amen.” Erin chuckled. “I hope that gorgeous example of San Francisco’s finest can sing. Karaoke starts after dinner. I’m telling you right now, the little dog’s a ringer.”

+++

Easter fell the weekend after the wedding and Nick made good on his promise to have the yard spruced in time for their dinner guests, which included Cha Cha. The irascible cockatiel was already settled in his cage under a shade tree. Antoinette said he would pull his feathers out if they left him at home and that she frankly didn’t know who was more trying these days, Harry or the bird. But she loved them both and intended to keep on doing that—

“Forever and ever!” Cha Cha shrilled, making Leigh laugh as she walked down the back steps from the house and into the yard.

“The kitchen smells like heaven. You’re a miracle worker.”

“I aim to please,” Nick said, smiling at the sight of her in blue jeans tucked into barn boots with an old scrub top she’d discovered worked well as maternity stable wear. She’d let her hair grow longer and it trailed past her shoulders, making her look like an amazing combination of schoolgirl and mother-to-be. His throat tightened. “How’s my pal Frisco?”

“Fat.” She wrinkled her nose, then spread her palms over her stomach as she walked closer. “And he can’t blame it on omelets or little . . . Jacob? Ethan?”

He laughed and kissed the top of her head as she hugged him. “Keep trying.”

“Anyway,” Leigh continued, “I’ve found someone to exercise him now that I’m out until September. But to tell you the truth, I think my show horse is completely content being petted and brushed and fussed over by dozens of therapy kids. Tag’s spoiled him for the blue ribbon circuit. By the way, you and I are both on Patrice’s volunteer schedule for next weekend. I signed you up for donkey golf.” She chuckled against his shirtfront. “Don’t worry; I’ll ask two of the kids from church to caddy for you.”

Leigh stepped away, gazing across the small yard to survey his handiwork. “It looks great. I’m so glad you got the opening in the hedge finished in time. And with the McNealys’ table added, we should have plenty of seating.

“Let’s see . . .” She dipped her finger toward the chairs, reciting the guests aloud: “The McNealys. His nurse will be bringing him in a wheelchair for the visit, so we’ll need extra room. Kristi and her boyfriend. Abby, Finn in his high chair with plenty of space around him—he’s a wild man these days. The Owens and Maria, Caro, and—” She turned to Nick. “Oh, I forgot to tell you that I invited Caro’s roommate. She’s not going home for Easter after all. They want to study together for midterms. I said no problem, we have plenty of room.”

“And I added Edwin and Althea Bower. She made a pecan pie. And a Waldorf salad.” Nick smiled as his wife’s brows scrunched with confusion. “Edwin and his grandmother. My littlest basketball star. You remember. I should warn you, he told me yesterday he planned to be ‘hungry enough to eat a horse.’”

Leigh peered at him, her expression incredulous. “Anybody else, Mr. Stathos?”

He shrugged and gave her a sheepish grin. “Just Oly. The vendor down on Divisadero. And he’s bringing—”

“Let me guess: flowers.” She smiled slowly. “Buy a table, and they will come.”

“Yes,” he said, slipping his arms around her. “Isn’t it great?”

Leigh was quiet for a moment and the look in her eyes melted his heart.

“It is,” she said, reaching up to rest her hand along his jaw. “It’s better than anything I could have imagined. Our table. You . . . our baby. I’m so happy, Nick.”

He bent low and she slid her arms around his neck, standing on tiptoe and lifting her face so that he could kiss her, slow and sweet and—

“Oh, wait!” She twisted in his arms to look back at the yard. “I forgot. Did she bring it? Is it here?”

“What?” he asked, feigning innocence. Then bit back a smile.

“Our lemon tree,” she said, peering around the yard.

Nick took her hand and led her to the other side of the porch. He watched her smile, her eyes shiny with tears.

“It’s blooming.” She pressed her hand to her chest. “I can smell the blossoms from here. And it’s covered in new leaves and—” she turned to him, raising her brows—“little Easter eggs?”

“Harry’s idea.” Nick shook his head. “He wanted to string plastic leis from the Tonga Room on it, but Antoinette steered him toward these.”

Leigh sighed. “I was so sure you sneaked the lemon tree away to rescue it. And you thought I threw it out. But Caro gave it to Antoinette.”

Nick nodded. “And she wasn’t about to let us see it until she was good and ready. She walked through the hedge about an hour ago, pulling it in a gardening wagon. Told me she knew all along that it would bloom, even back when it looked half-dead. She wagged her finger and said, ‘You can’t give up on things, Nicky. God doesn’t. You have to have faith.’”

Leigh leaned against him, resting her head against his chest. “I believe that now. About faith. Because . . . that’s exactly where forever starts.”

Nick couldn’t agree more. He wrapped his arms around her, his palm cradling the soft swell that was his growing son. His family in his arms. A blessing he’d prayed for all his life.

Thank you, Lord. I’m home.

About the Author

Candace Calvert is a former ER nurse who believes love, laughter, and faith are the best medicines. A multipublished author of humorous mysteries, she invites readers to “scrub in” on the dramatic, pulse-pounding world of emergency medicine via her new Mercy Hospital series. Wife, mother, and very proud grandmother, Candace makes her home in northern California. Visit her Web site at www.candacecalvert.com.

Book Discussion Guide

Use these questions for individual reflection or for discussion within your book club or small group.

Note: Book clubs that choose to read
Code Triage
and would like me to “attend” your get-together, please e-mail me at [email protected]. I’ll try to arrange a speakerphone conversation to join your discussion.

1. In the opening scene of
Code Triage
, off-duty police officer Nick Stathos faces danger to aid a young mother at risk of losing her children. He stubbornly insists, “I don’t give up. Ever.” What does this scene say about his character? his background? values? Considering those things, were you surprised to learn that Nick’s marriage was ending because of his infidelity? Discuss.

2. The reader first meets ER physician Leigh Stathos as she’s attempting to pump the stomach of an overdose patient, a woman despondent over her husband’s affair. Leigh’s manner is firm, professional, and emotionally neutral. How does this differ from her “gut-level” internal reaction to the woman’s situation? What does that—and Leigh’s eagerness to complete the divorce and move away from San Francisco—tell you about her character? Did you see a conflict in the personalities of Nick and Leigh Stathos?

3. What was your initial reaction to Samantha Gordon? Were the scenes from the point of view of “the other woman” effective for you as a reader? Why do you think they were included?

4. Secondary characters played significant roles in
Code Triage
. Who is your favorite? Cappy Thomas? Harry or Antoinette McNealy? Maria? Caroline? What did that character add to the story?

5. What impact did her sister’s impending divorce have on Caroline? Do you think it’s true that there is a “ripple effect” of divorce? How so?

6. How did the unlikely friendship of Tag and Frisco add to the story? Did you see a parallel between Leigh’s need to give her horse “a cushion of space” (an empty stall beside his) and her own approach to relationships? Discuss.

7. Leigh knew she was pregnant when she and Nick separated, but she never told him. If she had, do you think it would it have changed things? If so, how?

8. In the scene where they prepare an anniversary dinner for the McNealys, former chef Nick tells Leigh that recipes are built around a “central ingredient.” His statement reminds Leigh of their Christian counselor’s advice regarding a successful marriage: to have God at its center. What importance do you place on shared faith in a marriage? Have you seen wounded relationships heal as a result of “putting God at the center”?

9. After the ER shift that included a hospital shooting, Leigh tells Riley that she intends to go someplace where “even God can’t track me down.” Golden Gate Stables has become her comfort and refuge when troubles crowd in. Do you have a place like that? Do you feel God’s presence there?

10. A nurse struggling with her ability to set aside personal feelings to care for Kurt Denton, the man who killed a coworker, asks chaplain Riley Hale, “How do I do this?” Riley’s answer is “One step at a time.” How does that answer relate to Riley’s own struggle as a victim of crime? What do you imagine the future holds for this character?

11. A lemon tree and a dining room table become important motifs in the story. In your opinion, what the does the tree symbolize? Can you compare the significance of a table in Nick’s life to the significance in Leigh’s? How important was a family table in your childhood? Is that different now?

12. When abused orphan Maria finally breaks her silence, she tells Leigh that “we don’t have to be afraid,” because God will “always be here . . . forever and ever.” Why did that statement affect Leigh so deeply?

13. How did you feel about Sam Gordon at the story’s end? Are you hopeful for her future? Why or why not?

14. The epilogue brings together characters from all three Mercy Hospital books, reunited at a beach wedding. Did that make for a satisfying ending? Were there any questions that you felt were left unanswered at the story’s end? Discuss.

Thank you for reading
Code Triage
. Send me a note; I’d love to hear from you.

Warmly,

Candace Calvert