Page 64 of Until Waverly

“Nope.” I shook my head. “I was too busy getting tossed against a wall and helping our patients to see if anyone was watching us.” I glanced at Mr. Young. “We had no way out. None of the elevators worked. Not the back stairwell doors. Nothing. What would the hospital have done had one of our patients stroked out or worse? If there was a guard at the door, why didn’t he or she grab two more members of their team and breach? We were all sitting ducks for twenty-six hours.” At least that was how long it had been the last time I remembered.

“They weren’t allowed, Miss Redman,” Mr. Hoffman said. “Though, put the way you’ve stated and the resulting nature of the lockdown, perhaps they should have.”

“Well, we should consider ourselves lucky, since he didn’t pull his gun out and start shooting us.” The words slipped free as irritation crept along my spine. “Sorry, that was out of line. What I meant is, this father had been hurting. As a mother, I can’t imagine his pain and grief. He almost lost two people that day and still could if the baby doesn’t pull through. He needed compassion and to be brought to the right place. I understand I spoke out of turn, but this hospital messed up. Big time.”

Mr. Carmine cough to cover a chortle while Joyce smothered her laugh with her hand. The only one not laughing was Mr. Young. “We take the safety of our patients seriously, Miss Redman. Everyone is a priority to us. In this situation, we failed. From top to bottom.”

“You bombed. Not us.” I pointed to Dr. Jay, Joyce, Amy, and Nurse Rodham. “We did our job. I took the brunt of it.” I didn’t know where this inner strength came from, but I sat straighter in my chair, growing braver by the second.

“Yes,” Mr. Carmine said, “you did. Question is, do you want to return?”

With every bit of me. I coveted my position. I craved finishing school even if it took an extra semester. Being an L&D nurse was who and what I was meant to be. “Without a doubt, even though I have a lot to catch up on.”

“What do you think, Joyce?” Mr. Carmine said, then glanced at my instructor and friend.

“Waverly has the drive and determination to be one of our best nurses. With a little more instruction, I am sure she can pass her finals and the NCLEX exam.” Joyce held my gaze. “If she will join us, we could prep her for both and get her into training before the beginning of summer.”

I blinked, surprised. I thought for sure I wouldn’t be allowed to attend until fall, which meant being a semester behind everyone and practically starting over. “Really?”

Joyce, Amy, and Nurse Rodham nodded. “Really. You’re one of the brightest students in your class. Whatever it takes, we’re going to see you obtain your degree and license.”

I grinned, excitement growing within me. “I’m ready. I want to start right now.”

By the time Jackson picked me up, I was vibrating with excitement. I couldn’t wait to tell him the good news. However, when I got in the car, I noticed Alandria wasn’t with him. Confused, I tilted my head as I put my seatbelt on, and we pulled away.

“She’s with Ireland,” Jackson said. “Something about a playdate for cousins.”

I relaxed, then laughed. “Yeah, I spaced. She had talked about setting that up.”

“Well, how did it go? You’re practically buzzing beside me,” Jackson said, turning left out of the driveway instead of right.

“Uh?”

“Don’t worry,” Jackson said. “I want to hear about your meeting first.”

I glanced at the road, then back to him. He was right. I had to tell him everything. “First, I’ll be graduating with my class, and second, I got my position back.” I then explained the rest. From the security guards who were fired to the new protocols for the hospital to at least allow a doctor on the floor during a lockdown, should something happen to a patient. Then I told him about Joyce and Nurse Rodham’s plan to get me caught up and ready for my NCLEX test.

He whistled. “We should celebrate.”

“We should?”

He nodded. “Yep.”

He turned off the main road onto one of the side streets that looked vaguely familiar. When he finally stopped, we were sitting outside the cute house we’d looked at four days ago and put an offer on. Confused, I stared at the place, not because I didn’t like the two-story craftsman-style home I did, but why were we there?

“In thirty days, should everything work out properly,” Jackson murmured, “this will be our home.”

“What?” I was still a little slow on the uptake because of my injury.

“I got the call when I left you at the hospital. I had run to the realty place and signed the paperwork.” Jackson grinned. “The owners accepted our offer we put in for their home.”

Gut-punched in a good way, I sat there amazed at how fast everything was happening. It felt like a whirlwind of an affair for us. We’d gone from being strangers to buying our first home together in no time. “Are you sure we’re going to have the money?”

“Think of it as an engagement present from your brother and my sister,” Jackson said, turning slightly toward me. In his hand was a small blue box. “Marry me, sunshine. Let’s become a proper family together.”

Tears welled in my eyes. Marry him? Of course. Sure, I still held some shame and embarrassment from how I’d behaved and how I’d acted over the last year and a few months. However, every day things were getting better for us. “Yes.” I held out my left hand and waited as he slipped the princess cut diamond ring on my finger. “The ring is gorgeous.”

“So are you, Waverly,” he murmured before kissing me. “I have one more surprise for you too.”

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