Page 15 of SEAL's Patience
After they got Felicity and the baby stabilized in the ambulance, Patience climbed in and sat next to the medic.
Quinn nodded. “See you at the hospital.”
The ambulance driver shut the doors. As they pulled away, Patience expected to see Quinn jump into his truck to follow them, but he didn’t move as they drove away. She watched through the ambulance window as his figure got smaller. Her brain told her he was just making sure they got off okay, but a tightness in her chest said it was more. The man was a conundrum. Did he like her or not? She wasn’t brave enough to ask him outright. But when she caught him watching her when he thought she wasn’t looking, his heated gaze said he was all in.
CHAPTER 8
QUINN
Quinn’s gaze connected with Patience’s as the ambulance door slammed shut and they pulled away. With a sigh, he shook his head, dumping snow onto his shoulders. What the hell was he doing? He didn’t need to be at the hospital. An Uber would have been fine. Unless she couldn’t get one because of the bad weather. Still, one of her friends could have taken her home. Except he didn’t want her to call someone else. It needed to be him. He’d officially lost his mind.
The more time he spent with Patience, the harder it was to keep his distance. There was something about her that calmed him. Eased his demons. The same demons that would destroy her if he didn’t stay far away from her.
Trudging through the snow, he made his way to his truck, tossed Felicity’s suitcase behind the driver’s seat, and grabbed the ice scraper to clear the windshield. The snow had piled up quickly while they’d helped Felicity, and it didn’t look like it wouldn’t be letting up anytime soon. As usual, the weather idiots had gotten it wrong. The dusting of snow had turned into a fucking blizzard, and they’d gotten at least seven inches from what he’d just walked through.
After brushing off the snow from his head and shoulders, Quinn climbed into his truck and got it started. Clicking on the defrost and sliding the heat to high, he leaned back and closed his eyes to give the engine a chance to warm up. Exhaustion weighed heavily on his shoulders. Thoughts of his bed had him groaning and rolling his neck. He’d been awake for about twenty-eight hours, having gone straight to the Ready Room from his debrief with Tony and Jake. Sleep would have to wait. First, he had to get to the hospital and make sure Patience got home safely.
Thankful for four-wheel drive, Quinn navigated through the accumulated snow with little of a problem. He caught up to the ambulance about ten minutes later and breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn’t thought to ask where they were going to take Felicity, and he could have ended up at the wrong hospital.
As he followed them on the still un-plowed roads, he gripped the wheel tighter each time the ambulance skidded on a slick spot. When they finally pulled into the lot at Sentara General Hospital, his death grip on the steering wheel eased. Felicity told them her husband was in the Navy and on deployment. It meant she could go to either the naval or civilian hospital. He’d figured they’d take her to Sentara, since it was the closest. He was happy he’d been right.
Quinn pulled into the lot for the Emergency Room and grabbed Felicity’s suitcase. She’d need it soon enough. He planned on calling in a few favors to get her car towed to a repair shop. Until they got in contact with her husband, he figured he’d do what he could to help.
Stomping the snow from his feet, he stalked inside the hospital. The waiting room was full, not that he expected anything else. Whenever the weather turned, they ended up overloaded. Stopping at the check-in desk, he waited for the couple in front of him to finish. A moment later, a nurse camethrough the automatic doors, helped the man into a wheelchair, and whisked them away.
The woman behind the counter looked up at Quinn. “Can I help you?”
“Yes, a woman and newborn were just brought in by ambulance. I’m here for them.”
“What’s the patient’s name?”
“Felicity. Uhh, I don’t have her last name. I’m sure you’ll be able to figure it out. There can’t be many women who were just admitted with that name.”
She nodded and quirked her head. “Are you family, sir?”
Ugh. He didn’t know her last name. Of course, he wasn’t family. “No, I’m not. But I helped deliver the baby and I have her suitcase.”
“Oh, okay.” She flashed a brief smile at him before continuing. “I’m sure that’s fine. Let me check with the patient. You can take a seat if you can find one and I’ll come and get you.”
“Thanks.” Quinn turned toward the crowded waiting room.Yeah, right?Instead of trying to find a seat, he headed toward the closest corner and pulled up some wall to wait, with the suitcase tucked between his legs and out of the way. Sideways glances had him trying to tamp down his gruff demeanor. His normal attitude was growly, and he rarely worried about it since everyone expected it of him. He probably needed to get out in public more. His lips raised in a wry smile, probably looked even more predatory and scared them more. But before he could worry about it, the automatic doors to triage parted.
While he waited, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and put a reminder in his phone to text Henry, the mechanic who took care of his truck. He’d helped him handle some trouble with the neighborhood teenagers a few months back and figured he’d be happy to help with Felicity’s car. Henry would make sure thecar ran like new before he gave it back to Felicity so mom and baby would be safe.
Patience followed a nurse through the doors, and she stopped as her gaze traveled over the crowded room. When she spotted him, her face lit up, sending a wave of heat to his cold, dead heart. Grabbing Felicity’s bag, he pushed off the wall and made his way through the aisles of chairs to get to her.
“How is she…”
“You made it quick.”
Their words stumbled over each other, and Patience laughed, and her cheeks flooded with color.
“Sorry. You go ahead.”
Quinn smirked. He couldn’t help it. She was just too damn cute. The difference in their ages wasn’t huge, but he felt so much older than her, especially when she reacted to him like she did.
“How are Felicity and the baby doing? Any complications?”
“Surprisingly, no. My first blizzard delivery, hell, any delivery on my own, was a success. I hoped I hadn’t screwed it up. It was so cold.”
