Page 57 of On the Edge

“Elroy’s here.” One of the other nurses announced the arrival of an anesthesiologist I thought had retired with Munson fast behind him.

“We need to intubate.” Munson nodded at me with razor-sharp brown eyes as he took an immediate assessment of the situation. “Assist?”

“Ready.” I didn’t do a lot of intubations, but as an emergency nurse practitioner, I was trained and able to help Munson and Elroy get the patient prepped for surgery in record time.

“Let’s roll.” Munson didn’t waste a second in directing the team toward the OR, gurney racing through the hall, and I’d never been more relieved to leave a patient in surgery as the OR team took over. It would likely be a few hours before we knew more, but at least Marissa had a chance if Munson could stop the bleeding in time.

I needed a minute or twenty. Breathing hard, I headed toward the locker room, only to almost collide with Eric.

“She gonna make it?” he asked. From the concern in his eyes, he’d evidently heard some of what had happened with Marissa.

“God, I hope she makes it.” I let out a whistle, talking in a low voice. “Destabilized in a hurry. Internal bleeding, likely ruptured spleen.”

Eric took a long breath. “She seems like a fighter. Scrappy.”

“I know.” Some patients wiggled under our skin more than others, and Marissa was definitely in that memorable category. “What are you still doing here?”

“Paperwork.” Eric made a sour face. “Electronic reporting system is down because of the storm.”

“Ugh.” I made a sympathetic noise. “Was Sean on the call too?”

“No, thank God. He handled dinner at the house. I’m sure he’s already worried enough about Declan back in Arizona.”

“Yeah.” I tried for a neutral expression but apparently failed as Eric gave me a pointed look.

“As are you.”

I held up my hands. “We’re friends.”

“And you miss your friend.” Eric’s sympathetic but curious tone said he’d be open to hearing a confession, but I couldn’t. Which sucked because I could have really used an ear right then, but I couldn’t risk others finding out.

“I do.” I offered a little sliver of the truth. “No one else at the house gets my corny jokes or likes my mystery books.”

“Nice someone does.” Eric smiled broadly and jostled my shoulder. It was nice to see him smiling more these days, traces of his old humor back.

“Speaking of the house, don’t worry. I should be out of here in time to help with school in the morning.”

“Lifesaver. John and Rowan can usually handle mornings on their own, but I appreciate knowing Wren had something other than milk and microwaved bacon for breakfast.” Eric shook his head fondly. “Don’t know what our family would do without you.”

Our family.Eric’s words lingered even after we said goodbye and my shift continued. Eric appreciated me, no doubt. And the kids loved me. I was an honorary uncle, but I’d always be adjacent to the nuclear family. And hopefully someday, Eric would find a new partner, and I’d be the old bachelor uncle, pining for the boyfriend no one could know about.

Marissa’s injuries stayed at the forefront of my mind. I wasn’t Declan’s family. No one would call me if he were injured. Sean would pass on the news, but I wasn’t part of the Murphy clan either. Declan talked about how he’d never quite fit in with his big, boisterous family, but they’d claim him, no matter what. Unlike my own birth family. I was tired of always being on the outside looking in, wanting what I couldn’t have.

With Declan, for the first time, I’d had a glimpse of a happy ending for myself. We could be a little family, us and Oz. Maybe toss in a few more pets for good measure. The two of us simply fit together. But could I settle for remaining a secret?

I was still mulling over that question when I saw Doctor Munson coming down the corridor from the ER. He had his surgical cap still on, a mask around his neck, and heavy lines around his deep-set eyes.

“Doctor.” I stopped him, my pulse pounding. I almost didn’t want to ask, but I had to know. “How’s Darcy? The midwife motorcycle rider?”

“Jonas.” Munson managed a weary greeting. “She made it through. Not out of the woods yet, but we cleaned up the ruptured spleen, tracked down a few other bleeders. I was about to go talk to the family. Come with me?”

“Me?” I’d talked to plenty of families on my own and had delivered my share of good and bad news, but once we handed off a case, the surgeons or attendings usually handled family contact.

“You helped save her.” Munson nodded solemnly. Sharing credit was even rarer, and I nodded back before following him down the corridor. “Besides, you’re better with people, and I hear there’s a crowd for her.”

He was right. The waiting area was full of curly-haired folks with bright-blue eyes, many of whom looked to have been crying. An older woman sat in the center of the bank of chairs, women on either side of her, holding her hands. A few chairs down, a slightly younger Marissa clone was breastfeeding a tiny baby in a sling. A tall woman swayed in the corner, a toddler asleep in a back carrier. Two twenty-something young men dozed in chairs while another one watched something on his phone. This was family. This was love, right here in the open.

“Doctor?” The older woman’s face went ghostly white as she noticed Munson and me approaching. “Is she…?”

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