CHAPTER TWO

After Juliette gave the firefighters in the waiting room an update on Mateo’s condition, Shawna, an RN, directed her to a room. “Emery Keller just came in. She’s at thirty-seven weeks gestation and presenting with vaginal bleeding.”

That was never a good sign.

“I’ll check for a heartbeat with the doppler first. Bring in the ultrasound machine.” While Juliette enjoyed ER work, obstetrics was her true calling.

Because she was needed, she worked shifts in the emergency clinic, but her primary specialty was obstetrics and gynecology. While Sisters Medical didn’t have all the specialties of a full hospital, they did have an obstetrics department and a labor and delivery wing. Juliette worked with Helen Tran, the only obstetrician in town, so sisters Delaney, Emery, and Cam were her patients.

When she’d first moved to the picturesque mountain town of Sisters, the clinic staff had been abuzz with the pregnancies of the three sisters. She’d learned the town had been named for three sisters from gold rush days who’d defied gender stereotypes and operated a mine on Payback Mountain. With that history, the townsfolk were enraptured with the more recent story of three sisters. There’d even been articles in the local newspaper.

Growing up, the modern women—same father, different mothers—hadn’t known of the others’ existence. They’d found each other through the efforts of their paternal grandmother, the matriarch of the local Cider Mill Farm. The dangerous challenges that had brought the sisters together, and ultimately to their husbands, made their journeys fascinating. The cherry on top of the saga was all three had gotten pregnant around the same time, and were due in the next several weeks.

Juliette entered the room where one of those sisters reclined on the exam table, her husband Shane at her side, their hands firmly gripped together. Their faces reflected their fear that something was wrong with their baby.

Juliette went to the sink to wash her hands, then moved to the side of the exam table opposite Shane. “Tell me what’s going on.”

Emery shifted her pregnant belly trying to get comfortable. Her hair was pulled into a messy bun, and her sky-blue eyes were clouded with worry. “Little girl was moving around so much I couldn’t sleep, so I got up to make some tea. Then I felt wetness.” She brushed a tear from the corner of her eye. “I thought my water must’ve broken. But when I went into the bathroom, it was blood.” Emery’s voice cracked. “I haven’t felt her move since then.”

Shane brushed her hair back and pressed his lips to her forehead. “We’ll be fine, darlin’.”

“How long ago was that?”

“About an hour,” Shane replied. “Maybe a little less. We came right in.”

“At this point, I wouldn’t worry about her not moving. She’s probably asleep. You presented with placenta previa with the placenta covering the cervix and sometimes that results in bleeding.” Juliette did a quick general assessment, then reached for the doppler fetal monitor. “Let’s start with the easy stuff and listen for a heartbeat.”

She had Emery pull up her baggy sweatshirt and push down her leggings to expose her rounded abdomen. After manipulating her belly to determine the position of the fetus, Juliette added gel and pressed the fetal doppler probe to where she’d determined a shoulder was located. Immediately the whoosh-whoosh sound of the fetal heartbeat filled the room.

“That’s a good healthy one hundred and thirty beats per minute, so baby girl is going strong.”

Emery burst into tears and Shane dropped his head to hers, murmuring quietly.

Shawna rolled in the ultrasound machine and began setting it up.

Juliette rubbed Emery’s leg. “Next step, we’ll do an ultrasound to see what we can see. The last ultrasound showed the placenta has moved up as the baby’s grown, but there was still partial obstruction of the cervix. Let’s see where you’re at now.” With another squirt of gel on her belly, Juliette began the procedure.

What they saw was what Juliette suspected. She finished and set aside the wand and wiped the gel from Emery’s abdomen with a warm cloth.

“Good news is the placenta no longer covers the cervix, so that makes delivery less complicated. A little bit of the placenta likely tore loose, causing the bleeding, but everything is looking good. If you have any more bleeding, don’t hesitate to come in.”

“Can placenta previa return?” Shane’s voice was gruff.

“It’s possible, but not likely.” She smiled at the tired couple. “You two go home and get some rest. Your little girl is doing fine.”

***

By the time Juliette drove her Subaru home through the early morning darkness, she was exhausted. Her stomach rumbled loudly. Make that hungry and exhausted. If she’d been in any town larger than Sisters, she could have stopped for an Egg McMuffin on her way home. But part of Sisters’ charm was the mom-and-pop shops. Charming as they were, they didn’t lend themselves to early morning takeout.

Locking her car, she slung her backpack over her shoulder and contemplated the stairs to her second-story apartment. They seemed extra steep this morning.

When she got to her door, she found a plastic bag hanging from the knob. Frowning, she picked it up by the handles and opened wide to peer inside. The scent of bacon wafted up from a foil-wrapped bundle. There was a small plastic container of what looked like salsa.

She pushed open her door, turned the deadbolt to lock it, and took off her coat, scarf, and shoes before making her way to the kitchen. Flipping on the light, she put on the electric kettle. She set a tea bag in a mug then gave in to temptation and unwrapped the bundle.

A burrito. Steam rose as she unfolded the tortilla to examine the contents. Someone had left a giant breakfast burrito hanging on her door.

A breakfast burrito with eggs, bacon, cheddar cheese, and what looked like pan-fried potatoes. It even had chopped cilantro and green onions. She swallowed as her mouth watered. If she was anywhere other than Sisters, she’d guess that a delivery service had left takeout at the wrong address.

She poured hot water over the tea bag while contemplating the ethics and risks of eating a breakfast burrito left on her door.

The ethics? She didn’t know who it belonged to and it would be wasteful to throw it away. She could ask the other tenants if they were missing a breakfast burrito, but her neighbor Winston perpetually had the munchies and would claim it whether his or not.

The risks? What if some crazy person had left a poisoned burrito? Having consumed a poisoned breakfast burrito, she’d die happy, but still, was it worth it?

Her phone pinged with an incoming text.

Hotshot: Jules, thanks for stitching up my hip. I don’t let just anyone do that. The crew at the station made breakfast burritos this morning so I had them deliver one to you. I’ll be home all alone. Come visit me.

Having met his mom, Antonia, who had a cool shop on Main Street, and with a girlfriend, Juliette doubted he’d be home alone. But thank you, hotshot, the amazing burrito was hers.

She put the food on a plate and sat at her miniscule dining table. Unfolding the flour tortilla to dump on the salsa, she wrapped it up again and bit into the delicious blend of flavors. Oh good heavens, it was good. Chewing with her eyes closed, she decided firefighters had the right idea about cooking meals as part of their work life.

Swallowing, she propped up her phone.

Juliette: Thank you for the delicious breakfast burrito. I’m eating it now. It’s exactly the right food at exactly the right time. I was starving. Stitching your ass is all part of the job, but as it’s a nice ass, it wasn’t a chore. Sorry I can’t visit. I’m going to try for a few hours’ sleep.

Okay, it was a little flirty, but what the heck. Three little dots appeared on the screen.

Hotshot: I need sleep too. I really do like you, Juliette, and want to see you.

That made her pause because he sounded serious. Hard to tell in a text, but still. She shook her head and replied.

Juliette: Sleep well, hotshot.

She hated thinking he was doing anything more than flirting since he had a girlfriend who worked at the clinic. She’d been at the job only for a couple of months so there was still staff she didn’t know, but she couldn’t think of anyone Mateo had paid special attention to.

Only able to consume half of the burrito, she wrapped the remainder in the foil and put it in the refrigerator for later. In her bedroom, she pulled down the blackout shades and shuffled to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

Turning off the light, she crawled under the covers and was instantly asleep.