Their Miracle Baby

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Blurb:

An interracial, pregnancy, medical romance book. Dedicated doctor Venetia takes pride in the clinic that she helped build from the ground up. Her life, once centered solely on her career, shifts dramatically with the arrival of the charismatic neurosurgeon, Lewis.

Now she is swept into a whirlwind romance, rekindling her belief in love. However, when Lewis broaches the topic of starting a family, Venetia is overwhelmed with panic! Seeking to clear her mind, she heads to Brazil for work.

But Lewis will soon prove to her that he’s not one to give up on their love so easily… Will Venetia’s journey lead her back to Lewis and the possibility of a family? Or will her fear of commitment drive her away from Lewis for good? Find out in this BWWM doctor romance story by Shanade White.

Chapter 1

Venetia stumbled into the breakroom and slumped down into the nearest chair; eighteen hours on her feet with nothing to eat had seriously depleted her reserves. She knew better than to skip meals, but today had been one of those days when it had been impossible to get a meal in. With the flu epidemic sweeping the city, her services as a doctor were even more necessary right now than ever. But if she kept up this pace without taking care of herself, she knew that she’d be the one needing treatment.

She leaned back in her chair and shut her eyes, thinking that just a few minutes sleep might help. But before she could dose off, her favorite nurse, came bustling in with a tray laden with food. There was also a steaming cup of coffee on the tray which she reached for first, only to find her hand slapped away before she could take it.

“You eat something first and then maybe I’ll let you have it,” Bernice said, knowing all too well that once she’d had the coffee she’d never eat anything.

“Okay, I’ll eat, but I want that coffee when I’m done. Thanks for taking care of me, Bernice,” she said, after she’d taken the first bite of the huge hamburger on her plate.

“Well, someone has to do it. I expect you to eat all of that,” Bernice said, pointing to the tray.

“I’ll do my best. But this is a lot of food,” Venetia said, pushing a plate with a muffin on it across the table knowing that Bernice got it for herself.

Bernice and Venetia had been working together for almost three years, ever since she’d taken over at the free clinic. The doctor who had run it previously had been more interested in billing the government for treatments he didn’t give than taking care of the people the clinic served, but when Venetia took over, with Bernice’s help they’d turned things around.

It had taken years of hard work and sacrifice, days where she’d slept at the clinic rather than making the hour-long commute home. She’d begged and pleaded for supplies and equipment from everyone she could, making a nuisance of herself at times to get what she wanted. But all her hard work had been rewarded when the mayor announced the clinic had won a major award.

Besides the recognition, it had included a sizable grant, enough money to fund the clinic for years to come including a salary for herself as well as another doctor. It would be a welcome change to have someone to help her at the clinic; of course, first, she had to find the right person. It wasn’t that easy to find someone to work for the meager salary they had to offer.

But once that was done, she’d not only have more time to volunteer at the hospital, but she could think about pursuing her ultimate dream of working with Doctors without Borders, a goal she’d had since the summer she’d spent in Brazil volunteering in a small village deep in the Amazon.

It had been exhilarating to really help people, she didn’t even care that most of her time was spent digging ditches to connect the village to a clean water source. When that first drop of water had come out of the pipe, she’d felt the power of what they’d accomplished. From then on, she’d known that someday she’d have to come back; she’d promised herself that she would, there was so much that could be done to help the people there.

But first, she’d had to fulfill another promise she’d made, a promise that had come from desperation many years ago when she had been sitting in a hospital waiting room. It had been the middle of the night, and alone in the room she’d felt the desperation of one who knew she was about to lose someone she loved.

Her parents had never been religious. God wasn’t a being that was present in their house, but that night she’d prayed to anyone who would listen. Promising that she’d devote herself to helping others if only her prayers would be answered. When her mother had come bursting through the door to report that her brother was going to be okay, she’d known then how she was going to spend her life.

Getting her medical degree had been a struggle, but she’d made a promise, and no matter how hard it had gotten she’d pushed though the exhaustion and frustration. She’d finished her residency, earning respect of nurses and doctors alike, then taken on the free clinic and its challenges.

Now at only 26, she was the only African American woman to ever be the director of an award-winning clinic in the city. But the pace was beginning to take a toll on her. She was going to have to make a bigger effort, eat on time, drink more water, and sleep. She knew the signs of burn out, and she was showing some of them. However, before she could do that, they had the flu epidemic to deal with.

While she’d been ruminating about the path her life had taken, Bernice had slipped out of the room. She’d turned down the lights and pulled a blanket out of the closet. Venetia knew a hint when she saw one and laid down on the couch to get a few minutes sleep. Since she was on call and it was quiet at the moment, she felt no guilt as she laid down to get some much needed rest.

Lewis paused, his hand on the door to the breakroom, debating whether or not he really needed the cup of coffee he’d come in search of. He’d been at the hospital for almost eighteen hours now, one of the worst on-call days he’d had in a while. It wasn’t that he minded the seven days a month he was required to be on call, it was the fact that this time he’d had three emergencies in a row and was exhausted.

Unlike many of the other branches of medicine, neurosurgeons didn’t usually work that many hours in a row unless absolutely necessary. Exhaustion could easily interfere with a steady hand and a steady hand was a must when you were dealing with the brain. He’d learned that the hard way, but this had been one of those times that it was necessary for him to work the long hours and he’d done it gladly.

Deciding that a cup of coffee was a necessity if he was going to make the long drive home safely, he pushed open the door and stepped into the breakroom. The lights were all off, the only illumination in the room a small bulb over the coffee pot. He reached for the light switch then realized that there was a still figure on the couch. She was covered with a blanket, her long hair streaming across the pillow under her head.