Emergency Response (29 page)

“This reading is taken from the book of Corinthians, chapter thirteen.” Her voice quavered. “It’s called the love chapter.” She glanced back up at everyone and then back down at the piece of paper. “Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have. Love doesn’t strut, doesn’t have a swelled head, doesn’t force itself on others; isn’t always ‘me first.’ Love doesn’t fly off the handle, it doesn’t keep score of the sins of others, doesn’t revel when others grovel.”

She paused and took a deep breath. “Instead, love takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, puts up with anything, trusts God always; looks for the best in all things, never looks back, but keeps going to the end. Love never dies.” Kate smiled and returned to her seat.

The minister spoke again. “Nathan and Mackenzie have written their own vows which they will now share with one another.”

Nathan released her hands and pulled a sheet of paper from his inside suit pocket. Mackenzie held her breath.

“
Kenz, it took me a long time to find the perfect girl, but in you I have finally found The One.”

He smiled then and her heart almost exploded with love for him.

“
I promise to always be there for you, whether you need a shoulder to cry on or whether you want to tell me about your day. I promise to give you my full attention, to give you my all. I promise to continue to make you laugh as often as I can. I promise to support you in all your pursuits and dreams and challenge you and push you to new levels. I promise to tell you how beautiful you look and that I love you every day. I promise to be the man you need me to be, the man I have been called to be. I also promise to give you lots of children.”

There was loud laughter from someone.

“You are everything to me, and I will love you unconditionally now and forever.”

His voice broke on the final words. She saw his eyes bright with fresh tears. Mackenzie swallowed the lump in her throat before speaking the words she’d spent hours memorizing every day for the past six weeks. She hoped she could speak without crying too.

“Nathan,” the word came out as a whispered sigh. She stopped and coughed, clearing her throat. “I too have found The One. You are even more than my best friend. With you I feel like we are unstoppable, like there is no dream we have which can’t be achieved. Like there’s no challenge too hard. And no love as strong as ours. I promise to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. I promise to continue to share with you the dreams and desires of my heart. You met me halfway where soul mates meet. I promise to hold your heart until the end of time. I love you.”

Elizabeth dabbed at her eyes with a tissue and someone blew their nose. The ceremony continued. They exchanged rings and the formal part of the vows were completed. Finally they came to the part Mackenzie was waiting for. The pronouncement.

“Mackenzie and Nathan, today you have declared your love and commitment for one another. May your lives be filled with love, wisdom, health, happiness, prosperity and miracles. May you always cherish and protect the love you have found in each other, holding it safe in your hearts.” The minister paused and took a deep breath. “I now pronounce you husband and wife!”

To Mackenzie’s right there was a loud cheer from her sisters.

Nathan turned to the minister and grinned. “Am I allowed to kiss her now?”

“Yes! You may now kiss your bride!”

Firstly, I want to thank my children Jeremy, Chloe, Zachary and Toby – not really children, but young adults. My greatest achievement was bringing each of you into the world. My greatest joy is watching you mature. Thanks Chloe and Zach for reading some of
Intensive
Care
. Jeremy and Toby, I hope you’ll at least read these acknowledgements. I love you all dearly, and sorry for being so scatterbrained and forgetful some of the time when I’m writing. Okay, all the time.

Secondly, I would like to thank Haylee Nash for saying “yes” once more. Also, thanks to the awesome team at Momentum (Haylee, Joel, Patrick and Ashley) who have once again made this process so easy. Huge special thanks and hugs to Julia Knapman for her editing expertise a second time around. Working with you is a dream, Julia, and I hope we get to do it again very soon for books three and four!

Special thanks to the many romance-writing friends I have made so far, especially to a wonderful group of AWSOM women I meet with regularly for lunch and laughs. Your advice, support, encouragement and expertise is never taken for granted. Thank you for answering my questions and being such a supportive group of women. Special mention to Lisa Ireland, Delwyn Jenkins, Fiona Lowe and Alli Sinclair.

To my beta readers, thank you for picking up on my passive voice, incorrect grammar and cutting out all those extra words. Andrea Grigg, you challenge me constantly to make every word count. Thank you. Margaret Wigg, you’ve had some health issues this past year, but just think of it as fodder for my next book!

Finally, thank you to the most important man in my life, Tim. My husband, lover, best friend. You supported me when I started writing last year and never doubted I’d be able to do it all again after the success of
Intensive Care
. When you wiped away your tears after reading the final draft of
this 
book, I knew I’d done okay. I love living this crazy busy life with you and can’t wait to see where the journey continues to lead us.

Nicki Edwards is a city girl with a country heart. Growing up on a small family acreage, she spent her formative years riding horses and pretending the neighbour’s farm was her own. After spending three years in a regional city in New South Wales, her love of small country towns was further developed. One day she plans to escape to the country with her husband Tim and live on land surrounded by horses, dogs, cows and sheep. Until then she lives vicariously through the lives of the characters in the rural romance novels she loves to read.

In 2006, when Nicki’s youngest child started school, she returned to university, juggling full time study, part time work and raising four small children, to achieve her dream of becoming a nurse. Always a voracious reader, Nicki’s other dream was to be an author.

Nicki writes medical rural romance for Momentum and when she isn’t reading, writing or dreaming about rural life and medical emergencies, she can be found working as a Critical Care Nurse in a busy Intensive Care Unit, where many of her stories and characters are imagined.

Nicki and Tim reside in Geelong, Victoria with their four teenage/young adult children. Life is busy, fun and at times exhausting, but Nicki wouldn’t change it for anything. Visit her at
www.nickiedwards.net
.

Intensive Care