Smooth Irish (Book 2 of the Weldon Series)

Copyright JenniLeigh Grizzle
2009

Published
by Between Your Sheets Publishing, LLC
at
Smashwords

ISBN-13:
978-0-9824863-3-7

ISBN-10:
0-9824863-3-2

Edited by Dayna
Linton

Cover by Dayna
Linton

Photography by Annette
Batista

Cover Models Charles Paz,
Mr. Romance 2009 and opera singer Linda Hines

All Rights Are Reserved. No
part of this book may be used or reproduced in any way without
written permission.

First Between Your Sheets
Publishing, LLC. electronic publication: December 2009

www.betweenyoursheets.com

This book is a work of fiction.
Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the
author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to
persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is
entirely coincidental.

This book is copyright protected.
It cannot be sold to another party, shared with others, or given
away as those acts would infringe upon the copyright of this work
and deprive the author and publisher of compensation for their hard
work.

The Weldon Series: Book
2

Jennifer Saints

Dedication

I dedicate this book to all of those
who devote their lives toward the rescue and healing of others.
Thank you for all that you do to reach out to the hurting hearts,
bodies, and souls of your brothers and sisters in this vast world
of pain.

Acknowledgments

There is an eternity of stories to
tell and thousands of ways to tell them, some simple, some complex,
some soothing, some adrenaline pumping and I love writing them all.
I love story and I love romance, the weaving of two hearts together
to create a fabric of love that will help protect from the world
and its painful realities. Love heals and I know one day my heart
too will heal. First, I want to thank readers everywhere, for
without you the world of a writer would be a very lonely place. I
hope you enjoy Smooth Irish where love shapes and heals the hearts
of Nan Miller and Jackson Weldon. Secondly, I want to thank all of
the hardworking people who put their hearts and time to make Smooth
Irish a romance graphic e-book possible. Annette Batista! Kudos to
your amazing talent and golden heart. Thank you for being my
friend, for loving my stories, and for believing in me despite the
odds. Dayna, my friend and collaborator in many projects that we
hope will help and heal women around the world, thank you for
staying the course when it cost you so very much, and for having
the fortitude to make things happen when they should. Much love and
thanks for always being there. To my sister Tracy Clark, whose love
and spirit have given me so much throughout my life. You’ve been
there through the thick and thin and have always given me your
heart and your belief. Love you! To PJ Ausdenmore, thank you for
loving Smooth Irish and for your quick help! You are a heroine. And
lastly, I want to thank opera singer Linda Hines and personal
trainer Charles Paz for their amazing talents and personalities.
You brought Nan and Jackson to life and made them sizzle on the
page. I hope your hearts find and embrace true love in your
lives.

“Eventually you will come
to understand that love heals everything, and love is all there
is.”

Gary Zukav, author

Nan Miller smiled back at the baby blues staring her
way and winked. “So, hot stuff, how about a date?”

“
You’ll have to take a
number,” Dr. Schwartz said then laughed. “Candy and Sarah have
already asked.”

“
Just my luck. I’ll
probably have to stand in line behind every single woman in
Savannah, Georgia, once word of his arrival gets out.” Nan shook
her head and lovingly brushed the infant boy’s tiny fist with her
gloved hand, feeling a knot of tender emotions squeeze her
heart.

Someday, after she had her career
established, she hoped to be holding her own child. So many people
didn’t know how blessed they were to have family--a mother, a
father, a sister, or brother, just someone to belong with in this
vast universe.

Provided that Mr. Right made an appearance, she
thought. Nan already knew she was better off alone than being with
a Mr. Wrong. Her mother had made that mistake.

You’re going to have to
wipe Mr. Wrong from your mind to find Mr. Right
, the
conscience angel on her shoulder whispered.

Nan winced. So far every plan she had
for doing just that had failed. Lately, a lobotomy wasn’t out of
the question.

“He is beautiful, isn’t he? But then I’m a little
biased,” said the new mother, who managed to look completely
glowing despite her exhaustion. But even she didn’t compare to her
husband. The proud father looked as if he would either keel over
from the stress of labor or burst with joy at the end product-his
son. The mothers always faired better than the fathers during
labor.

“
All bias aside, he’s
gorgeous,” Nan assured the woman. “He’ll be a real heart stopper.”
Of that, Nan had no doubt. The infant’s blue eyes and shock of
black hair reminded her too much of a grown up version she was
trying—without much success--to forget. Every morning, she woke and
cursed the day she’d met Jackson Weldon. And every night
she…

No! Absolutely not. She was not going
to think about
him
.

Stifling her errant thoughts, she focused on
finishing the tasks before her as she readied the baby to go to the
newborn nursery while Dr. Schwartz talked with the baby’s
mother.

At twenty-nine, Nan was farther down the road from
the nowhere place she’d spent years flipping burgers, but she was
not far enough for comfort. Not yet. A sense of incompleteness
worried at her despite her nursing degree. She needed more. If she
could manage to be awarded Memorial Hospital’s continuing education
scholarship this year, that more would be a lot easier to grasp
onto. Besides, a new plan just might help her strike Mr. Wrong from
her mind.

Is that what you
want
?

Of course! Nan shoved the conscience angel off her
shoulder. A new plan for her life is just what she needed. The
board would choose a deserving employee at the end of this year and
Nan planned to be the best candidate.

Having whipped her thoughts into shape, she read
over the notes that would go to the nursery with the baby, checking
to make sure the details of the difficult delivery were accurately
recorded and the doctor’s orders were clear.

Her shift had ended two hours ago, but when her
patients reached the final stages of labor, Nan always stayed to
see her patient through. During that delicate time, having the same
nurse eased the laboring mother’s anxiety, especially if there were
complications.

Candy, a fellow obstetric nurse,
returned to the delivery room which was made to look like a cozy
bedroom in a house complete with blue ruffled curtains and homespun
quilts.

“
I’ll finish up here. Head
Nurse Litton wants you to go home before you end up on a
stretcher.” Candy lowered her voice so that only Nan could hear.
“You work too hard. How you can do double shifts without a
complaint is beyond me.” The working conditions at Memorial
Hospital were not ideal and many of the nurses felt the pressure of
having to juggle too many patients with minimal help.

Nan bit her lip as a tinge of guilt
heated her cheeks. She wasn’t as noble as Candy made her sound, at
least, not since Jackson invaded Nan’s dreams. Now she not only
worked diligently to reach her goals, but she also worked with
exhaustion in mind. Too tired plus too tired equaled zero dreams,
which meant no Jackson invasions...

Nan blinked, realizing Candy had
spoken to her. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”

Taking the baby’s chart, Candy shooed
Nan toward the door. “You better go home before you fall down. I
said that major hunk Dr. Swanson came by the nurses’ station
earlier asking for you and you didn’t even react.”

“
Me?” Nan blinked with
surprise.

“
Yes, you. Don’t look so
innocent. I saw him eating lunch with you yesterday.”

“
That’s only because the
lunch room was full and he was kind enough to invite me to his
table when I walked by.”

“
Uh, huh,” Candy said with
a bright gleam in her eyes that said she wasn’t about to be fooled.
“Out of all the people passing his table, he just happened to
invite you to sit.”

“
Yes,” Nan said. She was
far too pragmatic to see Dr. Swanson’s invitation as anything but a
simple kindness on his part. Brad Swanson was the most renowned
neurosurgeon in the Southeast, a medical giant. If Nan had had an
“A-list” for Mr. Right, Dr. Swanson’s dedication and determination
would put him at the top of it.

Sure Candy was making too much of Dr.
Swanson’s visit, Nan said goodbye to the new mother and baby and
left the delivery room. Dr. Schwartz followed her out.

“
Nan, congratulations on
receiving the Lois Emerson Merit Award again. You deserved to be
honored twice in a row.”

“
Thank you, Dr. Schwartz.
I was completely surprised. Once was wonderful. Twice left me
speechless.” The award was given to honor excellence in nursing
care. To Nan it meant she was one step closer to being chosen for
the scholarship. That Dr. Schwartz recommended Nan, doubled the
honor. Nan greatly admired the woman who balanced a career and a
family.

“
You’ve earned it. And
I’ll be putting my recommendation in for you next year as well.
This delivery might not have had as happy an ending, if you hadn’t
have had the instinct to call me when you did.”

“
I’m only thankful that
both mother and baby are all right.”

“
Thanks to you. Go home
and get some rest.”

“
You, too.”

“
No such luck. I left my
husband with six five-year-old girls coming over for my daughter’s
birthday party that should have started an hour ago. Even though
he’s a flexible kind of guy and completely supportive of my career,
I’m sure he’s snatched himself bald by now. So I’d better
hurry.”

Nan laughed as Dr. Schwartz hustled
away. Careers didn’t necessarily make for a smooth family life. Nan
made a mental note to add flexible to her Mr. Right
list.

In the nurses’ station, Nan keyed a
few quick notes into the computer and then logged off for the day.
She settled back in her chair and breathed a sigh of relief that
was short lived. When her gaze focused on the clock, she suddenly
remembered that she was supposed to be at her friend Alexi’s house
for a potluck BBQ. In ten minutes. She was too tired to rush and
too tired to go, which was just as well. Since Alexi was Jackson’s
sister-in-law, odds were he’d be at the BBQ and she didn’t need any
more fuel to fodder her nightly fantasies of him.

She hadn’t seen him in months, but she
could clearly picture every nuance of his bad boy persona. He was
the devil who promised heaven in his every move, but offered
nothing for the future. She’d grown up under a futureless cloud and
she wasn’t ever going back there.

Digging her cell phone out of her
purse, Nan dialed Alexi’s number, braced to face the riot act Alexi
was sure to deliver.

“
I’ve got your number,
Sugar.”

There was no mistaking the deep
sensual voice. Nan’s heart jumped and an oh-so-hot, sweat broke all
over her body. Her voice, caught sideways in her windpipe,
squeaked. “Jackson?”

“
My name on your lips is a
good start. Please Jackson is even better. Ever had phone sex,
Nan?”

Air flew from her lungs. An army of
hormones attacked her sensibilities and everything else she had
too. Liquid fire, pooled, flowed, and stroked.

Oh, my! A quick glance around the
nurses’ station told her no one had even noticed her. She should
disconnect; pretend she hadn’t even called. That would be the smart
thing…