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Ava

T he day has come, freaking finally. The hospital finally cleared me, and I get to start working.

I still woke up at the crack of dawn to feed my baby cow.

I’ve decided it's a pet, and though she’s down to one bottle a day, she’s now my baby.

Rhett and Weston will have to go back to being the stall bitches.

But really, the work wasn’t that bad, I really enjoyed it.

On my days off from the hospital, I still plan on helping because I’ve become slightly attached to all the furry critters.

Pulling into the hospital parking lot, I try to settle my rumbling nerves.

First days are always scary. Add in the first day as a fresh nursing graduate, and it’s even worse.

On the plus side, I’m decked out in a new pair of scrubs and shoes, leaving me feeling slightly more confident going into my first big day.

The outside of the hospital is all brick and stone.

Being that we are in a rural area, it’s pretty small.

I was told that HR or whoever would be training me would meet me in the front lobby at eight to do the paperwork, and then it’s go time.

The sliding glass doors automatically open in front of me and I walk through.

I’ve noticed that all hospitals smell the same: sterile.

Like the air and everything around it is a little too clean.

Lucky for me, I was provided a tour during my interviews, so I have a pretty good idea of where I’m headed.

Of course I showed up embarrassingly early.

The roads were clear, but I didn’t want to be the girl who was late on her first day, so I left thirty minutes earlier than I needed to.

The drive was uneventful, so I made it even faster than I thought.

Time passes slower than molasses as I tap my shoe, looking around. The front area has nice little plants here and there, and pictures of local scenery hanging on the wall. There’s a charm about small towns; all the little finishing touches make even the hospital feel just a little bit cozier.

“Ava?” Aspen says, practically skipping toward me with her ponytail swishing from side to side.

“Aspen, hi!” I hop off my seat and pull her into a hug.

She pulls back, keeping a grip on my forearms. “Guess who gets to train you?” She wags her eyebrows, clearly trying her best and failing to contain her excitement.

“No way?” My hands squeeze onto her forearm.

“Well, they mentioned a new hire, and I rolled the dice, thinking it would be you, and volunteered.” She smiles and wiggles her whole body at the same time. I love her energy. She reminds me so much of Erin, it almost soothes the little piece of me that misses home.

“Alright, so for the first part of the day, we’ll have you complete computer orientation and take a lunch break, and after lunch, we will work on seeing where your skills are. Let me take you to the computer room.” I follow her down hallways of white tile and fluorescent lights.

She leads me into a breakroom with two computers in the back corner, facing a large window. The sunlight will be a nice reprieve from staring at the computer screen all day.

“Let’s see if you can get logged in. I have a folder here for you, it should have all the info you need. ”

The setup goes easy, and she gets me logged into my charting training. “Okay, babe, this is where I leave you. You will be dying of boredom. So, stay strong. I’ll swing by and grab you for lunch, and then we can get started on the fun stuff.”

Aspen was absolutely correct. These video trainings make me want to melt into a puddle on the floor in the worst way. My brain feels like complete and total mush and I can feel the oncoming headache from the computer's constant light starting to buzz in the back of my head.

The door to the room swings open. “I am here to rescue you from your misery.”

“Thank God,” I say, ripping the cheap headset off my ears.

She walks up to where I sit huddled in the corner and hops on the desk. “You want to stab your eyeballs out yet?”

That is putting it lightly. “Yes. That was the longest five hours of my life.”

“And just think. You have a whole week of that to look forward to.” Her pointer finger boops me on the nose, and she laughs.

Deadpanning at her, I reply, "This is the worst pep talk I have ever received.”

“Truth hurts, baby. Let's go eat.” I log off the computer, and we head down to the lunchroom.

The cafeteria, if you can really call it that, is just a small order window with some well-worn metal tables and chairs scattered around.

The menu list is even smaller, but the woman taking the orders offers me a kind smile, and suddenly I feel bad for judging this place too soon because I get a whiff of the food and my mouth starts to water.

Aspen wastes no time and starts prying the second we take a seat. “So, how are things with Maverick?”

I eye her suspiciously. “What do you know?”

“Literally nothing but my spidey senses are tingling.” She wiggles both her fingers at me, and I can’t help but laugh.

I quickly debate in my head how much I want to divulge. But she’s the only girl I know that knows him. And I think she’s trustworthy enough to give me sound advice and warning if needed.

“Things are, uhm, well…” I chew on my lip, trying to figure out how to word this.

“Spit it out, or I’m going to start making assumptions.” She waves her fork at me before shoveling a bite of salad into her mouth.

My words come out in a rush, anxious to talk to someone about this in person.

I updated Erin immediately, but face-to-face girl time is just different.

“At the rodeo, some guy called me a buckle bunny and was in my face and rude, and Mav came to the rescue. And well, I haven’t had a whole lot of people in my life looking out for me.

I couldn't believe someone would stand up for me like that. He’s something else.

” I couldn’t fight the smile that comes to my face if I tried.

She gives me a knowing look. “Maverick is hard not to like.”

“I was one hundred percent convinced based on the way he handled our whole debacle that he was a complete moron—”

Aspen cuts me off. “Oh, he is, but he has one of the best hearts of anyone I’ve ever met. You’ll never find anyone more genuine or loyal than Mav. His schedule is hard to deal with and he can be an annoying pain in the ass, but at his core, he’s good. ”

“Yeah, I’m finding that out.” I’ve also wondered why he’s still single, but I guess a life on the road would make it difficult to settle down.

“He’s been through a lot, and he has the weight of the world on his shoulders.

His dad left quite the boots to fill, and for some reason, he’s had it drilled into his brain that he isn’t deserving and he has to prove himself.

” She shakes her head as she stabs her salad with her fork.

“Which is crazy because the man has a work ethic as strong as steel.”

“So you think he’s a good guy?” I ask before popping a piece of cheese into my mouth.

“The best. Your heart would be safe with him. I would tell you if it wasn’t. And if he breaks it I will fuck him up. And he knows I can. A swift kick in the balls renders all men useless.”

“Wouldn’t that be cheating?” I ask before I take a big bite of my chicken sandwich.

“All is fair in love and war,” she says, and I cannot help but laugh.

“I’ll remember that.” And I’ll also remember to stay on Aspen’s good side.

The rest of the day flies by in a flash.

Nursing school teaches you a lot, but there’s only so much it can do until you get your hands in it.

Aspen held my hand through it all day, and when it was finally time to leave, I left with a smile on my face.

This is what I have been working so hard for, and I can’t wait to see what it brings.