Beating Heart: A Small Town, Single Dad Romance (Magnolia Falls Series Book 4)

I’d been slammed at work, as all the kids had gone back to school, and now they were all getting sick. It was typical when school first started, and the weather was starting to change now. Doc Dolby had even come in for a few hours this week to help me with the overflow of patients, and I’d grown close to the man since I’d gotten here.

“I’m going to head out. You’re doing an amazing job, Emerson. I’ll be here tomorrow morning so you can focus on your interview with Boston Children’s. I know that’s the one you’re most interested in.”

It was the top pediatric hospital in the country. I’d been thrilled when they’d had an opening and offered me an interview.

It would be a fresh start.

One I’d longed for.

But the thought of leaving wasn’t as exciting as it should be. I’d grown to love this town. The people. My life here.

Nash and Cutler.

All of it. I hadn’t expected that. This was my interim place. My short-term stop to figure out what I wanted to do with my life.

But I was more confused now than ever.

I cleared my throat. “Yes. Thank you again for covering for me tomorrow. And you have a few prospects to take over your practice, right? How are those interviews going?”

Why was I holding my breath? Why was I nervous to hear that he’d found my replacement? I wanted the best for this place. Whoever replaced me would be taking care of Cutler. They had to be the best.

Because I loved that little boy in a way I’d never known possible. I missed him when I wasn’t with him. I’d worried all day when he’d started school a few days ago. Doing my best not to overstep, I’d made baseball cupcakes for Nash to take to the classroom for him, and Cutler had thanked me no fewer than a hundred times.

I didn’t go with Nash to drop him off or pick him up because it wasn’t my place.

But I’d thought about him every second of the day and made Nash FaceTime me the minute he’d picked him up so I could hear everything.

I couldn’t even wait until I got off work and we had dinner that night.

That’s how invested I was.

And it was no different with his father. My casual relationship had turned out to be the most fulfilling relationship I’d ever had.

Nash Heart had healed me. He’d put me back together, and I was the happiest I’d ever been in my life.

As corny as it sounded, this man completed me.

He was the yin to my yang.

The peanut butter to my jelly.

“Did you hear me, Emerson?” Doc asked, pulling me from my Nash-filled daze-slash-panic attack I felt every time I talked about leaving.

“I’m sorry. My brain is on overload. You said there are two great applicants, right?”

“Well, they are both wonderful. But neither one is you.” His gaze softened. “But I want you to do whatever is best for you, all right? If you think that’s Boston, then I support you. But if for any reason you’re having second thoughts, you just have to let me know before I move forward with anyone else.”

“Of course. But obviously, if they’re interested in me, I’d be a fool not to take it.” I shrugged, my heart racing at the thought.

Did I want them to offer me the job?

Of course, I did.

How could I not want this?

I’d interviewed with them for residency, and I’d been blown away by the program. I’d flown out there and spent a day touring the hospital and making rounds. But in the end, I hadn’t ranked them as my first choice. Collin didn’t want to move to the East Coast, and I’d gone against my better judgment and stayed in San Francisco. I’d loved the hospital there, too. It meant working with my best friend and starting my life with my fiancé.

And in the end, that decision had blown up in my face.

I wouldn’t make that mistake twice.

“Can I give you a little advice from a man who’s lived a lot longer than you?” he asked, hesitant with his question.

“Always.”

“It’s okay to change your plan. Rose and I never planned on coming back to Magnolia Falls after I completed my residency. But her mom got sick, and life happened, so we came back here with the intent of staying just a year. And then Rose got pregnant, and we wanted to stay near family.” He had a look of nostalgia on his face, and it made my chest squeeze. “I had all these plans, and I was hung up on them for the wrong reasons. Life was happening right in front of my eyes, all while I was planning for a different one. The grass is not always greener, Emerson. And it seems like you were pretty unhappy with that life you came from. I know you were just planning this as a stopover to figure out what you wanted to do next, but take the time to weigh all your options, all right? That’s all I’m saying. Don’t take that job just to prove that you can do it. Do what makes you happy. And if Boston makes you happy, you have my full support.”

I pushed to my feet and came around my desk, closing the distance between us. I wrapped my arms around him, settling my cheek on his shoulder. “Thank you.”

He gave me a few pats on the back and chuckled when I stepped back. “You smile a lot more now than you did when you first arrived. Remember, you can do good work anywhere that your heart is full.”

I nodded, pushing down the lump that was forming in my throat.

“I know. This place sure has grown on me.”

“Magnolia Falls or a certain father and son?” He squeezed my shoulder. “Don’t run from joy, Emerson. Just because one person let you down, doesn’t mean everyone will.”

I swear, Magnolia Falls was no different from Rosewood River.

Everyone knew your business. But they were also rooting for you, so it was hard to be annoyed.

I shook it off. I was interviewing with the most incredible hospital tomorrow. I needed to keep my head on straight. The last time I let myself get distracted, it didn’t work out so well for me.

“Thank you. I’ll see you tomorrow after the interview.” I walked back behind my desk as he made his way out the door with a wave.

I pulled up the potential interview questions that they might ask me and got to work on answering them.

I called it a day when Petra reminded me it was getting late, and I walked out with her. She was still laughing about the changes we’d seen in Carrie Peters since the first time I’d met her. She’d been in today for a wellness check, and she didn’t scratch or bite anyone nor did she have an attitude. Her mom still didn’t seem to care for me, but that didn’t matter. I’d made progress with Carrie, and that felt like a win.

“You’ve got a gift. I’m going to call you the tiny human whisperer,” Petra said.

A compliment from Petra was something I didn’t take for granted, because they didn’t come often. But she and I had grown close since our rocky start a few months ago.

I waved goodbye and made my way toward home, with Winnie striding beside me.

I waved at a few locals as they passed by and came to a stop when Janelle was locking up Magnolia Blooms.

She had a big bouquet of pink tulips in her hand. “I was just hurrying over to your office to catch you before you left. I wanted to give you these.”

“What are these for?” I gasped as she handed me the enormous bouquet.

“Big day tomorrow. I heard you’ve got a big interview. I ran into Nash and Cutler earlier and they were telling me about it.” She smiled. My heart squeezed that they’d told her about the interview. I stopped into her floral shop often to get fresh blooms for my house, and we’d grown close, too. How had I let that happen? I’d grown close with half the locals here.

“I can’t believe they told you and that you did this for me. Thank you.”

“Even if I don’t want you to leave, I know you deserve whatever it is you want in life, Emerson. So I support that because I support you.” She kissed my cheek and made her way to her car, as she lived a little further from downtown. “And, I’ve got to say. Your boys are awfully proud of you.”

My boys.

I waved goodbye and made my way down my street, walking up to the front porch to find a note taped on the door.

Sunny,

I gots the best surprise for you. Come over when you get home.

I love you.

Beefcake

My chest squeezed for maybe the millionth time today, and I pushed inside the house. I fed Winnie and made my way down the hall to change my clothes real quick. The evenings were getting cooler outside, especially by the water, so I slipped into a pair of jeans and my favorite navy hoodie. Winnie and I walked the short distance next door. The back door was open, and music was booming from inside.

Is that Beyonce filling my ears?

“Hello?” I called out, as my dog ran inside like she lived there.

“Sunny!” Cutler came running toward me. He was wearing a white tee that had something written on it with a Sharpie. He jumped into my arms. “We’ve got a surprise for you.”

I looked over to see Nash coming from the kitchen with a big smile on his face and a white tee that also had writing on it.

“Apparently, tomorrow is the equivalent of your star student day, and he wanted you to have a shirt like Jolie,” Nash said, as he glanced down at his shirt. Sunny’s my girl.

Cutler jumped down and pointed at his shirt, which also read, Sunny’s my girl.

My heart squeezed so tight I felt like it might explode through my chest.

“It’s your big day tomorrow, Sunny.” Cutler grabbed my hand as I took in dozens of rainbow-colored balloons hanging from the ceiling and he pointed at the poster board taped to the wall that read Happy Star Student Day, Sunny.

This had become a topic for Cutler and me ever since he’d opened up to me about it. I’d agreed to make the unicorn Rice Krispie treats for his star student day in two weeks. We’d talked to Nash and explained that store-bought treats were fine most of the time, but homemade treats were a must on your special day.

I took it all in, shaking my head in disbelief as I bent down and hugged Cutler tight.

I hugged him like my life depended on it. Like if I let go, he would disappear.

“Sunny, we’ve got more to show you.” He pulled from my embrace, and I felt the loss of him the minute he hurried to the kitchen.

“You’re going to love this,” Nash said against my ear. “The kid likes to go a little overboard for his girl, apparently.”

His voice was light and full of tease, but nothing about this moment felt light to me.

Nash had completed me in ways I wasn’t ready to say aloud yet, and so had his son.

These two had been the reason I smiled every day now.

“It’s a meatloaf cake with my favorite spray cheese. Have you heard of Easy Cheese, Sunny?”

“Ummm… it’s Easton’s favorite road trip snack, so of course I have. Because cheese in a can is quite the invention, right?” I said, glancing down at the heart-shaped meatloaf on the large platter. The orange spray cheese made a zigzag line across the front, which I guessed was their attempt at making it look like a beating heart.

“Pops doesn’t bake, so we made you a meatloaf cake with a heartbeat. Because you’re a doctor, and me and Pops have beating hearts, ‘parently. And Pops says the heart is your favorite of the bodies.”

“Organ. It’s her favorite organ,” Nash said, clearing his throat as his gaze locked with mine. “We didn’t want to make it a boring circle. So, we went with a heart-shaped meatloaf. Pretty classy, eh?” he said, moving to the kitchen, acting like they hadn’t gone completely overboard for me.

“It’s perfect,” I said over the lump in my throat. “Thank you so much.”

“Hey.” Nash carried the enormous meatloaf cake over to the table and stopped in front of me as Cutler wrestled on the couch with Winnie. He placed his thumb and finger on each side of my chin and turned my face until I was looking at him. “Don’t go quiet on me. We’re excited for you. You’re going to crush it. I know how badly you want this. This is us supporting you, nothing more.”

Had I completely scared him about showing any sort of emotion? He was always so quick to tell me that nothing was a big deal. Not to overthink it. Reminding me that there was an expiration date for us.

Was that for my benefit or his?

I shook my head and smiled. “I know. And I appreciate it. I’m not being quiet because I’m freaked out.”

“Then what’s going on in that head of yours, beautiful?” He leaned down and grazed my ear, keeping his voice low.

What was going on in that head of mine?

“Nothing. I just appreciate you both going to this effort,” I said.

But it was so much more, and he knew it.

And for the first time in my life, I actually didn’t know what I wanted.

And that scared the hell out of me.