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

Nash disposed of the condom and strode back toward the bed as I propped myself up to watch him. I’d never met a man who was so confident in his own skin. He climbed into bed and pulled me against his chest, wrapping his arms around me and kissing the top of my head.

“What a day,” I whispered.

“Yeah, that’s an understatement.”

I tipped my head back to look at him. “I was pretty freaked out when you didn’t ask me to go to your dad’s for dinner.”

“Well, trust me, I paid for it. My dad gave me a hard time from the minute we walked through the door, wanting to know where you were. If you were coming late. If you were bringing some sort of fairy dust Krispies,” he said with a laugh.

“Unicorn Rice Krispies. Come on, Heart, get your pastries straight.”

“Yeah, that was it. And then Cutler was relentless.” He tightened his hold on me. “I think it hit me today when you texted about the interview.”

“What hit you?”

“That I’m so fucking in love with you, I can’t see straight. And then I worried about my boy, because if I’m not able to keep it together, what happens to him? So, my instinct was to pull back. I should have talked to you.”

“I get it. It freaks me out, too.” My hand found his cheek, and I ran my fingers along his jaw. “I was with Collin for a really long time, and it never felt like this. Like I couldn’t breathe when I wasn’t with him. Maybe my mom’s right and this was supposed to happen.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, as his fingers ran soothingly along my collarbone.

“My mom always says that things happen for a reason, and I find the whole saying to be a little annoying. Especially after what happened. Like, there was no real reason for that to happen the way that it did. They could have just told me.” I sighed. “But, in hindsight… that anger led me to leave the hospital because I sure as hell couldn’t work with Farah every day and act professional. And I didn’t want to stay in a city where they both lived. I didn’t want to go back to Rosewood River, where everyone knew my story. And then I heard about this position in Magnolia Falls, and I jumped at it. So… maybe things do happen for a reason.”

I could feel him smile against my hair. “I get that. I think things do happen for a reason. I know that everything I went through with Tara was all worth it because it got me Cutler.”

“Definitely worth it. That boy…” I shook my head. “I miss him when he’s not around, you know?”

Nash chuckled. “Yeah. I know.”

“He talks to me about things. I hope that’s okay with you?”

“I’ve heard him opening up to you. It’s funny, I’ve asked the guys if he talks to them about Tara or about the kid in his class and their family situations, and they didn’t know nearly as much as he shares with you. That’s what worried me. And part of why I freaked out earlier is how attached he’s grown to you. But at the same time, I like that he talks to you.”

“Did you really think I could just leave and walk away from both of you now?”

“I didn’t know. We had a plan. I know you like your plans.” He chuckled, and I couldn’t hide the smile on my face. “I don’t know how this will all play out, but I think if we want to make it work, we’ll make it work.”

“Yeah,” I whispered, because the thought of being away from them made me anxious. “What would that look like?”

“This is what I know. I know you’re fucking brilliant. I know that you’re determined and driven, and I love that about you. So, if you need to go to Boston and I need to be here, then we FaceTime every day, and we visit as often as we can. After a year, if you love it there, then we look at options.”

“What kind of options?”

“I sell my company to King, and I’ll start over in Boston. Cutler would be fine with an adventure,” he said, but I heard the apprehension.

I flipped onto my stomach and gaped at him. “You can’t move to Boston. You’ve got your dad here and your friends and your life.”

He stroked the hair away from my face. “I grew up without a mom, and Cutler has, too. And it’s worked for all these years, but now that we’ve had this time with you, I don’t want to be away from you. You complete us in a way I didn’t know would be possible. That’s most important. All the other shit will work itself out. So, we’ll do the distance for a year, and if you love it there, then we’ll come to you. If you hate it, we’ll be waiting for you here. So you just chase your dreams, beautiful, and we’ll be right here, cheering you on.”

Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined a man saying those words to me.

And meaning them.

I felt loved and cherished and appreciated when I was with Nash.

I hugged him tighter. “So, we’re doing this?”

“Oh, we’re doing this. Now that I know you feel the same way I do, it’s on, baby.” He flipped me onto my back and tickled me as laughter echoed around the room.

And we stayed up for hours talking about our dreams and our future.

And I fell asleep feeling the most content I had in years.

I didn’t know what the plan was, but I knew he and Cutler would be right beside me.

That’s all I needed to know.

Sleep took me, and I didn’t move until the sun had me blinking awake, and I heard a little voice in the room.

“Hey, Pops. Sunny slept over?” Cutler asked.

“She did. Is that all right?” Nash asked, and I squinted to see him coming out of the bathroom before he tried to hustle Cutler out of the room.

I pushed up to sit, chuckling at the oversized tee falling off my shoulder that Nash had given me to sleep in. I’d never spent the night here, but Nash said he’d be up before Cutler, and he’d say that he slept on the couch until he explained everything to him. I patted the bed for Cutler to come sit beside me. “Hey. Good morning, angel face. Don’t leave on my account.”

“I love waking up and finding you here. It’s even better than J.T. being here, but don’t tell him I said that.”

I pretended to zip my lips and laughed. “I won’t say a word.”

Winnie came flying around the corner and jumped into the bed, and Cutler fell back into hysterical laughter as Nash informed us that he’d already taken her out and run next door to get her food, so she’d had breakfast, as well.

This man.

“So, we wanted to talk to you this morning,” Nash said, moving to sit on the edge of the bed, with Cutler between us and Winnie lying on her back across the bed.

“This is like a family meeting, isn’t it, Pops?”

My chest squeezed at his words and the way Nash’s gaze softened when he looked at his son. “Yeah, buddy. It is like a family meeting. Do you like having family meetings?”

“Yes. Because Sunny is my girl, and Winnie is my best friend, next to J.T.”

“Well, we were thinking about making things more official. You know how Emerson spends a lot of time with us, and we both like it?”

“I know, Pops. And you keep saying she’s leaving, and I keep telling you it doesn’t matter if she leaves, because I love her no matter where she is.” He scooched closer to me, leaning his head against my chest, and my arms wrapped around him. He smelled like coconut and sunshine and sweetness.

I loved this kid so fiercely that it caught me off guard sometimes.

That I could grow this attached in just a few months.

But I had.

“Yeah, you mentioned that a couple of times.” Nash chuckled. “And you were right. Me and Sunny talked about it last night, and we don’t want to say goodbye. So we thought maybe we’d enjoy this time while she and Winnie live next door, and then when she leaves, we’ll talk to her every day and go visit as often as we can.”

“We could go with her, couldn’t we?”

A lump formed in my throat. They’d both been so willing to just leave their lives to be with me. It made my heart ache, and I kissed the top of his head.

“I don’t even know if I have the job yet.” Or if I even want the job, if I’m being honest. After the interview and hearing the hours that I’d be working, it didn’t sound as appealing as it had when I applied for residency.

Maybe I was different then.

Maybe I hadn’t enjoyed life outside of work back then, the way that I did now.

I wouldn’t share the apprehension I was feeling at the moment, because I didn’t know what I’d do just yet.

“How about this,” Nash said, staring at both me and Cutler like we were his whole world. “We take it one day at a time. We know we want to be together, so let’s just make it happen, however we need to.”

“I like that. I got my pops, my Sunny, and my Winnie. Our family just got bigger, right?”

I chuckled, and Nash shook his head with a big smile on his face. “It did. How about we take the boat out today before it gets too cold to go out on the water? Why don’t you go get your suit on.”

“Yes!” Cutler hustled out of the bed and ran down the hall, with Winnie chasing after him.

We both pushed to our feet, and Nash pulled me into his arms. “You ready for this? He’s all in now.”

“I’m all in.” I pushed up on my tiptoes. “How about you?”

He took my hand and placed it over his heart, and I could feel the steady beating against my palm. “I’ve been all in since the day you moved next door.”

“You couldn’t stand me when you first met me.” I laughed as I planted a kiss on his lips.

“I thought you were hot, but you did come barreling through my door pretty early on a Saturday morning.”

“I’m glad I rang your bell,” I said, my voice teasing.

“Oh, you rang my bell, all right.” His mouth crashed into mine, and he kissed me hard.

“Pops, quit kissing my Sunny, and get your bathing suit on!” Cutler shouted from down the hall.

Nash pulled back as he barked out a laugh and turned me toward the bathroom, giving me a little smack on the ass. I’d left a suit here the last time we’d gone out on the boat.

“You heard the boy. Let’s go, beautiful.”

We both changed quickly. I ran next door and packed up some snacks, and the three of us piled onto the boat, with Winnie in tow.

And it was the best day I’d ever had, honestly.

Because it felt different. And in the words of Cutler Heart: It was our first family day out on the boat.

And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

“They are on their way now,” Ruby said, as we all gathered near the door of Whiskey Falls, waiting for the newly engaged couple to arrive.

Today was the day that Kingston had proposed to Saylor, and I’d spent the morning with my two boys before we took Cutler over to J.T.’s house for dinner so we could get over here for the surprise engagement party.

“Well, I’ve got to give him credit,” Nash said. “He stuck to the timeline of this ridiculous itinerary. He didn’t miss a beat.”

River barked out a laugh. “Yeah, I think it helped that he had Katie taking photos and updating us the entire time about what was happening.” Katie worked at Saylor’s bookstore, and she was also a photographer.

Kingston was a romantic guy, and with Saylor owning a romance bookstore, they complemented one another so well. I was thrilled for her.

“Our girl must be over the moon,” Demi said, wrapping an arm around me and hugging me.

“Yeah. Those photos she texted looked pretty swoony.”

“Okay, they’re parking now,” Ruby said. “Get ready. When the doors open, we just start screaming and cheering.”

“I’m so ready. Let the fun begin!” Peyton shouted, and Demi started jumping up and down.

Nash moved behind me, my back to his chest. This last week, since we’d been honest about how we felt about one another, had been amazing. The man continued to surprise me. He was always up before me, so he’d been feeding Winnie and taking her out before I was even out of bed.

It was these little things that he didn’t think were a big deal that meant so much.

I’d come home from work two days ago, and my car was in the driveway, all clean and shiny. He’d gone to put air in the tires and had my car washed, then just left it in the driveway like it was nothing.

That was Nash.

He was a caretaker by nature, but only for the people that he loved, which were few.

And I was lucky to be one of them.

The door sprung open, and loud cheers filled the air around us. Saylor startled, and King pulled her in front of him as her head fell back in laughter. She held up her hand to show off the ring. “I’m getting hitched!”

Hayes was the first one to wrap his arms around his sister, and he spun her around before turning to Kingston. “Welcome to the family, brother. Hurt her, and I’ll kill you.”

Kingston barked out a laugh as he pulled Hayes into a hug, and we all took turns congratulating them.

There was food and drinks that Kingston had ordered ahead of time, and we moved to the area that we’d all helped decorate earlier, and listened as Saylor and Kingston retold the events.

“Don’t you worry, my friends. I had a professional videographer there, as well, so we’ll be watching the video for years to come,” Kingston said, his arm around his fiancée as she beamed up at him.

This was how it should be. Watching these two together—a love that was impossible to miss.

I didn’t even know it was supposed to be like that.

Yet I’d found a man that I looked at the same way.

And I wanted time to stand still right now because I was truly happy.

I woke up happy. I went to sleep happy. And I was happy in between.

I didn’t know life could be this good.

The night was so much fun, as we were eating and laughing, and we’d all been out on the dance floor having a great time.

Nash’s phone beeped, and he glanced down at a text before holding it up for me to read the message from J.T.’s father.

Jay

Can you have Emerson call us? J.T. just fell off the swing set, and I think he might have broken his arm.

I stepped aside to make the call and quickly assessed that he needed to get him to the emergency room right away. I could hear J.T. crying in the background, and I didn’t miss the panic in Cutler’s voice as he spoke to his best friend.

Nash and I said our quick goodbyes before hurrying out of the bar and driving straight to the hospital to meet them. I knew Cutler would be upset to see his friend in pain, and I wanted to be there for both him and J.T.

Because I may be Cutler’s girl… but he was definitely my special guy.

And if he needed me, that’s exactly where I wanted to be.