Beating Heart: A Small Town, Single Dad Romance (Magnolia Falls Series Book 4)
Chapter 1

“I feel fine, Pops. I don’t know why we have to go back to see Doc Dolby,” Cutler said, as I pulled my truck into the parking space in front of his pediatrician’s office.

“It’s just a follow-up, buddy. And then I’ll drop you at camp. I want to make sure your breathing is back to normal this morning.”

My son had been rushed to the hospital after his baseball game this past weekend when he’d had the worst asthma attack he’d had to date. It had scared the shit out of me, and I was trying hard to keep it together so I didn’t scare him.

“But I am back to normal. And that was the best game ever, wasn’t it?”

I put the truck in park and came around to help him out of his booster seat. “Yeah. You killed it. That was an amazing hit.”

“And I still can’t believe the Ducks won the championship.” I took his hand in mine and led him to the entrance.

I had zero excitement about the Ducks winning the fucking championship because I’d watched my boy struggle for air, unable to speak after the game.

I’d never get that image out of my head.

I hadn’t slept much the last two nights because we’d spent the first night in the hospital as a safety precaution. Last night we’d come home, but I’d decided to sleep on the chair in Cutler’s bedroom to make sure nothing happened while he slept.

“It was a great game. You should be very proud of yourself. You worked hard this season, and you hit a home run in your final game. That’s something special,” I said, as I pulled the door open, and we stepped inside.

I’d been coming to Doc Dolby’s office since I was a kid, and not much had changed, aside from the few updates his wife, Rose, had made to the front office. There was a fresh coat of paint on the walls, and she’d traded out the toys over the years that were here for patients to play with while they waited.

“Hey there, Cutler. How are you feeling?” Lana asked as she smiled at my son.

“Hi, Miss Lana. I’m feeling all better. I told Pops I don’t know why we’re bugging Doc Dolby today.”

She chuckled and turned to look at me, and she had all the empathy in the world when her gaze met mine. “Hey, Nash.”

I nodded as I signed Cutler in on the clipboard. “Morning.”

“I’m sure your daddy is just wanting to be safe. You gave us all a big scare this weekend. But I heard you hit a home run,” she said, as she handed the file to Petra, the nurse.

“I did. I hit it out of the park.” Cutler waved his hands around, proud as hell.

My chest puffed up with pride because my boy was a rock star. But right now, none of that really mattered. We needed to figure out his breathing issues so that it didn’t happen again.

I’d thought about all the scenarios that could have happened last night while I sat in that chair, dozing in and out of consciousness.

What if I hadn’t been there when it happened?

What if he’d been at camp and they hadn’t reacted quick enough?

These are the thoughts that haunt me now.

“Come on, Superstar. Let’s get you in the back. Dr. Chadwick is almost ready to see you,” Petra said, and my shoulders stiffened because I didn’t recognize the name she’d used.

“Dr. Chadwick? What are you talking about? We’re here for Doc Dolby.” My words had a lot more bite than I’d intended.

“Oh. Oh, my. I’m sorry. I thought Doc had already spoken to you because I knew he’d come to see you this weekend. Um, he’ll be right in to explain.” She fumbled over her words.

My gaze narrowed when I took the seat beside Cutler, and Petra looked away from me.

I scrubbed a hand over my face. I was exhausted and knew I was being a dick. I had a full day of work ahead of me, and acting like an asshole wasn’t going to help things.

“Pops, you’re being real grumpy today.” Cutler raised a brow, and Petra chuckled. I took in my boy, who was wearing a light blue tee that read: Call the vet because these puppies are sick. There was a cartoon photo of a muscled little dude flexing his biceps with a smirk on his face.

“Your dad’s just worried about you. I get it. Doc Dolby will be in shortly.” She clapped me on the shoulder before she stepped out of the room.

“You know I’m not big on surprises,” I said to Cutler as I cleared my throat.

“Doc probably has a friend in town he wants us to meet. And I love surprises.” He shrugged as he moved to the chair with wheels on the bottom and started sliding in each direction.

The door opened, and in walked Doc Dolby, a man I’d known my entire life. He was more gray now, and I teased him constantly about the fact that he appeared to be getting shorter every time I saw him. There was a woman right on his heels who I’d never seen before. She was probably in her late twenties, around my age. She was much younger than any doctor I’d ever met. All the doctors I knew were old. She was petite and lean, with brown hair pulled into a knot at the nape of her neck. She wore a white lab coat over what looked to be a skirt and blouse, and her gaze focused on my son.

“Nash, Cutler, good to see you both,” Doc said as he dropped the file he was carrying onto the counter, and my son rushed to hug him. They’d shared a bond for as long as I could remember. But Cutler had a way of attaching himself to the people in this town. The kid was all heart.

Cutler Heart.

“I feel fine, Doc. I don’t know why Pops brought me here. I should be at camp right now. But maybe it’s ‘cause you’ve got a new friend you want us to meet.”

Doc smiled and then patted the examination bed, motioning for Cutler to jump up and sit. “I asked him to bring you down here. And you’re right, I wanted to introduce you both to someone.”

“Your friend is real pretty,” Cutler said as he waggled his brows, and the woman chuckled but then quickly straightened her features when she looked up to see me watching her.

“Cutler, this is Dr. Chadwick. She’s just moved to town and hasn’t even settled into her new place yet, but she wanted to get started today and was looking forward to meeting you both.”

“Hi, Cutler. I’ve heard lots about you from Doc Dolby. It’s nice to meet you,” she said.

“I just gave her a quick breakdown about what happened this past weekend. We haven’t had time to catch up yet because we had a sick baby over at the hospital early this morning, so I apologize that I didn’t get in here first to speak to you.” Doc was looking at me now.

I narrowed my gaze. “I hope the baby’s all right.”

“Yes. Everything is fine now,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest, as if he were preparing for my wrath.

“So what is this? You’re taking on a partner?”

Dr. Chadwick raised a brow at my question, her plump lips forming a straight line. There was a little spackle of freckles over her nose, and it was the first time my gaze had locked with hers, replaceing her jade-green eyes watching me now.

“This is a conversation that I’d planned to have privately with you, but with Cutler going to the hospital this weekend, there just hasn’t been time to sit down and do that.” He cleared his throat. “I’m stepping back from the practice, and Emerson here—er, I’m sorry, Dr. Chadwick is going to be taking over things for me here. Magnolia Falls is really lucky to have her. She’s just completed her residency at one of the top children’s hospitals in the country.”

“Not sure how lucky I feel with you springing this on me when we need to get this sh—stuff figured out with Cutler.” I made no attempt to hide my irritation.

My boy could have died.

We didn’t have a plan, and now we were changing doctors.

Someone who didn’t know him, didn’t know us, was going to be deciding what to do moving forward.

“Nash, I’m not abandoning anyone. I’ll still be around for Dr. Chadwick to lean on any time she needs me. I hadn’t found a match to take over my practice, so I was holding out, which is why I hadn’t said anything. And then her application came through, and I jumped on it. She has trained under some of the best doctors in the world during her residency. She’s far more equipped and educated on new cutting-edge medications and procedures than I am. This isn’t something that you need to be worried about. Cutler will be in great hands, and she knows how important he is to me, so she’s agreed to keep me abreast of everything.”

“Pops is being a big grumpleton today. Sorry about that,” Cutler said, smiling up at Dr. Chadwick before glancing at me with this look that told me to stop being a dick.

The kid was six years old.

He didn’t have a fucking clue what was happening.

He saw a pretty lady and wanted to focus on that.

I need a fucking doctor to make sure my boy is okay.

And how good could this woman be when she was just out of residency? Barely old enough to even be here.

“Cutler,” I said, my tone even, but I shot him a warning look that let him know it wasn’t the time or place to try to be funny.

“How about this,” Doc Dolby said. “What if Cutler comes with me, and we go run a few tests down the hall to check his oxygen levels, and I let him pick out a few stickers from the treasure box while you two chat for a bit? Would that be okay?”

“I’ll pick out a sticker for my new doctor, too,” Cutler said as he hopped off the table.

How was he so cool about this? He’d known Doc his whole life. He didn’t know this woman.

I sucked in a long breath, giving Doc a curt nod before he walked out the door with Cutler’s hand in his and shut the door behind him.

Dr. Chadwick stood with her ass pressed against the examination table that Cutler had just been sitting on, her feet crossed at the ankles as she stared at me.

“I understand your concern. What happened this weekend must have been terrifying. I’d like to come up with a plan that we can put into action moving forward. But I’d prefer to meet with both you and Cutler’s mother so we can all be on the same page. Is your wife available to meet, as well, or can we get her on the phone while we chat?”

This was why I didn’t like change. I didn’t feel like explaining my situation, nor was it anyone’s business.

“I raise Cutler on my own,” I said, my words coming out harsher than I’d planned once again.

Her cheeks pinked the slightest bit, and she nodded. “Okay, no problem. We can move forward with just the two of us then.”

“Obviously. Not sure why we’d invite anyone else to the conversation about my son.”

She reached for the folder and read over a few things before looking back up at me.

“Listen, Mr. Heart, I’m not the enemy. I understand that being caught off guard about your doctor leaving is upsetting.”

“You aren’t from here, so I wouldn’t expect you to understand why this is a big deal.”

“Well, he’s retiring. He’s worked far longer than most; you can’t be that surprised.”

Who the fuck is she to tell me how to feel about it?

“And you know this how? You’ve been here for all of five minutes.”

“I’m just saying, doctors retire all the time. It’s part of life. And I am more than qualified to treat your son, so I’m just asking you to hear me out.”

“It doesn’t seem like I have much of a choice, does it?” I said, knowing I was being a dick but unable to stop myself because I was just not up for much at the moment.

“You always have a choice. If you want to take him somewhere else, and you think someone is better suited than I am, that is your choice.”

“Well, we live here, so it’s kind of important for Cutler to have a doctor in town. Especially with all that’s going on.” I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees.

“Fine. So we agree on something.”

“We agree that I need a doctor and you happen to be one.”

“Great. Looks like we’re off to a fabulous start,” she said, oozing sarcasm as she forced a smile.

This was not the way I saw this morning going.

And I was not happy about it.