Claiming the Doctor's Heart

by Renee Ryan

  “Yeah, but I’ll take him before I head to the store.”

  Nodding, she passed the puppy back.

  Connor turned, hesitated. “Thanks, Olivia.”

  “You’re welcome. Now—” she turned him toward the back of the house “—off you go.”

  As he ambled away, head down, Olivia watched his retreating back with her heart pumping hard. She had to stop herself from chasing after him and giving him that hug, after all.

  Oh, Connor. He carried so many burdens, took care of so many people. Who took care of him?

  Feeling incredibly helpless, and suddenly in need of a hug herself, Olivia entered the girls’ room. She shut the door behind her as quietly as she could.

  Molly moaned from her bed and her lashes fluttered open.

  “Hi there, sweetie,” Olivia said softly, hoping not to avoid waking Megan, who tossed and turned fitfully in her sleep. “I hear you’re not feeling so well.”

  “My head hurts. I ache everywhere.” She kicked her legs out from under the covers. “And I’m hot. Really hot.”

  Olivia sat on the bed, swept Molly’s hair off her forehead and felt the urge to weep again. The poor thing looked miserable.

  This particular Mitchell she did pull into a comforting hug. “It’s going to be okay, sweetie.”

  “Promise?”

  “Promise.”

  * * *

  Unsure how long he’d slept, Connor checked the time on his phone. Just shy of 11:00 a.m. He’d been out nearly three hours. Way too long.

  He jumped out of bed, rubbed an impatient hand down his face, glanced around until he had his bearings. He needed to check on the girls, shower and shave, then hopefully get to the office before noon. It was a good plan, as long as the girls weren’t any worse. Everything depended on their condition.

  He exited his bedroom.

  Normally, he wouldn’t consider leaving the girls while they were sick. But Olivia was here. He trusted her with them completely and was coming to rely on her, perhaps more than he should.

  Was he expecting too much from a temporary nanny, unconsciously taking Olivia for granted, as that Warner character had done?

  Connor would be reckless to forget the story she’d told him about her ex-boyfriend. Unwise and thoughtless to think she wasn’t still wounded from the experience. He’d seen the tears in her eyes last night, the ones she’d tried to hide from him.

  Olivia stepped out of the girls’ room just as Connor rounded the corner. She looked tired, a bit disheveled, yet incredibly beautiful.

  Spotting him, she smiled. Her big blue eyes were filled with sympathy for his daughters. His heart swelled.

  “How are they?”

  “Uncomfortable, hurting. Starting to itch. And really, really bored, especially Molly.” She made a vague gesture with her hand toward the bedroom behind her. “I’m going to hunt down some coloring books, crayons and puzzles. Maybe that’ll entertain both girls while I try to think up some other nonphysical activities besides television to keep them occupied.”

  “Good idea. You’ll find what you’re looking for in the living room, third shelf on the right-hand side of the bookcase.”

  “I remember.” She turned to go, then spun back around and considered him a moment in silence. “You look better than you did this morning, more rested.”

  “I am.” And he owed it to Olivia. For that single reason, he took a step back, physically and emotionally.

  “You push yourself too hard, Connor. I’m glad you took a much-needed break.”

  He felt his heart catch hard at her words, at the smile she gave him, and all he could do was manage a quick “Thanks, Olivia,” before he stepped into the girls’ room and shut himself inside.

  Goofy cartoon music swelled from the television on the dresser. Samson lay silently on Megan’s feet, blinking up at Connor as if afraid to move. Neither of his daughters were paying attention to the screen, so he reached over and turned off the program.

  “Hey.” Arms crossed over her chest, chin jutting out, Molly looked disgruntled by the move. “I was watching that.”

  “No, you weren’t.”

  She pressed her lips into a small, thin line. “I was getting ready to.”

  He ignored this, took in her angry eyes and heightened color. “How are you feeling?”

  Grimacing, Molly gave him a world-weary sigh. Quite a feat for an eight-year-old. “I’m bored.”

  “Miss Olivia will be back with some coloring books and crayons.”

  “Coloring is for babies.”

  Connor chose not to comment, especially since Molly had colored a picture for him just two days ago. The one that still hung on the refrigerator door, front and center.

  “How about you, Megan?” He turned his focus on his other daughter. “How are you feeling?”

  “Really itchy, but Miss Olivia says I can’t scratch.”

  “Miss Olivia is right.”

  “My head hurts, too.”

  “I’m sorry about that.” Connor sat on Megan’s bed, smoothed her hair off her red face. “You probably need some more medicine. But first, let me see your neck.”

  She obediently lifted her chin.

  He probed beneath her jawline. Definitely swollen lymph nodes, but no more than expected given the circumstances. Her skin was unnaturally hot to the touch, though. A quick stab of panic shot through him, but he reminded himself this was the twenty-first century. Children didn’t die of chickenpox. Especially healthy, robust children like his daughters. No reason to be alarmed.

  Forcing out a slow breath, he checked Megan’s temperature with the digital thermometer—101.2.

  He switched beds and checked Molly’s—101.1.

  Higher than he’d prefer, but not totally unexpected.

  He took the water bottle off Megan’s nightstand and handed it over. “Drink some of this.”

  “What about me?” Molly whined, tears of frustration brimming in her eyes. “Don’t I get some water, too?”

  “Coming right up.” He located her bottle, unscrewed the cap and passed it to her.

  She took a long, gulping drink.

  “Better?”

  She took another, smaller sip. “Much.”

  “Look what I found.” Arms full, Olivia reentered the room. “Coloring books, puzzles, word searches and crayons. A whole assortment of things for us to do today.”

  She dumped the entire load on Molly’s bed, reached over and scratched Samson behind the ears.

  Molly feigned total disinterest in the booty at her feet, until her sister asked to see the coloring book with the princesses on the front. Molly decided that was the one item she wanted most.

  Just as an argument ensued, Olivia stepped in a second before Connor could. “There’s actually two with princesses on them.” She retrieved both. “One for each of you.”

  Connor watched, marveling, as Olivia set up his daughters with their own lap desk, coloring book and box of crayons.

  Disaster avoided.

  “Okay.” She brushed off her hands. “I’m going to have a quick word with your father and then I’ll be back to color with you.”

  Before any of them could object, including Connor, Olivia tugged him out of the room. “I thought the girls might also like to embellish some T-shirts while they’re stuck in their beds.”

  Connor suppressed a sigh. Sounded a little too girly for him. But Olivia was probably right. She knew more about these things than he did. “What would that involve?”

  “A trip to the craft store.” She dug a piece of paper out of her back pocket. “Would you mind going?”

  He chuckled. “If I didn’t know better I’d say you were trying to get rid of me.”

  She didn’t deny it. “I figure one of
us has to stay with the twins, might as well be me. I can make us all lunch while you’re gone.”

  His stomach growled, reminding him that he’d missed breakfast.

  “I’m making chicken soup for the girls and I was thinking grilled cheese sandwiches for us.”

  “My favorite.”

  “I know.”

  How’d she know that?

  Seizing his moment of hesitation, she pressed the piece of paper in his hand. “We’ll need everything on the list. The salesgirl will help you if you get lost.”

  Connor laughed. She managed to get him to do what she wanted without sounding bossy. “I bet you were a killer in the boardroom.”

  “I do know how to get my way.” She wiggled her eyebrows at him. “Especially when it’s something as important as rhinestones and T-shirts for sick little girls.”

  Connor could fall hard for this woman, if he let himself.

  Fortunately, he understood Olivia better than he had that first day in the park, especially after their conversation last night. Her unexpected job loss hadn’t been her only reason for coming home. A broken relationship had also led her back to Village Green.

  Despite the decision being hers, she was still hurting, still vulnerable. Still working through what she wanted to do with her life.

  Connor would be wise to keep his distance.

  He’d better keep his distance.

  How was he going to keep his distance?

  Chapter Twelve

  Three days after the twins’ fever finally broke, and their itching was under control, Connor insisted Olivia take the weekend off. She’d protested, telling him she only needed one free day a week, but he’d refused to budge.

  Out of arguments, she’d accepted his kind offer, spending most of Saturday working on her business proposal. Thanks to the uninterrupted time, she was nearly done with it.

  She woke early Sunday morning with plans to attend services with Keely at the church they’d attended as teenagers. According to her friend, one of her brother Beau’s buddies had gone to seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and was now the senior pastor.

  Keely said he gave a great sermon.

  Olivia couldn’t wait to hear for herself. She’d been away from church too long. Ever since she’d broken up with Warner and moved home.

  She quickly dressed and caught up with Ethan in the kitchen. He wore jeans and a ratty T-shirt as old as Olivia and was downing a large mug of coffee in big, manly gulps.

  “Hope you left some for me.”

  Smiling, he stepped around Baloo, whose tail whipped around like a deadly weapon, and poured Olivia a cup.

  With the easygoing, affectionate older brother in place, he handed over the coffee. “Got any plans for the day?”

  “Church.” Then she would put the finishing touches on her business proposal this afternoon. Once that was done to her satisfaction, she could set up an appointment at the bank and start the process of securing a loan. Make a plan. Work the plan. Adjust when necessary.

  No more dragging her feet. The summer would be over soon.

  “Right, it’s Sunday. I tend to forget what day it is when I’m not working.” He turned his back on her, the move sufficiently cutting off whatever reply she would have given him.

  While he rinsed his cup in the sink, she shifted from one foot to the other, opened her mouth to speak, but then her phone buzzed a warning that a text message had just come through. She looked down and read the screen. It was from Keely. SERVICE STARTS IN TWENTY MINUTES. “Gotta go.”

  “Go?” Ethan spun around. “Where?”

  “To church, remember?” She typed a quick response. ON MY WAY. Then stuffed the phone back in her purse. “Want to come with me?”

  “No.”

  “I’m meeting my friend Keely,” she said. “We’re sitting together.”

  “Then definitely no.”

  How odd. Olivia angled her head. “You have something against Keely?”

  “Nope. Not a thing.” He turned his back on her again, pulled Baloo’s leash off the wall hook and clipped it in the dog’s collar. “Come on, boy, let’s go for a walk.”

  Baloo’s tail slapped like a whip as Ethan guided him to the back door. Man and dog were gone before Olivia could take another sip of her coffee.

  “Well, that was...interesting.”

  Shrugging, she fished her keys out of her purse and left through the front door. The church was only a block north of her brother’s medical offices, easy walking distance from the house, but the weather didn’t look promising enough to risk the short trek on foot.

  Five minutes later, Olivia pulled into the parking lot, hoping she’d run into the Mitchell family today. She hadn’t seen the girls since Friday.

  She missed them like crazy, worried about them, hoped they were feeling back to normal.

  Connor had answered her text yesterday and said the girls were on the mend. And that he would see her on Monday morning, same time as always.

  The man was back to being distant with her again. That was probably for the best. Nevertheless, a slow sigh slipped past her lips.

  The church’s parking lot was just short of chaotic. Olivia managed to find a free spot in the middle row. Hurrying out of her car, she rushed over to where Keely waited for her on the church steps. Connor’s sister, Avery, stood beside the redhead. The twins were next to their aunt. But there was no sign of Connor.

  Where was he?

  Olivia looked around, checking several groups.

  “Miss Olivia, Miss Olivia,” Molly called out, waving her hands frantically in the air. “Over here. We’re over here.”

  Megan spun around and squealed when she saw Olivia approaching.

  Olivia’s sentiments exactly.

  Attacking the steps two at a time, she closed the distance between them at a near run, then tugged both girls into her arms. She knew she’d lost objectivity. And had completely forgotten to guard her heart.

  At the moment, Olivia didn’t much care. How would life ever be worth living if she went through it guarding her heart against love?

  Over their heads she greeted Keely and Avery, then put all her attention on the twins. “How are you feeling?”

  “So much better.”

  And so began a fast-paced litany of all the things they wanted to do now that they were back to normal. “A slumber party would be pretty awesome,” Molly decided. “With just us girls, no boys allowed.”

  “Then let’s have a slumber party very soon,” Olivia said.

  “We can have it at my house,” Avery offered. “As long as your dad says it’s okay.”

  “My dad’s cool with it,” Keely offered up, grinning.

  “Ha-ha.” Avery flicked her wrist at the redhead. “I was talking about Connor.”

  “Speaking of Connor.” Olivia looked around, scanned the immediate area. “Where is he?”

  Megan touched her hand. “Daddy went into the office to catch up on email.”

  “He always goes into the office on Sunday mornings,” Molly added.

  Seconds ticked by before that piece of information sank in. “Oh.”

  The praise band started warming up, the sound drifting through the front doors and alerting everyone that church would begin soon.

  “Hey, Olivia, save me a seat next to you and Keely.” Avery hooked an arm over Megan’s shoulders, then Molly’s. “I have to take these munchkins over to children’s church. I’ll meet you in the worship center when I’m done.”

  “You got it.”

  Keely waited until they were both settled in chairs along the back row, before leaning toward Olivia and whispering, “I was so excited to see you last week I totally forgot to ask if you’d like to join our women’s Bible study. We meet every Frid
ay morning around sevenish at the Turkey Roost.”

  “Sounds awesome,” Olivia said.

  “We call ourselves the BBS girls.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “BBS?”

  “Breakfast and Bible Study. BBS, get it?”

  Olivia laughed. “Count me in.”

  “Count you in where?” Avery asked from the aisle, her eyebrows lifted in question.

  Keely grinned up at her. “I was just telling Olivia about our Friday morning Bible study. She’s going to join us.”

  “Awesome.”

  With her purse the size of a small rhino slung over her shoulder, Avery sidled in next to Olivia.

  The opening song began a second later.

  The entire congregation rose to their feet, the three women included.

  Olivia did her best to focus on worship. She managed to do so on the first two songs. By the third she couldn’t hold back her curiosity any longer.

  “Connor goes into work every Sunday morning instead of attending church?” she whispered to Avery.

  The other woman sighed heavily. “He drops off the girls but never sticks around. And I mean never.”

  “How long has this been going on?”

  Avery sighed again. “Since Sheila’s funeral.”

  Oh, Connor.

  * * *

  Connor arrived back at the church a few minutes before the service let out. He’d attempted to get some work done in the office but hadn’t been able to make his brain focus longer than a few minutes at a time. He eventually gave up and let his mind wander. Which it did.

  Straight to Olivia.

  He’d seen the way his daughters had soared into her arms. The three of them had looked thrilled over their reunion, as if they’d been apart for years rather than a few days. Linked together in a single embrace, practically clinging to one another, they’d looked like a family.

  Family. Something he just might be ready to expand beyond him and the twins. And he wasn’t thinking in terms of adding another dog.

  There was a shift occurring in him, in his body and soul, a sort of letting go of the old and grasping for the new. As if he were waking from a long, fitful sleep.