A Family to Heal His Heart

by Tina Beckett

  One thing he did know. He wanted his future to include Lindy and Daisy.

  And if he gave in and begged Lindy to come back, what then? What if Daisy got sick and died? What if Lindy was hit by a car? And died?

  Was the hurt of that possibility worse than the hurt of losing Lindy forever?

  No. It wasn’t.

  So he needed to find her and quickly. Before it was too late. And he knew just where to start.

  * * *

  Lindy sat in the waiting room of a step-down hospital on the other side of the city from Mid Savannah. She hated it. Didn’t like the people, didn’t like the feeling she got when she came through those double doors. She knew it had nothing to do with the hospital, though, and everything to do with her.

  Because she hadn’t liked any of the other four hospitals she’d applied at either. Two of them had offered to hire her on the spot. But she’d held off. She’d know it when it was right.

  Or at least that’s what she’d told herself.

  She wasn’t as sure as she’d once been. After all, she hadn’t been willing to go back and confront Zeke about what had happened in his living room a week ago. And it was too late now. She’d already resigned from her position. She doubted they would take her back, since she’d given hardly any notice. But she’d barely been scheduled for any surgeries either. She didn’t want to just sit around and do nothing. That wasn’t the way she operated.

  Ha! So she operated by running away from her problems? Since when? Lord, she hadn’t run when she should have, and now she’d run when she shouldn’t have. She’d run away from a man who meant the world to her. Who had shown her life in a whole new way. He was the best thing to ever happen to her. And she’d crumpled up her broken heart and tossed any chance of getting him back out the window.

  Except he didn’t love her. He’d practically said it himself.

  Only he hadn’t. She’d ended up doing most of the talking, putting all kinds of words into his mouth, which he’d merely repeated. And she’d never said the one thing that might have made all the difference. If he didn’t love her back, then she’d have to accept it.

  But what if he did? What if, like her, he’d just been afraid to admit the truth?

  Dammit, she should hunt the man down and tell him how she felt about him. If he didn’t feel the same way, she’d be no worse off. She could just keep job hunting and hope that she would one day get over him.

  But only if she got actual closure. Only if she heard the words come out of his mouth.

  A woman came out and called her name. It was her turn to be interviewed. She stood and looked at the HR person and gave her a smile and a quiet apology, and then she turned and walked back the way she’d come. For once in her life she was going to face down her fears and kick them in the butt. And then she was going to go and confront Zeke.

  As she went through the exit, she was so intent on getting where she was going that she didn’t see a man coming up on her right until he said her name.

  The voice was familiar. Too familiar. She turned in a rush and saw Zeke standing there. How in the world...?

  Maybe he was picking something up. He might not have come looking for her. But hadn’t she been about to go try to find him?

  Well, here he was.

  She was just going to do it and to hell with the consequences. Up went her chin and when she spoke her voice didn’t quaver. Instead it was solid with conviction.

  “I was actually getting ready to go see you.”

  He smiled. “Well, that’s pretty convenient, because I was coming to see you.”

  “What? How?”

  “What do you mean, how?”

  “I mean how did you know where I was?”

  He reached a hand out and then seemed to think better of it. “You weren’t home and weren’t taking my calls, so I went to the one person who would know where I could find you.”

  “My mom.”

  “Yes, but don’t blame her. She wasn’t sure about telling me at first, but Daisy vouched for me.”

  That made her laugh. “Of course she did. She probably ran up to you and gave you a kiss, didn’t she?”

  “How did you know?” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I did something bad, though, while I was there. I told Daisy a secret.”

  Foreboding swept over her and then came tears, her voice breaking as she forced out the words. “Don’t you make her fall for you the way you made me fall for you. Not unless you intend to follow through.”

  He frowned but didn’t say anything. Okay, she’d said her piece. That was that.

  “What...what did you say?” His voice was soft and laced with an intensity that sent goosebumps skittering up her spine.

  She didn’t care. She was going to get her closure if she had to drag it out of him. “I said I fell for you.”

  There. Digest that!

  “What if I told you that I fell for you long before you fell for me?”

  “I’d say that was impossible.” Her heart warred with her mind for several long seconds before one of them came out the victor.

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because I fell for you while we were sitting on a blanket at the jazz festival.”

  His eyes closed for a second before flicking open and staring at her. “Say that again.”

  “I fell in love with you.” She changed the tense to present. “I am in love with you.”

  “You said you had no intention of getting involved with anyone.”

  “You fed me that same line.”

  “I lied.” Their voices marched across the space in unison.

  This time Lindy got there first. “But why?”

  “I lost my daughter. And I was afraid of getting attached to Daisy. To you. And then losing one or both of you too. Or shutting down emotionally and then losing one or both of you. In my mind, the outcome was always the same. I lost you.”

  “Oh, God, Zeke. When I think of what could have happened...”

  “I know. And when you left the hospital, I had visions of you running back to California and realized the real danger of losing you didn’t come from the outside. It came from me. I pushed you away before you could leave. And it evidently worked.”

  “Not quite. Because as I was sitting here, waiting for an interview, I realized that I’m done running. Done being afraid of what might happen. Things happen, they happened to both of us, but that doesn’t mean they will again.”

  Zeke nodded, and he cupped her face with hands that shook. “I think I finally came to terms with that over the last couple of days. I love you, Lind. I want to be with you. Only you.”

  She pressed her forehead to his. “Yes. I want that too. All of it.”

  “I don’t have a ring yet. There hasn’t been time. But I do want you wearing my ring. If you’ll say yes.”

  “Oh, Zeke, of course I will. And yes.”

  “I want to do it right this time. My ex-wife and I got married young. Probably too young. But you and I have both lived through some terrible circumstances. And I think we’re mature enough—and smart enough—to know what we want out of life and to go after it. At least I am.”

  “Me too.”

  Lindy drew in a deep breath and held it for a second before allowing all the past hurts to flow out and disappear into the atmosphere. “So are you saying you actually want me as your wife, Dr. Bruen?”

  “I definitely do, Surgical Nurse Franklin.”

  He kissed her and then drew her into his arms and held her tight. “I almost lost you.”

  “No, you didn’t. Like I said, I was coming to find you. I was planning to tell you how I felt about you. Instead, you found me.”

  “Thank God we both came to our senses. Is it too early to tell your folks? To tell Daisy?”

  “To be honest, I think my mom already
knows. And if I know my daughter, Daisy probably knows you’re here to stay.”

  “And I am. Here to stay.” He wrapped an arm around her waist as they walked toward the exit. “Come back to Mid Savannah. We all want you back.”

  “I don’t know if they’ll have me back.”

  He smiled and drew her closer. “I’m pretty sure you’ll be welcomed back with open arms. By Neil. By our team. By me. Especially by me.”

  As the automatic doors swept open, dropping them right into the heat and humidity that defined Savannah, she couldn’t think of any place she’d rather be than with this man. And now that she had him, she was never letting him go again.

  They deserved a fresh start and a happy ending. And it looked like this gentle southern city was going to give them exactly what they wished for.

  EPILOGUE

  LINDY AND ZEKE, along with the hospital administrator and a few other key folks, gathered around a wide red ribbon that stretched across a white-pillared porch. What had once been a genteel old house a few blocks from the hospital was about to become the Mid Savannah Women’s Crisis Center. Neil, scissors in hand to cut the ribbon, awaited a signal from somewhere off to the side.

  Zeke wrapped his arm around his wife’s waist, uncaring that there were photographers snapping constant pictures. His hand splayed over the side of Lindy’s belly, thumb tracing over the taut surface, where a new life was rapidly making its presence known. The first three months of marriage had been exciting in more ways than one. The pink “plus” symbol that had appeared on the pregnancy test had come as quite a shock, but after a few minutes of blinding panic, he’d welcomed the news wholeheartedly.

  Caleb Roger Bruen would be well loved. There were no guarantees in this life—for any of them—but Zeke had decided that fear and guilt would no longer take up residence in his heart. He had been given a second chance at love...one he probably didn’t deserve, but he was not going to take it for granted, or waste a single precious minute of their time together.

  “Ready?” Neil’s voice called him back to the present. “One, two, three.” He sheared the ribbon in two as cheers from the onlookers went up all around them.

  The hospital administrator had wanted to name the place after Lindy, but she’d refused, saying that that part of her life was behind her. That while she wanted to help as many women as she could, she would rather not have a constant reminder of what she’d personally gone through. She needed to move forward with her life. Plus the fact that she wanted to be able to tell their children at a place and time of her choosing and not because they’d seen her name on a sign.

  Once the pictures were done, he leaned down to her ear. “Feeling okay?”

  “Perfect. You?”

  “More than perfect.”

  She turned and faced him. “I love you, Zeke.”

  “I love you too.”

  She peered to the side, where the crisp white porch gave way to huge magnolia trees that stretched down the road almost as far as the eye could see. The blooms were magnificent. “This is my favorite time of year.”

  “Is it?”

  “Mmm...” She put her hands on her belly. “It’s the perfect time to be pregnant.”

  She seemed to like that word right now, and he could see why. He liked it too.

  “I hadn’t realized there was a perfect time.”

  “There isn’t, but I just love the way the magnolias bloom.”

  He dropped a kiss on her mouth. “I love the way you bloom. You are glowing.”

  “It’s the heat.”

  No, it wasn’t, but he wasn’t going to argue with her. He’d asked her to hold off working at the center until she’d had the baby, but Lindy, in her calm unruffled way, had sat him down and told him that she needed this. Needed to continue what she’d started when she’d first returned to Savannah. She promised not to take any unnecessary chances and would take a break once she hit her seventh month.

  Zeke would have to trust her. He did trust her. She wanted this baby as much as he did. And so did Daisy. She couldn’t wait to meet her new brother.

  “What time do we need to be at your parents’ house?”

  Her head tilted to look at him as the reporters moved on to their next story and people began clearing away the ribbon and the rest of the paraphernalia that went with the grand opening.

  “Not until six, why?” She gave him a smile that could only be described as wicked. “Did you have something in mind?”

  He hadn’t. Until she’d said that. It didn’t take much to start him thinking along those lines nowadays. Then again, Lindy had been pretty amorous herself.

  “Always.” He glanced down at his watch. “It’s three. Does that give us enough time?”

  She laughed. “Are you feeling a little ambitious today?”

  “I’m ‘ambitious’ every day, when it comes to you.”

  “Well, then, I’d better put all of that ambition to work.” She stretched up on tiptoe and gave him a slow kiss that made something start buzzing in his skull.

  He pulled away, his breathing no longer steady. “We’d better get going if we’re going to reach the house. Hopefully there are no emergencies.”

  She slid her fingers into his hair. “The only emergency right now...is me.”

  So Zeke took her hands and kissed the palm of each one, before towing her behind him on their way to the parking area. He couldn’t wait to get her home. Where he could show her just how much she meant to him.

  And where he would renew his vow to be the best husband he could. Because Lindy, Daisy and now Caleb deserved the best of everything. And he was going to see that they got it.

  Each and every day of his life.

  * * *

  If you enjoyed this story, check out these other great reads from Tina Beckett

  The Surgeon’s Surprise Baby

  One Night to Change Their Lives

  The Billionaire’s Christmas Wish

  Tempted by Dr. Patera

  All available now!

  Keep reading for an excerpt from A Return, a Reunion, a Wedding by Annie O’Neil.

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  A Return, a Reunion, a Wedding

  by Annie O’Neil

  CHAPTER ONE

  JAYNE SHOULD HAVE been getting fist-bumps right now. High-fives. A group hug. Not watching a mass exodus from her operating theatre.

  What on earth was going on?

  She pulled off her surgical gown, gave her face a quick scrub, and deposited it into the laundry bin.

  ‘All
right there, Dr Sinclair?’

  The hospital’s favourite surgical nurse, Sana, didn’t body-block her, exactly, but... Why was the rest of the surgical team high-tailing it out of there?

  Peculiar.

  Maybe they all had hot dates. Or on-call rooms to collapse in.

  Ten hours of heart transplant surgery was tiring. For most people, anyway. Sana looked as energetic as ever. Maybe it was the dancing unicorns on her scrubs.

  Sana fixed Jayne with her bright smile. ‘Somebody’s frown is upside down. And we don’t do that here at the London Merryweather Children’s Hospital. Not after a successful surgery.’

  ‘I’m not frowning.’ Jayne fought to smooth the furrow between her eyes.

  Okay, fine. The surgery had been tough...but it wasn’t as if she wanted to talk about it.

  ‘The Jayne Sinclair I know doesn’t frown. So...’ Sana popped her hands on to her hips. ‘Are you going to explain to me what’s broken your smiley face or am I going to have to start pulling teeth?’

  Jayne tried to look away and couldn’t.

  Oh, crumbs. So this was The Sana Look.

  Five years at the Merryweather and she’d never once seen it. If the rumour mill was anything to go by it was pointless to resist.

  The Sana Look, as it was known in hospital parlance, was something to actively avoid. It was responsible for all sorts of madness. The Head of Paediatric Surgery had buckled under its strength, finally fulfilling a lifelong dream to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Registrars fled to cosy cottages in Devon to tackle long-neglected ‘To Read’ piles. Nurses skipped around theme parks in Florida. Even the aptly named Dr Stayer, who was rumoured never to have once taken a day of holiday in his thirty years of practice, had handed in his notice and was learning how to surf in Bali at this very moment.

  No one was immune.

  When Sana gave The Look, the HR department listened. As did the hospital’s Chief Executive. It was that powerful. It meant one thing and one thing only: someone needed to take a holiday.