“Evie, can you check on the patient in room two?” Martha calls from the lab where she’s restocking supplies. It’s been a slow Thursday here at the clinic, but I don’t mind the slow days. I know I won’t have many more of them left.
“Sure thing,” I tell Martha. I’ve been working at the clinic full-time for the past six years. Except for the year I took a leave of absence. Martha and Cash managed just fine without me, like I know they will again soon. Still, I’ll miss this place in my time away.
I grab my tablet, but there’s no chart up when I tap for room two. It’s just as well. Sometimes, the old timers in Courage County won’t fill out the paperwork. Instead, they rely on Cash’s memory and his secret stash of notes about them.
Knocking on the door, I swing it open without waiting for a response. The moment I see the patient, I put a hand on my hip and do my best scowl. “You are not sick.”
Greer grins at me, not looking the least bit sorry. “Not true, nurse. I’m burning up.”
I roll my eyes at his behavior. It’s been six years since I married this crazy man, and he never stops surprising me. Of course, I gave him the biggest surprise a year after we married. I was pregnant with twins. When it was time for the birth, another little one arrived unexpectedly. She’d never been seen on the ultrasound. Greer refers to Molly as “our little ninja” because of that.
I took a year off from the clinic after that to raise them. Fortunately, I had help. So many nights, I would wake up to find that Greer, Chase, and Parker were each holding a baby girl. My brothers dote on the girls constantly.
Chase is eighteen, and he graduates in the spring. He’s going to work full-time on the farm alongside Greer. He’s passionate about agriculture and loves getting to work the ranch.
Parker just turned fifteen. He’s on the junior varsity football team, and he loves it. The coach has already hinted that he expects to move him up to varsity next year. Greer attends every game that Parker plays in and spends hours running drills with him.
Greer puts a hand to his forehead. “I’m serious. I’m burning up for my wife.”
“Where are the girls?” I ask, setting my tablet down on the desk. I plop onto the stool, grateful to be off my swollen feet for a few minutes.
Our daughters started kindergarten this past year, and Greer had the hardest time letting them go on the bus. He followed it to school each day for a month. Now he’s the one that picks them up when the bus drops them off at the end of our street.
“With grandma,” he says. His mother’s health is still stable, and she continues to be an active part of our lives. Not long after I got engaged to Greer, she launched her hypoallergenic candles. She started selling them online, and they became quite popular.
I finally spot the white box beside him. It has the logo for Sadie’s bakery on it, and my heart skips a beat. This man never stops spoiling me. “Are those for me?”
He shakes his head. “No, these are for my wife and my unborn child.”
I go for the box, and he pulls me onto his lap. It’s been six years, and my curves have only grown more pronounced after carrying four of his big babies. He still finds me irresistible. He still puts his hands on me every chance he gets.
Greer rests a hand on the baby bump. “Hi, little one.”
Neither of us were expecting to get so lucky a second time. We already had three adorable daughters, and now we’re getting a son. Greer tells me he already feels like he has two sons with Chase and Parker. He treats them just like he does the girls, with just as much affection and nurturing. He somehow always knows what our kids need before they can even verbalize it.
I feed him bites of the donut while sitting in his lap. We chit-chat about our days, not discussing anything important.
It’s moments like these that I love with him. The ordinary days when the sun is shining through the window and highlight the silver streaks that have just begun to show up in his hair. Chase and Parker tease him about being an old man. I tell him how much I love silver foxes. That comment always earns me a growl.
“I should get back to work,” I finally tell him after I’ve decimated two donuts. I’ve lost twenty minutes in here with him alone. But Cash and Martha would have called me if they needed my help. As it is, Cash has probably snuck off to be with his wife, Summer.
“I talked to Martha and got you the rest of the day off,” he says.
I tap my chin and frown. “Hmm, what could I possibly do with all of that free time?”
He smirks at me with that grin that means I’m not going to be wearing clothes any time soon. “I’m sure we’ll find something to do.”
I chuckle and gather my things to leave the clinic early. As we step out into the bright sunshine, he takes my hand in his. He brings it to his lips and presses a soft kiss to my knuckles. “Love you, wife.”
“Love you, bossy,” I say which earns me another growl and suddenly, he’s pulling me toward his truck a lot faster. This man is perfect for me, and together, we’ve built a beautiful life.
***
There are three things Lizzy needs to know the moment I lay eyes on her: She’s my soulmate. She’s marrying me. And I’m putting my baby in her belly.
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