by Megan Green
I briefly debate on calling Cami in to tell her I’ve suddenly developed explosive diarrhea or something and to cancel my day, but I know I can’t do that. It wouldn’t be fair to my patients or their owners.
“I’ve waited this long to pull my head out of my ass, I suppose,” I say, talking to the fan suspended above me. “I guess I can wait a few more hours.”
Doesn’t mean I can’t pout for a few minutes though.
I sigh as I stare absently, trying to imagine the scene that’s going to go down at Mason’s tonight. Will he be glad to see me? Swing me into his arms when he opens the door to find me standing on his doorstep? Or will he turn me away, fed up with the way I rush to conclusions and never stick around to hear him out?
Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the latter. If I were him, I’d be furious with me. I wouldn’t blame him in the slightest if he slammed the door in my face and told me to get lost.
I’ll just have to show him that getting rid of me won’t be so easy this time. I’m no longer going to let that part of myself win. I’m going to fight for what I want.
And what I want is Mason.
And Hannah, my subconscious silently tacks on.
The thought only serves to remind me how much I miss that little girl.
I didn’t just fall in love with Mason Cooper.
I also fell for his daughter.
And I can’t picture my life without either of them in it.
So, no, if Mason turns me away tonight, I won’t go down without a fight. I’m going to prove to him that I’ve changed. That this time apart has helped me clear my head.
I’m not saying everything will be easy from here on out. As I said before, years and years of emotional damage don’t just disappear overnight. But I’m willing to put in the work and overcome my uncertainties. I just need Mason by my side.
A muffled sound at my door pulls me from my thoughts, and I glance at the clock.
Must be Cami. She’s probably scared to knock and tell me my next patient is ready. I’ve been a bit … volatile lately.
“Come in!” I shout, trying to make my voice as cheerful as possible to let her know there’s no reason to be scared.
But instead of the door opening, all I hear is another rustling from the other side.
“Cami, you can open the door. I promise, it’s safe this time,” I say with a laugh.
But still, it doesn’t open.
I roll my eyes as I get to my feet. I mean, yeah, I know I’m emotional these days. But there’s no reason for her to act this ridiculous.
I cross the room in two long strides, pulling open the door with a retort perched on my tongue. “Cami, seriously—” My words fall silent when I find nobody there.
My brow furrows as I crane my neck to look down the hall.
Empty.
My confusion deepens as I take a step out into the hall to get a better look. A piercing yelp rings out when my foot comes in contact with a moving object.
I jump back, my eyes falling to the floor to see a grinning Hope staring up at me. The object I nearly stepped on was the tip of her tail. Luckily, I caught myself before I was able to put my full weight on it.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, happiness flooding through my chest at the sight of the small dog.
I’d be lying if I said I haven’t missed her almost as much as Mason and Hannah. I crouch down to her level and laugh as she nearly knocks me over in her excitement to see me.
“Hey, sweetheart,” I say, pressing my lips to the side of her face as she tries to lick me, her tail wagging frantically as she attempts to crawl up into my lap.
I let myself fall back onto my butt, giving her more space to climb on to. I hug her to my chest, pressing my face to her silky fur once she’s in my arms.
She smells like Hannah and Mason.
She smells like happiness.
Tears prick the corners of my eyes as I breathe in her scent. My desire to see Mason only increases tenfold at the sight of Hope.
Wait. If Hope is here, does that mean …
I lift my face from Hope’s neck, my hand coming in contact with something stuck in the side of her collar as I reposition myself. I grab it, realizing it’s a slip of paper.
“What’s this, girl?” I ask the dog stupidly, looking at her like she’s actually going to answer me.
She barks instead, leaping off my lap and prancing down the hall. She glances back at me after a few steps, as if she’s waiting for me to come after her.
I get to my feet, unfolding the slip of paper and lowering my gaze to read it.
You gave us Hope. Now, let me give you love.
Hope barks her impatience at my lack of movement, pulling me from pondering what on earth the note could mean. Instead, I follow along in a stupor behind her, wondering what the hell is going on.
Did Mason write that note? What does it mean? Does he forgive me?
I’m walking blindly down the hall when Hope pauses, barking as she looks up at the wall to her left. My eyes move over to where a dog treat sits on the edge of a shelf, but that’s not the only thing unusual about the area. Where there’s normally a framed photograph of Divide Mountain hangs a pixelated picture of a teenage boy and girl, the boy’s arm slung around the girl’s shoulders, her head thrown back in laughter as the boy stares at her, his own smile wide and infectious.
It’s Mason and me. Our senior year.
I immediately recognize the background, those flashy lights and bright colors evident, even in the old photograph.
Nickelcraze. The site of my and Mason’s first official date. The place where we’d spent countless hours when we were teenagers.
My eyes fall down to a simple piece of notebook paper taped beneath the photo, and with a shaky hand, I reach to grab it, absently taking the treat and handing it to Hope as I read.
I remember this day like it was yesterday.
You just beat me for the first time at Wack-A-Mole, and I told you we’d better take a picture to memorialize the occasion because it was sure to be the only time. You talked so much trash that day. I’d never seen you look so happy. I couldn’t take my eyes off you when you laughed like this.
I remember that day as well, how excited I was to finally beat him at something. He was always so good at everything, and I’d been so proud, finally feeling like I measured up to him, even in something as small as a stupid arcade game.
Hope barks again, a little farther down the hall. I see another object stuck to the wall, so I rush to her side, ripping the treat off the table and tossing it to her as my eyes travel up to the next picture.
It’s fuzzy again, clearly taken on a digital camera before digital cameras had any sort of quality. And this time, I can’t recall the day it was taken, though instantly know the location.
I’m sitting on a blanket in my mother’s backyard, my back to the camera, my face visible only in profile. My eyes are closed, my hair billowing out behind me, the smile on my face subtle as the wind wafts over my skin.
I look happy. I look at peace. Something I don’t remember feeling very often when I was that age.
Again, a note is taped beneath it.
I never showed you this picture before because I knew you’d be mad at me for taking it. You hated any picture you hadn’t gotten to prepare for, and even then, we would have to take ten before there was one that you would deem even semi-acceptable. But you were so beautiful that day, sitting and enjoying the sun and the summer breeze. I wasn’t able to resist snapping a picture of you when you weren’t looking. And whenever I was feeling down, I’d look at it to remind myself that I had someone as great as you in my life.
Warmth spreads through me at his words, at the thought that something as simple as a photo of me brought him joy, even all those years ago. He was right. I hated my picture being taken, always needing to fix my hair and my face a million times and even then never being quite satisfied. It wasn’t out of vanity but out of comparison to the o
ther girls I would see pictured with him in our school yearbooks. I always felt so plain compared to those girls. So undeserving of being in the same space as someone as awe-inspiring as Mason.
Hope barks again, and I don’t even bother looking before chasing after her. I skid to a stop when I get to the lobby, my breath catching in my throat when I take in the scene around me.
Dozens of photos are pinned up around the room. Pictures of me from the last few months. Of Mason and me. Hannah and me. Hope and me.
Photos from my life now.
And in the middle of it all stand the two people who make my life worth living.
Mason and Hannah.
Hannah smiles at me when I enter the room, giving me a small wave when she sees me. She bounces on her toes, and I can tell she’s anxious to run to me, to wrap those sweet little arms around me, reminding me of everything I’ve been missing the last few days.
But Mason’s hand on her shoulder stills her antsy feet, though her smile never once leaves her face.
My eyes travel up from Hannah to Mason. I’m desperate to get a read on him, to find out if all this means what I think it means. That he wants to be with me. That he still loves me, even after everything I’ve put him through.
And when my eyes meet his, I nearly collapse to the floor in relief. Because all I see is love shining back at me.
Mason looks around the room, gesturing to the photos around us. “I have so many memories of the two of us in the past. I could spend hours reciting them to you, telling you about all the things I loved about you then, the things I love about you still. And while I still intend to do that someday, this is what I really want you to see. The memories of us now. The way you are with Hannah. I want you to see how much she adores you, how much she’s grown to love you, even in such a short amount of time. I want you to see us. Not just the us of before, but the us we’ve become. I want you to see how happy you’ve made me. How I didn’t even really know how to love, not really, until you came back into my life. You see that man in those pictures?” he says, once again pointing at several of the two of us together.
I nod in assent.
“That’s a man whose smile never truly reached his heart. A man who was content but didn’t really realize how phenomenal life could be. Until you.”
A sob breaks free from my chest, my hand coming up to cover my mouth as I sniff back my tears. “Mason, I—”
He holds up a hand. “I’m not done yet,” he says with a sideways smile.
Clearing his throat, he crosses the room, taking my hands in his when he finally reaches me. My body breathes a sigh of relief at his contact, and the emptiness in my chest begins to fill.
“I put in a call to a good divorce attorney, and things with Stephanie are as good as done. I’m so sorry for the way I handled things, Maddy. I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness. I lied to you, I kept things from you, and I didn’t treat you the way you deserve to be treated. But I promise, if you’ll let me, I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you. So, I might not deserve it, but I’m asking for forgiveness anyway. Because I love you, Maddy Woods. And I can’t live without you. We can’t live without you,” he adds, squeezing my hands tighter to drive home his point.
Unable to stand the space between us, I fling my arms around his shoulders and bury my face against his neck. “I’m so sorry, Mason. I’m so, so sorry.”
He snakes one arm around my waist to press me closer to his body, his other hand coming up to caress my hair. “Shh, you have nothing to be sorry for, Maddy. I’m the one who’s sorry. I’ll never be able to take back what I did,” he says.
I pull back. “No, I understand why you didn’t tell me. I’m the one—”
He shifts his hand from the back of my head, pressing the tips of his fingers to my mouth to cut off my words. “How about we just agree to never fight again?” he says, a smile pulling at the corners of his lips.
I laugh. “I’m not sure that’s entirely realistic. I mean, you do like to hog the pink boa at tea parties.”
Mason grins. “How about this? I’ll let you have the pink boa if you promise to let me wear the red hat.”
An overwhelming sense of love spreads through me. “It’s a deal.”
“In that case,” Mason says, looking back over his shoulder and whistling.
Hannah rushes to us, her face filled with pure joy as she beams up at us.
“It’s time, Daddy?” she asks, stuffing her hands in her skirt pockets and twisting her hips back and forth.
“It’s time, Nana,” Mason says with a nod.
Hannah squeals, her little feet dancing as she pulls one hand out of her pocket. In it is a black object I can’t quite make out.
Mason loosens his hold on my waist, moving a step back and taking Hannah’s other hand in his. “On the count of three.”
“One,” Hannah says.
“Two,” Mason replies.
“Three!” they both shout before falling down to their knees.
No, not knees.
Each of them is kneeling down on one knee, and Hannah’s little hand darts out to show me the black velvet box in her palm.
I gasp, unable to believe what I’m seeing.
“Take it, Maddy!” Hannah urges when I don’t make a move. “Open it.”
Mason reaches out and takes my hand, creating a link between the three of us. “Take it, Mads.”
I use my free hand to take the box, flipping it open. Inside rests a beautiful solitaire diamond ring.
“You’ve already made me the happiest man on earth, Maddy Woods. Will you do me the honor of making me the luckiest as well?”
I tear my eyes away from the ring and look down at the two people I love more than anything in this world. I open my mouth to answer, to tell him that nothing would make me happier than to be his wife, but my words are caught behind a lump of emotion.
“Come on, Dr. Maddy!” Hannah groans at my lack of response. “Will you marry us or what?”
A laugh bursts out of my chest at her impatience, taking the ball of feelings stuck in my throat with it.
I stare down at them, at their clasped hands, at their anxious faces, and I can’t possibly imagine my life any other way.
“Of course I will,” I say on a choke of tears.
Hannah cheers, Hope barks and prances around, and Mason rises to his feet, pulling me flush against his body.
“I hope you know what you just agreed to,” he says as he nods his head toward where Hannah is dancing and singing, “We’re getting married,” at the top of her lungs. “No getting out now.”
I grab his shirt with my fists, pulling him closer. “Bring it on, Cooper. I can’t wait.”
Epilogue
Mason
Three Months Later
“All right, that’s it. Hope’s blood count has been consistently in the fifties for a month now, even without the medication. I think it’s finally safe to say, she’s in remission!” Maddy beams, reaching down and giving Hannah a high-five as she finishes her announcement.
Hannah falls to her knees, throwing her arms around Hope’s neck. “You hear that? You’re finally better!”
Hope barks and jumps to put her paws on Hannah’s shoulders, giving her a wet kiss. Hannah giggles.
“We’re gonna do so much fun stuff!” she shouts, climbing to her feet and skipping from the exam room, Hope following along behind her.
I can hear Hannah’s voice as she lists all the things she and Hope are going to start doing now that she’s been given a clean bill of health, but I tune her out.
Instead, I cross the room and wrap my arms around Maddy’s waist from behind. Pressing a kiss to her neck, I smile as she leans into me, tilting her head to the side to allow me better access.
“Why, Dr. Woods, are you this friendly with all your clients?” I tease, running the scruff of my beard along her skin and loving the way she shudders with her shiver.
“Only the cute ones,” she says, spinning arou
nd in my hold and pressing her lips to mine. “Mr. Rhodes was in here earlier, and you know how I can’t resist a man in uniform,” she says, referring to the eighty-year-old crossing guard at Hannah’s school.
I laugh, kissing her between chuckles. I don’t know what it is about this woman and her lips, but I can’t seem to get enough of their taste. Enough of her.
“Well, as long as he knows that, in three months and twenty-six days, you’ll officially be off the market,” I say with a wink. “No more afternoon delight for Mr. Rhodes after that.”
“Three months and twenty-seven days, if my count is correct,” she observes.
I shake my head. “Nuh-uh. Today is almost over, so it doesn’t count.”
“It’s nine a.m.,” she says with a laugh.
“See? Practically over.”
“You’re such a nerd,” Maddy says before giving me one last kiss. “Now, let me go. I need to get to work.”
I pout out my lower lip as I release her from my hold. “Fine. But just know that I’m never letting you go. And in three months and twenty-six days, it will finally be official.”
Maddy turns and gives me a smile. “You do know that I know when our wedding date is, right? You don’t have to keep reminding me.”
I shrug. “I know. But I have to keep reminding myself that it’s real. That you’re really going to be my wife.”
Her eyes soften, and I think I see a hint of wetness as she looks at me.
“Aww,” she says, crossing the room and pressing another quick kiss to my lips. “You really are sweet when you want to be.”
I grab her hand and pull her back to me as she tries to move. She giggles against my lips, and I kiss her once more.
“You know, you can’t kiss me forever.”
“Watch me,” I say as I take her lips once more.
And I mean it. I would spend every minute of the rest of my life kissing this woman if I could. And I would die a very, very happy man.
She melts into me, allowing me to deepen the kiss for a moment before I feel her finally pull back.