by Chloe Lang
The three dads said in unison. “We all are.”
“Paris, you are the greatest doctor in the whole world. Thank you. Thank you.”
“And you’re the best new mommy, Amber, but I hope you and your husbands will keep me being a doctor between us. I don’t want anyone else to know.”
“Does your father know?” Bryant asked.
“Not even him. Mum’s the word.”
“Whatever you say, Doc,” Emmett said, smiling broadly.
Paris watched the sweet family oohing and ahhing over their new son. “Have you picked out a name for your boy?”
“We agreed to name him after our two dads, Paris.” Cody kissed his son. “Hello, Richard Trevor Stone. Welcome to the world.”
Emmett and Bryant cheered.
Amber cried. “This is our son. Our little boy.”
Paris cleaned up Amber and little Richard Stone, stopping to examine the small bundle of joy. His APGAR score was perfect. This is so rewarding.
Since her internship, this was the first time she’d practiced medicine. Amber was her first patient.
Could Dustin be right? Should I start using my medical degree and begin practicing medicine? The responsibility of life and death was overwhelming to her.
“Your baby is doing great, and you’re all set here,” she told the Stones. “I’m going to go see if Dustin needs a hand with Ethel. If you need anything at all, just press the buzzer. I will only be a few steps away.”
“Thank you, Paris.” Amber kissed little Richard Trevor. “Thank you so much. I’ll never forget this.”
Her three husbands nodded in agreement.
“None of us will,” Bryant added. “Thank you.”
She smiled, leaving the happy family alone. She walked into the room where Dustin had taken Ethel, who was conscious.
“Doc, I’m just a klutz.” Ethel laughed. “That’s all this is. I lost my balance and fell. I’m not as young as I used to be.”
He grinned. “You’re just trying to convince me to release you, Ethel, aren’t you? Not happening. I’m going to keep you at least overnight.”
“Need any help?” Paris asked.
Ethel’s eyes landed on her. “Paris. Thank goodness you’re here. Will you please talk some sense into Doc? I’m perfectly fine. Just a little accident, that’s all. He needs to let me go home.”
Katy giggled. “She’s been like this since she woke up. How’s the baby? We heard the sweet cry.”
“He and mother are doing wonderful. He came into the world at ten thirty-two weighing eight pounds one ounce and at twenty and a half inches long. Quite the little cowboy.”
“He better be.” Ethel’s eyes welled up and she smiled. “Especially with his three cowboy dads.” She turned to Dustin. “When Patrick and Sam get back from their meal, I want you to release me.”
“How did you get them to leave?” Paris knew how those two could be.
“I didn’t.” Dustin pointed to Ethel. “She did.”
“They hadn’t eaten all day. I knew they needed their strength. Once they knew Doc had everything under control, I sent them away.” Ethel’s eyes narrowed, fixing on Dustin. “So now you have to let me go, Doc. I have to go and get a present for that baby.”
Paris shook her head. “Hold on, Ethel. You know Dustin is the best doctor in the state. You need to listen to him.”
Dustin turned to her, and in the sweetest tone he’d used in years to her said, “Thanks, Paris. Thanks for delivering the baby when I couldn’t. I knew you would be great. I had every confidence in you.”
Her heart skipped a couple of beats. Just when I’d made up my mind to leave, he starts being nice. “Any idea what caused this other than Ethel’s self-diagnosis of clumsiness?”
“That’s what it was, Paris.” Ethel’s feistiness was back in force. “Two left feet. Seriously. It will be a waste of time to run any more tests.”
“You better leave that to Doc, sweetie.” Paris looked at the monitors. Ethel’s blood pressure was a little low, but the rest of her vitals seemed normal.
“I suspect hypokalemia caused her to pass out, Paris,” Dustin said.
“That sounds terrifying,” Ethel said. “What is it?”
Paris touched her shoulder. “Nothing serious. Just low potassium.”
The dear lady sighed. “That’s a relief.”
“I’m still waiting on the results of her blood test,” Dustin said. “Ian had a flat tire, so was late getting in, but we should hear from him shortly.”
Ian Blue, one of the distant cousins of Shane, Corey, and Phoebe, ran the lab at the clinic.
She looked at Ethel. “What have you had to drink today?”
“You know me. I have to have my coffee.”
“What about water?”
“Don’t like water. Just take a sip in order to take my pills in the morning.”
“Mmm. What about yesterday? What did you drink and what did you do?”
“Drink? Same thing. Coffee, my liquid of choice. What did I do? Let me think. My two husbands and I went up to our little ranch. We worked on the barn. The outside has needed to be painted for some time. We would’ve finished today, but we heard that Amber was having contractions and decided to stay close by.”
Paris never ceased to be amazed at how tough the trio of eighty-plus year olds were. The O’Learys were destined to live to over a hundred each, no doubt. “So you worked outside all day yesterday?”
“Yes, but even when it’s hot I still like to drink my coffee.”
Ian came in. “Doc, I’ve got the results you asked for.”
Dustin took the file.
“Hello, Ian,” Ethel said. “How are your parents?”
“They’re doing great, Judge. Still loving retirement. They’re up in Canada at the moment on a three-week fishing trip. But more importantly, how are you?”
“I’ll be much better when I’m out of here. Maybe you can help me out.”
Ian smiled and shook his head. “Doc is in charge, ma’am. Not me.”
Ethel laughed. “What a cop-out, young man.”
Dustin looked up from the file. “You may not like what I have to tell you, Ethel, but it’s for your own good.”
“I suppose I should be a better patient, Doc. You did fix me up after I got shot. You do know what you’re doing. Okay, spill it. What’s the verdict?”
“Turns out you do have low potassium. I am going to keep you overnight. I’ll let you go in the morning.”
“Fine. I give up. What caused this?”
“Paris was asking you about your water intake for a reason. Dehydration is a cause. I’m sure you, Sam, and Patrick were overdoing it yesterday, painting your barn.”
“So, I suppose you want me to drink more water?”
“Yes. You can take care of this on your own without medications. I want you to eat bananas, tomatoes, oranges, cantaloupe, and peaches. All of them have potassium.”
“I can do that.”
“The one thing you won’t like is that I want you to limit yourself to one cup of coffee a day, followed by eight ounces of water.”
Ethel frowned. “One cup? Now you’re getting too personal. Why do I have to limit my coffee?”
“Coffee is only a problem if overdone. Consuming five hundred or more milligrams of caffeine a day, which is only three to five cups of coffee, puts you at risk for dehydration. For the next couple of weeks I want you to follow my instructions. We’ll get you back in and test your potassium level. If it’s good, I might let you have two cups a day.”
“Doc, I’m surprised at how generous you are being with me.” Ethel stuck out her tongue. “Not.” Then she giggled like a woman half her age.
Everyone laughed, relieved Ethel was doing so well.
“Ethel, I’m with you on needing my coffee in the morning,” Katy said. “I switched to a caffeine-free substitute when I started getting the jitters. Have you ever tried Postum?”
“Oh, honey, that’s been aro
und since before you were ever born. Yes, thank you for reminding me. I haven’t had it in years. Where are those men of mine? They should’ve been back by now.”
Paris loved how strong Ethel was. She was an example for all women to follow. “I’m going to check back on Amber first, and then I’ll go find Sam and Patrick.”
Dustin turned to her. “I’d like to talk to you in my office later, okay?”
She’d forgotten that Mick had told him about the proposal. Oh God. “Sure thing.”
* * * *
The clock above the receptionist’s desk showed the time. 11:11 p.m.
Mick stood as Paris came through the double doors.
The entire crowd turned her direction, waiting to hear the news.
“Amber gave birth to a beautiful baby boy,” Paris announced.
As everyone cheered, he walked next to her, placing his arm around her shoulders. “How is Ethel?”
“She’s doing great.” Paris turned to Sam and Patrick, who were sitting in the chairs closest to the double doors. “She’s wondering why you didn’t come back.”
Ethel’s husbands stood.
Sam shrugged. “We weren’t sure we were allowed to return without Doc’s permission.”
“Did you eat?” Paris smiled. “She was worried you wouldn’t.”
“We had some potato chips and some sodas from the machine,” Patrick said.
“Not quite the meal she was expecting you to get, but I suppose it will have to do.”
Dustin entered the room the same way Paris had and headed directly their way. “Fellas, I want to keep Ethel overnight.”
Sam asked, “What happened, Doc?”
“Just a case of low potassium.”
Mick listened as his brother gave the rest of his diagnosis and plan of treatment to Sam and Patrick. They seemed relieved that Ethel’s situation wasn’t serious.
Patrick sighed. “I’ve told her and told her about drinking that coffee.”
“It’s okay for her to drink some, Patrick, but not like she was.” Dustin’s eyes kept landing on Paris.
He’s obviously trying to wrap his head around me proposing to her.
Sam nodded. “Whatever you say, Doc. We’ll make sure Ethel follows every one of your instructions. My baby is going to take it easy for the next few days, that’s for sure.”
“Quite the task, but we’ll make sure it’s done if we have to tie her down to a chair.”
Paris smiled. “Let me take you back to her, gentlemen.”
Dustin grabbed both her hands, which shocked Mick and obviously also Paris, as her cheeks turned a bright red. His brother immediately released her and stepped back. “After you take them to Ethel, I want to see you in my office. We need to go over some paperwork together about the delivery of the Stone baby, okay?”
“Of course.” Paris led the O’Leary brothers through the double doors.
Mick wondered if there was more to Dustin’s request than just clinic business. Before he could get a chance to ask Dustin if he was right, Kelly came up.
“Doctor, we have another patient for you tonight. The guy is having stomach problems.”
“Where is he?”
She turned to the seat where the bearded man had been most of the night. It was empty.
“He’s gone,” she said. “Maybe he started feeling better.”
“Who was it?”
“No one from around here,” Mick told him. “I heard him telling someone he was scouting for land to purchase for an investor.”
“Did you catch his name?”
Mick shook his head.
“Did he fill out any paperwork, Kelly?”
“Yes, it’s on his chair.”
Dustin went over to the chair and retrieved the pages. “Except for his name, the rest is blank. His name is Karl Lemmon. I guess if he starts feeling bad he’ll come back. Call me if he does.”
Kelly nodded and returned to her desk.
The waiting room began to clear out.
Mick turned to his brother. “How are you doing?”
“As good as can be expected, Mick, given what you told me earlier.”
His gut tightened. The last thing he ever wanted to do was hurt Dustin. “I don’t know what to say.”
“I think you’ve said it all. I don’t blame you. Not one bit. But it doesn’t make this any easier for me, Mick.”
“I know.”
“Did you ask her?”
“Yes.”
“And what did she say?”
Is Dustin having a change of heart? “She hasn’t answered me yet.”
Dustin sighed. “We need to talk, but first I want to talk to Paris myself.”
Mick felt a glimmer of hope return. “Sure. I completely understand. Talk to her. I still believe the three of us are meant to start a family together.”
“Maybe. I’m exhausted and have a lot to think about. I’m going to have Katy cancel all my appointments tomorrow. How about you and I meet for lunch?”
“Of course.”
Dustin walked back through the double doors.
Don’t fuck up with her, bro.
Chapter Ten
Paris walked into Dustin’s office, expecting to find him behind his desk deep in paperwork. But he wasn’t behind his desk and there wasn’t any paperwork in sight. A single folder sat in the center of his desk beside his phone. And Dustin was pacing.
Pacing?
She’d never seen him do that before. This must be about Mick’s proposal.
“I’m here as requested, Doctor.”
Dustin turned to her and smiled. “Let’s sit on the sofa. I need to talk to you.”
The black leather sofa was more loveseat than sofa. It had two tables that framed it, each with a lamp, which her father had given him as gifts when Dustin had taken over the practice.
“Yes. Let’s talk.” Her heart was racing, guessing at what he wanted to discuss.
He sat down next to her, so close, so very close, and took hold of her hand, sending a spark up her arm and through her body.
She gazed into his gray eyes, full of intensity. “Dustin, I realize you’ve talked to Mick and know what he’s asked me. I haven’t said ‘yes’ to him yet.”
“‘Yet’ being the key word.” He let out a long, sad breath, which broke her heart. Obviously, knowing Mick was willing to marry her without him had shaken Dustin. “Just hear me out, baby.”
He called me “baby.” “Okay.”
“I’ve been a complete ass, Paris, but I’ve had my reasons. The way you handled yourself tonight delivering Amber’s baby was incredible. You really would make a great doctor.”
She pulled her hand free of his. “Not this again.”
“No. Not again.” He grabbed both her hands. “I really feel I’m correct about your talents, but now I know it’s your decision.”
What if he’s right? Her mind flashed back to the delivery room when the Stone’s baby, Richard Trevor Stone, entered the world. She’d been a part of that miracle. Amber and her three husbands had been so grateful. I’ll never forget it.
Dustin continued. “Medical school would be a cakewalk for you, sweetheart.”
She swallowed hard, hating that she’d kept silent about something so important for so long. She’d gone to medical school on the sly. She had her reasons, but none of them seemed to make sense to her right now. “There’s something I need to tell you about that. But it’s hard for me to say.”
Her plan had been that once she finished her first semester and proved herself, she would come clean to him and Mick and everyone else. Her first semester had come and gone. She’d aced her classes. But she hadn’t been brave enough to let anyone know. So, she’d modified her plan. She would tell them the next semester. Another semester passed. And another. And the secret stayed in place all the way through her residency.
“Wait. I’m not going to push you anymore, honey.” He squeezed her hands lightly, and she felt warmth flood her body.
&nb
sp; Deep down, she knew how kind and tender he could be, like now. God, can I really tell him?
Concealing what she was doing from those back home became easier and easier. She was busy. They were far away. She dove into her studies. She could have told her dad during one of her trips back home to spend Christmas with him, but she hadn’t. The more time passed withholding the truth about what she was doing, the more difficult it became to confess. After she’d gotten her medical degree and passed Nevada’s licensing test, she’d written a long letter to Dustin and Mick. But she’d never sent it. How could she after being silent so long?
Open your mouth, Paris, and tell him, damn it.
Dustin moved his hand to her shoulder. “Sweetheart, I can tell you’re struggling. Don’t.”
“But—”
“It’s okay. I get it now. You’re an amazing nurse. If you’re really happy, then that’s all that matters.” He reached up and touched her cheek. “Just promise me one thing.”
“What?”
“Don’t take that job in Nevada. I’m sure they want to put you in charge of the entire nursing staff, and there’s no doubt you could handle it. But don’t go.”
“Dustin, I need to tell you—”
“Wait, baby. Let me finish. Please hold off on giving an answer to Mick’s proposal. Give me a chance to prove I’ve changed.”
“I can’t believe this, Dustin.” She closed her eyes, agonizing over whether to trust him or not. “I want to believe you’ve changed. I really do, but how can I? Mick proposes and you suddenly have a complete turnaround concerning my career?” She opened her eyes and leaned back, trembling from emotions. “This is what I’ve always wanted. But should I really believe you?”
“Trust me, Paris. More than anything I want you. I’ve always wanted you. That’s never changed. I only came on strong because deep down I thought you really wanted to be a doctor but were too afraid to pursue it.”
Oh God, how do I tell him?
Dustin leaned in so very close, his lips less than an inch from hers. “When you didn’t come back to Destiny for so long, I thought I’d lost you forever. The day you walked into my office and asked for a job in the practice, I believed in us again. But my old habits returned. I started pushing and pushing to get you to consider medical school. I’ve been an ass, baby. You and Mick have been right all along. I’m the one to blame for us remaining apart.”