Page 33 of Healed Hearts

“Of course,” he says, tone serious. “For you? Always.”

I nod. Of the two of them, Beck is very much the overprotective type, and I’d rather him not know what’s going on just yet. Hell, I don’t even know if there’s anything going on. I think I’d like for there to be, possibly, but I barely even understand myownfeelings. And that’s not even taking Julian’s into account, if he has any at all, besides taking care of his daughter. “Then yes, please. I’ll talk about it. Eventually. But not right now. Right now, I have to go.”

He crosses the room quickly, pulling me into a tight hug. Ugh, I love him, but if he doesn’t let me go, I’m going to scream. And possibly tackle him on purpose. “I love you, Hold. Be safe. Let me know if you need me.”

I huff an irritated sound that has him chuckling. “I love you too, Ro. But if you don’t let go of me…” I let my voice trail off, the threat unnecessary to voice.

He drops his arms and I turn for the door. His laugh follows me all the way down the driveway. I give zero fucks. He can laugh all he wants. I’ve got somewhere to be.

When I step into Wren’s room, I almost stumble over my feet at the sight that greets me. Julian is sitting on the bed with Wren on his lap, and she’s got him half-covered in stickers. It might be the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.

He catches my eye and smiles at me. “Look who’s here, baby girl,” he says to Wren, who turns to look. Her grin is huge as she climbs off Julian’s lap and slides to the floor, before running across the room and wrapping her arms around my legs. I’ve never seen her so energetic and it makes my heart happy. I hope we can figure out what’s going on soon. But I’ll be damned if I let anyone try to act like this is a folate deficiency.

I lean down to pick her up. “Look at you up and moving around. Do you feel better?” I ask.

She nods. “I throwed up.”

Oh. That’s… “Huh?” I ask.

Julian chuckles. “My guess is it’s because of the way she scarfed her food down in minutes. You weren’t gone for five minutes, and she covered herself, me, and the nurse who had come to check her vitals.”

Guilt makes my stomach sink. “I shouldn’t have brought her that for breakfast. That’s my bad. I’m sorry, Wren.” She cocks her head at me like she doesn’t really understand why I’m apologizing, and of course, she doesn’t. But it’s my fault. I was so excited that she was hungry, and maybe a little eager to get away from Julian and collect myself, that I didn’t even think about it.

“Holden,” Julian says, and I lift my gaze to his. His eyes are warm, sincere, and my God, it sends butterflies through my stomach. “She’s fine. She ate a bunch after barely eating for days. It probably would have happened no matter what it was. Surely you know this and aren’t blaming yourself, Mr. Competent?”

“Mr. Competent?” I ask, not even able to focus on the other stuff becausewhat?

Julian chuckles. “You must know how good you are at your job.”

“Yeah,” Wren echoes, her tiny fingers playing with the neckline of my shirt.

I nod slowly. “Yeah, I mean. I’m not bad. But I still should have gotten her something lighter.”

“Come here,” Julian says, and my feet move without even getting input from my brain. He taps the side of the bed and I sit down with Wren still hanging on me like a little spider monkey. “Thank you for bringing her food. Thank you for fighting for her last night. And thank you for bailing my sorry butt out and helping me keep it together long enough to even make sure she got the help she needed.”

I glance down at Wren, slightly uncomfortable with all the thanks. I was only doing my job. He called for help, like I told him to, and I helped like I said I would. “You’re welcome,” I mumble.

“They’re letting us go home.”

I sigh. “Is Dr. Mays still convinced it’s a folate deficiency?”

“No, actually. They drew a bunch of blood and are going to run some more tests, but they said her something levels were normal and she should be fine to go home.”

I smirk. “Her something levels?”

“Hey, I’m not the nurse here. Clearly. My medical knowledge comes from Doctor Google, and a very competent pediatricnurse recently informed me that’s not a good source of information. I guess I’ll have to keep him around.”

I dart my eyes to his. He’s got a grin on his face, and he’s watching me curiously. Is he flirting with me? A manic laugh is pushing at me and I bite the inside of my cheek to keep it inside where it belongs. I take a breath, trying to gather my wits. “Maybe you should.”

His eyes widen almost imperceptibly. But then he nods. “Yeah, maybe I will. If he wants to be kept around, that is.”

I feel like we’re dancing around something more than just this playful back and forth, but I’m too scared to ask, in case we’re not. Maybe he doesn’t actually like me. It could be that he only wants me around because I’m good at my job and I can help Wren. Which would be okay, I guess. Except the thought makes my stomach hurt. Like I’m no better than I was at sixteen, still being used, but now it’s because of my job and not because of my body.

“Would you maybe… I know you’re going to take us home, but would you wanna stay for dinner tonight?”

It’s ten thirty in the morning, and he’s asking me if I want to stay for dinner? Like he wants me to stay the whole day? I need more information. “You want me to come back later? Like tonight? Or…?”

He gives me a confused look, his face falling a little. “Sure, if that’s what you want to do. Or you can, um, stay through the whole day and go home after dinner, if you want.”

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