Page 80 of Coming Home

Can’t distract supermom.Nat’s brows knitted in mild annoyance. “No. It’s about how we can offer mental health services at the clinic.”

“Oh, you have your determined Nat voice on.”

Nat’s grin couldn’t be contained. “Sure do, because who runs the world?”

“Girls!” Summer cheered.

They sure fucking do!Dr. Nat Owens was in the house, and her prescription pad was ready to take charge.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

“Your father, Jo. He never loses patience, never doubts, or complains, but always hopes and waits so cheerfully that one is ashamed to do otherwise in front of him.”~Louisa May Alcott,Little Women

Nat tapped her leopard print ballet flat against the leg of her office chair, reviewing the grant application for the Clark Foundation. It had been four days since she sat at the Cider House excitedly telling Noah about her idea. Since then, minus the stolen moments with Noah, she’d used her free time to compile everything needed for the application and to develop her plan. The next step was to talk to her parents about it.

Nat picked up her phone from beside her laptop and texted Noah.

Me: Hey Baby.Kissy Face Emoji. If I email you my draft business plan and grant proposal later this week, would you give me your business-god opinion? In exchange, I’ll let you play doctor and I’ll be the patient.Doctor Emoji.

Noah: Hey baby.Winky Face Emoji.Of course, I’ll review it. Also, you don’t have to offer sexual favors for me to help you. I’m your boyfriend, I’ll do it for free.

Me: So, you don’t want to play doctor with me then?

Noah: I didn’t say that…

Giggling, Nat placed her phone back on the desk. She clicked on the foundation’s mission statement to help guide the points she’d make in her proposal and show why her plan fit with the organization’s overall mission to support thriving rural communities. Her Boston friends never understood why she’d wanted to move back to the small farm town where she’d grown up. Boston offered so much, especially for a young doctor. There were ample supplies of hospitals and clinics to work at. Not to mention the many neighborhoods full of restaurants, bars, and clubs for the rare night off versus a downtown with just a few spots open after eight.

Although, two of those spots were owned by her boyfriend, a fact that trumped anything Boston offered. That’s what pulled Nat back to Perry. Yes, here she was seen by so many as the youngest child of Dr. and Mrs. Owens, but the town was filled with her people. In Boston, she was just a nameless face in an ocean of people, but in Perry, she was Nat, Natalie, and to some Dr. Owens.

Here she was a part of the fabric of the community, not just another person drowning under an oversize blanket. Some people adored big cities, but Nat loved her small town and she wanted to support it. To ensure the people in Perry had what they needed not just to survive but to thrive.

“Dr. Owens,” Dad’s gentle voice filtered into her office.

Nat minimized the Clark Foundation’s website and swiveled in the chair to face him. “Dr. Owens.”

Happiness quirked his lips. “I was heading over to the hospital to round with some of our admitted patients duringthe long lunch break. I thought…” He paused, adjusting his red polka dot bow tie.

Nat straightened. Was he inviting her to come? Since she’d returned, he’d primarily rounded at the hospitals without her.

“I thought you’d like to head out for lunch. You usually just eat here and catch up on charting. Remember, it’s important to have balance,” he said.

Nat shook her head. “No.”

Dad’s hand rose to the back of his neck, his eyes squinted in confusion. “I’m sorry?”

“I should be going on hospital rounds with you.” She stood up. She wasn’t sure why, but it felt important to be standing when she said this. “In fact, we should set up a schedule to rotate who goes on the visits.”

If she waited for her parents to treat her like a colleague instead of a daughter, she’d wait forever. For twenty-eight years, she’d only ever been a daughter to them. It was too naïve to think they could just flip the label without some prompting from her.

Nodding, Dad tapped his fingers against the breast pocket of his lab coat. Each tap seemed to consider her suggestion.

“That sounds good. We only have two patients at the county hospital today. How about we visit them for an hour and then grab lunch before coming back? We can discuss the schedule,” he said, slipping his hands into his coat pockets.

Joy slid over her, causing a large smile to spread. “Sounds like a sound plan, Dr. Owens.”

“Why, thank you, Dr. Owens.” He grinned.

They rode to the county hospital in Warsaw, the next town over. Nat couldn’t help but giggle as Dad sang along to Taylor Swift on the radio. He was just as much of a Swiftie as she was. The selfie of them at a T-Swift concert, her in a homemadeShake it Offglittery T-shirt, and Dad, wearing a bow tie with tiny guitars, sat framed on the bedstand in the Little Red Barn.

---