Page 6 of Moore to Love

“Welcome to the team, Eloise.”

“Please call me Ellie,” she requested.

“And I’m Finn. Only the patients call me Dr. Moore,” I explained.

“When would you like me to start, Finn?”

“Does tomorrow work for you?” I was only half joking, but the panicked look in her eyes had me adding, “If not, that’s no problem. We’re ready for you whenever you figure out your schedule.”

“Okay, phew. I can definitely do that.” She flashed me a shy smile. “I’ll talk to the kids tonight and double-check to make sure I don’t have any big assignments or tests due. If all goes well, my first day could be Friday if that works for you. That way, I’ll have the weekend to smooth over any issues with the kids if the transition doesn’t go well. Not that I’m expecting there to be a problem since they’ll both be at school while I’m here. But at their age, you never can tell how they’re going to react to change, no matter how small.”

I appreciated how she put her children first, no matter the circumstances. “You’re a good mom.”

She shrugged off my compliment. “Yeah, well, they make it easy because they’re such great kids.”

“Hopefully, I’ll get to meet them one day.”

Little did I know that day was going to come a whole lot sooner than either of us expected.

4

ELLIE

Iwas half a mile from the elementary school when I heard a thump from the front of my car, followed by the vibration of the wheel beneath my hands. Then the sound changed to an unmistakable flapping that let me know one of my tires had gone flat.

“You have to be freaking kidding me,” I muttered as I carefully steered the car toward the side of the road.

“Freaking,” Madison chirped from the back seat.

So much for hoping I’d been quiet enough for little ears not to hear me. I needed to be more careful since my daughter was at the stage where she repeated anything even remotely bad that she heard.

Twisting around in my seat with a sigh, I met her smiling gaze. “That’s not something you should repeat, sweetie. It’s an adult word.”

“Fine,” she huffed, her shoulders slumping.

“What’s wrong, Mommy?” Benjamin asked, his brows drawing together. “Why aren’t we going anymore?”

“I need to check, but I think there’s a problem with one of the tires,” I explained as I unbuckled my seat belt. “Keep an eye on your sister for me. Make sure she doesn’t wriggle out of her car seat to try to come out and help me.”

Madison giggled, pulling her hands away from the buckle that she’d already been tugging at. “I no gonna.”

“You better not, sweetie.” I wagged my finger at her. “Or else you’re going to get all the time-outs and no dessert.”

Her lips curved down in an adorable pout. “I no like time-out.”

“And you love vanilla ice cream with sprinkles, which was what we’re having after dinner tonight. So keep that in mind while I check on the tire,” I warned.

Benjamin beamed a sweet smile at me. “I gots her, Mommy.”

I leaned forward to give his brown hair a quick ruffle and then blew kisses at both of my babies. “It won’t take me long. I’ll be right back.”

I twisted back around and flung my car door open, cringing at the squeak it made. Although my ex was forced by the court to pay me child support and alimony, I hadn’t wanted to spend money on a new car until I found a job and wouldn’t have to dip into my meager savings account for the monthly payments. If more than just a tire needed to be repaired or replaced, at least I was working at the animal clinic now…assuming I didn’t get fired for being late on my first day.

Rounding the front of my car, my shoulders slumped when I spotted the fully deflated tire on the passenger side. Driving any farther on it was out of the question since it would damage the wheel, so any hope I had of this being taken care of quickly was gone.

I took several deep breaths as I walked back to the curb and along the side of my car to open the door on Benjamin’s side. “Sorry, kiddos. I’m not going to be able to drive you the rest of the way to school.”

“Dat’s okay, Mommy.” Madison leaned forward so she could smile at me. “Daddy can do it.”

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