Page 86 of Stuck with Doctor Grump

“Stats?” I snapped, already pulling on gloves.

“Blood pressure plummeting. Irregular rhythm. We think it's congenital.”

My heart pounded, but my hands moved with practiced precision. I looked into the girl’s terrified eyes and forced calm into my voice.

“You’re not alone. I’ve got you.”

The nurses knew better than to question me now. We worked like clockwork. Defibrillator prepped. Oxygen stabilized. I guided the team through a fast diagnostic—symptoms aligned with a rare congenital defect I’d seen only three times in myentire career. But I knew it. I knew it like a scar I’d touched a thousand times.

I slid into position. “She needs pericardiocentesis now or we lose her in ten.”

A younger doctor looked hesitant. “You want to do that here? In a small-town clinic?”

“No,” I said firmly. “I need to do it here. Because we don’t have time to move her.”

And then I was in the zone, everything else falling away—New York, Ruby, the garden, the deadline. It was just me, the needle, and this young life hanging in the balance.

The needle slid in with precision. One breath. Two.

The heart monitor steadied.

I exhaled for the first time in what felt like hours. The girl blinked up at me, dazed, but alive.

I stayed by her side for a while after, watching the steady rise and fall of her chest. Her mother clutched my hand with tear-streaked gratitude, and I accepted the hug without protest.

It wasn’t until the chaos died down that I returned to my office. The job offer still sat on my desk, unopened. But now it felt… unnecessary. Or maybe just outdated.

I glanced again at the photo of Ruby in the paper.

Then I did something I hadn’t done in a long time.

I smiled.

Chapter twenty-three

Ruby

The welcome sign into Cedar Springs had never looked so sweet. Its hand-painted flowers and curling vines greeted me like old friends, and yet… my stomach twisted.

Hazel had gathered half the town at the corner of Main Street and Cedar Avenue. Streamers hung between the lampposts, and someone—I suspected Mrs. Laramie—had made a banner that read: Welcome Back, Bloom Queen! I laughed softly as I climbed out of the car, the air thick with the scent of sugar cookies, lilac, and anticipation.

People swarmed. Hugs. Compliments. A toddler even handed me a crumpled drawing of flowers and a glittery heart that said “Miss Ruby You’re My Favorite.” I pressed it to my chest like it was a trophy.

But I didn’t see Damien.

Not leaning against the garden gate. Not in the crowd. Not waiting with that quiet smile of his that always made my pulse flutter like loose petals in the breeze.

Hazel spotted it instantly—how my eyes searched the sidewalk behind her, flicking toward the empty clinic windows across the street.

“Hey,” she said, pulling me into a hug. “Don’t do that. Don’t let one missing face shrink what you just did.”

I let her hold on a second longer than necessary.

“Is he okay?” I finally asked. My voice was careful, like walking on wet pavement in heels.

Hazel leaned back, brow creased with something that wasn’t quite concern—but wasn’t casual either.

“He’s been off,” she said slowly. “Quiet. Like… in his own head a lot. Comes to town, does his rounds, checks on the garden. But it’s like he’s chasing something he can’t name.”

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