Page 38 of He Saved My Boy
Holy shit. How do I even process everything? This was so not where I thought things would go tonight. I feel honored she trusts me enough to tell me the entire story. It puts a lot of things into perspective.
“Thank you for sharing this, Teagan. I’m sure things haven’t been easy for you, but you are one of the most kind and selfless people I know. I’d give anything to just hug you right now.”
“Same,” she admits. “It’s taken me years of therapy and a lot of hard work to get to where I am today. I have peace knowing Jacob loved me—I never doubted that. I also know he loved Connor without a doubt. He had a huge heart but a weak moment.”
And this—right here, might just be the moment I completely fall in love with Teagan Frost.
It’s beena little over a week since Teagan revealed her truth of how she became a single mom and each day since, we grow closer to one another. With only a few days left until we see each other in person, I hope like hell this connection I feel between us is real and not just a pipe dream we’ve built in this bubble we’ve stayed in.
I keep waiting for the bubble to burst, but with each new hidden facet I find about her, the more I’m intrigued. I’ll admit I’m nervous to see if this is real. For now, I guess I just have to be content with texting each morning and video chatting each evening after Connor’s fast asleep.
So that I don’t royally fuck it up, I’ve spent hours researching how to date a single mom. As a doctor, I deal in numbers and statistics, clinical trials and case studies. Even after reading multiple articles, I’m happy to find my thoughts or beliefs on the matter haven’t changed—as I’ve always thought Connor should come first. Juggling our chaotic schedules could become problematic, but so far, nothing seems out of reach. Patience is key and giving one another grace. But I also know theory and reality are sometimes two different entities.
I could research this until the cows come home, but nothing gives me a concrete path to follow. As self-doubt creeps in, I do what I should’ve done in the first place. Call my brother Damien.
“Whoa… Davy’s calling me, and I didn’t even text first. To what do I owe the honor?”
Yeah, I’m known to never initiate calls. Usually, I’ll text a quick message if I need something answered. I haven’t had a lot of time for chitchat with med school, but everyone knows I’d be there for them in a heartbeat if they ever need anything. They also enjoy being complete asshats and tease me when they can—it’s what we do. A Fallon family tradition, so to say.
I ignore his comment and cut to the chase. “When you met Vanessa, how did you navigate the situation with Jules?”
Vanessa and Damien have been married for about five years. She was a single mom when they met. Julia—or Jules as we call her—had just turned five. Hopefully, he’ll have some sound advice to share with me.
“Well, hello to you, too.” I can hear the smile in his voice as he walks away from the noise on his end of the line. “Give me a sec. I think I need to sit down for this.”
“Sorry if I called at a bad time.” Hell, he has three kids under ten. There’s never a quiet time at his house, especially in the evenings.
But is that a bad thing? He has chaos, laughter, and so much love. As much as I love my single life, I’ll admit seeing each of my siblings fall for their perfect match is kind of awesome all the same.
Maybe someday that will happen to me, too.
“Nah. They’ll survive for a while. Syd and Vince brought Everett and Emery to play with the boys. But Jules and Van have them occupied for the time being. Besides, now I need to know why you’d call and ask such a question.”
Yeah, this is out of the ordinary—even for me. I rarely come to him for advice—especially about women. Mainly because I’ve never stuck around long enough to warrant needing relationship advice with someone because it hardly lasts beyond the bedroom.
“I met a girl…” I start but stop because I don’t know where to start, or how much to reveal.
“Okay, captain obvious. I figured that much out.”
Fuck it. This is Dame; he won’t judge me.
“I actually met Teagan at the B&B in Deacon.”
“Wait, you’re not moving, are you?”
“Hell no. I just landed my dream job, and I’m finally back in Washington.”
“Good… Then explain because I’m confused. Who is Teagan, and why are you suddenly interested in how I handled things with Van and Jules?”
I quickly explain that how, on the day I’d met her, I thought it would be just like any other girl I hook up with on occasion. Of course, I keep some details to myself, but he gets the CliffNotes version of how we met. Right up until I came back from coffee and she was gone.
“Holy shit, that must have been a shock. The roles being reversed and all.”
“Not gonna lie. I was bummed. I thought I’d read the situation all wrong and couldn’t for the life of me figure out where she’d gone. But then I got called into the hospital and had to put her out of my mind. There was a four-year-old who had chipped the end of his elbow off, and he needed my attention more than my ego.”
“Ouch—on both accounts.”
“You’ll never guess who was in the room when I walked in to see my new patient… Teagan, that’s who. Not only was I shocked as hell to see her there, but I had to pretend like I didn’t just spend the entire evening getting to know every inch of her. Of course, I gave her the option of calling in another surgeon, but since I had more experience with this type of surgery, it made sense that I stay on the case. Besides—I could also follow-up as I was moving to Seattle.”
