Page 38 of Mistletoe Dreams
"No. I have a few people lined up to help me, and I know this isprobably crazy, but Mason's been such a huge help in the medical center. Of course, he's not doing anything with the patients, but he's just been really fantastic at picking up any slack he possibly can, and I really think he's going to have a great bedside manner as well."
It warmed his heart to hear the praise about his son and to realize that he seemed to have turned a corner and was maybe no longer in danger of falling in with the wrong crowd.
After swallowing, Hannah continued. "Regardless, Terry was a little bit early, and we did have some appointments this week. Things should slow down next week, and we might even have lulls in time because all we'll have are the emergency cases. Sometimes we go an entire day with only two or three people walking in."
"Wow. All right, I won't worry about you as much then, knowing that."
"You don't need to worry about me. I could've told you that earlier. We have been scheduling things so that she could take time off without it being an inconvenience to everyone in the community. We just were a little bit off on the timing. Babies come when they want to."
"I suppose they do." He hadn't thought about babies for a long time, and while he had really wanted more children and Peyton had been adamant about saying no to that, he hadn't considered adding to his family for years.
"Do you want children?" he asked, and then could've bitten his tongue. This was a first date, and even at that, Hannah had had a hard time even calling it a date. And here he was, asking her if she wanted children.
But if he scared her, she didn’t let on. "I never had before. I guess if I thought about kids, they were something I wanted way off in the future, but I told you about the whole mindset shift I've gone through lately, and... yes. I definitely want kids. I want the warm home, the happy family, the love and laughter and all the good things." She rolled her eyes. "Even though I know that it's not allsugar and roses all the time. I'm not naive like that. I just... I want a family."
"I think that's a good thing. I think a lot of times families take a backseat to everything else. For years I wanted siblings for Mason, and Peyton wasn't interested."
"What about now?" she asked, and she held her fork midair, waiting on his answer.
"With the right person, yes. It definitely has to be the right person, because I tried this before with the wrong person, and it's heartbreaking and messy, and the ones that suffer are the kids."
"I definitely agree with you on that—that's who suffers the most, although I think the adults suffer as well. So... what does the right person look like?"
"Don't panic, but I think she looks an awful lot like you."
Chapter Eighteen
Hannah could barely breathe.
Her heart felt like it was pounding and about to run out of the diner, but her lungs just wouldn't work.
It was crazy. When had her whole life dream changed? She had wanted to become a famous and competent doctor, renowned for her skill and ability, but now, living here in this little town of Mistletoe Meadows, the one thing she wanted more than anything else was to be with Ben forever.
"I think I scared you," he said, and while his voice had tones of laughter, there was concern in his gaze.
"No. I was just thinking about how far everything has shifted for me. I couldn't think of anything that I want more. Suddenly my dream is not about becoming a wonderful doctor. It's about becoming something with you, here, in this crazy small town."
"Kind of grows on you, doesn't it?" he said, and she looked down to see his hand covering hers on the table. She stared at the picture for a while, his fingers longer and thicker than hers, which were more delicate and fit perfectlyinside of his.
"What about Mason?" she asked, reality pushing its way into the dream state that she somehow had fallen into.
"I definitely want to talk to him, but my mom said something the other night that made me think."
"What was that?" she asked, curious.
"She said life isn't as long as what you think it is."
He let the words hang there, and she thought about them for a moment.
"I guess I can see that. We always think there'll be time later. We can put things off, but... that's probably not the best idea. And I'm definitely guilty of that. I put all the personal things that a person could possibly want to do aside as I pursued my medical degree and then my career."
"So I guess what I was saying about that—Mason needs to be on board, but I wasn't going to wait forever for him, you know? That's not fair to you, and it's not right. It's not a good idea in life. You don't know how much time you have. And it's probably not as long as you think."
"I agree. But I also agree that Mason's already been through a good bit, and I don't want anything with you and I to set him back at all, since he seems like he's coming around."
"Because of you. You're the one who suggested he work at the medical center, and that's made all the difference."
"You're spending more time with him," she offered.
