Renee Ryan - Claiming the Doctor's Heart

Ryder glanced at Connor before answering, “Sure is.”

The other doctor smiled down at Megan. The gesture wiped away the tension on his face and relaxed his features, reminding Connor of the man’s younger sister. All the Scotts looked alike, but this one favored Olivia the most, right down to the blue-blue eyes, the color of the Colorado sky.

Connor had been thinking a lot about Olivia since their unexpected reunion this morning. Hard not to, since his daughters had chattered nonstop about her all the way home from the park.

She’d certainly made an impression on them.

The image of Olivia’s eyes crinkling around the edges when she smiled at them still hovered in the back of his mind.

“Hey, kiddo.” Ryder tugged on Megan’s ponytail, the only hairstyle Connor had mastered in his four years of solo parenting. “No need for tears. Your housekeeper’s going to live. She just busted up her knee.”

Connor tried not to groan at the description. “How badly busted up are we talking?”

“Broken kneecap, torn ACL. The orthopedic surgeon is with her now. He’s suggesting immediate surgery.”

Translation: months of recovery time.

The girls’ summer break had barely begun. Connor stuffed his phone back in his pocket. “I’d like to see her now.”

Ryder hooked a thumb over his left shoulder. “Third room on the left.”

“Be right back.” He stayed only long enough to determine how Carlotta was feeling, promise he’d take care of any medical bills not covered by insurance and assure her she had a job when her knee healed.

As soon as he and the girls arrived home from the hospital, Connor went to work on his child-care dilemma. He made the first call to his sister Avery a recent college grad home for a few months before she started medical school in the fall.

She answered on the second ring. “Hey, bro. What’s up?”

After he explained the situation, she clicked her tongue in sympathy. “Ouch, poor Carlotta. Tell me what I can do to help.”

“Can you watch the girls tomorrow?”

“I can watch them all summer if necessary.”

“It won’t come to that.” He glanced out into the backyard. The twins were attempting to run off the puppy’s seemingly never-ending energy. Good luck with that.

“I mean it, Connor.”

“I know, Avery, and I appreciate it.” He tightened his hold on the phone. “But I promised you experience in the office before you start medical school, and I’m going to keep my word.”

Resolved to find a solution that would work for everyone, he ended the call.

Closing his eyes, he wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. He was suddenly bone-tired, as if the long, endless days he’d endured since Sheila’s death were finally catching up with him.

He missed his wife, missed her company and the deep, abiding friendship they’d shared since the third grade. Four years since her death, he was past the worst of his grief and moving on with his life. Some days were easier than others; most were just hard work.

He would tackle this latest problem as he did all the others. One detail at a time. He spent the rest of the night either on the phone or waiting for someone to return his call.

Unfortunately, he arrived at his office the next day with his child-care problem still unresolved. Connor would not rely solely on his sister. He would figure out another solution.

His mind on several options, he headed toward the east wing of the building where he had his personal office space. He stepped across the threshold and...

Stopped cold.

Olivia Scott stood beside his desk, seemingly absorbed with the task of writing on a piece of paper beneath her hand.

Connor’s heart took a quick, hard thump. Ethan’s sister looked like summer in a pair of white jeans, a fancy blue top and high-heeled sandals.

His mind went momentarily blank. “Olivia?”

She looked up and smiled. “Oh, Connor. Hi. I was just leaving you a note. Guess I don’t have to now.” She lifted the piece of paper beneath her fingertips, then tossed it in the trash.

She shifted a step closer. Her scent, a pleasant mix of lavender and vanilla, was very female and more than a little distracting. “Aren’t you going to ask me why I’m here?”

“Okay...” He angled his head, swallowed. “Why are you here?” He swallowed again. “And why were you leaving me a note?”

Leaning back against his desk, she rested her hands on either side of her. “I have a proposition for you.”

He simply stared at her, uncertain how to respond to that.

“I heard your housekeeper injured her knee yesterday.” Her gaze turned somber. “Ryder told me about the accident when he came home last night.”

Ah.

“I figure this probably puts you in a bind when it comes to child care for your daughters this summer.”

“It does.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “My sister is helping out for now. But I need to find a more permanent solution, at least until Carlotta’s knee heals.”

Olivia’s pretty smile returned. “That’s where I come in.”

He waited for the rest.

Her smile brightened even more. “I know the perfect person to watch your girls this summer.”

He tried to focus on her words, not on the fact that his heartbeat had picked up speed, or that he experienced a flash of insight, as if he were on the verge of something life-changing. “Who did you have in mind?”

“Me.”

Chapter Three

For the second time since entering his office, Connor found himself rendered speechless. Had Olivia just offered to watch his daughters for the entire summer?

He swept his gaze over her face, measuring, gauging. The teasing light had fled from her eyes, replaced by a look of unmistakable sincerity. There was also a twinge of excitement he didn’t understand.

There had to be something he was missing.

“Don’t you already have a job? In...” He tried to remember what she’d studied in college. Surely Ethan had told him. Marketing? Finance? “Banking?”

She glanced away a moment and sighed. “That’s right. For a number of years I helped failing companies with debt consolidation and financial restructuring.”

“Impressive.”

She shrugged. “Mostly just a lot of number crunching.”

“I’m sure there’s more to it than that.” He ran a thriving medical practice. He had a good idea what it took to keep afloat in a tight economy.

“Anyway, I’m not doing that anymore. I’m looking into other options for the future. In the meantime, I’m free to help you out.”

“Are you saying you’re unemployed?”

“I’m saying I’m in Village Green while I consider my next career move.” She didn’t expand. Nor, Connor noted, had she addressed his question directly.

Could this meeting get any more confusing?

Her smile flashed again, quick and devastating. That smile, it made him think of silver linings at the end of a long, dark day.

“This is a God thing, you know, my being available to watch your daughters like this.”

Connor had no comment. He’d given up on God years ago. Or, more accurately, God had given up on him. It hadn’t mattered that he’d prayed nonstop for his wife’s return to health. Not only had she not gotten better; Sheila had died slowly, painfully. Even his efforts to provide her comfort at the end had failed.

He did his best raising the twins on his own. But Molly and Megan needed a woman in their lives, one who would love them as much as Sheila did. That’s why he’d started dating, though he wasn’t really in the game, merely attempting to take the first step. A lunch every now and then when he had time, which was hardly ever.

Olivia moved closer, the sound of her heels on the wood floor breaking through his thoughts. “I’ll take excellent care of your girls.”