Page 14 of The Only Heart that Matters
“Yer, all good, Mama,” he says, from atop Angus’s shoulders.
He can’t quite get his full name out, so Yer it is for now. We’re working on it.
“You didn’t leave your interview early, did you?”
“No, it was pretty much over, anyway.”
My body shakes from the cold as we walk toward the truck. He holds on to Sawyer’s legs with one hand and pulls his key fob out of his pocket with the other. He presses a button, and the truck comes to life.
“How’d it go?” he asks, opening the truck door. Reaching inside, he grabs my coat and holds it open for me while I slip it on. With Sawyer still beaming from his shoulders, Angus bends his knees and zips my coat up like it’s the most normal thing in the world.
“Uh, it went great.” I nearly forgot he had asked me about my interview after his chivalrous gesture.
“Told you it would. Now hop in and get warmed up. I’ll strap this little monster into his seat.”
Sawyer roars like a monster and we both laugh.
“Get in,” he whispers, opening the door. His face is relaxed. Happy. He hasn’t looked like this since we were kids. All it took was forty-five minutes with Sawyer.
Oh, my heart.
After hopping in the passenger seat, I turn around to see if he needs help with the car seat, but he’s a quick study, because he’s almost done, whereas I don’t even have my seat belt on yet.
Getting settled, I try to think of how to tell him what Dr. Gibbons assumed and how she hadn’t let me correct her. I feel so incredibly stupid. And a small, self-conscious part of me wonders if the doctor would have treated me differently if she knew I was a single mom. I need this job and I don’t want her to think less of me. But I don’t want to accept it under false pretenses, either. Besides, I have to come clean. What if she or my coworkers run into him in town or something? He is a business owner, it could happen.
He jumps into the driver’s seat and turns up the heat, rubbing his hands together and holding them in front of the heater vents.
“Thanks forhanging outwith him. I owe you one.” I’m gonna owe him a lot when he finds out what just happened during my interview.
“You don’t owe me a thing. I had a blast.” He looks at me with a soft smile that reaches his eyes. “You’re a wonderful mom, Mia. He’s a great kid.”
My eyes instantly water. His compliment about my parenting hitting me right in the feels. There’s no way he’ll ever know how much his kind words mean to me.
“Thanks.” I glance over my shoulder and notice that Sawyer’s face is rosy from the cold, but he’s grinning and content as can be. “I did hit the lottery with him, didn’t I?”
“I’d say you both hit the jackpot. Now, tell me everything.”
“Well, it went great. After the interview, they showed me around and it’s beautiful. Everything is brand new and all the tools are the latest and greatest. It’s a phenomenal clinic. It would be a dream to work there.”
“And could you tell if they were into you?” He wags his eyebrows.
“Yes, I think so. I mean, she did say...” Mia, just rip the band-aid off! “That she thought my family would be a perfect fit.”
My cheeks burn with embarrassment.
“Your family?”
“This is so embarrassing, but she thought you were my husband and Sawyer’s dad.”
Chapter Seven
Angus
“I’m sorry, say that again.”
“I am so sorry, Gus. She saw you drop me off, then she saw the two of you playing in the snow. She assumed and never really gave me the chance to correct her.”
Mia’s talking a mile a minute, but I let her go. Savoring the moment because it’s fucking adorable.
