Chapter 29
One month later . . .
Rowan checked his pocket again. He was worried that the engagement ring he’d gotten Nell somehow disappeared in the last ten seconds.
If he didn’t calm down, he’d ruin the surprise.
The surprise included dinner out at Port, a fancy restaurant by the water in Charleston.
Then a carriage ride around town until they reached the Charleston Pineapple Fountain in Waterfront Park.
There he’d get down on one knee and ask her to marry him.
It had been a busy month and he’d loved every moment of it.
All of it felt so natural. Nellie had moved into his house, and for once, he couldn’t wait to get home from work.
Work felt so much better. He was really working with a team now and found that not only was he supporting them, but they were providing support to him as well.
It was still hard when he lost a patient.
Instead of handling it alone, they now discussed it as a team and then Rowan even had Nellie at home to help him process the loss.
Rowan would tell Nellie about the child and the parents.
Equally important, the same was true for those he saved.
His team celebrated with the parents with balloons and cookies, and then he and Nell would celebrate with a glass of wine.
Nellie had been busy too. She’d been working hard with the school administration and the teachers. She was all ready for school to start next month.
Jamie and Tally were thriving. Sue Ellen had shielded them from the arrest of their father and grandfather, who had been disbarred and impeached.
Ingram and Graham were living together at Graham’s house under house arrest until their trial at the end of the year.
However, Bex had told them that it looked likely they would be taking a plea deal.
A deal that would render them bankrupt as they had to pay back victims and the government.
Sue Ellen and Gator were blissfully happy, even through the mess and bother of house renovations.
It had to be a sign they were meant to be.
Gator’s parents had been to Shadows Landing for another visit, this time bringing Gator’s younger brother.
Their family was healing and growing. Gator’s parents, now known as Mimi and Papa, had dived headfirst into being grandparents.
They spoiled Jamie and Tally endlessly with their time and attention. Same with all the Townsends.
And tonight was the night Rowan was going to ask Nellie to marry him.
“I am so sorry,” Nellie said, hurrying down the hall.
She looked beautiful in a sky-blue silk slip dress that matched her eyes.
“I just got a call from Bex. She needs me to sign a statement against the Fausts. She said she can meet us at WET so we don’t have to go all the way to the FBI office. It’ll take two minutes, tops.”
Rowan nodded as he took in the time. Yeah, they had the time for that before his reservation. “Sure, let’s go.”
Nellie talked about her work at the school and how it had been going, educating the teachers as to when to refer a student to see her.
Before too long, Rowan was pulling up to WET. He was slightly surprised to see the balloons out front with somewhat childish decorations. “Is my brother hosting a children’s party at his nightclub?”
Nellie shrugged. “Don’t know. But will you come with me?”
“Of course,” Rowan told her. He turned off the car and walked around it to open her door.
Instead of the pounding dance music he was used to hearing, soft, almost background music was playing when he opened the door. He could hear people talking as they entered the club. What he wasn’t expecting was the giggles and happy shrieks of children.
“My brother is hosting a kid’s birthday? Can’t wait . . .” Rowan paused as a child ran by him. He frowned. Why did that child look familiar?
Rowan looked again as two more children ran by, giggling. They had to be around six years old and were waving glow sticks with streamers. One he didn’t recognize, but he would have sworn he knew the other.
Rowan looked up from the open dance floor that the kids were playing on and to the tables where adults chatted happily. His eyes roamed over the faces that were a lot more recognizable to him.
“Ladies, gentlemen, and adorable children!” Rowan turned to see that while he’d been trying to figure out why some of the kids looked familiar, Nellie had taken the microphone from Wilder up on the stage.
“Thank you so much for responding to my wild idea. I’m Nellie Katherine Hale, Dr. Rowan Townsend’s girlfriend.
I came up with this idea because everyone in this room is connected through Dr. Townsend.
I know he’d love to hear how you’re doing, and I hope that it’s beneficial for you, as parents, to meet others who have been through what you have.
And most importantly,” Nell said with a smile as she looked at the kids, “the kids are finding new friends. Now, help me welcome the very surprised man of the hour, Dr. Rowan Townsend.”
The place erupted in adult cheers, clapping, and childish screams of joy. It all clicked into place. The people, the children, they were all his patients.
“Surprise,” Kenzie and Jen called out with Dr. Patel, Rowan’s team, and most of the nurses he worked with.
“What is going on?” Rowan asked, his voice tight with emotion as his entire family joined him. “Penelope!”
His youngest sister hugged him as Nellie joined them. Rowan wanted to introduce them, but a couple with what looked to be a ten-year-old boy and a four-year-old girl approached hesitantly. It wasn’t the parents who gave away the identity of the boy. It was the stuffed animal he held.
“Twiggy,” Rowan said as tears threatened. “Brayden, Mr. and Mrs. Niles. It’s good to see you again. Wow, Brayden, you’ve grown these past five years.”
“He never would have without you,” Mrs. Niles, the mother of Rowan’s first patient, said as she threw her arms around Rowan and hugged him tight. “You’re the only reason he’s with us and the only reason our daughter has the best big brother.”
“I remember you,” Brayden said to him. “You gave me a nap and I woke up with Twiggy. My parents told me you’re the reason I’m .
. . well, that I’m alive. They told me no other doctor would do the surgery.
So, I wanted to bring Twiggy and give him to you as a thank you.
Maybe he can help other children when they need to take naps. ”
Brayden handed over the toy and Rowan couldn’t stop the tears then. He dropped to his knees as he took the toy and hugged Brayden. “I’m only part of the reason you’re alive. You and your parents are the other part.”
“Bray had eighteen months of chemo, but he’s been cancer-free for three years,” Mr. Niles told him.
“What do you like to do for fun, Brayden?” Nellie asked, similarly kneeling.
“I play hockey and I watch out for my little sister.”
Damon held out his fist for a fist bump. “That’s very important. I still look out after mine.” Penelope rolled her eyes as Mr. and Mrs. Niles laughed.
“Brayden!” Another boy yelled, racing up to him. “Do you know who is here? Stone Townsend!” The boy pointed to Stone who was behind Rowan with the rest of the family.
“No way!” Brayden shouted. “Stone Townsend! What are you doing here?”
Stone stepped forward and placed a hand on Rowan’s shoulder. “I’m here to support my brother, Dr. Townsend, like you support your sister, Brayden.”
“Whoa,” both boys said with big eyes.
“Dr. Townsend, you’re even cooler now,” Brayden told him before asking Stone for a picture.
“Dr. Townsend,” another mother said, joining them. “You probably don’t recognize my son. You operated on him when he was five years old. He was stage four then, bald, and nothing but skin and bones.”
“Jamal Henderson,” Rowan said with wonder at the now vibrant ten-year-old boy talking to Stone.
Mrs. Henderson smiled and nodded. “He was bleeding internally. You saved him. You bought him the time he needed for a bone marrow transplant. He’s now cancer-free and thriving.
Turns out, he’s on Brayden’s hockey team.
It was only after the boys were talking about missing a teammate’s birthday back in Boston for a party in South Carolina, that we discovered the connection. ”
Rowan couldn’t believe it as he looked around the room.
There were children, some he recognized as patients from only three months ago to five years ago, all ranging in age from toddlers to some who were now in college.
They were all here because of him. Slowly, parents and children all approached him to introduce themselves.
Nellie asked each child what they were into now.
His patients had turned into athletes, scholars, gamers, and most importantly, all of them were able to be there for their childhood.
“Dr. Townsend?”
Rowan looked into the eyes of the parents he’d had to tell that their daughter didn’t make it. They wore a picture of her on a pin. “Mr. and Mrs. Robertson.”
Mr. Robertson cleared his throat. “We had to come from Massachusetts to thank you.”
“Thank me? But I didn’t save Emma.”
“No,” Mr. Robertson agreed, “but you fought for her. You fought to save her and then your testimony put that son of a bitch in jail for life.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t thank you at the time,” Mrs. Robertson told him. “I was too distraught, but you gave our Emma a voice in court. You gave her justice so that she could rest in peace.”
Mrs. Robertson hugged him tightly. When she released him, she smiled and motioned for someone to join them. “This is my mother,” she said, introducing them before taking the sleeping newborn from her arms. “And this is our son, Noah Rowan Robertson.”
Rowan couldn’t speak. He was too overcome with emotion.
But then Nellie was there beside him. Her hand was resting on his back as she leaned forward and smiled at the baby.
“He’s adorable. Thank you so much for coming such a long way to share Noah and your journey with us.
I can guarantee it means a lot to Rowan. ”
Rowan could only nod as tears streamed down his face.
“Would you hold him? We’d love a picture of you two together,” Mrs. Robertson asked.
“It would be an honor.” Rowan held out his arms and looked down at Noah. They smiled for pictures and chatted a little longer until Jen approached with another two couples.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but this is Mr. and Mrs. Arnold and Mr. and Mrs. Lopez. Both families lost their child. I thought you all might want to meet,” Jen told the group.
Rowan remembered both. One was a fire while they slept.
The burns were too extensive, but he’d tried to save him nonetheless.
The other was a hit-and-run while their son had been outside playing basketball.
Rowan, much to his surprise, was met with gratitude and not anger.
He’d tried when they’d been told other surgeons wouldn’t.
He’d given them peace— knowing that everything humanly possible had been done to try to save their children. There were no “what ifs” remaining.
After talking to Rowan for several minutes, the couples naturally congregated together. He watched as they showed each other pictures, as families from Massachusetts and South Carolina bonded.
“How do you feel?” Nell asked him once they had a moment alone.
“Amazed. Humbled. Amazed at these lives, amazed at the resilience, amazed at the love, and amazed at you for putting this together. Thank you, Nell. I think you just gave me a lifetime of happiness. There’s only one thing that could make it better.”
“What?” Nell asked, looking around as if she had forgotten something.
“For you to continue to stand by my side, not as my girlfriend, but as my wife.” Rowan dropped to one knee.
Several parents and older kids gasped. “I had planned on asking you to be my wife tonight before you surprised me with the greatest gift you could have ever given me,” Rowan looked around at the large group now watching him.
“That all of you could have given me. But you’re so much more than that.
You’re my heart, my soul, my love, my partner, and my best friend.
Nellie Katherine Hale, will you marry me and let me spend the rest of my life showing you just how special you are? ”