Chapter 38
38
T aking a deep breath, Mason opened the door to his truck when his phone buzzed. He glanced down at a text from Carley.
"I made it to the office! Go me."
He chuckled and texted her back.
"Good for you. I made it to the hospital."
"Look at us go!"
A smiley face then another text.
"Have a fantastic day."
"You too, beautiful."
He climbed from his truck and strode to the front door of the hospital. As he stepped inside, Dr. Walker Borders stood at the opening with a grin on his face. "Welcome, Mason. I'm thrilled you're here."
Dr. Borders held his hand out and Mason gripped it tightly and shook. "Thank you. I'm happy to be here."
Dr. Borders turned. "Follow me and I'll show you to your office and introduce you to your nursing staff."
After that, the day was a whirlwind of meeting people, shaking hands, learning computer systems, hospital procedures, and where everything was located. He found himself in the wrong department twice, and this was a small hospital. Everyone was friendly and pointed him in the right direction. Carley texted regularly, wishing him well. She was safe, she loved him and she couldn't wait to see him.
He couldn't wait to see her. She was hopefully going to love her surprise.
By one-thirty, he sauntered out to his truck, eager to see Carley and happy he'd made the decision to go back to medicine. The smells didn't seem to bother him anymore, not all of them anyway. A couple of times, he'd whiffed the anesthesia gases in passing, and that made his stomach turn a bit.
He climbed into his truck and tapped the phone button on his steering wheel to call Bear. The phone rang only twice, and he pulled from his parking space and headed toward home.
"Hey, there. I've been waiting for your call."
Mason chuckled. "Yeah. I'm headed home."
"I'm on my way."
“Are we all good?"
"Yep. All good."
"Great. See you soon." He navigated the fork in the road to the right to head home, a smile on his face. Hopefully, this was the right thing to do.
His stomach twisted a bit as he second-guessed himself all day, but Bear pulled in behind him in the driveway, and there was no changing his mind now. Carley wasn't home yet, which was good. He wanted a bit of time to set up her surprise.
Pulling into the garage, he waited as Bear hopped from his SUV. Mason met him by his vehicle and shook his hand. "Nice to see you, buddy, how are you?"
They hugged and Bear chuckled. "I'm doing well. I've been excited all day for this."
"Not as excited as I've been."
"Are you nervous?"
Mason took a deep breath. "Yes, and then again, no. It's been a roller coaster of emotions today. It was my first day at work and Carley's first day back to work. We've been through a lot the past few weeks."
"Yeah, you sure have. I've been reading some of the newspaper articles about it. Both of you shot on the same day in separate incidents. What the ever-loving hell, man?"
Mason nodded. "It can't get much weirder than that."
Bear shook his head. "Well, let's get set up."
"I have everything in the truck. Help me carry it all in."
Mason and Bear set up Carley's surprise. He was ecstatic and hoped she'd be as well.
Bear stood. "Okay, I'm out of here. Documentation is in the folder here." He handed the folder over. "Keep in touch and I want to know all about it later today."
Mason chuckled. "I'll let you know."
Bear glanced down at Carley's gifts and shook his head. "She's a lucky woman."
Mason's cheeks heated and he shook his head. "I'm the lucky one. Honestly."
Bear slapped him on the back and Mason chuckled.
He closed the garage door behind Bear, then hurried to the bedroom to change his clothes. Just as he pulled his shirt over his head, the garage door opened. She was right on time.
He sauntered out to the kitchen and waited for Carley to walk into the house. The instant she stepped inside, he handed her a glass of champagne. "Congratulations on your first day back."
"Oh, that's so sweet." Before they tapped their glasses together, she said, "Here's to your first day of work, Dr. Thompson."
He chuckled and they tapped their glasses and took a sip of their champagne. He kissed her lips, softly at first, then deeper. He'd have been happy to continue, but there were other things to shower her with.
He stepped back and took her hand. "Follow me."
She giggled. "I've been so excited all day."
He chuckled. "Me too."
He led her to the sofa. "Take a seat, please."
"Okay."
She settled into the sofa, still moving stiffly so as not to cause pain. She sat and stared up into his eyes, a huge smile on her face. He stared a moment. "I always want you as happy as you are right now."
"I want you happy too."
He grinned. "Stay right where you are. I'll be right back."
He exited the living room and stepped into the first bedroom to the right of the hallway. He opened the kennel door and a little fur ball bounded out of her kennel and out the door. Luckily, she turned in the right direction and Mason followed her as quickly as he could.
Carley stared at him a smile still on her face, not seeing the little bundle on the floor. He pointed down and her mouth fell open.
"A puppy!"
Mason grinned. "She's a purebred German Shepherd."
"Ohh...Mason." She slid from the sofa to the floor and the little ball of fur ran to her and climbed in her lap. Mason knelt down in front of them, laughing as Carley laughed. The puppy jumped and licked at Carley's face, her hands, and her legs. She climbed in her lap and tried climbing up her torso. She was a bundle of energy. He hoped this wasn't a mistake.
"Oh, Mason this is fantastic. I'd thought about it, but...I had no idea you'd gotten one."
"Well, I have a friend who is a breeder. He brought her down today."
"Oh, my God. She's simply adorable."
Mason laughed. "She sure is."
Carley scratched the puppy's back and tried getting her to settle long enough to really look at her. Mason's stomach was a ball of knots as he waited for the perfect moment to finish his surprise.
Finally, the pup settled slightly, and Carley looked at the tag on her red collar. "Read it out loud," he said.
She started reading it. "Will you marry..." Her breath caught and her eyes darted to his. He was on bended knee as he stared at her. "Will you marry us?"
She swallowed and tears flowed instantly down her cheeks. "Mason..."
He held a ring in his hand and swallowed. "Will you marry me, Carley Page?"
"Yes." She sniffed. "Yes, I'll marry you. Absolutely, I'll marry you!"