15. Whatever It Takes
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Brooke
Whatever It Takes
“G ood morning, Ms. Garcia, once you’ve had a chance to get settled could you meet me in my office to start orientation for the new doctor?” Dr. Jones asked by way of greeting with a yell from inside his office. Brooke set her things down in her smaller office next to his at the end of the hall. She hadn’t expected to see him so early, and definitely didn’t know anything about a new doctor.
“What new doctor?” she asked, not bothering to even log into her computer, instead stomping over to stand in the doorway of Dr. Jones’s large corner office.
“I found us a new doctor to train up so I can properly retire this fall.”
“But what about checking credentials, and the interview process?”
“Ms. Garcia, I think my forty years of practicing medicine gives me enough wisdom to conduct an interview. His family has an impeccable reputation around here, and I’ll leave it to you to call his former employer to confirm he wasn’t fired. But I think you’ll find my selection is about as good as they get.”
“His family’s reputation was included on his application?”
But before Dr. Jones could respond, Dalton walked into the hallway wearing blue scrubs, a stethoscope, and looking unbelievably hot. Like a Ken doll that hit the gym hard and turned into a real man.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Good morning, Ms. Garcia, I’m reporting for my first day on duty.” He handed her a few pages of paperwork that read in bold letters Application for Employment . “I filled out those employment forms, all my references are listed, and they’re expecting your call. I assume you’ll have to check. Protocol, right? I attached a copy of my medical license, insurance coverage, and banking info for my paychecks.”
Her mouth opened and closed like a fish. “But you can’t take this job—you don’t live here. You’re not staying.”
“Now I know Dalton’s plans are a little in flux, but when he said he could stay at least a few months, I thought why don’t we hire him on for a probationary period. Having him on board helps us get through the summer, which is always crazy with tourists. And in that time we can either convince him to stay or find a more permanent applicant,” Dr. Jones said with gusto.
“A trial period? But how are we going to convince him to stay if he has no intention of living in Sandy Point?”
“I’ll leave that to you—after all, you’re the administrator,” Dr. Jones said, standing from his desk to usher her and Dalton out of his office. “If you can use your powers of persuasion to get him to stay, all the better. But for now, his probation period starts today. Welcome to Sandy Point Hospital, Dr. Hart.”
Then Dr. Jones closed his door and left them standing in the hallway outside his office.
Dalton started to laugh and crossed his arms. “I’m not supposed to say how cute you are when you’re flustered, that would be unprofessional, but this is priceless,” he said before he stepped away to start popping his head into doorways along the hall. “Should I claim one of these supply closets for an office? I like the one across from you, then you’ll be nearby to answer all my questions.”
Brooke’s stomach flip-flopped as she looked into Dalton’s blue eyes swirling with a playful flirtation, and she didn’t know how to react. So she did an about-face and walked into her own office to get some space away from him. She set the paperwork on her desk, then, with her hands on her hips, she began to pace. But Dalton leaned in her doorway and folded his arms loose over his chest.
“What’s the problem?”
“You can’t work in the hospital for a few months. We don’t even know if you’ll be here for another week.”
“I told Wes I could stay long enough to get our gran’s health issues settled, and I’ve just committed to Sandy Point until at least the end of August.” His smile grew bigger. “So yes, I’ll be here another week.”
She really couldn’t argue with the logic of a probation period, and she knew without calling his references that Dalton was more than qualified. A Navy SEAL with medical school training by the military, one who had worked several years in a busy ER, was more than capable to meet the needs of their small-town hospital. If she was honest with herself, he was probably the ideal person to replace Dr. Jones. She was the one who couldn’t handle it.
Spending time with Dalton only made her think about the young man he’d been when she’d fallen for him the first time, and crave the man he’d become. She’d even started to seriously consider the idea of having a no-strings-attached fling with him. Why shouldn’t she enjoy herself a little this summer? She’d been alone for eight years and never experienced such electric desire for any man before. Her attraction to Tyler had been strong, but Dalton made that seem like a G-rated movie. But now that was off the table if they were going to be working together, which was just as well.
“Brooke, if this is going to be a problem, I don’t have to do this. I honestly thought you’d like the idea of having some help.”
She pushed her less-than-professional thoughts aside.
“Nope, no problem. I’ll print up the contract for you to sign.” She powered up her computer. “Why don’t you go see Nora for the tour and I’ll bring these down.”
Dalton clapped his hands. “Alright. Don’t worry, this is gonna be a fun summer. You might even like having me here,” he said with a charming smile and then walked away.
This was going to be a tough summer, resisting him. But for now she needed to get the paperwork filed before they got busy. There was already an influx of tourists arriving, and in a few weeks’ time school would be out, and both the beach and Main Street would be packed. They did need Dalton, so she just needed to make sure she remembered he was there to help his gran and his brother, not forever.
By late afternoon, they’d already seen double the normal cases for a Monday, and Dalton was moving around the hospital like he’d been there for months. He was a decisive, thoughtful physician, and the staff had welcomed him. He brought positive energy and couldn’t have started on a better day. He’d just finished treating a family for sunstroke and dehydration when her day got worse.
“Incoming,” Nora said, right before Tyler slammed his hand down on the counter with a piece of paper.
“What do you think you’re doing?” he demanded.
So, he’d officially been served by the court order to pay child support. Her lawyer had said the first step was to file the requisite request for child support, then, depending on how Tyler responded, they could take further action.
“Good morning, Mr. Banks. If you can just have a seat in the waiting room while you fill out this form then one of our doctors can see you shortly,” Nora said, setting a clipboard down with the in-take paperwork in front of Tyler.
“I’m not here for medical treatment, thankfully,” Tyler scoffed. “Brooke, what stunt are you trying to pull, coming after me for money? You got your settlement in the divorce. Which you didn’t even earn.”
She forced a smile. “What settlement? You mean when you changed the locks, had strangers box up my things, and delivered them to my parents’ house?” she said through gritted teeth.
“They could have been sent to the trash,” he said.
“Look, I’m at work, so this is an inappropriate place to have this conversation. If you want to talk about it later, my shift is over at five.”
“News flash—I’m not paying child support until you prove he’s mine,” he spat.
But before she could respond, Dalton walked up. “Is there a problem here?”
“Yes, Dr. Hart, this man says he doesn’t require medical attention and he’s harassing our administrator,” Nora said as she shot daggers with her stare at Tyler.
“He was just leaving,” Brooke said, turning toward the exit and hoping Tyler would follow so he could insult her more.
“Oh wow,” Tyler said. “You’re really desperate to get as close to my ex-wife as possible, aren’t you, Hart? So interested in my castoffs. Well, good luck. It turns out she’s just interested in money, and last I checked, you Hart boys are running close to bankruptcy.”
“Maybe if you paid for your responsibilities, you wouldn’t need a court order to make you,” Dalton said in a quiet tone that made him sound so intimidating.
“Alright, enough. Tyler, you have to leave. Dalton, butt out,” Brooke said before storming off and leaving them both behind as she made her way back to her office. She only got through the first set of doors before Dr. Jones spotted her.
“Ah, Brooke, I’d like to talk to you about potentially increasing Dr. Hart’s salary in a few weeks. Sweeten the deal so he’ll stay, but I’m off to go fishing,” Dr. Jones said, not even noticing Brooke clenching her fists.
“Okay, fine, great, have a nice day,” she said before closing her office door and leaning against it. She knew this was going to be hard, she knew Tyler would get mad. So why was she so upset? She grabbed her phone out of her pocket and called the one person she could always talk to.
“So the big Banks man-child was served a bill for not paying child support for the last seven years and his first reaction was to make a scene with witnesses at your place of employment?” May said on speakerphone.
“Yes, and then Dalton tried to defend me, but obviously that didn’t go over well.” Brooke slid her back down the door and sat on the floor in her office.
“Wait, why was Dalton at the hospital again?”
“Ugh, he accepted a temporary position to help out at the hospital for the summer. Dr. Jones thinks he can convince him to stay permanently.”
“Well, well, that man does seem to be trying to stick around town and you.”
“He’s just helping out Wes with their grandmother and then he’ll be gone again.”
“Maybe, but until then I say enjoy his company as much as possible. He’s smoking hot, and it might just be the motivation Tyler needs to stop being a deadbeat. Competition.”
“That’s not a good idea, you should have seen how mad he got. He said he wasn’t going to pay child support until I prove he’s the father.” Her voice hitched.
“That no good piece of… I’m sorry, Brooke, I know that must have hurt.”
She sniffled. “He cheated on me, in our home, in our bed—while I was pregnant—and he has the nerve to accuse me of being promiscuous? He’s the only man I’ve ever slept with, not to mention Max has most of Tyler’s features!”
“He’s the lowest of the low. But you know what, this is how con men act, they pretend to be something they aren’t to lure you in, then ramp up their dirtball behavior. But he will lose in court, Brooke, and he knows it.”
“I just hate putting Max through that test. He’ll ask me why, and what am I supposed to say?”
“Can you just say it’s to confirm his family tree? A cool heritage test.”
“I guess I can try. It’s not lying exactly.”
“Listen, I’ll bring over a bottle of rosé later and we can make a list of all the things you can do with that back child support.”
“Okay. Thanks for listening.”
“Anytime; I love you. And if Tyler shows his face in here, I’ll give him only decaf and add cinnamon to it.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. May knew Tyler was allergic to cinnamon and would get blotchy red marks all over his face if he ingested it.
“Thanks. Bye.”
Brooke wiped at her face then texted Declan, Tyler got served and made a scene at the hospital. He’s demanding the paternity test.
Declan responded right away. I’m sorry you had to go through that. I’ll put in the order, the nurse will call you. We have to have it done through a special office that follows specific protocol.
Okay , she texted back. She set her phone down, then rested her head back on the door. But a second later there was a light tap.
“Hey, Brooke, can I come in for a second?”
“No, I’m on my break. Just ask Nora if you need help.”
“It’s not that. I wanted to say I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have interrupted earlier.”
“No, you shouldn’t have. I know you just want to help, but it’s not helping,” she said through the door.
“Can you please open up? I can’t tell how mad you are, so I’m not sure if this is like a small bouquet of flowers or flowers and a big stuffed teddy bear apology, or if it requires something bigger, in which case I have no idea what to get.”
She couldn’t help but laugh and scooted to the side of the door and opened it.
“Oh, so this is like a yoga session to find our Zen again apology, I got it. I’m bendy,” he said, closing the door and sitting down next to her where there was just enough room for his legs to stretch out under her desk. “I’m really sorry. I promise I’ll try much harder not to say anything to Tyler the next time he’s being himself.”
“Well, that will pretty much eliminate any chance of you ever talking to him again.”
Dalton laughed. “I’m really good with that.”
“We better get back down there, any minute now there’ll be a mad dash of patients with sunburns or some freak accident.” She put her hand down to stand but it landed on top of his, their fingers intertwining together.
“I take it that things did not end on any kind of an amicable note with Tyler, but does he really not believe Max is his? I feel like it’s pretty obvious.”
His hand was strong and enveloped hers, and the way he rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand was both comforting and enticing.
“It was like I ruined his plan to just cast me aside when I got pregnant.”
“Pretty sure that takes two.”
“Yah, we weren’t trying, and I didn’t tell him I was pregnant until after he’d filed for divorce. So he started to say I was trying to trap him. The worst part is, I was actually also upset when I found out I was pregnant. I mean, the man I’d married had turned out to be a cheating liar, and now I’d be tied to him forever.”
He brought her hand into his lap and both of his hands held hers. “That’s understandable, and it doesn’t reflect on how much you love Max. That just proves how badly Tyler treated you.”
“I would say I never should have married him, but then I wouldn’t have Max.”
Dalton nodded. “No regrets, Brooke—they don’t help, and I agree Max is worth more than his weight in gold or one terrible ex-husband. But you don’t have to put up with how he’s speaking to you now. Can’t Declan file a restraining order or something?”
“He did mention he could if things got contentious, but with Tyler’s fortune he could really drag out this process.”
“Then you’ve got nothing to lose. I would think the courts are pretty firm on a man paying his share if he fathers a child, and I know a local cop who would be happy to enforce any restraining orders.”
She smiled and looked over at him. “Thanks.”
“I’m guessing you’re not really interested in getting any help from men, but if you do need anything, I hope you’ll at least consider calling me.”
“My dad is usually my go-to, but thank you. Now we really better get back to work or Nora will start to wonder what’s happened to us.”
Before she could act he slid his body up the back of the door and then took both her hands to help her stand, bringing her body close to his in the already small space. His hand lifted and he pushed a strand of hair back that had slipped from her ponytail, his thumb grazing her cheek. Neither of them said a word. If she had to guess, he was thinking about the last time they were alone in his truck. And when his eyes fell to her lips, she almost gave in to her own desire to experience their heat again. But she already had so much drama going on in her life. She didn’t need any more, even if Dalton felt like exactly what she wanted.
*
The rest of the week was a weird mix of being busy at work and trying not to obsess about how attracted she was to Dalton. She argued with herself about whether she should or should not act on those feelings and what the repercussions would be, while at the same time being paranoid about the next time she would run into Tyler or if he’d left town. She took Max for the paternity test and he was more interested in going to the train museum after than asking about why the nurse had swabbed his inner cheek and taken a sample of his blood. But then, on Saturday—her first day off and chance to sleep in—was interrupted by a knock at her door before eight in the morning.
“I’ll get it,” Max yelled.
“No you will not, young man. Never answer the door unless you know exactly who is knocking,” Brooke said, catching him before he unlocked the door. But before she could look through the peephole, she heard Declan speak.
“Hey, Brooke, it’s just me. I’ve got an update.”
She opened the door to find Declan and his two twins in tow.
“Hey, guys, you’re just in time for pancakes, so come on in.”
Declan’s twins were five and adorable handfuls. Their mom had died from complications during childbirth at the city hospital. Declan had been raising them with the help of his family, but then last year his mother passed away too. But he was the strong, stoic type. Brooke had never seen him have a bad day, and he ran his family law firm out of an office in his home. So he was making it work like most single parents do.
“You don’t have to feed us, we have ninja class in thirty minutes, but I wanted to bring you some good news.
“I asked the lab to rush the results, and they confirmed what we all knew.” He looked over at his twins digging into Max’s basket of toys and turned his back to the kids. “The judge will review the results along with our submission. And I think we hit the lottery.”
“We did?”
“Yes. This particular judge does not take kindly to people dodging their responsibilities. It’s very likely you’ll receive the back pay with interest.”
“Wow. That’s a lot. I really just thought I wanted to get the monthly payments to start; I hadn’t thought about the backpay.”
Declan took a look at the kids. “There is also the family trust.”
“What trust?”
“Well, I had a visitor yesterday who mentioned that there’s a family trust which specifically states any legitimate heirs must receive a portion.”
“A visitor that knew I had filed for child support?” Brooke asked, finding it hard to hide her shock.
“Yes, and they asked that I keep their visit confidential, but I wanted to speak to you first about pursuing the trust. Technically it’s Max’s birthright too.”
“I don’t know. I feel like that will send Tyler into a rage.”
Declan stood straighter. “That can be managed with the law if needed.”
“I just don’t want this to hurt Max.”
Declan nodded. “Think about it, and in the meantime, perhaps speak with a financial advisor on how best to handle a large sum of money. The judge will likely give him very little time to transfer funds.”
She took a deep breath. “Okay, yah, I’ll talk to someone.”
“Just remember that the law is on your side as far as Max’s inheritance and what you are owed to care for him.”
She nodded. “It just seems so strange, but doing it on my own is so much harder than I expected. This money will afford me more time with him.”
“You never need to justify to anyone why you expect his father to contribute to his well-being,” Declan said.
“Thanks, Declan.”
“Hey, no problem. I’m happy to be able to help you and will gladly sue Tyler Banks for you anytime.”
She laughed. “I have a feeling you’re enjoying this.”
“You would be right.” He smiled and then faced the kids. “Owen and Gray, we gotta go. Max, we’ll see you at the ballfield later.”
“See you there!” Max called.
Once Declan and the kids were gone, Brooke wondered if she was doing the right thing. But she couldn’t resist the chance to work less and spend more time with Max. She was playing the part of Mom and Dad, and she just needed to remember that the courts decided the amounts required to pay in child support. Tyler’s family owned half of Sandy Point, had a financial firm in Atlanta, a family estate and tennis club outside of town, and it was rumored that they were trying to buy the Hart family pier. They were worth millions, maybe even more.
If she had to guess it was Miles who had visited Declan and told him about the trust, but why would Miles volunteer that information if it was going to cut into his inheritance too?