Chapter 39
Hannah
Dr. Sterling Cleared. We Always Knew.
The board has spoken, and it’s official. The complaint against Dr. Zachary Sterling has been dismissed. Fraudulent, as it turns out. The suspension that had this town talking for weeks? Gone. His record? Clean.
Speaking of things Pulse Point can’t stop talking about—Teresa and Christos’s win is still talk of the town, and now we’ve got another reason to celebrate.
Those of you who spent weeks speculating about Miss Morgan’s role in all of this might want to revisit your theories. From where we’re standing, the only thing Hannah Morgan is guilty of is recovering exceptionally well and having excellent taste in physicians.
Dr. Sterling is back where he belongs.
And Pulse Point is very glad to have him.
Dr. Whisperer
It’s my last day in Pulse Point, and I’m packing up the Airbnb with Brooke. We fold clothes into our suitcases, and I try not to think too hard about how strange it feels to pack away two months of my life into one suitcase.
Brooke smooths out a sweater before dropping it into the suitcase, her eyes tracking me.
Ever since the cabin trip, things have shifted.
She knows Zac and I slept together, and instead of teasing me about the thin cabin walls, she just gave me a fierce, protective hug when we got back to town.
She’s flying back to LA with me today, and I’m incredibly grateful I don’t have to face the flight alone.
There’s a knock at the door.
I know it’s him before I even open it.
Zac stands on the porch, hands in his pockets, looking nervous in a way I’ve never seen him before. He’s wearing jeans, a khaki Henley, and his neatly styled hair is unusually messy.
“Hi,” he says, his gaze instantly locking onto mine before he steps forward and kisses me.
“Hi.” I step aside, and he follows me to the living room, where my luggage sits on the sofa.
Brooke looks up from my suitcase, offering Zac a warm smile.
“Hey, Zac. Perfect timing. I was just about to go grab us some drinks from down the street before we head to the airport. I’ll be back in a few.
” She gives my shoulder a supportive squeeze as she passes, leaving the Airbnb to give us the privacy we desperately need.
Once the door clicks shut behind her, Zac looks around the now-tidy space. “So, you’re leaving.” It’s not a question.
“Yeah. Seems so.” I sit on the arm of the sofa. He stays standing, his broad shoulders tense.
“I’m cleared. Official as of this morning.”
“Zac.” I stand and cross to him, relief crashing through me so hard my knees feel weak. “That’s incredible. I’m so happy for you.”
“Yeah.” He lets out a long breath, like he can’t believe it’s real yet. “Sharice handled it exactly the way she said she would. Old me would’ve made a scene out of it. New me let the paperwork do the talking instead.”
I laugh softly, looking up at him. “Look at you. Growth looks good on you.”
“Don’t get used to it,” he says, but a slow smile breaks out across his face.
“What about your dad? Did things settle after everything?”
“We talked about everything. The legacy stuff, why I left, what I assumed he wanted from me versus what he actually wanted.”
“That’s good.”
“It didn’t fix everything overnight. But it’s a start.”
I smile. “I’m glad.”
He grabs my hand, weaving his fingers through mine. “There’s a position open at Hope Town. My dad’s hospital. He offered it to me. No strings attached, he said.”
I straighten in eager interest, my heart skipping a beat. “Are you taking it?”
“No. I thought about it. But it’s not what I want. I love it here. I got the senior position on my own, and Peltz being a problem doesn’t change that the hospital itself, the work that’s mine. I’m not running from it just because I finally have an excuse to.”
Relief and anticipation twist tightly in my chest. “So what does that mean for us?”
“It means I’m not moving to Hope Town, and you’re going back to LA, and neither of us has a clear answer yet.
” He squeezes my hand, his thumb rubbing soothing circles over my knuckles.
“But I’m not letting this be it, either.
I want to figure out the distance. I’ll fly out to you whenever I can.
You come back when you can. See where it goes.
” His eyes search mine. “I’m not in a place to make promises about moving across the country yet.
I just got my career back. But I know I don’t want to lose this. I don’t want to lose you.”
The internal panic within me just drops away. He wants to find a way to make this work, and so do I.
“I’d rather have you be honest with me than make some big promise that neither of us can actually keep yet.”
“Yeah?”
“Mmhmm.” I step into his space, resting my forehead against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. “We’ll figure it out as we go.”
He presses a kiss to the top of my head, holding me tight.
“I should finish packing,” I whisper against his shirt, though I don’t make any move to pull away.
“I know.” He doesn’t let go either.
By the time Brooke returns with our drinks, the heavy tension in the room has melted into something hopeful. She helps us zip the final case, keeping us laughing with random complaints about TSA lines.
When it’s time to go, Zac takes my suitcase out to the car, completely refusing to let me touch it, even though my ankle has been fully cleared for over a week now. Brooke slides into the back seat, giving Zac one last moment together.
Zac takes the driver’s seat, and I sit in the passenger side, watching my Airbnb disappear through the window as we pull away from the curb.
At the airport gates, the three of us stand in a small circle. Brooke gives Zac a brief, firm hug. “Take care of yourself, Zac,” she says before pulling her own suitcase toward the security line. “I’ll go get our boarding passes printed and give you two a second.”
Zac pulls me into a crushing hug, his mouth pressing against my temple. “This isn’t goodbye,” he murmurs, his voice thick with emotion. “Just see you soon.”
“See you soon.” I pull back enough to look into his eyes. “I love you.”
“I love you too, honey.”
With my heart ready to jump out of my chest and run back to him, I turn and walk toward the terminal to join Brooke for our flight home. I don’t cry because this isn’t the end. It’s just the start of figuring out what comes next.