Run: Beginnings Read online

  Natalie’s own soft brown eyes creased in gratefulness for her friend’s concern. But she could feel the burn of quickly mounting tears. She tried not to focus on her friend’s glittering wedding ring. The symbol of her friend’s happiness and contentment in love. Something she thought she had had until…until….

  “I think this is the right time for me to try and experiment a little,” Natalie said, a little gruffly as she tried to clear her voice of emotion. “I’m still young enough. Plus, these hips might finally feel at home in the freezing Canadian Rockies than down here by the beach and sand.” Natalie laughed, trying to insert some levity into the conversation.

  Amber snorted. “You’re gorgeous and the sooner you realize it, the sooner Michael will be banging his head against the wall as he sees all the men lining up to take you out. But if you think this is really what you want to do….”

  “It is.”

  “Even though you’ll be so far away from home?”

  “I’ll have a phone and my laptop always.”

  Amber sighed. “And as long as you don’t forget your godmother duties,” she said, rubbing her belly.

  Natalie grinned. She leaned forward and also rubbed her friend’s belly. “I’ll be here bright and early for your baby shower and will spoil your little baby rotten.”

  Amber slowly allowed a reluctant smile to cross her face. “Then I guess we need to go shopping for some winter clothes.” She held Natalie’s eyes for a beat before the two girls dissolved into giggles.

  That night, lying in bed, Natalie had wanted to cry at how touched she had been by her friend’s unwavering support.

  ***

  But regardless of all her bravado, it had been hard adjusting to life in Canada. After flying a thousand miles north from Los Angeles, Natalie had gotten off her plane in Vancouver and had been driven eight hours in the dead of night into a small town that was surrounded by thick woods and mountains. Being from a city, Natalie had never seen so much nature in one place.

  She only met Dr. Cadwell for a few hours. All of his belongings had already been packed and shipped to his family in Nova Scotia. Small and elderly, his stooped little form did nothing to diminish his friendliness. “I trust this practice will be in good hands, Natalie,” he had said as he had enveloped her smooth youthful hands with his large aged ones. Although she had never met the man, Natalie had felt moved that he would trust her with such a legacy. She had smiled and nodded.

  “I will do my best, sir.” And that was the attitude she tried to maintain. Even when she had found the drafty house and the rickety car. Even when she had seen the small clinic, perhaps the tiniest she had ever seen, with its one exam room. Even when she had had her coffee freeze overnight from the poorly insulated windows and doors. She had been tempted to call Amber and to moan about the workload that had been left for her. But she knew that was a slippery slope. It was better to just buckle down and put her nose to the grindstone. And although it was hard to wake up with cold cheeks and frozen coffee, the sheer amount of work pushed her thoughts away from anything that left her homesick or heartbroken. She hardly had time to think about Michael when she had to worry about her car starting in the mornings.

  “Dr. Evers?”

  Natalie looked up from her reverie to see Nurse Evelyn standing outside her office. Dr. Cadwell had opened this clinic nearly sixty years ago and the staff had changed very little since the beginning days. The clinic boasted three nurses and one part time receptionist. All of them were older than Natalie. She could tell upon arrival that they had had their suspicions about the young new doctor.

  Natalie understood their wariness. After all, it wasn’t as if she had been a close relation of Dr. Cadwell’s. She was only in their town because she possessed a medical degree. But as soon as the first patient came in through the doors, the staff quickly realized that despite her youth, she was just as competent as the old doc had ever been.

  The town quickly grew warmer towards the new doctor as well. They appreciated her energy and the new practices she instituted into the clinic, revitalizing the sleep little clinic into something modern and up to date.

  “Yes?” Natalie answered with a smile. She already knew she’d be taking home a pile of charts to finish during dinner. And that was if she could finish refitting the doors before bedtime. She really didn’t want to keep sleeping among layers of sweaters anymore. Natalie hoped Nurse Evelyn didn’t have any more work for her.

  “Anne Michael’s cancelled her appointment and Donald Pritchert rescheduled for next week,” the nurse informed. “And since it’s really pouring right now with only forty minutes till we close the clinic….”

  Natalie immediately pounced on it. It was already so cold with just rain. She knew that once real winter hit, it would start snowing. She had to get as much of the house repaired as possible while also balancing the medical charting that she was trying to move over onto a digital format. “Yes, let’s close for today. No one’s going to risk coming in at this weather.”

  Nurse Evelyn grinned. She winked as she replied, “As you say, Doctor.” The nurse made a move to leave but turned back around. “Oh and Nurse Patty and I had some soup and roast leftover from home last night,” she said, referring to the other middle aged nurse on duty today. “We thought just in case you didn’t feel like cooking tonight, we’d pack it up for you.” The nurse turned away before Natalie could say anything.

  Natalie grinned as she watched Nurse Evelyn walk away. The entire staff knew the condition Dr. Cadwell’s house was in. She hadn’t asked for help and the nurses seemed to sense her determination to settle in all on her own. But even still, Natalie had magically found a packed space heater waiting for her in her office one afternoon and consistently packed foods for her at the end of every shift. Whether she had noticed it or not, Canada was suddenly beginning to feel just a bit more like home.

  Chapter Three

  “Hello. Can I help you?” a low voice asked wryly.

  Natalie quickly tried to brush back her blown hair. It wasn’t raining today but it certainly was gusty! It seemed like Canada wanted to make sure she got a taste of every variation of inconvenient weather. Her long mahogany curls had been blown every which way as she entered the hardware store. Finally managing to scoop her heavy hair away from her eyes, Natalie looked straight up into the devilishly rugged features of Eric Mitchells. “Hello,” Natalie said breathlessly, her eyes wide in surprise.

  She hadn’t forgotten who ran the hardware store but she was surprised to see him this time, up front and behind the counter. And, she realized with an internal moan, this was the second time he had seen her bedraggled by the weather outside. Except this time he caught her looking like a frizzy hedgehog instead of a drowned cat. Quickly, she straightened her coat and pulled back her hair into what she hoped was some kind of semblance of order. She knew it was too far gone to hope for presentability. Just have all the strands going in one direction. That’s all she wanted.

  Eric’s lips twitched as he watched her. Natalie had the sneaking suspicion he could tell what she had been so desperately hoping for as she quickly fingercombed her hair. “Well if it isn’t the little rabbit,” he said with a grin. “What can I do you for today? Feel like rearranging something in my store already?”

  Natalie was again stunned by how this man could elicit the perfect combination of annoyance and absolute devastating heat from her at the same time. Her heart had skipped a beat (as a trained medical professional, she was actually quite sure it had skipped several beats, died, and then had resuscitated itself back to life) and her jeans suddenly felt two sizes too tight between her legs.

  “I’m not little,” Natalie said, saying the first thing she could think of. “I’m a doctor.”

  Eric’s face transformed into a grin, making his face exude a warm masculinity. “I’m pretty sure those two things aren’t mutually exclusive,” he said wryly.

  Natalie sighed and rolled her eyes. “Well, of course everything is
little compared to you. You’re a giant!” she said, intentionally craning her neck in an exaggerated fashion to look up at him.

  Eric threw a hand up as if Natalie had made a brilliant point. “Exactly. Big,” he said in a drawn out tone as if speaking to a child. Eric put a hand flat above his head as if measuring his height. Then he lowered his hand over Natalie’s considerably smaller height. “Little.” Eric’s grin broadened. “Whether you are comparatively little or actually little really doesn’t matter in the end, now does it?” He waited a perfect beat before adding, “Little rabbit.”

  Natalie felt her pulse race. This was flirting, wasn’t it? It had been so long since she had flirted and Natalie had been sure it would be another decade before she’d get a chance again. How could a man so devastatingly gorgeous want to flirt with someone like her? Instead of trying to think up a witty rejoinder, Natalie instead blushed and felt suddenly very awkward. She remembered how distant Michael had been with her towards the end of their relationship and his not so subtle remarks about her weight. She coughed, finding herself unable now to hold eye contact with this playful giant.

  Eric’s eyes narrowed as if noticing the change in Natalie’s demeanor. Straightening himself up, he asked gently, “Looking to pad out your tool belt some more?”

  Natalie nodded jerkily, trying to regain her composure. He was just trying to be nice, for heaven’s sake, Evers! Get a grip! “I think I need some wood to board up some windows till I can get the major renovations done in spring,” she said, hating herself for feeling so shy suddenly but unable to help it.

  She could feel Eric’s gaze probing her. He must think her the oddest person ever. Who comes into a hardware store, knocks over the merchandise, insults the owner’s stocking skills, argues her legitimacy as a doctor, then prances back in to stare awkwardly at genial flirtations? This girl, that’s who. Natalie bit back a sigh.

  Eric nodded. “Do you know the lengths you’ll need?”

  Natalie pulled out a scrap of paper with her measurements. As she reached out to hand it to him, Natalie gasped as Eric suddenly gripped her forearm tightly, jerking her forward. Natalie took a stumbling step as she looked up in shock.

  The mountainous face had darkened in what looked like something akin to anger. His dark brows were furrowed and he stared down intensely at her wrist. Natalie looked down at her own arm, wondering what had so suddenly and dramatically caught his attention.

  “What happened here?” he asked softly, using his large thumb to finger the white bandage wrapped across her wrist.

  Natalie tried to gently tug her arm away but Eric’s grip was tight and steadfast. She was going nowhere. “It’s nothing,” she tried to say lightly, surprised by his reaction to what really was a minor injury. “I was trying to move the bedroom door out of its jamb after unscrewing it and of course, clumsy me trips and falls, taking the door with me. It just landed kinda funny on my wrist is all. Just a little light bruising. Nothing bad.”

  Eric lifted his darkened gaze. She felt her breath freeze under the deep probing of his eyes. That hadn’t been anger darkening his face. It had been concern. He was worried about her. Natalie stood stunned.

  Eric was just as silent. He seemed to be recalculating something in his mind. Did he think less of her because of her clumsiness? But instead of saying anything, he slowly began peeling away the supportive bandage.

  It really was nothing. Nothing had been sprained and or broken. But there was some bruising around the wrist and the swelling hadn’t quite gone down yet. As the last of the bandages of fell away, Eric turned her wrist with a gentleness that was unexpected for someone of his size. Natalie hissed quietly as Eric gently squeezed the sides of her wrist, testing it for tenderness.

  Eric raised a brow. “Nothing bad, huh?” he said, almost in admonishment. “Little rabbit, is no one helping you at all with that house?”

  Natalie tried again to pull her wrist away but with no avail. The heat of his skin sent goosebumps up her arm and down her back. His large hand easily wrapped around her wrist. The touch was far from intimate yet Natalie felt safe and once more, delicate. Small. Sensations Natalie had not felt in a long time, if ever.

  “It’s fine,” she said with a reassuring smile. “I told you, I don’t need help. I just need to get some of the cracks filled until spring comes and I can do the bigger renovations.”

  Eric sighed as if disappointed in her. Natalie’s heart plunged a bit at hearing the sound. She felt ridiculous in thinking she had disappointed a man she hardly knew yet that was exactly how she felt.

  “It’s only a fool who thinks he never needs help,” he said, his rich green eyes pinning her in place just as much as his hand was pinning her wrist. “There’s no shame in asking others for help. And a little rabbit doctor like you should know that. A hospital doesn’t work with doctors alone.”

  Natalie’s cheeks blushed in slightly embarrassment yet she stubbornly refused to think she couldn’t fix up that house on her own. At least until spring. Any kind of construction was dangerous and accidents were bound to happen whether she had help or not. She had made it thus far without help. She could make it the rest of the way.

  Eric lifted her chin with one finger. “I am going up to that house tonight and help assess what needs to be done.” He pushed the finger from her chin to her lips, silencing her protest. “But you’re going to ask me for the help.” His determined gaze was fixed on her.

  Once his finger was removed, Natalie shook her head, trying to pull away for the third time. “I don’t need the help. All I need are those boards. Look I wrote out the lengths that I—”

  Eric raised his brow, a teasing smile played at his lips but his eyes were grave and his tone serious. “I will be going up to that house tonight. That decision has been made. But you are still going to ask me for help.”

  Natalie huffed in frustration. “Well if you’re so hellbent on coming up anyway, why should I ask?” she cried.

  He gave her a faint smile. “Because then the little rabbit will learn that the world will not crumble, the oceans will not split, and the heavens will not fall when she asks for a little help.”

  His words hit Natalie like a bag of bricks.

  It wasn’t just what he said. It was the grave concern of his voice. The genuine care in his face. It was the relentless grip of his hand over her arm, keeping her in place so that she could learn the lesson. Natalie was completely at a loss. She had left Los Angeles by herself. She had walked into that crumbling mess of a house by herself. She had consoled and wept over her broken heart by herself. It was exhausting but the sheer insurmountable levels of work that still needed to be done kept her from dwelling too much on her own pain or needs. And here was this man, holding her arm, telling her that it was okay to let down her load. It was okay to rest. It was okay to ask for help. Her throat knotted up with emotion.

  Seeing her unable to speak, Eric prompted gently, “Say, ‘Eric, will you please help me?’” He gave her an expectant look. “Say it.”

  Natalie felt tears shimmering in her eyes. Who was this man to care about her so deeply? He had only just met her. And yet, his face when he had seen her bruises….A ball of warmth expanded across her body as she felt his concern really wash over her.

  “Eric,” she whispered. She could feel tiny cracks inch across the shield she had put up around her broken heart. “Will you…” The cracks were widening. “Will you please help me?” She felt a tear trail hotly down her cheek.

  A warm and approving smile beamed across Eric’s face. He thumbed away her tear. “Of course. Of course, I will help you.” He winked. “Little rabbit.”

  Natalie let out a small shaky breath.

  For the first time in months, she could feel her heart warmly shining through its cold cracking armor.

  Chapter Four

  Natalie gave her saucepan of green beans a quick stir before opening the oven door to check on her roast. The kitchen was definitely in need of some major updates but
luckily, the essentials still worked, albeit with some additional loud clanking, clunking noises.

  She had made sure to finish up at the clinic quickly, packing away any unfinished work into her bag. She wanted to make it to the small shop to pick up the remaining ingredients for her dinner. Eric had said he’d be stopping by after he closed up his store. He hadn’t mentioned if he’d be grabbing dinner before he came up or not. But just in case, Natalie bought a roast.

  With all the work of moving to a new country, managing a new clinic, and clinging pieces of a crumbling house together, Natalie hadn’t really felt the motivation to cook herself a decent meal in weeks. It was just too much effort. Until tonight, she had been using the same pot to cook simple soups or stews to last her through the week. As she opened the fridge for some of the spring mix salad she had purchased, Natalie giddily hopped back to the counter and her mixing bowl to toss her green bean and cranberry salad.

  Generously tossing in a handful of dried cranberries, she knew deep inside it wasn’t just the joy of cooking that had her smiling like a fool at her salad bowl. She knew it wasn’t just the prospect of having someone come in to actually bear a small measure of the burden the house had become to her. She knew that it was much more than that. An image of Eric’s stormy green eyes, the color of dark ocean water, swept across her mind. She remembered his warm hand, large and strong, wrapped around her wrist. She felt a shiver every time she remembered his flirtatious teasing. Oh yes, she was smiling for a very big reason. She couldn’t yet bring herself to voice it aloud but knowing who it was she was smiling for was enough. Quickly, she tossed the salad together.

  Just as she was turning the oven down low to keep the roast warm till dinner, there was a knock at the door. Natalie jumped up, a bolt of energy zipping down her spine. She quickly finger combed her hair and straightened her large oversized knit sweater. Trying to not let herself get too excited, she opened the door.