Unexpected Inheritance

7

"Really?"

"Yeah. She saw how much work needed to be done, how much I was doing for them, and figured I might as well just take over."

Ben tilted his head. "And?"

She scoffed. "Hell no."

Ben blinked, caught off guard. "I was expecting you to say you missed hospital work."

Miranda shook her head. "Nope. If anything, this whole experience has affirmed my choice to be a family doctor in a private clinic. I like my patients. I like my schedule. I like having time for my son and, well..." she hesitated before giving him a look, "other things."

Ben smirked. "Other things, huh?"

She rolled her eyes but smiled. "Point is, I put in my time in a hospital. I did my years of running on fumes, spending nights in the OR, barely having a life outside of work. I don't want that anymore. I like this life. I chose it for a reason."

"So that's it? You're officially a small-town doc for good?"

"I'd say so."

"Then I guess this town got real lucky...but I got luckier"

She barely had a second to process his words before his lips were on hers, warm and sure, pulling her in. She melted into him, her fingers curling against his chest. The kiss deepened, slow and intoxicating.

Then her phone rang.

She groaned against his lips but reached for it anyway, seeing Tucker flash across the screen.

She sighed and answered. "What?"

Tucker's voice came through the line, tight with irritation. "Why am I just now hearing that my son got hurt?"

Miranda pulled back, her whole mood shifting. "Tuck told you?"

"Yeah, and I had to hear it from him instead of you? What the hell, Miranda?"

Ben, who had been trailing kisses along her neck, felt the change in her energy and pulled back, watching her closely.

Miranda rubbed her temple. "He scraped his leg falling off a horse. I handled it."

Tucker scoffed. "He fell off a horse? What the hell is he even doing on a damn horse?"

"Learning. He's living here, he's making friends and those friends ride horses, so he wanted to try it."

"And where were you while this was happening?"

She exhaled through her nose. "Tucker—"

"Lemme guess— You were working and Ben was with him."

Ben folded his arms but said nothing.

Miranda's grip on the phone tightened. "Yeah, Ben was with him. And he took care of him when he fell. Just like I did."

Tucker let out a humorless laugh. "So you're just letting him play daddy now?"

Ben's expression darkened, but Miranda held up a hand to keep him quiet. "Nobody is playing anything," she said, her voice firm. "Ben is a male role model in our son's life. Like it or not "

Tucker was silent for a beat, then muttered, "You should've told me my son got hurt."

She sighed. "I should've. But I didn't, and he's fine."

Another pause. Then, begrudgingly, "Yeah. Alright."

Miranda hung up before the conversation could drag on.

She turned back to Ben, who was watching her carefully. "Everything good?" he asked.

She let out a deep breath. "It will be."