Chapter 34: Forbidden King: epilogue

WE SAT ON THE BLEACHERS, cheering for our favorite little guy, as he took to the plate. The Magnolia Falls Ducks had made it to the championships, and it was a tie game, final inning, and Cutler was the final player up to bat.

Their last shot to win this game.

It was a long shot, because no one was on base, so it would probably end as a tie game. They didn’t do extra innings at this level.

Nash was standing behind home plate, talking to Cutler, who was listening intently.

“Why am I so nervous?” Demi whisper-shouted.

“I am, too,” Romeo said, and I looked around, noting that everyone was chewing their nails or their legs were bouncing.

We were all nervous.

We’d been to every game this season, and we’d watched Cutler fall in love with the sport. So we knew how much this meant to him, which meant that we all wanted him to at least get on base for his last time up to bat.

King was on his feet, pacing in front of us, as he shoved his hands into his pockets. I loved how much he cared for the people that he loved. He felt so deeply, and it was one of the things that I loved most about him.

“You’ve got this, Beefcake!” King shouted, before he came back over to sit beside me.

“He’s got this,” I whispered, and he took my hand and pulled me closer.

He nodded. “He does. And he’s scored two of the four runs they’ve gotten already.”

Ruby chuckled as she sat on the other side of him. “Spoken like a proud uncle.”

Cutler looked over at us, gave us a nod, and scraped his feet against the dirt two times like he did every time he was up to bat.

The first pitch was a little high, and he didn’t swing. The next pitch had him swinging hard, and he missed. I noted the way his eyebrows pinched together, which told me he was concentrating hard on hitting that ball.

We all clapped and told him to brush it off.

And then the next pitch was moving toward him. His bat swung back, and he made contact. The crack was loud, and we all jumped to our feet. The ball sailed out into the outfield. We’d never seen a hit like this from anyone on the team.

He dropped the bat and took off running, with his teammates standing on the sidelines, going crazy.

He pumped his arms as he rounded first base and then cleared second. Nash was shouting for him to keep going as his arms swung around. Cutler tapped third base so quickly we were all stunned. He came down the final stretch as the other team threw the ball and raced him to home plate. He slid the way he’d been trained numerous times but never had to do before.

The umpire shouted the word, “Safe!”

You’d think the Ducks won the World Series with the way everyone was shouting and cheering.

“Beefcake pulled out a home fucking run!” Kingston yelled to our group, and we all high-fived one another as we jumped up and down.

“What’s happening over there?” I asked, as I watched Nash drop down to the ground with Cutler, who looked like he was gasping for air.

His teammates stopped cheering and ran over, and before I could comprehend what was happening, King, River, Romeo, and Hayes were all jumping the fence and sprinting toward them.

I took off with Ruby, Demi, and Peyton right behind me as we ran around the fence toward the dugout.

When we got onto the field, the assistant coach was backing the kids up and guiding them toward the dugout to give Nash some space.

Cutler was still gasping, even while Nash was giving him a puff from his inhaler. “Breathe, Cutler,” Nash said, his voice remaining even and calm.

Cutler sucked in and then blinked up at his dad. “I did it, Pops.”

His words were barely audible over his wheezing, and I saw Nash shoot a look to Hayes, who was trained in CPR as a firefighter. He just nodded, as if he understood what he was saying. I noted the way Cutler’s nose was flaring, and his stomach was sucking in and out with every breath he struggled to take.

Hayes dialed the phone and spoke into it, and I knew right away that he was calling 9-1-1.

He’d stepped away because keeping Cutler calm was important.

“Don’t talk right now, buddy,” Nash said, and I heard the way his voice cracked on the last word.

“I’m calling Doc Dolby now, too,” River said to us, as he dialed the phone and stepped away.

King was crouched down beside Cutler. “Just breathe, Beefcake. It’s going to be okay.”

I heard the sirens in the distance as Romeo ran out toward the road, obviously to guide them in as quickly as possible.

“I don’t,” Cutler wheezed, “feel good, Pops.”

“I know.” Nash pulled Cutler between his legs just as the paramedics came hurrying toward us.

We stepped back to make room for them, and they assessed him quickly and had him on a gurney with oxygen over his little face within seconds. Everyone stood there stunned, and as they wheeled him off the field, he held his little arm in the air with a thumb up.

And for whatever reason, that’s what made me lose it. I covered my face as the first sob escaped my mouth.

Ruby wrapped an arm around me, and then Demi and Peyton did the same. The four of us hugged and cried in a huddle.

“Come on. We need to get to the hospital,” Hayes said, and we all started moving.

“Hold up, I’ll be right there.” Kingston started running toward the dugout, and I came to a stop. I saw him talking to the assistant coach before he came jogging toward us with the gigantic trophy in his hands.

I smiled as the tears continued to fall. He reached for my free hand, and we both started running toward the parking lot. We piled into two cars, River’s and Romeo’s, as the rest of us had walked here.

River punched the dashboard of his car as we all got buckled.

“That’s not going to help anything, River. He’s going to be okay. Let’s get to the hospital,” Ruby said, her voice as calm as Nash’s had been.

She had been in situations that were stressful before in her line of work, and she’d always told us that when you faced trauma, it was most important to remain calm.

“I know. But he just had this big moment and now he can’t fucking breathe?” River hissed as he pulled out of the parking lot and followed Romeo, Demi, Hayes, and Peyton in the car in front of us.

“This was a bad one,” King said, squeezing my hand. “I’ve never seen him like that.”

“Did you see how calm Nash and Hayes were?” Ruby asked. “If you guys get upset, Cutler will panic. You need to not let him see that fear, okay?”

We all nodded as we pulled into the emergency room and watched as Cutler was wheeled out of the ambulance with Nash right behind him.

As soon as we parked, we were all running toward the hospital. Once we got inside, we waited in the waiting room, and Nash disappeared behind the double doors.

Doc Dolby came walking in shortly after, and River waved him over.

“It was bad, huh?” he asked, and he didn’t hide his concern. “They seem to be getting worse.”

“Yeah. He couldn’t speak. His nostrils were flaring,” Hayes said. “Ribs sucking in and out, and his color was off.”

“You did the right thing calling 9-1-1. I’m sorry I couldn’t get to the field quicker,” Doc said. I was actually shocked he’d gotten here as quickly as he had. The man was really old, and it shocked me that he was still working full-time.

“Glad you’re here now. Can you go back there and see what’s happening?”

“Yep. Let me see what I can find out.” He clapped River on the shoulder and made his way down the hallway.

“The oxygen will make a big difference,” Hayes said as he pushed to his feet and started pacing alongside King.

“Yeah. He’s going to be okay,” Demi said. “He has to be. Should someone call Nash’s father?”

Romeo nodded and stepped away to make the call.

“Did you see that fucking hit?” King said, turning to look at us as we sat in the chairs. “Beefcake is a rockstar.”

“That hit, man. It was unbelievable.” River shook his head.

“He wanted that win so fucking bad.” Hayes dropped to sit in the chair and scrubbed a hand down his face.

The doors opened, and Nash came striding toward us just as Romeo walked back over. We all pushed to our feet.

“He’s all right,” he said, clapping his hands together. “They are giving him steroids now, and they’ve got his breathing under control. Doc is in there with him, talking with the ER doctors, and they might just keep him overnight as a safety precaution.”

“Fuck, dude. I’m so sorry.” Hayes pulled him in for a hug and clapped him on the back, hard.

“I’m guessing they won’t let us all in there right now,” King said, grabbing the trophy that he’d set on the table in the waiting room. “But you give this to him. He earned every inch of this thing.”

Nash nodded and said he needed to get back in there after we each gave him a quick hug.

“We’ll just hang out here for a while,” Romeo said. “So text us with updates when you find out if he’s staying overnight.”

“Will do.” He started to walk away and then turned around. “Thank you. Cutler is really lucky to have you as his family.”

“I called your dad, and he had that meeting about an hour out of town. He’s on his way back now, and he said he’ll call you the minute he gets back.”

“Thanks, brother.”

Nash disappeared behind the double doors, and we all just sat there in silence, probably all still processing what had happened over the last thirty minutes.

Doc Dolby came walking out toward us. He’d literally been all of our pediatricians, as he had been the only children’s doctor in Magnolia Falls since I was born. He had a few nurses who worked for him, but he was a one-man show.

“He’s going to be all right, but his medication will need to be adjusted.” He scrubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “I was waiting to talk to Nash this week, but I’m going to be stepping away. I just can’t keep up with everything anymore, and Rose is ready for me to retire.”

I wasn’t shocked that he was retiring, as he was probably well past due. But what did this mean for Cutler? The timing couldn’t be worse. He needed a doctor in town who could figure out what to do with his medication so that this didn’t happen again.

“Are you already done? Who’s going to take over?”

“No. I’ll stick around for a few weeks, drop in for a couple of hours a day. My replacement is already here. She’s young and a hell of a lot sharper than I am.” His chuckle was raspy and slow. “She arrived in town last night and is getting settled. She’ll be starting on Monday.”

“She’s not from Magnolia Falls?” River asked with concern.

“She doesn’t have to be from here to be a good doctor.” Ruby squeezed his hand.

“Exactly. We don’t have any pediatricians living here at the moment. So we got really lucky that she relocated for the position. Having a doctor who did her residency in a big city and is willing to completely change course and come to a small town was lucky. She graduated top of her class, and the hospital where she did her residency had nothing but great things to say about her. They were trying to keep her themselves, but she decided she wanted something different.”

“What’s her name?” Romeo asked.

“Emerson Chadwick,” Doc said before shaking his head. “I mean, Dr. Emerson Chadwick.”

“Well, she better know her shit, because we need to get this figured out,” Hayes grumped, and I shot him a warning look.

That isn’t helping anything.

“I promise you, she’s exactly what this town needs. I’m an old dog; I don’t have any new tricks. She’s trained at one of the best pediatric programs in the country, and she wants to come here. I suggest you all welcome her warmly. She doesn’t know anyone and could probably use a friend.”

“We don’t need friends. We need a good damn doctor.” River made no attempt to hide his frustration.

Doc Dolby softened his gaze as he took in all four men. “You’re all exactly the same as you always were when you were little kids. But I wouldn’t change a thing. I’d just appreciate you giving her a chance, okay?”

“We can do that,” Romeo said first, and then they all nodded in agreement.

“Sorry, doc. Just worried about our little dude.” River shrugged, and Hayes nodded in agreement.

“Listen, I know how much you love Cutler. And so do I. I’ve never met a little boy with more confidence, and that’s because he’s surrounded by love. From all of you. And he’s a big part of the reason I’ve stuck around these last few years, but I just can’t do it anymore. So, it would be a personal favor to me if you gave Emerson a chance.”

“Of course, we will,” Demi said. “She can have all the coffee she wants on the house.”

He chuckled. “I appreciate your kindness, and I know she will, too. I need to get home, and you all should do the same. He’s okay. They’re just keeping him here to be safe and monitor his medication. I’ll be back in the morning to check on him.”

We said our goodbyes and went back to sit in our chairs. We weren’t going anywhere right now.

Not until we heard from Nash again.

Kingston pulled me to my feet and told everyone we’d go grab some coffees and sandwiches from the hospital cafeteria.

“You okay?” I asked, as we walked hand in hand down the hallway.

“Yeah. I know he’ll be just fine. It just makes you realize how lucky we are, you know?”

I nodded as we stepped into the cafeteria and started loading up two trays with food. When we got to the checkout, I looked down at my tray, and there was a dandelion resting beside the muffins I’d grabbed.

I smiled up at him, and he winked. “Love you, Dandelion.”

“Love you, my forbidden King.”

And I meant it.

Highs or lows, ups and downs, none of it mattered. We could weather anything together.

I knew I’d found my forever in this man.

And I didn’t need any more dandelions from him, because all my wishes had already come true.

But I’d let him keep giving them to me, because he was my own personal book boyfriend, and this was his thing.

Our thing.

And I wouldn’t have it any other way.