Dr's Orders (Single Mom Romance) Read online

  Dr’s Orders

  A Single Mom Romance

  Piper Sullivan

  Copyright © 2019 by Piper Sullivan

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Also by Piper Sullivan

  Small Town Protectors

  Mastering Her Curves: A Curvy Girl Romance

  I like my relationships like I like my women, short and sweet.

  Only there’s something about Mikki Russo that keeps me coming back for more.

  Maybe it’s that sexy southern belle accent.

  Or all those feminine curves she shows off proudly.

  Maybe it’s the way she kisses…

  Or maybe it’s the way she took me in when a rescue went wrong.

  All I know is that proving to her that I’m a better man is suddenly my top priority.

  Until I found out what she’s been hiding from me.

  Now I have to decide if one lie of omission is worth throwing away everything for.

  Wanting Ms Wrong: A Second Chance Baby Romance

  Hero In My Bed: A Roommate Hero Romance

  Bad Boy Benefits: A Roommate Hero Romance

  Loving My Enemy: An Enemies to Lovers Romance

  Undesired: A Best Friend's Brother Romance

  Kissing My Best Friend: A Fake Relationship Romance

  Accidental Hookups

  Accidentally Hitched: An Accidental Marriage Romance (Accidental Hookups Book 1)

  Accidentally Wed: An Accidental Marriage Romance (Accidental Hookups Book 2)

  Accidentally Bound: An Accidental Marriage Romance (Accidental Hookups Book 3)

  Accidentally Wifed: An Accidental Marriage Romance (Accidental Hookups Book 4)

  Boardroom Games

  His Takeover: An Enemies to Lovers Romance (Boardroom Games Book 1)

  Sinful Takeover: An Enemies to Lovers Romance (Boardroom Games Book 2)

  Naughty Takeover: An Enemies to Lovers Romance (Boardroom Games 3)

  Standalones

  Stranded: A Mountain Man Romance

  Dating the Doctor: A Single Dad Romance

  Dr. Daddy Next Door: A Single Dad Romance

  Cowboy's Fake Fiancée: A Single Dad & A Virgin Romance

  Cowboy's Barmaid: A Small Town Military Romance

  Let's Pretend : A Fake Fiancée Romance

  I’ll Pretend : A Fake Fiancée Romance

  Boxsets & Collections

  Daddies & Nannies: A Contemporary Romance Boxset

  Cowboys & Bosses: A Contemporary Romance Boxset

  Kiss Me, Love Me: An Alpha Male Romance Boxset

  Accidentally On Purpose:An Accidental Marriage Boxset

  Small Town Misters: A Small Town Protectors Boxset

  Contents

  1. Derek

  2. Max

  3. Derek

  4. Max

  5. Derek

  6. Max

  7. Derek

  8. Max

  9. Derek

  10. Max

  11. Derek

  12. Max

  13. Derek

  14. Maxine

  15. Derek

  16. Maxine

  17. Derek

  18. Maxine

  19. Derek

  20. Maxine

  21. Derek

  22. Maxine

  23. Derek

  24. Maxine

  25. Derek

  26. Maxine

  27. Derek

  Excerpt: Misters of Pleasure

  Also by Piper Sullivan

  About the Author

  Derek

  “Exam room three is waiting for you, Dr. Cahill.”

  Nurse Miller’s words brought me up short and took my mind away from the chart in my hands. A thirteen-year-old girl had been to the ER half a dozen times in as many weeks, with a number of bruises and sprains. It was suspicious. Nothing that rose to the level that I’d have to report it, but dammit, it was unnerving.

  “What was that, Nurse Miller?”

  Antonia Miller looked at me with the same disinterested stare she gave everyone—but unlike everyone else, I could see the amusement hidden in her dark brown depths. “Daydreaming again, Dr. Cahill? Something good, I hope.”

  I laughed, as I always did when she made mention of my nonexistent love life. “You bet. I was thinking of my new memory foam pillows and how I can’t wait to break them in when my shift is over.” I flashed what my mom called a boyish grin and leaned over the large desk that kept the nurses separate from the incoming patients and family members. “Good enough for ya?”

  She shook her head in disgust, tiny black braids falling around her shoulders. “You’re too young and too handsome to spend so many nights alone, Dr. Cahill.”

  “You’re a married woman,” I reminded her, sounding scandalized.

  Antonia’s deep laugh echoed in the lobby and she shook her head. “But you’ve got enough charm for ten men, I’ll give you that. Now, get on to exam room three. Little girl with a broken arm.” My jaw tensed and Nurse Miller laid her cocoa brown hand on top of mine. “She fell out of a tree. No DV,” she promised, using the hospital and police shorthand for domestic violence.

  “Good.” I straightened and accepted the file she handed me. “Wish me luck.”

  “I would, but the woman with her is taken,” she mumbled to herself, pulling one final smile from me. My parents had left Tulip years ago, when my kid sister moved to the east coast and had her first set of twins, but I swear Nurse Miller was determined to take up Mom’s meddling into my love life. Pathetic though it may be at the moment.

  The whole town of Tulip was in the matchmaking spirit, which meant every patient was viewed as a potential love match for every single man and woman in the hospital. That went double for the hometown heroes. Lucky me.

  I slid the curtain to the side, with a smile fixed on my face—a smiling doctor helped patients relax. Patient families, too. “What have we got here?”

  Immediately, I recognized the two females on the exam table. The adult was Nina, the wife of Preston Worthington, search and rescue worker and descendant of Tulip herself. The child with the lopsided red pigtails was Callie Nash. Maxine’s daughter.

  “Hey, Doc,” Nina began. Her easygoing smile was a direct contrast to her tattoos, black motorcycle boots, and overall badass demeanor. “Squirt broke her arm trying to rescue a kitten. From a tree,” she added, sliding the little girl a sideways glance.

  “She asked me to, Dr. Derek,” Callie countered with a sniffle, her outrage telling me this wasn’t the first time they’d had this conversation.

  A small huff of a laugh exploded out of me at her insistence. “Did she also tell you how long the fall was?” Her x-ray images had already been put up by one of the ER nurses and I took my time looking them over while I listened. She had a clean break, a stable fracture that wouldn’t interfere with her development. That was a good sign.

  She shook her head, gleaming red pigtails almost taking out an eye. “No. She was too scared to come down on her own, so I helped. I had to.”

  Pulling the stool closer to the table, I rolled over to the little girl with a smile. “You were incredibly brave. And reckless. What if this had been your spine, instead of just an arm?”

  She shrugged, wincing from the pain in her left arm and trying so very hard not to cry. She was a tough cookie, just like her mama. “I’m sorry.”

  Great—I’d made a little girl cry. I placed a hand on her shoulder. “That’s all right, but nex
t time, find someone bigger. You know Nina’s husband rescues things for a living, don’t you?”

  Callie nodded. “I didn’t want her to fall while I went for help.”

  “Next time, go get help. Even if the kitten was scared, Callie, she’s better at climbing up and down trees than you are. All right?” She nodded and I winked, making her smile even if it was watery. “Good.”

  “Is she gonna live, Doc?” Nina’s dry tone pulled a shocked gasp from Callie, who looked at me with worried brown eyes. “Well?”

  I dipped down until I was face to face with the little girl, trying like hell not to let those bottomless brown eyes get to me. Children were the hardest part of emergency medicine, and Callie was no exception. “You are definitely going to live, Callie. But you’re going to hurt and itch like crazy for a few weeks.”

  “A few weeks?” she whined.

  “Yeah, but you get a really cool cast,” I told her, because colorful casts had a way of making kids forget all about broken bones. “Where’s Maxine?” It was unlike her to just not show up for her kid. She showed up for every one of those troop meetings. Science fairs. Volunteering at the animal shelter, whatever it was—they were always together.

  “On her way,” Nina said, brows arched in suspicion. “She’s catering a luncheon over at the new business park on the edge of town for some bigwig executives. She should be here any minute. Any other questions?”

  I looked down at Callie’s chart, ignoring Nina’s protective tone. “None,” I assured her and turned back to my little patient. “Ready to pick out your cast color, or should we wait for your mother?”

  “I’m a big girl, I can pick it out.” I wasn’t sure if that was true, but Nurse Miller had written that we had parental permission to treat her so that was exactly what I did.

  When Maxine arrived twenty minutes later, panting and frantic, she found us just finishing up on the bright green cast. She ignored the adults in the room, her gaze lasered in on her daughter and filled with love. And worry. “Callie, you’re all right. You’re okay, baby.” Maxine went to Callie and wrapped her in a loving embrace, being mindful of the broken arm in the process.

  “I’m not a baby, Mommy. I saved a kitten,” Callie asserted, chin notched up in challenge.

  Maxine turned to Nina, who shrugged as she explained Callie’s daring rescue attempt. “The little bugger is alive and well, hanging out at our place until you and Callie are ready to retrieve him.”

  Maxine looked like she wanted to say more but she suddenly realized they were not alone. Her blue gaze swung to me, a question swimming in her eyes. “Anything I need to know?” Her eyes raked over me, assessing me, but not like she was interested. It was the same disdainful look she always seemed to reserve just for me. “Before I ground my daughter for life?”

  Callie pouted and let out a sigh worthy of a teenager. “I couldn’t just leave her there, Mommy. What if Nina had left Bailey?” The little girl was her mother’s daughter, knowing exactly what to say to make her point.

  I had to suppress a laugh at the shocked look Maxine sent her daughter. “Bailey can’t swim in flood waters, Callie. Cats climb trees all the time.”

  The little girl sighed and pointed at me with her uninjured arm. “That’s what Dr. Derek said.”

  “Then next time, I hope you’ll listen,” she said firmly before turning to me. “So, what’s the verdict?”

  Her gaze lingered on mine for a long minute and I took advantage of the moment to examine Maxine. Her thick red hair was pulled back in an tight bun, but the wisps of hair that had broken free framed her pretty face like a halo. “She’s got a stable fracture and will have to wear the cast for about six weeks.”

  Maxine looked disappointed and sighed in resignation before casting another worried look over at her kid. “Six weeks, huh? Think you can survive that long, kiddo?”

  Callie nodded, smiling at me. “I use my right arm for everything, anyway,” she insisted with the confidence of a much older girl.

  “Yeah? Let’s see how well you put on shirts and tie your shoes with a broken arm, smarty pants.”

  “She’ll need some assistance for the first week,” I added, like an idiot. Something about Maxine Nash always made me say the wrong things. Like now.

  “Of course, Dr. Cahill,” she said, emphasizing my title and last name harshly. “Despite being a lowly single mother, I’d never neglect my child.”

  My brows dipped in confusion. “I never suggested you would, I only meant children Callie’s age tend to go overboard with independence and if she attempts it, well, the pain will be extreme.” Her icy blue glare didn’t let up, and I shrugged it off. No good deed, as they say. “Callie, make sure you don’t get that wet.”

  She frowned up at me adorably. “You mean I can’t take a bath?” The hope in her voice wasn’t lost on me and I bit back a smile.

  “That’s up to your mom, but you can wrap a grocery bag around it before you get wet. Doesn’t that sound like fun?” Did it? Other than at work, I spent very little time around children.

  “You want me to cover up the pretty green?”

  Maxine sighed and subtly pushed me aside. “No, he wants to protect the cast so that it keeps protecting your arm. Soft cast means we have to come back and do this all over again. Got it?”

  Callie nodded and Maxine sent me a look that said she wasn’t impressed.

  Big damn surprise. “Right. Well, then. You ladies are all set.” I ignored the sound of Nina snickering in the background.

  “Thanks for my cast, Dr. Derek. It’s super cool.”

  I smiled at the adorable little girl. “You’re pretty cool yourself, Callie Nash.” She giggled, and the sound like was a punch to the gut in the best possible way.

  “Bye, Dr. Derek!”

  “See you in a few weeks,” I told her with a wave and when they were gone, I got back to doing rounds while waiting for the next emergency to roll in.

  Max

  It had taken longer than usual, but I’d finally gotten Callie settled on the sofa with a book to keep her occupied long enough for me to find something in the kitchen to whip up for dinner. The ground beef I’d meant to use for spaghetti was still in the freezer, which meant I had to improvise. Again. Most days, it seemed improvising was all I could do, making snap decisions because my plan A didn’t work.

  But instead of focusing on my failure as a single parent, I pulled out all the deli meat and cheese in the fridge along with lettuce, tomato, and pickles for two big, fat deli sandwiches. Unlike most little girls, Callie appreciated a meal that let her get messy now and again. Mix in some fresh fruit and potato chips, and I felt a little less like a failure. For the time being. Normally, I would have brought leftovers from the event I’d catered, but the broken arm meant someone else would benefit from my hard work.

  I didn’t mind. Callie was the best thing I ever got from my ex and she was worth all the hard work. And I was lucky that I didn’t have to deal with an interfering co-parent, because Callie’s dad felt that being a father, even a part-time one, would get in the way of his sleeping with every female under the age of fifty. No, fifty-five—the last woman he’d cheated on me with was the wife of my boss. So, it was bye-bye job and husband. In one fell swoop.

  “Mommy, may I have some water? Please?”

  It was just me and Callie now. Just the girls. “It’s right beside you on the table.”

  “Oh,” she giggled. “Thanks, Mommy.”

  The sound of her laughter never failed to put a smile on my face. Callie was strong and funny and resilient. And a slob. I let my shoulders relax at the thought of cleaning her room for the next six weeks, at least, according to Dr. Cahill.

  Derek Cahill. He was still as handsome as he’d been in high school, only now he had the beauty that came with becoming a man. Thick black hair was now expertly styled, instead of finger combed as he ran out the door. Crystal-clear blue eyes were now sharper and most days, he sported a five o’clock shadow. Yeah, he
was as gorgeous as he was judgmental. Being a single mom wasn’t easy, juggling ten different balls in the air every day and hoping none of them fell—and, if one did, hoping that it wasn’t one of the really important ones.

  It was easy to judge when you were a rich doctor from a rich family with no responsibilities outside of work, other than accommodating a revolving door of women.

  Men. They were all the same.

  But I was no longer concerned with anything but my daughter and our deli sandwiches. “Ready to get sloppy?”

  She turned too quickly, wincing when her arm hit a pillow. “I am,” Callie said, more subdued than the excitement in her big brown eyes might imply.

  “Be careful with that arm, Callie. I cut your sandwich into quarters so you don’t have to double-hand it.”

  “Okay, Mommy.”

  I got us both set up on tray tables, and we ate while a nature documentary played on the TV—Callie loved all things nature. Even while we ate. I always wanted to encourage her, so I’d learned to deal with it.

  “This is good. Especially the pickles.” Callie smiled and I sank into the sofa, relaxing because of that smile.

  “Thanks. I’m glad you’re okay, Cal. You scared me.”

  She froze and turned to me, wariness in the brown eyes she’d inherited from her father. “I scared me, too. I fell so fast, but it felt like a long time.” She let out a breath and I knew then, punishment wasn’t necessary.