Page 23 of Beating Heart
My heart sank at his words.
I thought I did.
But I just stared blankly, as if I couldn’t answer the question.
Because the truth was too painful to say aloud.
seven
. . .
Nash
There was clearly something about the question that had Emerson going completely silent. Even her skin had paled. Maybe she’d lost her best friend in an accident.
Cutler wasn’t always the best at reading these things, and I didn’t want him to push because she looked… wounded.
“Hey, as long as we have you here, can you check my heart? I told Cutler it only beats when he’s in the room,” I said, keeping my tone light as I attempted to change the subject.
“Pops always says his heart only started beating when I came into the world. My uncles say it’s true, too. Can you check his heart and make sure it’s working?”
She seemed to be pulled back into reality, and she chuckled. “Really? His heart doesn’t beat when you’re not around?”
“That’s what he says. Tell me if it’s beating right now.” He jumped down from the table and walked over to where I was standing on the opposite wall. “Check him, Dr. Emerson.”
She closed the small distance between us and stopped just in front of me. “I only listen to kids’ hearts, so I’m not used to patients that are this big.”
That had Cutler laughing harder. “That’s why I eat my veggies, so I can be big like my pops and my uncles. Can you hear his heart?”
She put the stethoscope to my chest and placed the two earpieces in her ears and listened intently before turning her attention to my son beside me. “What do you know? He’s got a beating heart. It must be because you’re in the room.”
“Pops! What’s going to happen when I’m not around?”
“I guess I’ll have to keep you around, buddy,” I said, and my eyes locked with her pretty jade gaze.
Something Cutler had said earlier had thrown her off-kilter, and she was trying hard not to show it.
“I think as long as your daddy knows you’re happy and healthy, his heart will keep beating,” she said.
“Can I listen to Pops’s heart?”
“Sure.” She motioned for me to sit in the chair, and she put the earpiece in Cutler’s ears and pressed the stethoscope to my chest. He listened intently, but it was Emerson I was staring at. The way she watched him with such fascination as her lips turned up in the corners. “Do you hear it?”
“Yeah. He’s got a good heart, doesn’t he?”
I barked out a laugh, and Emerson chuckled. “He does.”
“Can I listen to your heart, Dr. Emerson?”
Her eyes widened with surprise. “Um. Yeah. Sure.”
She bent down and got level with him and adjusted the stethoscope so it was on her heart. “Wow! You’ve got the best heart, Dr. Emerson. It’s a real good one.”
She chuckled and pushed to stand, taking her stethoscope back. “You’ve got a way with words, Beefcake. You just won over my pediatric heart.”
We spent the next few minutes with her telling me that Cutler was doing well with the asthma treatment plan and that I could try some over-the-counter allergy medication if needed, but hopefully, the cough wouldn’t last long.
We were at the door when my son turned back around. “Can Winnie come over and play with me after camp tonight for a little bit?”
