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Chapter 73: Not all memories are happy ones
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2022-11-24 14:32:55Related chapters
Diagnosis: Love Chapter 74: Board meeting
DEACON"These board meetings are boring as hell, aren't they?" The woman who was sitting in the chair alongside mine had been shifting subtly toward me for the past twenty minutes. I'd been trying to ignore it-and her-but now she was upping the ante by whispering in my ear. I didn't care to engage in a muttered conversation like we were in junior high, so I only offered her a quick, tight smile and leaned back in my chair, hoping she'd take the hint. The treasurer was giving her report, and I did my best to focus on the numbers. Board meetings were not my favorite part of practicing medicine, but they were a necessary evil-or at least they had been since I'd approached the board about building an oncology wing at St. Agnes almost five years ago. I'd had to convince the board that the wing was needed and possible. I'd had to show that I could spearhead the effort to fund its building and its continuation. Tonight, though, I wasn't sure why I'd been invited-a fancy way of saying c
Last Updated : 2022-11-24Diagnosis: Love Chapter 75: Nothing's sacred in your hometown
DEACON"Well, this place is totally adorable." Deanna sat back in her overstuffed chair, steaming mug of cappuccino in her hand, gazing around at the bustling coffee house. "I can't believe I didn't know about it until now." "I can't, either," I chuckled, taking a drink of my own coffee. "Harper Springs isn't that big. Any new business tends to stand out." "Oh, I'm not local." Deanna shook her head and blew on the hot liquid. "I live about forty-five minutes north.""Seriously? That's quite a commute." "I know, believe me." She smiled ruefully. "But the housing market around Harper Springs isn't exactly booming. I didn't want to live in an older apartment above someone's garage, and I'm not ready to buy property yet. I'd like to travel a little before I settle down." Her bright blue eyes rested on me. "I think we have that in common. I get the feeling you're not the kind who wants to stay in one place, either." "Not sure I can say that's true. I own a house here in Harper Spr
Last Updated : 2022-11-24Diagnosis: Love Chapter 76: Vegan temptation
EMMA"Pass me the nutritional yeast, please?" I held out my hand to Noah, who frowned as he lifted a box and then put it back on the counter. "Remind me which one that is?" I grinned. "It's the cheesy stuff. In the pouch." "Oh, yeah. Right." He picked up the right one this time and handed it to me. "Here you go." "Thanks." I added a pinch of the yeast to my blender and pushed the button to start it. Noah stood back, his huge arms folded over his equally massive chest. The expression on his face was best classified as skeptical. I gave the blender a couple of extra whirls before I lifted the jar from the base. Taking off the lid, I stuck my finger in to swipe at the side, taking a taste. "Mmmmm. It's good." I dipped again, this time lifting my finger to Noah's mouth. "Here. Taste." He wrinkled his nose, which was adorable beyond words. "You put your finger in our food?""Yes, Noah, I did. Deal with it. It's only you and me eating this-I promise I won't try to package it to
Last Updated : 2022-11-24Diagnosis: Love Chapter 77: Dinner on the deck
EMMAWe carried our drinks onto the deck, one of my favorite parts of my cabin. Jenny and Nico had given me a patio set as a house-warming gift; it was second-hand, because they knew my passion for re-purposing, and Jenny had made all new cushions for the two chairs that flanked a re-finished table and for the cozy wicker loveseat.Noah sank onto one side of that small sofa and patted the space next to him. "C'mere. This is the best seat in the house."I hesitated only a beat. I wasn't sure I could trust myself to sit that close to Noah. But he was right; the placement of the loveseat was perfect for watching the sun set over the distant tree line. I could've dragged over one of the single chairs, but that would have made things awkward, since Noah had specifically requested that I sit down next to him.With a deep sigh, I sank down on the loveseat, kicked off my sandals, and propped my feet onto the small wicker table in front of us. Noah grunted softly and stretched out his arm a
Last Updated : 2022-11-24Diagnosis: Love Chapter 78: Amends
DEACONThe knock at my office door was soft, but since I'd been waiting for it, I didn't miss the sound. Even if I hadn't expected the woman who was standing just out of my line of vision in the hall, I would have known it was her. There was something about her-I guessed she would have said it was her energy, some mystical force to which I was somehow extra sensitive. Something woo woo like that. Whatever the reason, my chest tightened with anticipation and more than a few nerves. It had been a little over a month since our knock-down, drag-out fight. Although we'd passed in the hospital occasionally, despite our best efforts to avoid each other, we hadn't spoken directly to each other. She wouldn't have been here now if I hadn't specifically sent a message via Mira that it was important. I knew that Emma would never ignore me if our head nurse was aware that I'd asked her to come see me.At the same time, it wasn't lost on me that she hadn't made her way to my office until the las
Last Updated : 2022-11-24Diagnosis: Love Chapter 79: The danger of drinking champagne with your ex
DEACONShe took it from me, frowning slightly. "If it's a peace offering, then we should probably share it, right? Because I'm sure there needs to be peace shared on both sides." I considered her words. "I like the idea, but I don't have any champagne flutes in the office-just regular water tumblers. I have no clue why they didn't stock my office with wine glasses and flutes-it's almost like they think doctors shouldn't be drinking during the day." "Party poopers." Emma winked at me. "Break out the tumblers, Deacon. I'm not too precious to enjoy champagne out of any available delivery method. Please . . . you know, in college, we used to chug it right from the bottle.""Now that's what I'd called sacrilege." I stood up to retrieve the tumblers from the shelf alongside my desk. "Champagne is meant to be sipped and savored, not gulped down teenage throats." "Maybe not. But it wasn't exactly Cristal we were drinking them, remember. It wasn't actually champagne-it was some kind of
Last Updated : 2022-11-24Diagnosis: Love Chapter 80: Noah speaks
EMMA"You know, I never pictured myself as a farmer." Noah leaned on the shovel he'd been using to turn over soil for me. Lifting the hem of his T-shirt, he mopped at his face, revealing those rippling, impossibly firm abs. I refrained from swallowing my tongue and cleared my throat. "No? Well, you make a pretty damn fine one, even so." Behind the relative safety of my dark, reflective sunglasses, I indulged myself in ogling him. Denying my physical attraction to this man was getting harder and harder. Yeah, that was exactly the right description. Everything was hard: being around Noah and not touching him in ways I knew I shouldn't; ignoring his increasingly suggestive comments; reminding myself why the two of us didn't really make sense . . .And then there was what had happened last week with Deacon. I'd spent several long nights flagellating myself for kissing him. I could blame the champagne-and that was probably part of it, since my inhibitions had been lowered. I could als
Last Updated : 2022-11-24Diagnosis: Love Chapter 81: Goats
DEACON"Since when do we have goats on this farm?" I looked up at Gram, who was standing on the porch steps grinning down on me. My ass was in the sparse grass, and five baby goats romped around me, each one vying for my attention. "Blame Emma!" Gram chuckled. "She and Pop got to talking one night, and she told him about how she wanted to eventually have chickens and goats, but she doesn't feel she can handle them on her place yet, since the hospital takes up so much of her time. Next thing I knew, your grandfather was offering to get goats that the two of them can share, with the understanding that we'll house them here, and Emma will participate in their care and support, too." "Huh." I reached out to stroke the bumpy head of one of the babies, and he butted against my hand. "If I were the insecure sort, I'd wonder if maybe Emma was replacing me as your favorite." Gram smiled at me sunnily. "And if you were the smart sort, you wouldn't have let her get away from you, so that w
Last Updated : 2022-11-24
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Diagnosis: Love Chapter 193: As long as we both shall live
NOAHNoahIt was a beautiful day for a wedding. We gathered at mid-morning under the covenant oak on Jimmy and Anna Girard's farm. Alison and I had decided that since Emma and Deacon's wedding had been the start of our love story, we should say our vows under the canopied branches of that same steadfast tree. We hadn't wanted anything grand or involved, but it was important to us that the special people in our lives were present. So when Alison and I joined hands and made our vows, among those surrounding us were Emma and Deacon, Darcy and Jackson, Jenny and Nico, Mira Hoskins, and all of the people who worked with Alison in her practice. Maggie Corning, the midwife, and Brooke Slater, Alison's therapist, were there, too. My family had flown down en mass from Wisconsin and other key points around the country. My mother couldn't stop smiling, and my dad looked proud. Even my brothers and sisters and their families were behaving themselves. And then of course, there was the Tam
Diagnosis: Love Chapter 192: Happily Ever After part 3
ALISONA human being can accomplish almost any task while sobbing her eyes out. I'd known this from experience in my past life, but after Noah left that afternoon, I went about proving it all over again.I cried as I wiped the table and counters. I wept as I took out a frozen macaroni and cheese to eat for dinner. I sobbed as I climbed the steps and listened at the baby's door-she was still asleep in the crib. I sniffled as I switched a load of newborn clothes from the washer to the dryer.He was gone, and I was alone. Again. Naturally.The hell of it was that even as he'd pleaded his case to me, even as he'd told me that he loved me, I'd known he was telling the truth. I believed him. But I couldn't trust what he thought he felt, not when people changed their minds about being in love all the damn time. People claimed to love a friend or a child or a lover, and then they changed their minds. It happened. I knew it first-hand. I'd experienced it over and over again before I was t
Diagnosis: Love Chapter 191: Break
NOAH"Where's the baby?" Alison walked into the kitchen, her face etched with fatigue. We'd had a long and trying few days as Evangeline had apparently been going through a growth spurt: she nursed almost constantly and was difficult to console the rest of the time. She'd fought sleep, and she'd cried piteously no matter what we'd tried to do. The pediatrician had assured us that this was normal and we'd get through it, but privately, I thought he was a heartless imbecile who clearly didn't understand that our daughter was advanced and needed more attention than the typical newborn. But finally, today we'd caught a break. Alison had gone upstairs to take a shower-her first in three days-and somehow, I'd managed to get the baby to sleep without the benefit of a boob. More than that, I'd actually laid her in the crib without waking her up. I was pretty satisfied with myself, all in all. I was also crossing my fingers that she'd stay asleep long enough that her mother and I could d
Diagnosis: Love Chapter 190: Parenthood
NOAHParenthood was amazing, fulfilling, beautiful, awesome . . . and exhausting. The first few weeks of baby Evangeline's life at home were a blur, a constant, never-ending whirlwind of feeding, and changing, and washing, and catching whatever small bites of sleep we could whenever she slept. People came to visit and brought gifts and food, and I was pathetically grateful for that, because I didn't have the energy to cook, and both Alison and I were tired of takeout. The one factor that made everything survivable was the baby herself. God, I hadn't known how much I was going to love this ten-pounds of tiny, perfect human. I'd never anticipated that staring at her sleep for an hour was better than four quarters of football. Or that catching what might have been a smile could make me feel as though I'd just witnessed greatness. What was some missing sleep compared with noting how well my two-week-old daughter could lift up her head?Even so, as much as I was ga-ga over my baby gir
Diagnosis: Love Chapter 189: New life
ALISON"Congratulations, mama! You're at six. I think it's time to break your water and get things really going." It sounded like a great idea to me, but I saw Noah's lips go white. "Are you okay?" I asked, rubbing my fingers over the back of his hand. "You look a little green." He swallowed, his throat convulsing. "This is the only part I'm a little, uh, squeamish about. I watched that birth online, and breaking the water looked-intense." Maggie chuckled. "Stay up there by Alison and keep your eyes on her face. We don't need papa hitting the floor and suing the hospital." Noah did as he was told, watching me intently as if waiting for me to show some sign of distress. "Does it hurt?" he asked quietly. "The water part, I mean." I shook my head. "It feels a little weird, but not-oooooh!" I gasped as I felt the gush hit my inner thighs. "Okay, then. Eyes here, Noah. Come on. We're in this together." After that, it felt as though everything got a lot more serious. The con
Diagnosis: Love Chapter 188: Giving in
ALISON Spoiler alert: having sex with Noah did not start my labor.But it sure was worth the effort. Two days after that monumental night-and after we'd given it the good old college try several more times-we went to Maggie's office. I was in a rotten mood-being a million years pregnant can do that to a person-and poor Noah looked a little haggard. He'd been sleeping with me in my bed (we both clung to the excuse that if I went into labor, I'd want him closer than across the hall), which meant that he woke up whenever I had to climb out of that bed to pee. He thought I'd been exaggerating about how often I had to go. He was quickly disabused of that notion. After a quick exam, Maggie made some notes on her tablet and then turned to the both of us. "So listen," she began. "Do you want to have this baby?" I stared at her as though she'd lost her mind. "What the hell do you think I've been trying to do for over three weeks now, Maggie?" I bellowed. "Of course, I want to have th
Diagnosis: Love Chapter 187: Finally, at last
NOAHNow I got it. The night we'd first had sex-the night after Emma and Deacon's wedding-we'd challenged each other to come up with the sexiest, most outrageous names for cocktails. Alison was playing the game again."Ohhhhh." I grinned. "I still don't believe that last one is legit.""It totally is. The bartender confirmed it." With a smile that was deceptively seductive for an extremely pregnant woman, she reached down to grasp the bottom of her oversized T-shirt-which was not so oversized just now-and lifted it over her head. I helped just to make sure she didn't topple over in the process. It was the first time I'd really seen her without a shirt in many months. My first few impressions were awe at the size of her swollen middle. I knew she was huge, but damn. The skin was stretched as tight as a drum, and her belly button looked like a cork just about to give way. And her boobs-they were incredible. Within the utilitarian maternity bra, they were still the sexiest breasts
Diagnosis: Love Chapter 186: Things you shouldn't ask
NOAH"What's the world record for the longest pregnancy ever?" I glanced up at Alison from the book I was reading. We were both lying on her bed while a movie that neither of us was very invested in played on the TV. The couch downstairs had become too uncomfortable for her over the past week or so, so we'd begun hanging out here in her room. It was strictly for comfort, though; we stayed on top of the covers, with Alison on one side while I stuck to the other. It was a king-sized bed with plenty of room for us. But while we hadn't hesitated to cuddle and kiss on the sofa, something about being on the bed made us more cautious. I didn't know why, exactly; Alison was so tired of being pregnant that she wasn't up for much of anything other than television lately. She'd stopped going into the office after her due date since she'd already arranged with Dr. Johanson to cover her hours. So we were both at home now all the time . . . just waiting.She really was huge. While the ultraso
Diagnosis: Love Chapter 185: Trust love
ALISON"Read me that last part again?" Noah and I were sitting in the nursery, surrounded by boxes, gift bags, and about a million pieces of a pine crib. He had spent the last two weeks focusing on the nursery. He'd painted the room a lovely pale yellow color, insisting that I stay with Emma and Deacon at the cabin for the two nights after he'd completed the first and second coats so that I didn't have to inhale the paint fumes. Together, we had selected the crib and the dressing table. Noah's mother had sent us the cradle that all of her children had slept in, and that was already set up in my bedroom.Now, with my due date less than ten days away, we were finally tackling the project of building all of the furniture that hadn't come pre-assembled. I squinted at the paper in my hand, trying to decipher the words."I'm pretty sure that this was translated directly from Swedish by someone who didn't speak English," I commented. "It doesn't seem to make sense.""Does it say at wh
