Page 105 of Stuck with Doctor Grump

The sun had nearly slipped below the horizon when the headlights crested the hill.

My breath caught.

I stood frozen, clutching the hem of my dress like it could anchor me. Around me, Cedar Springs buzzed with hopeful energy—kids still waving sparklers, Eleanor humming a hymn under her breath, Hazel bouncing on the balls of her feet like she might levitate from joy. But all I could see was that familiar truck rolling down the gravel path.

He came.

He really came.

I ran.

Shoes forgotten, hair tangled in the breeze—I sprinted like the earth tilted just to push me forward. People cheered around me, but their voices blurred as my chest heaved with every step. By the time I reached him, I didn’t stop—I collided into him like I was returning to my own gravity.

His arms wrapped around me before I even touched the ground. He lifted me slightly, just enough to press me close. My fingers curled into the back of his shirt, and I buried my face into the space between his neck and shoulder, inhaling that impossible scent of soap, cedar, and Damien.

We didn’t speak for a full minute. Maybe more.

He pressed his forehead to mine, eyes glassy, voice thick with something unspoken.

“You were my heartbeat,” he murmured, “even when I couldn’t hear it.”

I pulled back just enough to see his face, to memorize the lines of wear and tenderness etched there. “You found your way back.”

He nodded slowly, brushing a strand of hair from my face. “You were the way.”

A tear slipped from my cheek. He caught it with his thumb like it mattered.

“Why are you always so late, Dr. Cole?” I whispered with a half-laugh, half-sob. “Couldn’t you have come down that hill ten minutes earlier and spared me a full emotional meltdown?”

He smiled—the real kind, the kind that reached his eyes and shook something loose in my chest. “Had to make an entrance.”

“Mission accomplished.”

He lowered me to the ground, but his arms didn’t leave my waist. “You changed everything, Ruby.”

“You let me,” I said.

Around us, the crowd erupted into applause. Someone handed us flower crowns. Hazel did a full spin and shouted, “I knew it! He’s a man of his word!”

Damien lifted my hand and kissed it, slow and deliberate, before turning to the crowd. “Sorry I’m late.”

“You brought the heart back to this town,” Eleanor called out, placing her wrinkled hand over her chest.

“No,” Damien replied, eyes never leaving mine. “She did.”

A lump formed in my throat. This wasn’t a dream. This was Cedar Springs, our homecoming, and the final piece falling back into place.

The mayor coughed politely. “So, uh, do we still unveil the ‘Welcome Home, Dr. Cole’ banner or is this moment too perfect to interrupt?”

Laughter rippled across the gathering. Damien chuckled, shaking his head.

“I vote banner,” I said, wiping my tears. “And cookies. There better be cookies.”

Hazel grinned. “Burned ones. Just like you fake-hate.”

I laughed as Damien leaned in and whispered, “Still my favorite.”

He glanced around the square, then back at me. “Think we can do this? Build something real here?”

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