Page 6 of Heartbeat Harmony (Hearts in Hawthorne #2)

Her gut told her she was ready to be Autumn Sutherland again.

She would take back her maiden name when the divorce was finalized next week.

The thought of that made her almost giddy.

It would also be nice never to have to think about being a Ferris again.

Flint’s family hadn’t taken to her, and she’d never truly felt a part of the Ferris family.

Satisfied with her decision, she flipped on the radio and found an oldies station to sing along to.

Ironically, an iconic piano riff began, and she recognized the opening notes of Don’t Stop Believin,’ the most famous song by the band, Journey. As she sang at the top of her lungs, she knew she was ready to begin believing in herself again.

Would it be nice if she landed the job at the new hospital in her hometown?

Absolutely. She would get to see more of her parents, as well as West and Kelby.

If she didn’t, she would easily have other opportunities, given her background and the severe shortage of nurses in the state.

No decisions needed to be made yet. Everything would hinge on the outcome of tomorrow’s interview.

She pulled into a Sonic, desperate for something to eat.

Even though it was lunchtime, she ordered a sausage breakfast burrito and tater tots, accompanied by a diet limeade and her favorite thing in the world, Sonic’s crushed ice.

The carhop brought her order, and Autumn ate in the car, letting her thoughts drift as she satisfied her hunger.

Back on the highway, she reached Decatur.

It was only half past one, so it was too early to check in to her hotel.

She decided to swing by the regional hospital in town, which had been bought by Hogan Health last year.

She knew the network was focusing on purchasing existing hospitals in smaller towns and building new ones in several adjoining states.

It might be nice to go inside one of their healthcare facilities and see what they were all about before her interview took place.

She pulled into the entrance, following the signs to the parking lot.

She reached a point where employees turned right into one lot, and visitors were to head straight to a different lot.

Autumn stopped at the stop sign and started to go when a car came barreling out of the employees’ lot.

It struck the front of her rental, causing her to scream as the airbag deployed.

She threw her hands up instinctively to block the bag, grateful she did so, or else she thought the force of the bag might have broken her nose or at least bruised her face badly.

Immediately, she swung open her door, ready to give the reckless driver who smashed into her a piece of her mind. He, too, was getting out, hurrying toward her.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

“Why weren’t you paying more attention to what you were doing? Coming from the employees’ parking lot, you must work here. If you’re a doctor or nurse, I hope you exercise more care with your patients than you did with your car. Cars are lethal weapons—they can kill!”

He placed a hand on her shoulder, and she angrily shrugged it off, her anger exploding. “I don’t need you touching me. I’m fine.”

“You need to go inside and get checked out.”

“I’m a nurse,” she spat out. “I know an injury when I see one, and I’m not hurt. Just this rental car is, and I’m sure you’ve brought a world of headaches to me now which I’ll have to deal with. And my insurance will probably go up due to your stupid negligence.”

“Your current insurance should cover the damage to your rental car,” he said.

“You don’t know that,” Autumn said, beginning to shake like a leaf.

“I’ve been driving an eleven-year-old car that wasn’t worth the cost of a Starbucks Mocha Grande, so I’ve gone with the minimal amount of coverage.

And I gave it up two months ago. I kicked out my cheating husband and he took that vehicle. I’ve been walking to work.”

She turned, finding the curb, and went to sit on it. Hanging her head in her lap, she burst into tears.

Autumn felt the stranger come and sit next to her. The first thing she thought was that he smelled good. Something citrusy. She hadn’t really looked him in the face because she had suddenly turned so angry.

“Your credit card company should be liable for it if you used one to rent the vehicle,” he said softly. “And if not, I’ll pay for any damage. Let’s exchange information.”

Glancing up, tears in her eyes, she said, “I need to apologize. I’ve blurted out a lot of personal information, and I’m really sorry for that.

I want you to know I’m a rational person.

I walked in on my husband cheating, and we’re getting a divorce.

It’ll be finalized next week. I’ve been keeping my head down, living my life, working, trying to put one foot in front of the other.

I didn’t realize I had so much anger bottled up inside me. ”

She smiled ruefully. “And I seem to have taken it out on you.”

Autumn saw his face relax. It was a nice face. Even a handsome one. He had medium brown hair and deep brown eyes which looked at her with sympathy now. He smiled at her in return as he reached into his pocket.

Handing her a card, he said, “Thanks for sharing. And yes, I was distracted. It’s totally unlike me.

I just have a thousand and one things I need to get done and not enough time to complete everything.

The accident is completely my fault. I didn’t yield to you as I should have.

I crashed into you. I’ll make certain my insurance agent understands that. ”

Wiping the backs of her hands against her cheek, she nodded. “Thank you. I suppose I should have recorded your statement of culpability in case you change your mind,” she teased.

The man chuckled. “Pull out your cell. I’ll talk directly into the mic.”

“No, I trust you. You have a very trustworthy face.”

“So do you,” he replied. Then he said, “I’m sorry about your husband. I don’t understand why anyone who loves someone would cheat on the person they love.”

Autumn shook her head. “It took a long time to learn that he only loved himself. Never me.”

Her words hung in the air a moment, and she couldn’t believe she had shared such an intimate part of her life with this stranger. She had told him more than anyone in Houston. The only person who had truly heard the entire sad story was Summer.

“Why don’t I call my insurance agent now and see how to proceed?

” he asked. “Maybe you can call your credit card company at the same time and check on their policy regarding automobile rentals. And you’ll need to notify the company where you picked up your rental.

” He looked around. “We should actually move our cars out of the way before we do so.” Pointing, he said, “Over there. I think they’re both drivable. ”

“Okay.”

The stranger came to his feet and offered Autumn his hand. She took it, an odd feeling washing over her as she did so.

“Thanks.”

His gaze met hers. “I still think we should get you checked out. For my peace of mind.”

“Let’s get business taken care of first,” she said, putting him off because she knew nothing was wrong with her. Plus, at the moment, she had no insurance coverage. The fees racked up for an ER visit would be astronomical.

Walking back to her car, Autumn sighed. This whole mess would take up the rest of today, and she had wanted to prepare for her interview.

Study the Hogan Health website, as well as the one for the hospital in Hawthorne.

Just thinking of what lay ahead in the next several hours made her head start to ache.

She opened the driver’s door and pushed aside as much of the exploded airbag as she could and got behind the wheel, realizing she held the card he had given her in her hand.

When she read it, an expletive was the first thing that came out of her mouth, a very un-Autumn-like thing to do.

Many nurses F-bombed all over the place, but Autumn couldn’t remember the last time she had cursed.

She stared at the name on the card. The man who had hit her was Dr. Eli Carson.

And she was supposed to interview with him tomorrow morning.