Page 27 of Fourteen of a Kind

“I’m doing my best to save this patient’s arm,” my Uncle Conner spoke. “He has massive tissue loss.”

After five hours in the operating room, we were finally done, and the patient was stabilized.

“Get him up to the ICU,” I told the nurse. “And page me when he wakes up.”

I removed my blood-soaked gown and gloves, throwing them in the bin before leaving the room.

“That was intense,” Graham said.

“Yeah. It sure was. I’m just happy the patient is going to be okay.”

“Can I ask you a question?” Graham asked.

“Yeah. Sure.”

“How many Dr. Kinds are there?”

I laughed. “Well, there’s me, my Uncle Christian, my Uncle Conner, my dad, Grayson, my Uncle Jackson, and Gabriel. Oh, and there’s Charlotte, who is my aunt and married to my Uncle Conner. Then there’s my aunt Georgia, who is OB and married to my Uncle Jackson. And Dr. Emilia Kind is a pediatrician at the medical center.”

“I’m sorry. You lost me somewhere.” He chuckled.

“I have a very big family. It can get confusing.” I smiled.

“You were great in there, Dr. Kind. I’m happy I got to witness you in action.”

“Thanks, Dr. Malone.”

“How is the patient?” My Uncle Christian walked up to us.

“He’s stabilized. Uncle Conner was able to save his arm.”

“Good to hear. Come with me, Dr. Malone, and I’ll show you around.”

I smiled at Graham as he went off with my Uncle Christian.

“He’s handsome.” My Uncle Conner walked over and hooked his arm around me.

“Stop it, Uncle Conner. But, yeah, he is.” I smiled.

“I’ll see you later, sweetheart. Great work in the O.R.”

My phone rang, and when I pulled it out of my pocket, I saw Lily was Facetiming me.

“Hey.” I smiled. “You’re on the plane?”

“Yeah.”

“Where’s Adrien?”

“He’s in the bathroom. Listen. Thanks for telling my mom and dad about Adrien. I was prepared for my dad’s wrath when he called me. He tried to FaceTime me, but I kept rejecting it. I told him the connection was bad.”

I laughed.

“Just so you know, he told Simon to get his gun ready.” I smirked.

She rolled her eyes. “I can’t wait for you to meet him, Ella.”

“I can’t wait to meet him.”

---