Page 41 of Fourteen of a Kind

Four hours later, the surgery was complete, and Mrs. Bentley was taken to recovery. Walking into the surgical waiting room, Mr. Bentley stood from his chair.

“The surgical procedure went great, and your wife is doing well.”

“Thank you, Dr. Kind.”

“You’re welcome. She’s in recovery now, and the nurse will come get you when she wakes up.”

After leaving the waiting room, I went up to the rooftop for a cup of coffee.

“Hey, you.” Karla smiled. “I heard you and Dr. Malone went on a date last night.”

“Does the entire hospital know?”

“Probably.” She laughed. “How was it?”

I grabbed my coffee, and we sat at a table.

“It was nice. We had dinner, went to get ice cream, and he drove me home.”

“And?” Her brow arched.

“That’s it.”

“You didn’t sleep with him?” Her brows furrowed.

“No. He was a perfect gentleman.”

Her pager went off. “I have to get back to the E.R. Aren’t you the least bit curious about what Dr. Malone has going on down south?” She stood up from her seat. “I know I am.” A smirk crossed her lips as she walked away.

The truth was that I was curious, and I would have let him spend the night. I heard the elevator doors open, and when I looked up, I saw my dad and Nicholas step out.

“Hey, sis.” Nicholas walked over.

“What are you doing here?”

“No school today, so Dad is letting me watch one of his surgeries.”

“Hi, sweetheart.” My dad walked over with his coffee and kissed the top of my head.

“Hi, Dad.” I smiled.

“How did your date go last night?” he asked.

“It went good. Graham is a really nice guy.”

“You know, Ella?—”

“Dad, don’t. If you’re going to comment about his age?—”

“I wasn’t?—”

“Sure, Dad. Leave her alone,” Nicholas said. “You know better than anyone that she’s more mature for her age than anyone else.”

“I know that, but?—”

“Dad, come on. Don’t you have surgery to scrub in for?” he asked.

My dad glanced at his watch. “Yes, son. I’ll talk to you later, sweetheart.”

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