Page 2 of Fourteen of a Kind
“I wanted you to see this,” he spoke. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” I swallowed hard.
“It’s something, or there wouldn’t be tears in your eyes.”
“I just caught Landon and that skank Penelope in the on-call room.” I looked at the surgical staff, who stared at me.
“Oh, boy.” He sighed. “We’ll talk about it after I show you this.” He pointed to an area of the heart he was working on.
“What the—I’ve never seen that before.” I looked up at him. “How are you going to get that out without killing the patient?”
“That’s why I called you in here. I need your help. I’ve only seen this once during my residency. The surgeon I worked under wouldn’t touch it, and the patient died three months later. But we’re not going to let this patient die. Thoughts, Dr. Kind?”
I stared at the large tumor hidden behind the patient’s heart. “You will have to resect it, but you’ll only have about ten minutes to do it.”
“More like seven minutes,” he said. “Are you ready?”
“Yeah. Let’s do this.” I reached my hands into the patient’s chest and grabbed his heart.
“Start the clock,” Uncle Christian said to the nurse.
“Damn, that was intense,” I sighed, pulling off my scrub cap as my Uncle Christian and I walked into the scrub room. “Thanks for letting me help.” I smiled, pulling off my gown.
“I couldn’t have done it without you, sweetheart. Now, tell me what happened with Dr. Piazza.”
“He was having sex in the on-call room with Penelope. Six months, Uncle Christian.” Tears filled my eyes. “It makes me wonder how many other women he was cheating on me with.”
“You don’t give him another thought. No one in the family liked him. And if your dad had his way, he would have been out of your life after the first week,” he smirked.
“But I did like him. I loved him. God, this hurts so bad.”
“Listen, Ella.” He hooked his arm around me as we walked down the hall. “I know it hurts, but you’ll be okay. You’re strong and intelligent and know better than anyone that a man isn’t worth it. You deserve better. And one day, the man who is supposed to be in your life will walk into it when you least expect it. You’re only twenty-two.”
“Thanks, Uncle Christian. I’m going to change and head home.”
“I’ll see you later.” He kissed the side of my head.
Christian
“Marcy, call Dr. Piazza to my office stat.”
“Will do, Dr. Kind.”
I sat down at my desk and placed my hands behind my head.
“Hey, babe. How did the surgery go?” Charleigh grinned, walking into my office.
“Exhausting.” I smiled, holding out my arms.
She climbed on my lap and wrapped her arms around my neck.
“I called Ella in to help.”
“I heard.” A smile crossed her lips.
“She caught Landon in the on-call room having sex with one of the nurses.”
“Oh my God. She must be heartbroken.”