Page 98 of Dr. Stone
There was a soft knock on my office door before Jake peeked in, “Sorry to interrupt, Dr. Stone. I’m just here to let you know I’ll be taking Mr. Jacobson’s consultation in my office. I’ll get him started.”
His eyes scanned the room, and he instantly understood why my special case was running long and why he was stepping in to take my next surgery consult. We’d already been in here for an hour, and like Jake, I wasn’t about to let my patients leave my office still losing sleep over a surgery they had every reason to fear.
I nodded, silently grateful Jake was keeping me from getting backed up.
“Take your time. We’ll go over the details of what is discussed later,” he said, referring to our patient who was scheduled for an open-heart bypass tomorrow.
The door closed, and I went back to work, doing everything I could to reassure the Haughton family that Jake and I were the best team they could have for their mom’s surgery.
A half hour later, I was walking them out to my receptionist—everyone now relieved and hopeful about the operation that would keep Mrs. Haughton around a lot longer.
I felt accomplished, but having not eaten a damn thing all day, I was starving. I hadn’t stopped all day, and I was grateful Jake had taken my three o’clock so I could finally inhale a granola bar before seeing my last patient at five. After that, I was out of here and heading out to get things packed and prepped to take Andie on the boat to spend the night anchored out in Catalina tonight. My plans were to have the boat ready to sail bythe time she dropped Brandon off at her parents’ place in Santa Barbara and returned back home.
I was excited as hell to see my lady, though a little bummed we wouldn’t have the little tyke with us out on the boat tomorrow night. Still, the plans I was already making for a moonlit, sexually charged serenade with her on my boat would more than make up for missing out on chasing dolphins and hearing Brandon’s excited squeals the moment he spotted one.
I peeled open my granola bar and set up my espresso machine to make an espresso for me. After I’d finished the granola in three bites, I took my freshly made espresso and sank into my sofa, viewing the trees that shaded the gardens beyond my wall of windows.
I heard a knock at the door and glanced over as it slowly opened, wondering why Jake was suddenly so damn bashful about barging into my office.
I stood up, and my eyes instantly caught the golden blonde of Andie’s ponytail and the dark curls of Brandon’s hair. My heart damn near leapt out of my chest with the excitement of her stopping by, going out of her way for me to hug my little stooge goodbye. I knew it was still a new relationship, but I didn’t think I could ever grow tired of this shit.
“Oh, my God,” I said, locking eyes with her green ones. “This is the best damn surprise yet,” I smiled, seeing those golden flecks turn so brilliant that her eyes shifted into their hazel color.
“I’m happy to hear that,” she smiled while Brandon reached for me.
I reached under both his arms and tucked him into my side. “Hey, buddy,” I said. “I love your boat.” I smiled at his giddy expression and poked my finger softly into the embroidered boat on his shirt.
I laughed when he bounced in my arms, his eyes wide and shining like he wanted to spill every thought in his little head.But all he had were two words—at least, what he thought were words. “Mah boh.” Anyone else might’ve missed it, but I knew exactly what he meant:my boat.
“That’s right, it is, little man,” I said and reached for Andie’s face. “You’re off early today, gorgeous?”
“We usually close the gallery early on Fridays, and Brandon and I were just on our way to my mom and dad’s,” she said, leaning into my free side.
Fuck, I could get too used tothisso easily. I felt like some champion dad whose wife just dropped by with their kid to break up the grind of a long day stuck indoors.
“I’m happy you stopped by. I’ve been meaning to tell the receptionists to send you straight back if you ever came by and I wasn’t with a patient, so you can imagine how thrilled I am that she did it without me asking.”
“I’m even happier I brought Brandon. You seemed a little bummed he’d be gone again this weekend, but my mom has that Fourth of July church event, and the fireworks over the ocean are Brandon’s favorite.”
“Damn, I wish I didn’t have to work on Sunday, or I’d sail your cute little ass up there tomorrow, and if you’ve got the guts, you could introduce me to your family.”
She chuckled, “My parents would adore you, especially with how you treat Brandon.”
“That’s good to know. Hey,” I glanced at Brandon as my watch buzzed, signaling thirty minutes before my last consult. “You wanna see something cool, little man?” I paused, then turned to Andie. “Can he be trusted not to throw a tantrum if he has to leave behind something really overstimulating and cool?”
“Depends on what that is,” she laughed, “and how much time he gets to enjoy it.”
“Well, I’ve got thirty minutes before my next patient, and down in Brandt’s pediatric wing, they just added a whole techarea where you can sit in the cockpit of an airplane. It seriously feels like you’re flying. Some next-level simulation stuff. I was thinking we could take a quick flight, if Brandt’s kids aren’t using it right now.”
“An airplane simulator?” Her eyes widened. “This hospital is insane. Brandon will be more than excited. He was already squealing at the holographic wall when it showed a real-life beachscape with planes flying through as we walked up here.”
“Ah, you took the fun route to get here, huh?”
“I just tried to remember how I got here the first time, but I took a wrong turn at one of the fountains and wound up in that area. It took running into Collin and him pitying my ass to help me get on the right trail to find you.”
“The entrance to the neuro-wing is pretty fucking astounding,” I said. “Everything is placed strategically to enhance the brain’s stimulation. Collin played a significant role in designing many aspects of it after Elena had difficulty recovering from her coma. It’s made to keep the brain calm, even when certain triggers are activated in trauma patients.”
“Unbelievable,” was all she said.
