“Most of the room is finished.They were pulling this drywall out to make room for the dressers that we wanted to put in here.The floor looks fantastic.”He asked her about the fireplace.“It’s an ivory color, and I believe it’s going to keep us warm at night.It’s a lot bigger than I thought it was when we first looked at it.The drywall on either side of it has been taken out and widened for us.”
She kept staring at the money, and when Kayce said he was coming home, she put her cell phone down and stared at it all.Never would she have believed, even with Parker telling them that it was quite a bit, that there was that much money in the walls.When she’d pointed it out to them a week ago, Molly had honestly forgotten about it because of the news about the baby.Getting up to look out over the front driveway when Kayce pulled in, she put her hand on her belly.
“We’re not going to spoil you even though we can.You’ll have a happy childhood because you’ll be loved by the two of us.”She could hear Kayce taking the stairs two at a time to get to her.“I love you, sweet baby.”
They decided to do just what Grannie told her to do and take it out a little at a time.There was no point in flaunting the money around, but she would tell her Pop-pop.He would love the fact that his wife had saved them from a lot of rainy days.
Taking all the money out of the wall and off the roll, they put it in a large tote and put it in Kayce’s office.Dragging it down the stairs had been funny for the two of them.It had weighed a ton, and she couldn’t believe that they’d had to use a larger tote to put it in.
Deciding to leave it out in the open like it was nothing but another tote of books, she thought that no one would wonder about it, so it would be safe.Kayce said they’d have to talk to the workers who had found it so that they’d not say anything to anyone.
“I don’t think they will.That would be bad for them to know secrets about the families that they work for and tell on them.I can see that they’d have a lot of stories about people and their finds in the walls.”She said that they’d been looking for wiring when they’d removed the old drywall, and that was how they’d found it.“I think we’re going to be set up for the rest of our lives with what we have.We’ll invest some of it so that it doesn’t run dry anytime soon.I’ve gotten pretty good at investing since I went away to college.”
“That sounds like a good plan.”They decided to have dinner in tonight, and that was fun too.With the kitchen nearly finished, the refrigerator had been put in as well as the stove and oven.The island didn’t have any chairs around it as yet, but they made do by standing around it.She couldn’t believe what a couple of weeks’ difference had made in the whole house.She couldn’t wait until it was finished, however.“We’ll need to count it at some point, I suppose.Just to make sure that we don’t spend it all the way down to nothing without thinking about it.”
“I believe your grannie might have known just how much was in there when she said seventy million.That’s a lot of money to win from lottery tickets.But she did say that she’d won a couple of big payoffs.”Molly said that she remembered once her grannie winning a scratch off when she’d been about ten.“I guess she was right in saying that she’d been lucky with numbers.I wish I could have gotten to know her.She sounds like my grannie a great deal.”
They talked about the money for the rest of the evening.Tomorrow, when the construction crew came back to finish the bedroom, they’d talk to them.Kayce was still waiting for some applicants to fill out the positions in his office, but he was ready to go.As soon as the building was finished, he was going to be working on building up his clientele.She didn’t think he’d have any trouble.He was a good man and a better doctor than she’d ever known.He was happy to be able to do his own hours and work at his own offices.She was happy for him as well.
Chapter 6
Ethan was enjoying his job and the perks that went along with it.He got to see Kayce whenever he was in the hospital and even got to see the others when he was off.Being head of surgery was the best job he’d had in a very long time.He smiled when he saw Kayce coming toward him.
“I was just coming to see you.”They hugged as they always did when they saw one another.“I was wondering if you could put the word out that I’m taking patients.I don’t know how often you do deliveries nowadays, but I’m looking for infants to start off with.I thought that since you’re here all the time, you could hook me up.”
“I can see what I can do about that.You should call some of the OBGYNs around here, too.Those guys would know if a patient of theirs had a pediatrician or not.”He told him he’d sent out flyers to them to hand out.“Flyers?I do hope that you had one of the others do it for you.Shawn would hook you up right away if you asked her.”
“I did, and she’s the one who made it for me.Looks really professional too.Like I knew what I was doing.”The two of them laughed.“But seriously, you’ll have to come out and see my new building.It looks better than I thought it would.And the parking lot is nice and big too.I was surprised when I walked through it last night as to how much room I have, even with all the equipment there that I’ll need, even for just starting out.”
“I’m proud of you.”He was a little bit jealous of his brother having his own doctor’s offices, but he was glad too that it wasn’t him.He didn’t want the trouble of having to find patients to take up his time at this point in the game.“Are you going to have a grand opening?I would.Serve some little sandwiches that Jack can do up for you.I hear that Dakota and David are trying for a baby this time now that they have a successful business going.”
They went into Ethan’s office to talk, and he showed him around the office.It was coming along nicely since Georgie had been giving him things to hang in and put around his space.He told his little brother that he was having fun being the head of surgery.
“I can tell.I was never so happy as to see that people are working well together when I was here the other day.I had a tonsillectomy patient, and the surgeon was actually nice to me.Usually, I get the cold shoulder because I don’t do my own surgeries.”He told him that he was working on making sure that everyone got along.“It’s working, whatever you’re doing.I guess you learned that the hard way when Abbott was here.”
About six months ago, he’d had to take over a surgery when Sebastain Abbott, a surgeon who had been drunk more often than not, when he came into work, he’d had a lot to drink, and that wasn’t the way things were done.He ended up beating the shit out of him when he thought that he was trying to show him up.That wasn’t the case at all; he’d only been worried about the patient when he’d come into the room.
“We’re doing random drug tests when staff come to work.So far, it’s worked out great.Not many people complained about it as I thought they would, so I’m happy for that.”He asked if he was in the lot as well.“Yes.You might be called into the office to be tested as well.I’m even in the rotation when it comes to having tests done.I’m not ruling out anyone.”
“Good for you.I love that idea.”They decided to have lunch together in the cafeteria.The food was usually good, and it was quiet down there this time of day.As they were paying for their meals, a table opened up and they sat there.“I’ve been thinking about the renovations on our house and have decided that it’s much easier than I thought.Of course, the crew that’s working on it is doing a fantastic job.All the bedrooms are finished, but the master and the kitchen will be done today.All they’re waiting for is the stove to be inspected as it’s gas, and they want to make sure that it’s hooked up right.”
“I never thought of that having to be inspected.”They ate most of their meal before they began talking about their wives.“Shawn has been finishing up the house with Georgie.The stuff that she finds for the house is amazing.You should see my home office.It’s a dream come true.”
“I’ve seen her work.I think that when the house is finished with the things that we’re having done to it, Molly is going to have Georgie finish off the finishing touches around the house.We don’t have a lot of personal items, but for the things that were in the house before I moved in.William is enjoying all the pictures that we bring in when we go see him.”Ethan asked how he was doing.“I swear, since he put himself in that assisted living place, he’s gotten younger acting.Like he’s had a new outlook on the house.Of course, it helps him that his son and grandsons are in prison right now.I can’t believe that they thought it was all right to beat an elderly man up for his Social Security checks just because they wanted them.”
They talked about the trial for William, his sons, and how they still get a laugh out of some of the things that he said.Ethan thought that the man was off his meds or something, believing that he was to get a free pass when it came to murdering people.
“I don’t have a lot of time today to hang out.I’m sorry.”Kayce told him it was fine; any time that he got to spend with his family was good.“Thank you for saying that.I miss you guys even though I get to see you nearly every day.”
“I know what you mean.I saw Denver this morning, and it felt like it had been weeks since I saw him when it had only been a couple of days.I love you guys so much.”They hugged again as they parted ways, and Ethan wanted to cancel his day just so he could hang out with his brothers.They were going to have to get together soon, all of them, to catch up.It had been a while since they had had their weekly dinners together, what with everything they were all into nowadays.
He had two meetings that he had to attend, then he had to go and watch a new surgeon.He didn’t really have to, but he wanted to see how he treated the staff that was in place.He wanted people working for him who could get along with everyone.While he knew that was impossible, he also knew that seeing how they treat the nurses was a big deal to him.They were the lifeline of the hospital, and he dared anyone to say anything differently.
Going home at six, he was ready to call it a day and take a much-needed nap.Shawn would have dinner ready when he got there, and he loved her for that.Today, she’d had to have some workers finish the fence that was surrounding their house as a tree had fallen on it during the last storm.She could have fixed it herself with her magic, but like the rest of them, she was trying to put as many people to work as they could.The house was no exception.She greeted him at the front door when he got home.
“I’ve been thinking about you all day.”He said that he’d done the same, then told her how he’d gotten to see his brother.“That’s wonderful.I had lunch with Bailee today.She and Denver are planning a trip next month to go to Vegas.I hope they have a wonderful time.”
“Denver will be worried about how much money they’ll lose if they play any games.He’s always been a worrier about money and stuff.”She told him how she’d gotten that when she spoke to him about it.“One of my brothers who would enjoy something like that is Lance.He loves games of chance.I think that’s why he does so well in the stock market.He’s not afraid to take chances when he invests.”
