Annie shifted uneasily. “Wren said she wanted the patients to know their time was valuable,” she said. “She apologized to all of them for you running late. And then she...” Annie’s gaze quickly dropped to the tops of her shoes again.
“Go on,” Dok said, her brow furrowing slightly.
“She said that the practice clearly needs more doctors,” Annie said, her voice smaller now, “and that she was looking forward to providing health care for everyone. But that...”
“Go on,” Dok said, feeling her patience wear thin.
“But that Dr. Stoltzfus had trouble relinquishing patient care.” Annie’s voice was barely above a whisper now. “And she hoped the patients would all encourage you to allow the residents moredirect contact with them.” She paused, biting her lip. “And then she served coffee and doughnuts to everyone.”
Dok’s frown deepened.Great. A coffee strategy.
“I’m sorry,” Annie said, her voice shrinking with each word.
“Annie,” David said, his tone warm, “you were in a tough spot. You were trying to solve a lot of problems at once.” He gave her a kind smile. “I think that’s all we need to know.” Then his face suddenly shifted, eyes wide. “But don’t let anyone drink the water until we get a plumber in here.”
After Annie left, Dok let out a long puff of air. “Thankfully, those patients are Amish. At least they won’t sue me when they find out my coffee got them sick.”
David lifted an eyebrow. “Setting aside the water pipe problem, Wren Baker had an excellent point.”
Dok reached for the phone. “Right now, I need a plumber more than I need a resident.” A loud bang came from the basement. “Make that two residents. Both of whom think they know what they’re doing and they don’t.”
David rose. “They don’t know because they don’t have experience. They don’t know because they don’t have anyone supervising them. They don’t know because they aren’t learning anything.” He gave her a look.
Dok frowned again. She didn’t need her brother telling her how to run the practice. “Since you’re such an expert on life,” she said, with a cranky edge in her voice, “I’ll let you be the one to tell Hank Lapp that his plumbing days are over.”
