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32
Finley Creek General Hospitalwas a good place to work. It wasn't without its problems, of course. Hospitals of this size never were. But Bonnie had worked in ones before that didn't have quite the same atmosphere. She liked it at FCGH.That several of her girls worked there as well, that was just an added bonus.
She loved them so, so much. But this one—this one could complicate just about everything in an instant. Well, this one and her Crispin Maria and her little Hazel Hope. Those three together, it was a wonder Bonnie didn’t have completely gray hair. “Samia, talk. Tell me what’s bothering you."
Her niece looked at her, confusion in her big dark eyes. "I don't know what to talk about. What is there to say? I told him no. And now I'm moving on."
"Dr. Duvall is a nice man." Mostly. He was just ok. Bland. Like he deliberately tried to blend into the woodwork. He wasn't exactly one who stood out. Something about him just didn't feel right to her sometimes. But Samia had to judge someone based on her own interactions—not be told how to by her aunt. "So what did he say?"
"I think it made him angry, Mom.” Samia sighed, a confused look on her gamine face. All of Bonnie’s girls would call her “Mom” sometimes. Usually when they were upset. Needing a little extra love. “I didn't want that. He's a perfectly nice man, I think. I just…"
Samia was one of the most complex of Bonnie’s girls. She always had been. She'd be a trauma surgeon in two years, if everything went to plan. Bonnie was so proud of her, she could burst. Samia had some learning challenges as a child, but she'd worked twice as hard. And had overcome. She was Bonnie's most intense, competitive child.
She'd always wanted to be the best.
Probably because of those learning challenges, and being stuck right in the middle of the Coleson pack.
Samia would triumph one day. She was as brilliant as her grandfather and her great-grandfather, and as soft-hearted and kind as her mother had been. There was no doubt about that. "If you said no, sweetie, there was a reason. I'm sure he understood. I'm sure there is another woman out there for him who will suit him better."
Bonnie hated to see one of her girls hurting.
She paid for her tray and started to turn, when a man bumped into her. Bonnie balanced her tray and looked into his pale eyes.
She fought a shiver. The man, a good ten to fifteen years older than she was, had eyes so cold and pale they looked like blue ice. "Excuse me, sir. I turned too quickly."
He stared at her, then straightened his shoulders. He'd been stooping a little. He was very tall, a good seven or eight inches taller than her own five eight. His shoulders were quite broad. He was still very fit.
He had probably been a very handsome man when he was younger. Formidable.
He had what was calledpresencenow, as well.
Something about him terrified her.
It was like she'd met him before. She was almost certain she had seen him before.
She was being silly; it had probably been right there in the hospital. It was a busy place, after all. She was just seeing ghosts, or something. She’d had ghosts on the brain since visiting her father’s grave. No denying that.
"What is your name?" he asked abruptly. Rudely. Like he was used to being instantly obeyed. His gaze moved to the name tag on the lanyard. "Bonita? Have we met before?"
"I don't believe so. I'm sorry I bumped you." She was ready to move around him right now. Bonnie fought a shiver.
The way helookedat her just did not feel right.
He smiled at her, then looked at Samia next to her. He checked Samia’s name tag quickly, eyebrows going up. “Tell me, you two are related? You favor each other quite strongly.”
"Samia is my niece.” They did, to some extent. Every Coleson resembled each other in some way—dark hair, dark eyes, similar smiles. Body weight and height and hair texture and complexion—and Joy’s crazy white-blond hair—were about all that differed.
"Of course, you have the same beautiful eyes. I am sorry; I wasn't watching where I was going. Tell me, Coleson…any relation to Dr. Iagan Coleson? I heard him lecture when I was just starting university. He is the one who inspired me to pursue a career in medicine.”
“He was my great-grandfather, Samia’s great-great-grandfather, sir,” Bonnie said. This was a question she had answered many times. Coleson was a name many in medicineknew.
“He was a great man. His grandson was as well, and quite brilliant, I believe?”
“Yes, my father was. And my grandfather. My sisters and I miss them every day.”
“I do apologize for bumping you, my dear.”
It had been Bonnie's fault; they both knew that. But he was being a gentleman. He still made her nervous. He had an instinctive part of her flaring up, urging her to grab her niece by the hand like she used to when Samia was little, and get her niece as far away from him as she possibly could.
