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Before. Absolutely. But once the surgery started, I just told myself, this has to be successful. There's no room for failure. I believed I could do it, I took my time, and I did it. The surgery went smoothly.
INTERVIEWER
What do you want people to know about the Lighthouse Medical Center?
DR. JASON KING
It's not enough to be a good doctor. I cut into people, sure, but at the end of the day, I'm the one opening my heart to them. No matter who they were before now--they're here. They need help. And I've made it my mission to take care of as many people as I can.
INTERVIEWER
One more question. Your father left quite a controversial legacy. How would you like to be remembered?
DR. JASON KING
As a good father and a compassionate partner. If I can do those two things right, nothing else matters.
VI
At Last: Summer, 2019
90
Kenzi
There’s nothing like summer on Hannsett island.
Sunlight shines down, shimmering like tiny glass shards across the clear water. It’s a scorcher of a day, so I’m laid out in a purple two-piece bathing suit and a white, airy sun shirt that keeps my shoulders from completely going red. My face is protected by a wide-brimmed hat, a pair of sunglasses, and a hell of a lot of sunscreen.
There aren’t a lot of places to hide from the sun, after all, not when you’re out in the middle of the bay. Dock Buoy bobs listlessly, attached to a mooring ball.
I’ve spent my Saturday afternoon hard at work at the second half of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander. Life could be much worse.
I finish my chapter, dog-ear the page, and let my gaze travel. I’m curled up on one of the benches near the steering wheel by the end of the boat, and from my vantage point, I can see Jason pace across the deck. There’s an awning between us, but every now and then, he passes where I can see him. He’s wearing nothing but a pair of swim trunks, and in my stolen corner, I let myself admire his sculpted body: the outline of his biceps, his rippling abdomen, that perfect V that settles around his hips.
He’s talking intently to someone on the phone. I can’t hear what they’re saying, but he’s got his business voice on, low and serious. I watch as he hangs up the phone and pauses briefly to stare across the water. We’re not far from Hannsett Island—only a mile or two out, maybe—but you still get a good view of the island from here: the towering lighthouse, the medical center, and the boats swaying in the marina beside it.
When Jason comes back to the cockpit, I pull my knees up and rest my book in my lap.
“All good?” I ask him.
“Yeah.” He hangs from the archway that leads down below and tucks his cell phone into one of the hanging storage pockets. “That was one of the producers from The Dr. Mazie Show. They loved the footage. Wanted to offer me a regular segment.”
“And?”
He shrugs. “I turned it down. That was my dad’s vision. Not mine.”
“I’m proud of you.”
He grins then. “They did say that they’d be interested in doing a spin-off reality show about a polyamorous doctor…Paging Dr. Poly. What do you think?”
I wrinkle my nose. “Gag.”
He laughs. “I know. That’s what I said.”
He sits down on the landing beside me. I play my fingers through his hair. “Is it a curse to be so handsome?” I ask him.
“You have no idea.”
