Thanks for Giving Read Free Page B

before the procedure since she’d eaten more recently than the anesthesiologist would have liked.
    An orderly wheeled Molly to a room near the operating room to wait for the proper time for her surgery. While she waited, she idly thumbed through an old magazine and thought about her past with Chip and wished again that things had turned out differently for them. It was odd that she’d never really gotten over him and now here he was in the same town again. She might have to go back on the road to keep from running into him everywhere.
    Chip strolled in and smiled. “Almost time. I’m going to be watching the procedure. Dr. McMichaels will be scrubbing for it, but I’ll be there.”
    “Great. Just great.”
    “What?”
    “You’ve seen me with cocoa and flour in my hair, in a see-through blouse and in a really bad mood and now you’re going to look at my naked hip while I’m knocked out.” Molly laughed even though she really was mortified that Chip would be viewing her surgery.
    “You forget I’ve seen your naked hip before.” He winked. “Many times.”
    “You have to bring that up now?”
    “You’re the one who mentioned it.” Chip sat on the edge of the bed. “And speaking of that hip of yours, will you agree to dinner with me as soon as you’re home and well enough to go?”
    “What in the world does my hip have to do with dinner?”
    “I want to see if what we had all those years ago can be rekindled.” He took her hand in both of his. “After all, we can’t let all of my grandmother’s hard work go to waste, can we?”
    “What work would that be?” Molly’s skin was on fire at his touch.
    “She’s been praying since my parents moved us to Louisiana that you wouldn’t fall in love with anyone else.” He grinned with that devastating smile.
    “Ahh,” Molly nodded. “I see now why all my relationships have broken down and made me into this awful person that Jason says I am. Your grandmother has some powerful mojo there, Doctor French.”
    “I never said Jason said you were awful—”
    “Yes, you did, and I probably was pretty hateful to you this morning.”
    “You ran out of the lab like you robbed a bank. I would’ve taken you home, you know.”
    “You were extremely short with me so I decided to take a taxi to save you the trouble.”
    “I usually don’t abandon women who I escort places even if they make me a little peeved.” Chip squeezed her hand.
    “It wasn’t a date, you know.”
    “I wish—” Chip was interrupted by the arrival of the orderly.
    “Dr. French, it’s time to take her in,” the man said to Chip.
    “I’ll see you on the other side.” Chip leaned in and kissed Molly’s forehead.
     
    * * * *
     
    Molly woke in the recovery room with a nurse leaning over her calling her name. She tried to stretch but caught hold of her hip and winced. “Ouch.”
    “You’ll be sore for a few days, Miss Touchstone, but you’re doing so well that the doctor said if you feel up to it that you can go home in a little while.”
    “I may stay here since I live alone and knowing me, I’ll probably fall or something.”
    “I think your parents are in the waiting room. Maybe one of them can stay with you or you can go to their house. I’ve been a patient and it’s no fun to be poked and prodded all night. Trust me, you’ll get more rest at home.” The nurse handed Molly a Styrofoam cup with a straw in it. “Do you think you can drink some of this water?”
    “Yes.” Molly grabbed the cup and sucked in a big gulp of the liquid. It went down the wrong way and she choked and spluttered.
    The nurse patted Molly’s back as the door opened and Chip walked through.
    “What’s going on?” he asked.
    “The patient got a little too eager to get some water.”
    “I was parched. I don’t know what they put in the anesthesia but man, it sure made my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth.” Molly was both glad and embarrassed to see Chip. She was sure she looked