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Ben handed her his keys. "Why don't you pick her up? I'll ride with Pauli and we'll meet you at the hospital.
They were seated quickly, ordered breakfast and were able to talk while they enjoyed coffee and Diet Coke.
"So, Dr. Bellini, what's your specialty?"
"I'm doing my ER rotation right now, but I hope to go into orthopedic surgery. I'd like to do sports medicine. What do you do, Ms. Parker?"
She smiled at him "Please, call me Lane. I'm the Chief Privacy Officer at Telco Unlimited."
Before Pauli could ask what a Chief Privacy Officer did, Ben asked. "With all of the other excitement, I forgot to ask, did you talk to the kids last night?"
Pauli looked at his brother. He was dating a woman who had kids, interesting. As he recalled, kids had always been a showstopper for his brother. He must really have it bad for Lane if he was willing to overlook kids.
"Jess called to say they'd made it to L.A. They had everything unloaded and all was well. I'd been able to let them know we'd found Jeff. Jake especially was happy to hear it. Jamie told me Jess had let him have a turn driving through the desert. "
Pauli looked from Lane to Ben. Her kids drove to L.A. How old were her kids he wondered. Was it impolite to ask the ages of a woman's kids, the same way it was impolite to ask a woman's age? Maybe they were visiting their father in L.A. That had to be it; he had to have misunderstood something.
"Are your kids visiting their father in L.A.?" Pauli asked as their meals arrived.
"No, my daughter, Jess is a student at UCLA. My sons drove out with her to help move into the condo I bought for her." She could have been evasive, could have said that their father lived in Chicago. But, this would be the test Lane guessed. Ben had gotten used to their 12-year age difference, but how would he take it when he realized that she had children about the same age as his youngest brother. What the heck, just as well get all of it out in the open.
"My son, Jake is a grad student at KU, Jess is a sophomore at UCLA, and my youngest Jamie will be a senior at Rockhurst this fall. They're quite old enough to drive across the country or so they convinced me, not without a great deal of help from your brother, might I add."
Pauli was doing some quick math in his head. Ben was 36 and Lane couldn't be much more than that so she'd had her first kid when she was what 12? He shook his head. He didn't know what a Chief Privacy Officer did, but he did know that "C" level positions were very high in a corporation. Not that it couldn't be done, but most teenaged mothers didn't grow up to have "C" level positions he was sure about that.
Ben's phone rang and he excused himself to take the call. Lane smiled at Pauli. She could tell he was, either trying to figure out how old she was or how she got kids who were almost his age. She was trying to decide if she should just tell him her age, or if she should let Ben deal with it. If nothing came of her relationship with Ben, then it didn't matter.
Ben rejoined them. "That was Ta
Before she had a chance to comment, Lane's phone rang. "Looks like this is Maggie, excuse me." Lane said as she stood and stepped away from the table.
Ben looked at Pauli. "Here's the deal, I know she doesn't look it, but Lane is 12 years older than I am. Yes, she has grown children and I don't care. It's no one's business other than ours, and I've convinced Lane it doesn't matter, so don't you dare make a big deal out of it. Got it? If you have anything and I mean anything to say about it, you hold it until Lane's gone to get Maggie."
Pauli was speechless. He was a doctor. While he hadn't examined Lane, based on his observations, he would swear - that is testify in court - that she wasn't even 40 yet. In the short time he'd spent with her, his observation was she was beautiful, sexy, smart, and fu
Lane returned to the table. "Maggie's flight has just landed, and I need to take off. I'll see you at the hospital. Dr. Bellini."
Both men stood. Ben gave her a quick kiss. "Drive carefully."
Pauli smiled. "My friends call me Paul, as you know my family call me Pauli. Please feel free to call me by whichever name makes you most comfortable."
Lane leaned forward and hugged him. "I think Pauli doesn't sound right from someone who hasn't known you your whole life. See you soon Paul." She grabbed her purse and left the restaurant.
Ben looked at his baby brother. "Okay, let me have it."
Pauli shook his head. "She's amazing, bro and that's all I've got to say. Oh, and I can't wait to meet her kids."
Since their hotel was at the airport, it was a very short trip to pick up Maggie. Lane parked and got out to help Maggie store her suitcase in the cargo area. Once they were both belted in, Lane put the SUV in gear and then explained that Ben and his brother were going to meet them at the hospital.
"Paul is a doctor here in Saint Louis. He might be able to offer some professional assessment on Jeff's condition if you'd like."
Lane parked the SUV and they were walking into the hospital. Maggie was obviously worried, and would be until she could see Jeff for herself.
"I am so anxious to see him. Tell me, does he have tubes and wires everywhere?"
Lane laughed. "No, but he did have an IV last night because he was dehydrated. Of course, that could be gone today. When I talked with him last night, he was drinking water fine. As I told you this morning I'm going to let Jeff tell you what happened himself, but I should warn you that there might be a police guard outside his door. The guard was put there for Jeff's protection, but the kidnappers have been caught now so he should be safe."
As they exited the elevator on Jeff's floor, Ben and Pauli were waiting for them. “Maggie, this is Dr. Bellini. Paul, this is Maggie Donaldson."
Maggie and Pauli shook hands. "Have you seen my son Dr. Bellini?"
"No, I thought you'd like to see your son first. Then if he'd like, I can review his chart, but none of that may be necessary. I understand that it's entirely possible that he'll be released today."
Ben hugged Maggie. "It's good to see you again, Maggie. You two go on back. Pauli and I will be in the waiting area."
Lane showed Maggie the way to Jeff's room. The police guard was still in place and Lane nodded to him and had Maggie precede her into the room. Jeff was sitting up. The IV was gone, he'd shaved, and he looked like a different person from the one Lane had left the night before. She hung back as Maggie practically ran to the bed and embraced her son.
Lane waved to Jeff and said, "I'll leave you two alone to talk."
She joined Ben and Pauli in the waiting area. "The police guard is still at Jeff's door. I thought he'd be gone since they've caught the kidnapper and the drug dealer."
"I imagine they wanted to keep the guard in place until things are taken care of in Nebraska. There are still some arrests to make concerning the meth house. And, the girl had help getting Jeff to Missouri. As I understand it, the negotiations and interrogations went through the night."
"I was thinking that if they release Jeff today, perhaps he and Maggie could follow us home and they could spend the night at my house and leave for Omaha Tuesday morning. While I'm sure both he and Maggie are anxious to get home, seven plus hours in a car might be too much for Jeff all at once."