Her Doctor Daddy by Shelly Douglas

know… just doing my part for the community.”
    “That’s admirable,” Raul beamed as they exited the elevator, extending his hand. “Always good to see you, Dick.”
    “Obviously, we both have a difficult time staying away from this place,” he said, briskly shaking Raul’s hand.
    “Even on our day off,” Raul responded with a grin, peering over at Lexi. “Well, if you’ll excuse us, we have some errands to run…”
    “Of course, Dr. Morales. I have some things to do, as well. Always good seeing you two,” Dick said, extending his arm up in the air with a smile.
    Walking away hand in hand with Raul, Lexi looked over her shoulder to find the security officer still standing in the same spot, glaring at them as they exited the building. “Do you find something odd about that man, or is it just me?”
    “In my opinion, his awkwardness is probably due to a little crush he has on you.”
    “I don’t know about that. It’s a well-known fact that Dick flirts with everyone, Raul.”
    “Do you think it’s a bit odd that he just happened to run into us here at the hospital in the middle of the day?”
    “He said he was giving blood. Didn’t you see the bandage on his arm?”
    “Whatever.” Raul shook his head and then changed the subject. “Let’s forget about him and head toward my car. I have a surprise for you, remember?”
     
    * * *
     
    Moments later, the two of them were driving down the coastal highway south toward Ft. Lauderdale. After just a couple of miles, Raul made a right onto Beach Street and pulled into the Pompano Animal Shelter parking lot. Peering around, Lexi wondered if he’d made a wrong turn. “Is this the surprise?”
    “I thought you might like to see some of the puppies they have here. I’ve been known to do some dog fostering for them. Are you in the mood for a little puppy love?”
    Her face lit up like a Christmas tree. “I love dogs, but my dad wouldn’t let me or my sister have one. He said they were too much trouble, and we weren’t very responsible. Oh, my God, are you thinking of taking one home today?”
    “Probably not, I just thought it might be fun to visit with them. Come on, let’s go inside.”
    Lexi jumped out of the car and scampered toward the front of the shelter with Raul following close behind. Opening up the glass door, he was greeted by an attractive older woman.
    “Welcome back, Dr. Morales. It’s always good to see you!”
    “This is Lexi, and we decided to come over for a little quality time with some of your new arrivals, Gail. I’d heard that yellow lab of yours just had a litter of pups a couple of weeks ago.”
    “It’s great to meet you, Lexi! Yep, Missy and her puppies are doing great. We can go into the clean room to see them.”
    “Nice to meet you, too,” Lexi responded with a shy smile as Raul took her hand to lead her down the hallway. “What’s the clean room ?”she continued with a whisper.
    “It’s just a tiled room where people can interact with the dogs. Since things get messy in there on occasion, they built an area that can be cleaned easily.”
    After they stood in the room for a few minutes, the door swung open, and Lexi watched intently while Gail herded Missy and seven little lab puppies—two yellow, two black, and three chocolate ones—inside. “Why are they all different colors?”
    “I’m thinking that the father must have been a chocolate lab. So, when a yellow pup mates with a cocoa-shaded one, this rainbow of fur can occur,” Raul concluded, pointing to the frenetic onslaught of little furry puppies.
    Lexi sat on the floor and giggled like a ten-year-old, immediately immersed in nips and licks. “Oh, my God, this is so much fun! I want to take them all home with me!”
    “Aren’t they darling?” Gail responded. “What do you think, Dr. Morales? Can you take a couple of them?”
    Raul’s eyes shined as he watched Lexi interact with the puppies. “Come on, Gail. You know my living arrangements can