[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

For the first time since she d begun receiving those
unwanted, unsettling gifts, Kate felt hopeful.
As they hurried to the hospital, her mind began
to race ahead, bracing herself for whatever she
might find when she got there. Still, Kate was
hypersensitive to the man keeping pace at her side.
He d refused to relinquish her hand and the warmth
of his touch the confidence he exuded gave her a
deep sense of peace. A strange feeling of rightness.
She glanced at him from the corner of her eye and
smiled.
Before Nick, she would have walked this route
alone. Before Nick, she would have been constantly
watching over her shoulder, jumping at her own
shadow. Before Nick she d felt alone.
How could one person change so much in such a
short amount of time?
****
Sometimes life really sucked.
Two DOA s, a critically injured child, and an ER
full of sutures, contusions, and fractures convinced
Kate of that as nothing else could.
But then there were those precious glimpses of
sunshine through the clouds of despair that made
you keep going, made you put one foot in front of the
other and trudge on. Like the tiny infant who d
survived the crash without a scratch. And the young
man who d suffered life threatening injuries, but,
despite the odds, continued to hang on to life with
grim determination.
She refused to consider her role in his recovery.
And then there was the miracle of Nick&
Kate dragged off her scrubs and stepped wearily
into the hard spray. The tile in the shower was like
everything else in the hospital. Cold. Sterile. She
braced a forearm against the shower wall and
95
Brenda Huber
heaved a sigh of relief, of exhaustion as the steaming
water pounded against her skin. The night had been
long and taxing. She had to work hard to keep one
patient from blurring into the next tonight. Each
was an individual. Each deserved to be treated thus.
And every time she d gone out to the waiting
room to speak to a patient s family, Nick had been
there. Sitting patiently in the far corner. Offering
her a bolstering smile each and every time. His
presence, his wordless encouragement had stroked
and eased some needy part of her she hadn t known
existed. By the end of the night, every time she
stepped through the waiting room doors, her gaze
had unerringly sought him out. Before she d even
thought to call for her patient s family, she d found
him.
And after she d delivered the stunning news to a
grieving family that their teenage daughter had
suffered a subdural hematoma and died, he d slipped
past the eagle-eyed charge nurse and found her in
the blood-spattered, curtained cubicle where her
patient had expired. She d lost her patient there,
and there she returned to steal a moment to
regroup. Smoothing his hands up and down her rigid
back, he d wordlessly drawn her into his arms and
simply offered his support. No one had ever done
that for her before, ever taken into consideration
what the loss of a patient did to the doctor who d
fought tooth and nail for his or her life.
Remembering again that young life cut so
grievously short seeing the faces of those who d
loved her and been devastated by the news of her
passing Kate leaned her head against her forearm
and wept softly. Kate knew some might look upon
her tears as a weakness she could not should not
afford. She looked upon them as an affirmation of
why she d become a doctor. She looked upon them as
confirmation that she was still human that a
96
Cravings
doctor& a good doctor& should be, above all things,
human.
Dashing the healing deluge of tears from her
eyes, Kate finished her shower, toweled dry and
dressed. Nick stood as she stepped back inside the
waiting room for the final time that night.
Or, to be more accurate, that morning. Glancing
at the large clock on the wall, she grimaced. Just
after four a.m. Then, unbidden, a smile curled her
lips. Just after four a.m. and he d stayed.
For her.
Ignoring the speculative glances Nurse Mindy
cast their way, Kate walked straight into his waiting
arms. God, he felt so good. So solid and so strong.
His deft fingers found the knot clenched tight at the
base of her neck and kneaded, slow and easy. His
warm lips pressed against her temple, gentle and
undemanding. He nuzzled his nose into her damp
hair, and she sighed as a low satisfied purr rumbled
deep in his chest.
She d sprung the information on him that she
had a stalker. He d responded with a simple pledge
that he d keep her safe. She d been afraid to walk in
the dark alone, and he d held her hand. She d had a
long, difficult night in the ER. And he d stayed& he d
waited, for her. She wasn t so naïve as to believe
every promise she heard& especially not one given so
quickly by a stranger. Yet, for reasons completely
beyond her understanding, she believed him&
unconditionally. He d meant every word.
His compassion wrapped itself around her like a
warm, fuzzy blanket, and Kate was as good as sunk.
She d never believed in love at first sight. In
fact, she d scoffed openly at the very notion. Yet here
she was an intelligent, independent, practical
woman suddenly dreaming of castles in the sky
and dashing, bold knights with smoldering amber
eyes riding to the rescue. She d known this man for
97
Brenda Huber
less time than it took her to decide if she liked the
feel of a new pair of shoes, and she d already begun
envisioning a future with him.
No, cynical Dr. Kate O Rourke did not believe in
love at first sight.
But she d fallen anyway.
98
Cravings
Chapter 9
Styx stood on the balcony, bare feet spread wide
on the cold grate, scanning the shadows lurking on
the street below. The sun would rise in a few short
hours; its approach as tangible as the ticking of a
clock s hands, thanks to the innate intuition all
creatures of the night possess. Instinct urged him
indoors, out of harm s way, and yet he resisted,
gripping the wrought iron railing in white-knuckled
fists as he focused his senses& all of them& on the
night around him.
The night had been home to him for so long now,
not that he d had much choice. Eventually, after the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

zanotowane.pl

doc.pisz.pl

pdf.pisz.pl

skierniewice.pev.pl