“Thanks, Kate,” Heather whispered as they both left Dr. Franklin alone with his patient.
Outside in the hall Kate took a deep breath, willing her pulse, still racing, to slow down. Surely it wasn’t possible after ten years, and especially after his unfair treatment of her then, that she was still attracted to Marshall Diamond?
Kate shook her head at the notion and then headed back to the nurses’ desk, where Jackie stood comforting a woman who was weeping.
Behind them, exactly where Kate had left her, Sabrina sat, still hugging her stuffed teddy bear. When she caught sight of Kate, a look of relief came into her blue eyes.
“I’m sorry you had to wait so long.” Kate crouched in front of the chair.
“Did you see my daddy?” Sabrina asked in an anxious voice.
“Yes, but only for a few minutes. I had to leave when the doctor came in.”
“Is he all right?”
“Yes. But he has a cut on his forehead and a few nasty bruises,” Kate answered truthfully. “He’s probably going to have to stay in hospital overnight, just so the doctor can keep an eye on him,” she went on, wanting to prepare Sabrina for that eventuality.
Kate chose not to mention Marsh’s blindness, at least for now. Having seen similar injuries on other patients, she knew it was entirely probable his blindness was only temporary and would resolve itself in a few hours or by morning.
“Do I have to stay here, too?”
Kate smiled and shook her head. “By now the policeman who brought you in will have called your grandparents and told them about the accident. I bet they’re on their way right now to pick you up and take you home.”
“I don’t want to go with them,” Sabrina announced in a defiant voice, a scowl darkening her small features, a scowl Kate had seen before, one Sabrina had inherited from her father.
“Let’s take a look in the waiting room and see if they’ve arrived, shall we?” Kate offered the child her hand.
Sabrina stared at Kate’s outstretched hand for a long moment before reluctantly sliding off the chair. Tucking her teddy bear under one arm, she put her hand in Kate’s.
As Kate led Sabrina out of the E.R., she silently acknowledged that she would be relieved to give Sabrina to her grandparents. It wasn’t that she disliked the little girl, in fact the opposite was true. But this brief-but-unforgettable contact with the Diamond family had proven why she would need to keep her distance in the coming months.
Entering the busy waiting area, Kate immediately spotted the police officer. “I’m glad you’re still here,” she said as they approached him.
“Did the little one check out all right?”
“Yes. She’s fine. Do you happen to know if her grandparents have arrived to take her home? They have been contacted about the accident, haven’t they?”
“Well, not exactly, ma’am. I just talked to my sergeant, and he told me there’s no one at the ranch. No one, that is, except the stable manager and the stable hands. Apparently the family flew to Ireland yesterday to attend a sale of Thoroughbred horses.”
“Oh...I see,” Kate replied. She knew the Blue Diamond Ranch was known around racing circles for its stable of winning Thoroughbreds.
Kate felt a gentle tug on her hand. She quickly crouched down to Sabrina’s level.
“They’re not coming, are they?” the child asked.
“No. But that’s because—”
“I knew they wouldn’t come.” Sabrina continued in a voice that sounded cool and distant and much too grown-up for a five-year-old. “My mommy told me they didn’t like me,” she added.
“Oh, Sabrina! Surely not!” Kate reacted out of shock at the comment.
“Mommy said Daddy didn’t like me, either,” Sabrina blithely went on. “That’s why he went away. But my mommy’s dead, and I have to live with my daddy now.”
“Oh, Sabrina! I’m sure your mother wouldn’t have said such a thing about your father or your grandparents,” Kate chided gently, astonished and dismayed by the child’s comments.
“Yes, she did.”
Kate didn’t know how to respond. The little girl who’d been so anxious and concerned about her father earlier seemed to have vanished, and she couldn’t understand why the change had occurred.
“My daddy’s going to die, just like my mommy. Then I’ll be all alone!” Burying her face in the bear’s soft fur, she burst into tears.
Kate gently embraced Sabrina. “Oh, sweetie, don’t cry,” she crooned softly. “Your father isn’t going to die. He’s going to be fine. I promise,” she added, lifting the weeping child into her arms.
“Should I contact Child Services?” the officer suggested.
Kate knew this was standard procedure when no family members were available to care for a child. But she was sure this would exact too high an emotional toll on the motherless child. Especially given the remarks Sabrina had made about her father and her grandparents.
During that summer ten years ago, when she and Piper had been friends, one of the things Kate had admired and envied about the Diamonds had been their strong family ties. She’d never forgotten the genuine warmth and love they’d had for one another. As Piper’s friend, she’d had a taste of what this felt like. She’d even thought they’d accepted her. But Marsh had quickly set her straight.
“No, that’s fine. I’ll handle it,” Kate quickly asserted, as Sabrina’s grip on her tightened.
Kate readily acknowledged she was being overprotective and that Sabrina’s welfare was really none of her business. But she remembered how frightening it had been once when she’d been placed in a foster home for a few days with strangers, well-meaning people who’d tried to be kind, tried to understand.
She’d been so terrified she wouldn’t see her father again, she’d learned to accept his drinking without complaint. He was all she had left of family, and she’d been determined to stay with him whatever the cost.
“Marsh, be reasonable. How can I release you tonight? Not only are you suffering from a concussion, a mild one I grant you, but you can’t see—” Tom Franklin broke off and let out a sigh. Closing his patient’s chart, he moved to stand next to the bed.
“You’re a damned good doctor, Marsh, one of the best, and I agree with your diagnosis, that your blindness is more than likely only temporary—”
“Then let me out of here. Let me go home,” Marsh quickly cut in, though he suspected from the tone of Tom’s voice the argument was already lost.
“You always were a stubborn son of a gun,” Tom remarked. “But I can’t, in good conscience, allow you to leave,” he went on. “Believe me, if the situations were reversed, you’d be reading me the riot act for even suggesting it.
“You know as well as I do, even if the swelling behind your eyes goes down and the pressure on the optic nerves is removed, your vision won’t necessarily return right away. You’re going to have to bite the bullet and spend the night. We’ll reassess your condition in the morning.”
“All right!” Marsh grunted. Much as he liked and respected his colleague, Tom’s voice was beginning to grate on him, compounding the headache still throbbing at his temples, the same headache he’d only minutes ago denied even existed.
“You concede? Well, this is a first,” Tom responded with a soft chuckle.
“I don’t have much choice, do I?” Marsh countered, suddenly