“Thanks. I just hope my folks are home,” he added on a sigh. “They didn’t know we were coming today. I wanted to surprise them.”
“I know they’ve been looking forward to your return. What about Piper? Is she home, or is she still in Europe working for that magazine?”
“She’s still in Europe,” Marsh responded, thinking it had been five years since he’d last seen his baby sister.
“Well, I’m sure we can figure out something. I’ll see what I can find out,” Tom said. “In the meantime I’ve arranged to move you upstairs to a private room.”
Marsh felt Tom’s hand on his shoulder. “Relax and try not to worry.”
“Easy for you to say,” Marsh mumbled under his breath. He listened to the sound of his colleague’s footsteps cross the floor, followed moments later by the hiss of the door as it closed.
A heavy silence descended, and instantly a feeling of panic started to build inside him like a summer squall. The darkness seemed to press down, entombing him, bringing home the stark and inescapable reality that he was blind.
Where there once had been light and colors, depth and delineation, people and movement, now there was only an all-encompassing blackness that seemed to devour him, thrusting him unwillingly into the role of prisoner.
His breath hitched and locked in his throat, causing his heart to beat against his ribs at an alarming rate. Pain pounded inside his head, and the sour taste of bile rose in his throat. Swallowing repeatedly, he fought down the nausea making him gag.
Angry at his body’s show of weakness, a weakness he couldn’t seem to overcome, he gripped the bedsheet with his right hand. He braced himself as another wave of panic slammed into him, sending his heart rate accelerating once more.
Muttering a litany of curses, Marsh concentrated on slowly and deliberately filling his lungs with oxygen, before releasing it in one long, cleansing breath. He repeated the action, only this time, mingled in with the hospital smell of antiseptic, Marsh caught the delicate and exotic scent of jasmine.
Momentarily distracted, he frowned. The scent was vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t for the life of him think why. A memory danced on the edges of his mind, just out of reach. He inhaled again, hoping to recapture the perfume and perhaps jog the memory free, but the scent was no longer detectable.
It had to have come from one of the nurses, he silently reasoned, probably the one who’d tried to stop him getting out of bed, the one who’d prevented him from falling.
He remembered leaning hard against her for support, feeling her strength as well as her softness, recalled how there had indeed been the scent of jasmine in the air.
He shook his head. Undoubtedly his sense of smell was heightened by his blindness.
Marsh gradually loosened his grip on the bed-covers and, wanting to keep the panic at bay, turned his thoughts to the accident
The last thing he remembered was seeing the flashing amber lights, warning them they were approaching Cutter’s Junction, a busy intersection to the south of Kincade. He’d been talking to Sabrina, telling her how much they were going to enjoy living at the Blue Diamond Ranch with her grandparents and her uncle Spencer.
But the happy homecoming he’d envisaged had taken a bad turn, and now he found himself trapped in a world of darkness. Nothing in his thirty-seven years had prepared him for this new and alien world, a world without vision, a world that left him feeling totally powerless and utterly defenseless. Was this his punishment for turning his back on his daughter?
Chapter Three
“Kate, why don’t you take Sabrina upstairs to see her father?”
Kate opened her mouth to object, then shut it again, knowing she should have anticipated Dr. Franklin’s request. After she’d found him and explained the situation, Sabrina had begged to see her daddy.
“Is there a problem? I have a few charts to write up before I finish here.”
“No,” Kate replied, darting a quick glance at Sabrina. “It’s just...well, I mean...” She floundered. “Is he able to—?” She ground to a halt, hoping Dr. Franklin would be astute enough to fill in the blank himself.
“Oh—right.” Dr. Franklin nodded in understanding. He turned to the child. “There is something you should know. When the accident happened your father got a rather nasty cut on his forehead as well as a few bruises and a black eye.”
“A black eye?” Sabrina repeated. “I’ve never seen a black eye before.”
“Oh...and that’s not all,” the doctor continued in the same light vein. “Because of the bump to his head and the bruising around his eyes, your father isn’t able to see.”
Sabrina threw Kate a worried look before turning back to the doctor.
“I know that sounds scary,” Dr. Franklin continued evenly. “And believe me, your father isn’t happy about it, either,” he added in an attempt to make Sabrina smile. “But once the swelling goes down, he’ll be just fine.”
“He’ll see again?”
“He’ll see again,” the doctor acknowledged.
The news of her father’s condition didn’t appear to have upset the little girl unduly, and silently Kate credited the calm, matter-of-fact way Dr. Franklin had explained the situation.
“Can I see him now?”
“Yes. He’s upstairs in Room 516,” he told Kate. “I’ll catch up with you in a few minutes.”
Kate carried Sabrina to the elevators and lowered her to the floor after pressing the call button. “Dr. Franklin’s nice, isn’t he?”
“Can I press the number?” Sabrina asked as she scampered inside the elevator that had just arrived.
“Sure,” Kate replied, pleased that the prospect of seeing her father had cheered Sabrina. She herself had mixed feelings on the matter.
When they got out on the fifth floor, Kate felt Sabrina’s hand slip into hers and glancing down at the child, she flashed her a smile. “Everything’s going to be just fine.” But she saw that Sabrina’s steps had already slowed, and a look of apprehension clouded her small features. Kate gave Sabrina’s hand a squeeze. After tapping the door lightly, she pushed it open.
“Who’s there?” Marsh asked, annoyed to hear a slight tremor in his voice. Since the nurse named Heather had left, he’d become restless and agitated, hating the continuous darkness.
“Dr. Diamond. I’m the nurse who tended you earlier. I’ve brought your daughter to see you.” She tugged gently at Sabrina, who was standing behind Kate clutching her teddy.
“Sabrina? Sweetheart, are you all right?” Relief and excitement echoed in Marsh’s voice. He’d been fighting the urge to get up and go in search of Sabrina, foolish as he’d known it would be. But he’d needed to hear her voice, to know she was indeed all right.
Sabrina made no reply.
“Say hello to your father, Sabrina.” The nurse gently coaxed the child.
“Hello, Daddy.”
“Are you all right? Are they taking care of you?” he asked, trying with difficulty to keep his tone even, so as not to frighten her.
Silence followed his questions, and he had to bite back his frustration at her nonresponse. During the past four months, ever since he’d brought her home, she’d driven him to distraction at times by her unwillingness to communicate. He wished he could see her, see for himself that she was unhurt.
“She’s