Kate froze at the suggestion. Talking about herself fell somewhere in her list of favorite activities between cleaning the toilet and scrubbing out the trash cans.
“Not much to tell,” she said, hoping to dissuade the woman without being rude.
“Tell us about your work at Doctors Without Borders. Adam tells us so little.”
Kate relaxed. She could talk about the clinic. “It’s challenging. We deal with poverty, primitive conditions and a language barrier. We all speak a little Spanish—very little in some cases.” She gave them a halfhearted grin, the first she’d displayed in many hours. “But despite the problems, we feel blessed to provide care to people who would have none if we weren’t there.”
Liza shifted her rounded frame to face Kate more directly while she pushed back a graying blond curl from her rosy cheek. “I’m sure it’s rewarding, and you’re serving people just as our dear Lord has told us to do.”
“Yes. We’re making a difference,” Kate agreed, filling the time by sharing stories of their living facilities, the patients they’d treated, the long hours they worked. “But it’s beautiful, too,” Kate said. “In spring the trumpet trees blossom with flowers. Mauve, rose, white. So lovely. The coconut palms get heavy with fruit. And the lagoon with the thick mangrove islands. And birds of every color. It glorifies the Lord’s handiwork.”
Liza’s smile brightened. “You’re a Christian.”
“Yes. My mother depended on the Lord to get us through…” Kate let the words slide. “Get us through” was more than Kate meant to share about the past. Without prayer and God’s presence, her childhood would have been devastating.
“Does your mother live nearby?”
Kate tried to cover her sadness. “No, she died of cancer when I was eighteen.”
Liza’s face skewed with sympathy. “Oh, dear, I’m so sorry.”
“That was fifteen years ago. I’ve learned to accept it. I like to think God has a purpose for everything.” Her words sounded correct, but so often Kate wished her mother had lived so today she could provide her mother with the home and security she’d never had.
“You’re so right. And she must have been a wonderful mother to give you such a good upbringing…and look at you. You’re a nurse. I’m sure she would be proud.”
Kate gave her a nod. “Yes, she would have been. I wish she knew.”
“Perhaps she does, dear. We just never know.”
Frank’s patience had reached its limit. He bounded from the chair and strutted across the room to the volunteer’s desk. Kate watched him pointing to his watch and to the telephone. She was sure the poor woman felt intimidated. He was a powerful, impressive man, and being the mayor of Colorado Springs, he was a man who expected action. Today he wasn’t getting it.
The attendant held firm, and soon Adam’s father turned away, grabbed a cup of coffee from the dispenser and carried it back to the chair. “Anyone want any of this stuff? It’s so strong, it could stand alone without a cup.”
Kate could attest to that. The acrid smell drifted toward her and curdled her stomach. She shook her head.
Liza sent him a “No, thank you,” then leaned closer to Kate. “Frank has no patience. I wish he could learn that not everyone jumps at his bidding.”
Kate only smiled.
“I volunteer here, and I always feel badly for folks who have to wait so long for their loved ones,” Liza said.
“You’re a volunteer at Vance Memorial?”
“Yes. I’m usually at the front information desk, but I fill in where needed. Like I said, God wants us to do for others. Since I’m not a nurse or a doctor like Adam, I help in this way.”
“What a lovely thing to do,” Kate said. She knew many rich women would spend their time at a country club or garden club meeting…all kinds of social soirées, but here was a woman who did something for others.
“I sit on the board of the Galilee Women’s Shelter, too. We do fund-raisers for the facility, help out however we can.”
Kate’s throat tightened, and she swallowed the emotion that strangled her. “Such a worthy cause. That must be very fulfilling.”
“Indeed. It’s sad to learn how many women—sometimes even children—pass through its doors.”
“I can imagine,” Kate said, holding back the feelings that continued to swell inside her. “I’m familiar with that center and its work. I’ve always admired the people who make it an option for women.”
Liza’s gaze searched hers, as if trying to read into her comment, sending a queasy feeling to Kate’s stomach.
“Our big fund-raiser is coming up in a few months,” Liza said.
Kate breathed a relieved sigh. She was grateful Liza hadn’t probed about her personal life.
“Fund-raisers require much work. We always need volunteers, and it takes many hours to make it happen.”
“I can imagine,” Kate said, letting her ramble on while Kate nodded and smiled, but her mind was on Adam. She knew his parents were worried, too. While his father ranted and raved, Adam’s mother seemed to use chatter to ease her stress.
A surgeon finally came through the doorway, paused a moment, then headed in their direction. “Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery?”
Frank and Liza rose like soldiers snapping to attention when brass appeared. “How is he?” they asked in unison.
The surgeon’s tired eyes studied their faces as if holding back something.
No. Not Adam. Kate’s heart jolted as anxiety reared like an angry stallion. Kate held her breath.
Chapter Three
Kate’s limbs quaked waiting for the surgeon to break the silence. She was concerned that Gordon Reese hadn’t come to speak with the Montgomerys. He’d performed the surgery.
“Your son is in recovery, then he’ll be moved to ICU. The bullet entered below the fifth intercostal space, traversed his diaphragm and punctured his stomach. We were able to stop the bleeding and make the repair.”
“Why didn’t they know that in Venezuela?” Frank said, his voice rising in volume.
“If he’d been conscious, Dr. Reese would have realized earlier, but the concussion masked the additional problem. If your son had been alert, he would have experienced abdominal pain. Remember, he’d already suffered a collapsed lung. Dr. Reese inserted a chest tube that saved his life.”
Liza grasped Frank’s arm, hearing the surgeon’s words. For Kate, the reminder was more than she wanted.
“Let’s be grateful the team spotted the next problem early,” the doctor said. “They notified the hospital and we were ready when they arrived.”
Liza looked at the surgeon with pleading eyes. “Will he…will my son…?” Her voice quivered and she clutched her hands against her chest as if in prayer.
“He’s critical…but that’s to be expected. We’ll know for sure in a couple of days, but for now, I’d say he’s doing better than we could hope for. He was in good health before the accident, and I’m confident he’ll pull through this.”
Accident? Kate wanted to explain it wasn’t an accident but a horrible crime. She clamped her lips and swallowed the words. Explaining wasn’t her place. She was Adam’s co-worker. Nothing more.
“I thought Dr. Reese performed the surgery,” Kate said.
“We operated together. Gordon is exhausted. That’s