Buch lesen: «A Diamond For Kate»

Chapter One

“It’s Dr. Diamond!” Nurse Kate Turner exclaimed, instantly recognizing the unconscious man the ambulance crew had just wheeled in. Even though she hadn’t seen him in ten years, she’d have known Marsh anywhere. His indelibly handsome image was etched in her memory.

“Who?” asked the first attendant, as he maneuvered the stretcher into the first trauma room.

“Dr. Marshall Diamond,” Kate repeated. “Mercy Hospital’s new chief of staff.”

Ever since Kate had heard the news several weeks ago that Marshall Diamond had been hired as the new chief of staff for Mercy Hospital, she’d wondered if she was the only one in town who wasn’t cheering his return or rolling out the red carpet.

“What have we here?” Dr. Tom Franklin, head of the Emergency Department, asked as he joined them.

“Car accident victim,” the attendant replied. “A teenage driver ran the red light at Cutter’s Junction and rammed into the driver’s side of this guy’s car. He’s got a head injury, possible fracture of the left arm and various cuts and bruises. Nurse here says the victim is one of yours, a Dr. Diamond.”

“My God! She’s right,” Dr. Franklin said in a shocked voice. “Okay, team. On the count of three let’s move him over.”

Kate and the other staff members in the room lifted Marsh from the stretcher to the hospital bed.

An array of emotions swept through Kate as her gaze once more came to rest on Marsh’s bloodied face. She focused her scattered thoughts and proceeded to clean the facial injuries, wiping away the blood seeping from a deep cut just below his hairline.

“That looks nasty,” Dr. Franklin commented. “And there’s a swelling above his right eye. He must have hit the steering wheel,” he added as he studied the wound. “That cut will definitely need stitching. Has he regained consciousness at all?”

“Yes, but only for a few seconds,” the attendant replied. “He was disoriented and mumbling something about his daughter. She was belted into the passenger seat and appeared to be all right. He took the brunt of the collision.”

“Thanks. We’ll take it from here,” Dr. Franklin said. “Kate, once you’re finished cleaning that wound, I’ll put in a few sutures to close it. When I’m done, Jackie can take him upstairs to X-ray his left wrist We’re probably looking at a possible concussion. Kate, alert X ray, and tell them to give this top priority. I want to see those films, stat.”

“Yes, doctor,” Kate replied.

While Dr. Franklin continued his examination, Kate finished up in the room and then went to the phone at the nurses’ desk.

“I’m taking Dr. Diamond up now,” said Jackie Gibson, another Emergency nurse, as she wheeled the gurney into the hallway. “I’ll be right back.”

“Fine,” Kate replied. “Oh, Jackie, one of the ambulance guys said the doctor’s daughter was in the car with him. Has she been brought in yet?”

“I think she just arrived.”

Kate spun around to see a policeman, carrying a child of about five years old, wearing red shorts and a yellow T-shirt, and hugging a teddy bear. She had shoulder-length hair the color of corn silk, and it was obvious from her blotchy face and tearstained cheeks she’d been crying.

“Is this the little girl from the accident?” Kate asked, glimpsing fear in the child’s eyes.

“Yes,” the policeman confirmed. “How’s her father doing?”

“He’s on his way up to X ray. Is she hurt?”

“I don’t think so. But you’d better check her over just to make sure.”

“Here, let me take her.” Kate lifted the child into her arms and crossed to one of the curtained beds.

“Lucky for her she was wearing her seat belt,” the policeman said, following beside them. “Uh...listen, nurse. While you take care of her, I’ll give my sergeant at the station a call.”

“Sure, go ahead,” Kate said as she gently lowered the girl onto the bed.

“Who have we here?” asked Dr. Davis, one of the E.R. residents.

“Can you tell us your name?” Kate asked.

“Sa...Sabrina Diamond,” came the ragged reply.

“Sabrina. That’s a lovely name,” Kate responded warmly. “I’m Kate.

Dr. Davis approached the bed and flashed the child a kindly smile.

“Sabrina and her father were in a car accident,” Kate went on. “She appears to be all right.”

“Let’s take a quick look shall we?” Dr. Davis said.

Kate stood by while the doctor examined the child.

“You’re a very lucky girl, Sabrina,” Dr. Davis finally said, but the child made no response, simply hugging her teddy bear tighter. He turned to Kate and lowered his voice. “Find out how her father is doing and then contact any family.”

After the doctor departed, Kate studied her patient more closely, noting that her eyes were the same startling blue as her father’s. She even had the same serious look about her, but there was also a deep sadness in Sabrina’s eyes that tugged at her heart. She knew the child’s mother had died in a boating accident several months ago. At the time Kate had felt an affinity with the five-year-old, having lost her own mother when she’d been the same age.

“I know it must have been scary for you being in an accident. But Dr. Davis says you’re just fine.” Reaching for a box of tissues beside the bed, she wiped a stray tear from the girl’s face.

While there was no visible evidence of any physical injury, Kate knew that being in the accident, seeing a loved one bleeding and unconscious beside her had to have been a highly traumatic experience for the child.

“Is my daddy dead?” The question was asked in a voice that quavered with emotion.

“No. But he was hurt in the accident.” She kept her tone even, then watched helplessly as Sabrina’s eyes filled with fresh tears.

“Can I see him?”

“He’s been taken upstairs for X rays.”

“What’s an X ray?”

“Your daddy might have broken his arm in the accident. An X ray is a machine that can take pictures of his bones to see if any are broken,” she explained, fighting the urge to reach out and pull the child into her arms.

“Does it hurt?”

Kate smiled. “No, X rays don’t hurt.”

“When can I see him?”

“I don’t know if...” Kate began, and immediately regretted her words, as the tears hovering on Sabrina’s lashes spilled over to cascade down her pale cheeks.

“Aw...sweetheart, don’t cry.” Kate grabbed more tissues from the box and wiped away the tears. “Your father’s being well looked after, I promise you.”

The child’s lower lip continued to tremble. “I want to see my daddy,” she stated emphatically before burying her face against her teddy bear.

Kate put her arm around Sabrina’s shoulder, easily understanding the child’s need to see her father. No doubt, with the loss of her mother still fresh in her mind, she simply wanted confirmation that her father was indeed alive.

“Hey! I know,” Kate said cheerily. “X rays don’t take very long. The nurse has probably brought him back downstairs by now. Let’s go and see, shall we?”

Sabrina sniffed and raised her head to look at Kate. “Okay,” she said.

Lifting the child from the bed, Kate lowered her to the floor. When Sabrina’s tiny hand slid into hers, Kate gave it a gentle squeeze. She led the way to the nurses’ desk where Jackie stood talking on the phone.

As they approached, Jackie replaced the receiver. “Hi Kate. Who have we here?” she asked with a friendly smile.

“This is Sabrina. She’s Dr. Diamond’s daughter. Dr. Davis just checked her over, and she’s fine. But she’s worried about her father. Is he back from X ray?”

“Yes. I brought him down myself five minutes ago.”

“Where is he? I thought he might like to see for himself that his daughter is all right.”

“Uh...” Jackie began and darted a quick glance at the child who stood quietly at Kate’s side. She leaned toward Kate. “He still hasn’t regained consciousness,” she whispered.

Kate felt Sabrina tug at her hand, and she bent to scoop the child into her arms.

“Can I see my daddy now?” Sabrina asked, anxiety threading her voice.

“I’m sorry, sweetie,” Jackie quickly jumped in. “But it’s against the rules.”

Sabrina’s eyes instantly filled with tears.

“I’ll tell you what,” Kate suggested, throwing Jackie a pleading glance. “If you stay here with Jackie, I’ll go take a peek at your father and see how he is. Okay?”

Sabrina sniffed and nodded.

Moving around the desk, Kate settled Sabrina into the swivel chair.

“Dr. Franklin told me to put Dr. Diamond in the old plaster room down the hall. It’s quieter and a little more private there,” Jackie told Kate. “Heather’s with him.”

“Thanks.” Kate turned to Sabrina. “I’ll be right back.”

Threading her way to the rear of Emerg, Kate paused at the door to the plaster room. Had Marsh regained consciousness? And if so, would he remember her?

Kate could still recall with vivid clarity the way he’d looked at her the night of the accident, an accident that nearly cost his sister, Piper, her life.

Piper Diamond, the popular, fun-loving and sometimes reckless sixteen-year-old, had been the only teenager at Kincade High who had made an effort to make Kate feel welcome, when Kate had transferred into the school in early March. Piper had taken her under her wing, instantly seeing through Kate’s facade of careless indifference to the vulnerable, lonely girl beneath.

Once the high school had let out for the holidays, Kate had spent a lot of time with Piper and her brother, the handsome med student who’d come home to study for his exams. Marsh had even taught her how to ride, after first helping her overcome her childhood fear of horses.

Kate had enjoyed the fact that Piper and her brother had treated her like a member of the family, but as the hot summer days passed, her thoughts and feelings for Marsh had intensified and had been anything but sisterly, because she’d developed a giant-size crush on him. Only later had she seen that his friendship was nothing more than polite tolerance.

A bitter smile curled at the corners of her mouth at the memory, a memory that still had the power to hurt. Annoyed at herself and the route her thoughts had taken, she drew a deep steadying breath and opened the door.

Heather Jones, also working part-time for the summer, glanced up from reading the patient’s chart. “Kate, what brings you here?”

Kate darted a quick glance to the supine figure on the bed, noting his left arm wasn’t in a cast but bandaged and in a sling, and proceeded to tell Heather about Sabrina’s concern.

“He’s rather restless,” Heather said. “Dr. Franklin is confident it’s only a matter of time before he’ll regain consciousness. He was thrashing and moaning a few minutes ago, but he’s settled down again.”

Kate cast another nervous glance at the patient. “His arm isn’t broken?”

“Apparently not. It’s just a light sprain. He’s a lucky man. The teenager who hit him wasn’t wearing his seat belt, and his injuries are much worse. He had to have his spleen removed, not to mention that he’s got a broken leg and multiple lacerations.”

“That’s too bad.”

“Uh...Kate, I hate to ask, but while you’re here, would you do me a favor?” Heather hurried on.

“A favor?”

“I’m under orders to stay with Dr. Diamond until he regains consciousness. But Dr. Franklin needs the lab results from a test he had done on another patient earlier tonight. Could you stick around while I run upstairs to the lab?”

Kate hesitated. “Sure,” she finally said, certain Heather would do the same for her if the situation was reversed.

“Thanks. I’ll be as quick as I can.”

Kate stood for several seconds after Heather left, listening to the sound of Marsh’s steady breathing. Slowly she inched her way toward him, her curiosity overriding her reluctance to be anywhere near the man who’d treated her with such disdain the last time they’d met. Her stomach muscles tightened with tension as her pulse kicked into high gear.

Slowly she studied his ashen face. He hadn’t changed much. He looked older, more mature, but even after all this time he was still the most attractive man she’d ever known.

A clean dressing now covered the cut she’d treated earlier. His thick black hair, normally brushed back, was in careless disarray, falling across his forehead to soften his features. He looked totally vulnerable, completely defenseless, and Kate had to stop herself from reaching out to touch him. She felt her heart pound against her breastbone, then quickly right itself when she noticed that the bruise over his right eye had begun to change color, darkening from red to purple and spreading over his eyelids.

Continuing her perusal, Kate noted the sweeping curve of ebony lashes that were just like his daughter’s, before her gaze settled on the fullness of his lips, lingering there for several long seconds.

Her pulse tripped in double time and a shiver chased through her as she recalled how she’d once tried to imagine what it would be like to have Marsh kiss her.

Suddenly his lips began to move, his mouth opening to emit a low, pain-filled moan.

Kate couldn’t move. Her feet seemed to be glued to the floor as she watched his eyelids flicker before his lashes lifted to reveal incredible ice-blue eyes.

Marsh moaned again, louder this time, a sound that tore at Kate’s heart. His arms started flailing, but the sling restricted his movements. He grew more frantic by the second, tugging at the bedclothes in an attempt to break free.

Fearful he might hurt himself, Kate placed her hands gently but firmly across his chest to restrain him.

Marsh’s struggles intensified.

“Dr. Diamond. Please, take it easy.” Kate spoke softly, hoping to calm him. “You were in a car accident, and you’ve been brought to Mercy Hospital.”

At her words he immediately stopped struggling. “An accident?” he repeated, his voice little more than a hoarse whisper. “My daughter? Where’s my daughter? Is Sabrina all right?”

“Your daughter’s fine,” Kate assured him, wishing Heather would return, sure at any moment Marsh would turn and recognize her.

He clutched her arm, and she felt his fingers dig painfully into her flesh. “Why is it dark in here?” he asked, panic vibrating through his voice. “Why can’t I see?”