A Diamond For Kate. Moyra Tarling

Kate replied, not altogether sure why she was telling Marsh. “If you’ll excuse me,” she went on, “I’ll pop down to the cafeteria now, it closes at ten,” she said. “Would you like me to bring you something, too?”

      “No, but thanks.”

      “I’ll be right back.” Kate flashed Sabrina a smile before slipping out of the room.

      The cafeteria, downstairs on the third floor, was almost deserted. Kate asked one of the kitchen workers for a peanut butter sandwich and while she waited, she remembered why she’d wanted to return to Kincade after her divorce.

      Kincade hadn’t been the first place she and her father had moved to that year, and Kate had known from experience that it wouldn’t be the last. Her father rarely managed to keep a job for more than a couple of months, usually getting fired either for fighting or drinking, or both.

      As it was they’d stayed seven months, twice as long as in most places. For the first time in her life Kate had not only felt at home, she’d made a friend.

      Piper Diamond’s easy acceptance of her had been the one bright light in what had been a life of constant change, a life of struggle, a life of misery. Unlike some folks, Piper hadn’t judged Kate by her appearance or by the amount of money she’d had, she’d simply accepted her for herself. For a little while, Kate had tasted happiness. She’d even foolishly begun to hope that maybe this time they would put down roots, this time they would make a real home.

      She should have known it wouldn’t last. And on the morning after Piper’s accident, her father had told her to pack her bags, they were moving on. Once again he’d been fired for drinking on the job.

      They’d driven through Arizona and New Mexico, ending up in Texas, where her father had found a part-time job on a cattle ranch. By then, she’d applied for entry into a training program for nurses. Just before graduation, she’d received a letter of acceptance.

      Her father’s job had ended and once again he’d told her they were moving. But this time Kate, old enough to fend for herself and wanting to strive for her own dream, refused to go with him.

      After successfully completing her training she’d moved to Los Angeles. While working at a hospital there, she’d met and married Dan Turner. But she’d never forgotten those months she’d spent in Kincade.

      Ever since her mother’s death, she’d dreamed of belonging. And Kincade had once embodied that dream.

      When she spotted the ad for nurses to staff Kincade Mercy Hospital’s new wing, she’d leaped at the chance to come back.

      She’d known for several years that Dr. Marshall Diamond worked in Chicago, so she’d felt reasonably sure the chances of running into him again were slim. The risk had seemed worth it.

      “Here’s your peanut butter sandwich.” The voice cut through Kate’s meandering thoughts.

      “Thanks,” Kate said and carried the tray to the cashier. Back upstairs she tapped lightly on the door, before entering.

      “It’s only me,” she said, then came to a halt when she saw Sabrina lying across Marsh’s legs, fast asleep.

      “She fell asleep,” Marsh said in a hushed voice. “At least I think she’s asleep. She hasn’t made a move in the past five minutes.”

      “She’s asleep, all right,” Kate confirmed as she crossed to set the tray on the table at the foot of Marsh’s bed. “I’ll put her to bed, shall I?”

      “I think we’ll both be more comfortable if you do.”

      Kate carefully lifted Sabrina from her father’s bed and carried her to the one she’d made up nearby. Lowering the sleeping child onto the blankets, Kate carefully removed Sabrina’s shoes, socks and shorts, leaving only her T-shirt and underwear.

      “She’s had quite a day,” Marsh said.

      “You both have. You should try to get some sleep, too, Dr. Diamond,” she added as she eased Sabrina between the sheets.

      After pulling the covers over Sabrina, Kate approached Marsh’s bed. She unhooked the call button from the wall behind him. “If you need anything during the night just press the call button,” she told him as she placed it in his uninjured hand.

      Kate started to withdraw, but Marsh quickly curled his fingers around her hand to stop her.

      “Thank you, for all you’ve done for Sabrina tonight.”

      Kate couldn’t speak. Tiny rivulets of sensation were traveling up her arm, causing her breath to catch in her throat and her pulse to stumble drunkenly. It was all she could do not to pull free.

      Although she’d often imagined what she would say or do if she ever ran into Marshall Diamond again, none of the scenarios she’d envisioned had come anywhere near the real thing.

      “I’m just doing my job. Goodnight, Dr. Diamond,” she managed to say, before slipping from the room.