Sarah checked the clock. Three a.m. Oh, well, she’d had five hours’ sleep, which ought to suffice. “I’ll be right there.”
Leaving a note for Betsy in the living room, she hurried out. At this hour, she drove rather than walked, arriving at the hospital barely in time to deliver a baby. The mother, who already had four children, gave birth easily and quickly. Two more uncomplicated births followed.
A new patient was admitted, a woman six weeks before her due date, carrying twins. Although it would have been preferable to delay the births, labor had progressed too far. To further complicate matters, the first baby was in the breech position, with feet first, which posed additional dangers.
After a phone consultation with the patient’s obstetrician, who was out of town for the weekend, Sarah called for an operating room. Fortunately, Daniel was almost finished with his surgery and could take over the other patients.
She was about to begin the operation when Daniel poked his head into the room. “I apologize for interrupting your night off.”
“That’s hardly your fault.”
He glanced at the other staff and the parents, who couldn’t help overhearing. “How about breakfast in the cafeteria as soon as we’re done?”
Might as well get that discussion over with. “Fine,” Sarah said.
As soon as he left, the patient, who had only a local anesthetic, grinned at her. “He’s cute.”
“Hey!” her husband teased. “You’re taken.”
“Yeah, like I’m going to flirt in this condition,” she tossed back.
“A girl can’t help looking,” said one of the nurses, and they all chuckled.
Amused in spite of herself, Sarah made the first incision. The mom was strong and the twins both proved in good shape, able to breathe on their own and weighing in at more than four pounds each. The pediatrician cleared them for the intermediate care nursery rather than neonatal intensive care.
Tired but elated, Sarah went out. The day shift had arrived, and Daniel was nowhere in sight.
She checked her voice mail. A couple of frantic messages, one from him and one from her mother, sent Sarah racing to her car.
*
“I had no idea there was any danger.” In the early morning sunshine, Betsy huddled under a blanket. “The firemen think one of the gas pipes might have leaked and caused the fire.”
The scene was surreal: fire trucks, a paramedic unit and a police car filled the street, while neighbors stood around gawking. Sarah had hurried home, terrified of what she might find. Even now, her pulse was pounding and she felt shaky. She could only imagine what awful memories this must have stirred in Nina.
Paramedics, having determined that neither Nina nor Betsy required emergency treatment, had released the little girl to her uncle’s expert care. Meanwhile, the fire, confined to the kitchen, had been extinguished.
“The important thing is, no one’s hurt.” Sarah glanced at Daniel, kneeling nearby on the grass with his arms around Nina. “Still, this must be traumatic.”
Betsy shivered. “Just when she was starting to heal.”
Sarah wished she had a view of Nina’s face. In Daniel’s expression, relief mingled with weariness.
“You’re worried about her, aren’t you?” Betsy asked. “Go on over. I’ll be along shortly.”
“You’re sure?”
“I just want to catch my breath,”
Sarah picked her way across the lawn, stepping over the fire hoses. When Nina turned, Sarah braced for tears.
Instead, the little girl beamed. “I saved her!” Nina jumped up and ran to Sarah. “I saved your mommy.”
Sarah hugged her. “I was scared for you.”
Daniel brushed off his slacks. “Nina woke up and smelled smoke a few minutes before the alarm sounded.”
“I shook Betsy,” Nina said earnestly. “I saved her.”
“You certainly helped.” Sarah wasn’t sure a minute or two had made much difference. “I’m glad we had the alarm, too.”
“Even a few seconds is important where a fire’s concerned,” put in a nearby firefighter. “More people die from smoke and carbon monoxide poisoning than from flames.”
“I woke up Betsy,” Nina reaffirmed as the fireman continued collecting the hoses.
“Yes, you did.” Sarah’s mother came to join them. “Thank you.”
“My parents didn’t wake up.”
A shiver ran through Sarah. “Nina, did you try to save your parents?”
The girl nodded.
“What do you remember?” Daniel asked.
Nina pressed close to Sarah. “Mommy told me to watch the cooking. Only the pot boiled over and the flames jumped to the curtains. I ran to get Mommy, but she and Daddy were sleeping too much.”
“She left you alone with food on the stove?” Sarah asked in dismay.
A tear slid down the girl’s cheek. “She said I was big enough.”
“No, you weren’t,” Daniel answered with a trace of anger. “Your mommy made a mistake.”
“This fire must have brought everything back,” Betsy murmured. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Daniel told her. “This is a major step. She blocked the memories, and no wonder. She felt responsible for what happened.”
“Nina, it isn’t your fault they didn’t wake up,” Sarah said. “The fire wasn’t your fault, either.”
Nina’s mouth trembled. “It wasn’t?”
What a burden of guilt this child had been carrying. “No. It’s grownups’ job to protect children, not the other way around.”
Daniel crouched to face his niece. “Sweetheart, do you recall one night when I picked you up, when Mommy and Daddy had been drinking?”
Her nose wrinkled. “That nasty-smelling stuff.”
“Your mommy was asleep and your daddy could hardly talk to me,” Daniel went on. “I got mad and said angry things to them, remember?”
“Yes.”
“I loved them and they loved you, but when they drank like that, they couldn’t take care of you or themselves. I think that’s what happened the night of the fire.”
“You tried to help them,” Sarah put in. “You were brave.”
“And this morning,” Betsy added, “You saved me.”
“I’m glad.” Nina’s eyebrows drew together. She had a lot to think over, but with luck she was on the right path now, Sarah reflected.
Maybe this fire hadn’t been such a bad thing, after all.
Chapter Five
Over the next few days, the father of several day-care youngsters worked his construction crew overtime on kitchen repairs to restore his children’s sitter to business. A neighbor generously invited Sarah and Betsy to stay in her guest room until the house was restored and, to cause as little disruption as possible, Betsy continued to baby-sit Nina. Their hostess, a long-distance grandmother, was delighted to have the little girl on the premises.
Nina had been in a surprisingly upbeat mood, now that she was relieved of her burden of guilt. However, the fire had dealt an emotional blow to Betsy, who struggled to regain her usual good cheer.
“Life feels so fragile,” she told Sarah one evening as they prepared for bed. “It’s brought back memories of your father’s sudden death. We never know where the next blow will come from.” He’d collapsed one afternoon while they were grocery shopping. Even though paramedics had responded quickly, they’d been unable to revive him.
“You always tell me to look for the rainbow after a storm,” Sarah pointed out.
“I’m trying.” Betsy wrapped her arms around herself. “It’s just hard to believe life has happy things in store.”
Sarah patted her mother’s arm. “I’m still here.”
Betsy smiled lovingly. “Yes, you are. And maybe one of these days…” Her gaze drifted to a photo collage on the wall, showing their neighbor’s grandchildren. “Never mind.”
Sarah knew how much her mom longed for grandkids. Not much I can do about that, she t
hought, and changed the subject.
Although her path and Daniel’s crossed frequently, nearly a week went by before they were able to reschedule their breakfast. She arrived at the hospital cafeteria early, and claimed a corner table.
A few minutes later, Daniel showed up. Across the large room, she felt the impact of his dark, intense presence.
If only she knew where she stood with him. Since the fire, their interactions had been friendly but impersonal, yet he showed no interest in any other woman. What was it he planned to tell her?
Carrying a fruit platter and toast, he strode to her table. “Oh, I didn’t notice the waffles.” He regarded her serving enviously. “I might get some. No, never mind.” He took a seat.
Was he so nervous? But why?
To Sarah’s frustration, Daniel dug into his food with no further comment. To break the silence, she asked, “How’s Nina been sleeping?” There’d been no overnights since the fire.
“Like a log.” From little plastic tubs, Daniel spread butter and jam on his toast. “She’s been fine.”
“It’s amazing,” Sarah said. “She’s so chatty, she’s like a different person.”
“She isn’t a different person—she’s the happy kid she used to be.” He set down his fork. “She’s been talking to me about her parents, remembering the good times. It’s a big weight lifted from her.”
“It isn’t unusual for children to feel responsible when bad things happen around them,” Sarah said. “In her case, I should have recognized it.”
“How could you, when I didn’t?”
It was hard to explain. “There’s a connection between Nina and me. I don’t think I’m imagining it.”
Daniel’s gaze held hers. “Sarah, there’s something I need to tell you.”
Although she had no idea what he meant, his grave expression worried her. “What is it?”
“I may be breaking some ethics rule or other, but I don’t care. You have a right to know.”
At a loss, Sarah waited for him to continue.
“Six years ago, when you donated eggs, I accidentally found out that the person you donated them to was my sister-in-law.”
Astonished, she simply stared at him.
“I started suspecting it while you were coordinating your cycles. Misty was quite talkative about what was going on, and so were you,” Daniel explained. “When she had the egg transfer the same week you donated, I realized what it meant.”
In the process of egg donation, both the donor and the recipient synchronized their monthly cycles using birth control pills and other hormones, so the mother-to-be’s body was ready at the right point. When mature, the eggs were retrieved from the donor through a minor surgical procedure, examined by an embryologist and, if healthy, fertilized in a laboratory using the male partner’s sperm. About three days later, when they had grown to eight cells, the healthiest embryos were transferred into the recipient’s womb. With luck, one or two implanted and grew.
While some women chose to meet the donor, the recipient of Sarah’s eggs had preferred anonymity. Her medical records were kept strictly private, but that hadn’t prevented Daniel from guessing.
Sarah’s mouth went dry and overhead the lighting hummed loudly. “There might have been more than one transfer that week.”
“The timing was spot on.” A group of nurses strolled by, and Daniel waited to speak again until they were out of earshot. “I couldn’t risk revealing what I knew.”
“That’s why you shut me out.” Sarah had never considered a reason like this.
“Yes. I handled it badly, but I had no idea what else to do.” He reached for her coffee cup. “How about a refill?”
“Yes, please.” As Sarah waited for him to come back from the coffee station, she wished he hadn’t let her believe the worst. Yet if they’d continued dating, the truth might have slipped out and, if not, keeping such a secret would have created a wedge between them.
Daniel returned. “Where was I?”
“Dumping me.”
“I kept hoping we’d find each other again.” Regret tinged his words. “Then my brother lost his job and started drinking.”
Sarah recalled his earlier account. “You moved to Arizona for Nina’s sake.”
“She was helpless and vulnerable.” Daniel’s dark eyebrows drew together. “And I kept seeing traces of you in her.”
The light-brown hair. The green eyes. The shape of Nina’s chin. She’s my daughter.
The impact took Sarah’s breath away. She’d tried not to think about the child who might have been born, the child who drew half his or her genetic heritage from Sarah. In the Los Angeles-Orange County metropolitan area, with a population of nearly eighteen million, their paths were unlikely to cross, nor would they have recognized each other should that happen.
Except under these extraordinary circumstances.
“You sacrificed your career for my daughter,” Sarah marveled.
“I just dialed it down a few notches.” Daniel eyed her with infinite gentleness. “Besides, how could I help it? She’s such an angel.”
“Yes, she is.”
“If you want to be sure of the relationship, you should take a DNA test.”
Unnecessary. “Even if the test was negative, I love that little girl.”
“I can tell,” he said. “When I mentioned that she needs a mother, that was my clumsy way of working around to this explanation.”
“I thought you were looking for someone to bail you out,” she answered ruefully.
“Someone I love.”
Did he mean that? Could she trust the sincerity in his voice and the yearning in her heart?
“I didn’t rush things because you had such a low opinion of me,” Daniel said. “And well deserved it was, too.”
Embarrassed, Sarah recalled her remarks to Jane when she’d learned Daniel was joining the staff. “You heard what I said?”
“I believe the term egotistical jerk entered into it.” He slanted a smile at her. “Now I’m asking you to put all that behind us and give me another chance.”
“What kind of chance?” If he was asking for mere friendship, they’d better clarify that now. Before I dive into the deep end again.
“You’re the only woman I’ve ever loved, Sarah, and I plan to marry you.” Daniel leaned across the table. “However, I believe that, legally, you do have some say in the matter.”
Her last reservation dissolved. “You’ll have to court me properly.”
“Flowers? Jewelry?” he asked. “Coming right up.”
“Kisses and loving words.” Everything she’d missed.
“Long walks, laughter, making love,” Daniel contributed.
“Playing cards with Nina.” She couldn’t resist adding, “And making love a few more times.”
“A few?”
“Many.”
They were beaming at each other in front of the entire cafeteria, Sarah noted. “Maybe we should skip the courtship part. We’ve wasted long enough.”
“Is that a yes?” Eagerness lit Daniel’s face.
“It is.” Before he could make a general announcement, she added, “But we have to save the news until we tell my mom and Nina.”
“Let’s do it together.” He picked up his tray.
“Agreed.”
By the end of the day, Sarah felt as if she might burst with her news. At six o’clock, when the last patient had gone and the last report was entered into the computer, she nearly ran to join Daniel.
Her fiancé. Her soon-to-be husband. How incredible.
As she rode home with him, Sarah tried to rehearse her announcement. She was still working on that when they halted in front of the neighbor’s house. Their own home still wasn’t quite ready to occupy.
On the porch steps, Nina was playing with a kitten. Sarah’s mother watched the little girl with an unguarded expression of pure, aching love, touched with longing.
When the car pulled up, two faces turned toward them. B
etsy and Nina wore almost identical expressions of curiosity. Grandmother and granddaughter. How could Sarah have missed the resemblance?
Hand in hand, she and Daniel strolled up the walkway. The right words came to her at last.
“Mom,” Sarah said with a catch in her throat, “We just found your rainbow.”
The End
About the Author
Jacqueline Diamond has sold more than 95 novels, including romantic comedy, romantic suspense, fantasy, mystery and Regency historical romance, to a range of publishers. A two-time finalist for the Rita Award, Jackie received a Career Achievement Award from Romantic Times and is a former reporter and TV columnist for the Associated Press. She also writes the Safe Harbor Medical miniseries for Harlequin American Romance. To learn more about Jackie and her monthly ebook specials, sign up for her mailing list on her website, jacquelinediamond.com. Say hi to Jackie on Facebook at JacquelineDiamond Author and, on Twitter, at @Jacquediamond.
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