lay her face on Kat’s arm. As soon as she settled in, she popped her thumb out of her mouth. “We’re going to help the doctor take care of his little girl tonight. He says we’ll be a big help ’cause his wife is going to have another baby.”
“Dr. Fitzhugh’s wife let me hold Phoebe by myself.” For the first time the worry faded from Rose’s pretty blue eyes. “I even got to help feed her. She got it all over her face, but that wasn’t my fault. Babies just do that.”
Kat didn’t much like being beholden to strangers, but she was grateful to the doctor and his wife for distracting the girls. It had been far too long since they’d done something fun.
“Did you thank Mrs. Fitzhugh for letting you play with the baby?”
Both girls nodded as Rose answered for them both. “And when Mrs. Fitzhugh fed us, we thanked her for that, too, even if she cut our sandwiches in the wrong direction.”
Kat frowned. “You didn’t tell her she did it wrong, did you?”
Rose rolled her eyes. “No, Aunt Kat. You know we have manners.”
No thanks to Kat. It had been Meg, Kat’s older sister, who’d drilled the rules into her daughters. Her death had left a gaping hole in all three of their lives. The fact that Meg had died because of Kat’s mistakes was a guilt she’d carry to her own grave.
She let the girls babble on a little more about what had happened since they’d arrived on the Rafferty estate. Their voices faded in and out between waves of pain. Thank goodness Dr. Fitzhugh reappeared.
“Okay, girls, time to go. Your aunt needs to rest if she’s going to get better. Say goodbye for now. If she’s up to another visit, I’ll bring you back before your bedtime.”
Kat accepted her nieces’ kisses, trying not to wince when Maggie got a little too exuberant with her hugs. After they were gone, she let out a slow breath, trying not to give in to the urge to cry. Was it cowardly to wish that she’d pass out just so she didn’t have to think for a while?
As if he’d read her mind, the doctor came right back. “Miss Karr, I’m going to give you something for the pain. It will help you sleep, which is what you need most right now. Someone will be here with you all the time.”
She watched as he drew up a syringe full of some clear liquid and injected it into the tubing attached to her arm. Hopefully the stuff would be fast-acting. Oblivion sounded good about now.
“That should help.” Then once again he looked past her. “Let me know when you want one of us to spell you or if she needs anything. I’m going to see a few patients and then get some sleep myself. I’ll be right down the hall in the apartment.”
Kat closed her eyes, counting the seconds until the drug kicked in. Wow, just that quickly the pain had already taken a long step back. It was still there, but now its edges weren’t quite so sharp. Slowly, the throbbing receded until finally the tight band of hurt around her chest slipped away completely.
Oh, yeah, that was better.
Now, before sleep claimed her completely, she took stock of the room. Off to one side, she could hear someone breathing, a reminder that she wasn’t alone. Who was stuck watching over her?
There—in the shadowed corner across the room. Definitely male. Oppressively silent, he stared at her with an intensity she could feel despite the drug-induced fog clouding her brain. He looked familiar. She knew him; she was sure of it. The where and the why of their acquaintance kept dancing backward just out of reach, refusing to be caught.
“Who?” she managed to whisper right before the darkness swallowed her whole.
If he answered, she didn’t hear it.
* * *
Conlan stood up and stretched. He’d been sitting in that corner staring at Kat Karr ever since she’d gotten out of surgery. Finn had offered to relieve him so he could eat something and grab some sleep, but Conlan had turned him down flat, even though he knew that Kat wasn’t going anywhere. Especially with that cocktail of drugs Seamus had given her percolating through her veins.
It also hadn’t escaped his notice that the doctor had unfastened the restraints on Kat’s arms, but not the shackles on her ankles. Only three people had the keys to those—Seamus, Rafferty and Conlan. She was a