Pirate's Gold (2 of 3 free samples)

---

COPYRIGHT
Pirate's Gold by Lisa Jackson. Copyright 2007 by Harlequin Books S.A.
All Rights Reserved. Sharing not permitted.

---

Previous | Next

CHAPTER ONE (CONT'D)

Kyle considered calling the hospital again, but pushed the thought out of his mind. It had been less than an hour since his last call, when he had been politely but firmly told that Miss Sterling was still in surgery. Wasn't a father allowed any rights? Or had he given them up ten years ago when he and Rose were divorced?

The twinge of doubt he felt when he thought about Holly and the agony she had suffered at her mother's hand forced him to turn away from the window. He crossed the room, grabbed the opened bottle of bourbon and, despite his earlier abstention, splashed another drink into his glass. It was gone in one swallow.

Once again he tried to blame Rose for his daughter's hatred of him, but a nagging thought that he was partially at fault refused to leave. Even the pain that Holly was enduring, wasn't it in some indirect manner his fault? Though two parents were divorced, didn't a father have some responsibility to protect his child?

His thin patience snapped and he found that he couldn't wait another minute in the den. The appointment with Ryan Woods was still a couple of hours away and the damn phone refused to ring. Kyle felt as if the brushed plaster walls were closing in on him. He could feel a muscle working the corner of his jaw as he stalked down the tiled corridor toward the far end of the rambling hacienda.

His voice interrupted the stillness as he approached the kitchen. "Lydia?"

The elderly Mexican woman he employed was hard of hearing and didn't respond to his initial greeting. He entered the immense room filled with hanging brass pots and trailing vines. Lydia was working industriously on the countertop. The soft Mexican ballad she was humming was familiar to him; he remembered it from his childhood. She was kneading dough for home-baked bread. It was the same routine Kyle had witnessed for many of his thirty-seven years. "Lydia?"

The plump woman turned around to face him as she wiped the flour from her hands on her worn apron. A slow, warm smile spread over her round features. "I thought you were in the den."

He returned her grin with an uneasy imitation. "I was, but I couldn't stand it any longer." She nodded as if she understood him perfectly. "I'm going out for a while."

"But you haven't heard from the hospital?"

The corners of Kyle's mouth turned downward. "No."

"Are you going there?"

Kyle hesitated, but shook his head. "I don't think so. Ryan Woods will be here shortly."

The older woman didn't budge. "But certainly you can change your plans. Mr. Woods will understand; he has a family of his own. What is business when you have a daughter in the hospital?"

"Rose is there," Kyle responded, hoping to satisfy the kindly old woman.

Lydia's dark eyes snapped. "Humph!" She repinned her graying hair before making a quick sign of the cross over her ample bosom. "That woman is no mother," she muttered under her breath. "You should be with Miss Holly!"

"Apparently the divorce courts didn't think so, nor does Dr. Seivers."

Lydia turned her attention back to the dough and attacked it with a vengeance. "What does he know about families?" She continued to talk to herself in Spanish, and Kyle suspected that Rose was getting the verbal abuse she deserved.

"Holly doesn't want to see me."

"That woman, that Rose, she poisoned Miss Holly's mind against you!" Lydia waved her hands frantically in the air, dusting the room with white flour. "Miss Holly, she's too young to know what to think!" This time the stream of Spanish was too rapid for Kyle to understand at all.

The telephone shrilled and Lydia's voice quieted as Kyle reached for the receiver. Lydia watched his movements with worried brown eyes. She had cared for Holly as an infant and loved her still. Rose had never approved of Lydia, even though the Mexican woman had helped raise Kyle. Though Lydia had suffered the insult of being pushed aside once the divorce was final, she had never stopped caring for Kyle Sterling's only child.

Kyle's greeting was an impatient hello.

"Mr. Sterling? This is Dr. Seivers." The voice on the other end of the line sounded weary.

"How is my daughter?"

"She's fine. Came through the operation like a trouper. She's down in Recovery now."

Despite the optimistic words, Kyle detected a hint of hesitancy. "Then you were able to correct the problem?"

There was a slight pause. "That remains to be seen. I'll have to be honest with you, Mr. Sterling. Right now I'd give Holly a fifty-fifty chance of a full recovery . . . . You have to understand that her uterus was badly scarred from the accident. Though her fallopian tubes weren't damaged, the uterine wall was ruptured. It will take time to determine the success of the surgery."

"What happens if the operation doesn't work?"

"There is no reason to borrow trouble, Mr. Sterling."

"It's a simple question, Doctor."

There was an audible sigh as Dr. Seivers decided how much he could tell Holly's father. "We'll have to see," he replied evasively. "But if she doesn't heal properly and continues to hemorrhage, I'll probably advise additional surgery."

Kyle's hand clenched around the receiver until his knuckles whitened. "What kind of surgery?"

Dr. Seiver's response was patient but grim. "I would most likely recommend a hysterectomy."

The weight of the doctor's words settled on Kyle's shoulders like lead. His tone was emotionless, but his face was stern. "Dr. Seivers, my daughter is only fifteen."

"And lucky to be alive. Six months ago, she was fighting for her life. Today she's nearly recovered."

"But she's a child . . . "

"You asked me a hypothetical question--I answered. I'm only giving you my professional opinion. With any luck at all, we won't be faced with the possibility of another operation. Holly's very strong. A fighter. She's had to be for the last six months. There's a good chance that she'll be fine."

Kyle wasn't reassured. "I'd like to see her."

Once again there was a weighty pause in the conversation. "I think you might wait a few days, Mr. Sterling. It will be several hours before she's out of the recovery room and after that I'll keep her sedated. Any emotional outbursts or trauma at this time couldn't help her condition."

"She's my daughter, damn it!"

"And she's my patient. I saw her reaction to you yesterday. Are you willing to risk the chances of her recovery?"

"Of course not!"

"Then take my advice and give Holly some time to get well before she faces the emotional strain of seeing you again. Her mother is with her at the moment."

Previous | Next