Only Yours (Fool's Gold #5)(81)
He wove his way through the crowd, searching for the gorgeous blonde in a short black dress. The woman he planned on making love with later that night. The woman who haunted his dreams and drove him crazy every time he saw her.
He found her talking to Charity Golden.
“Hello, Charity. Do you mind if I talk to Montana for a moment?”
“Of course not.”
“Thanks.”
He took Montana’s hand and led her out of the ballroom. Not outside where her brothers might still be waiting, but back toward the entrance. He found a quiet alcove and faced her.
“Is everything all right?” she asked.
He stared into her dark eyes, searching for the truth. “Do you love me?”
Her mouth parted slightly and she flushed. For a second she said nothing, then she raised her chin and spoke. “Yes, Simon, I love you.”
The words were like a kick to his gut. His muscles tensed and he found it hard to breathe.
He should’ve seen this coming, he thought as he turned his back on her. He swore under his breath. What the hell had he been thinking? She wasn’t anything like the women he was used to. Not cold, not calculating, not familiar with a man like him. He’d been nothing but selfish, thinking only of himself, of what he wanted.
He turned back to her. Her mouth curved up into a shaky smile.
“Your reaction tells me this isn’t the best of news.”
“Montana,” he began, then stopped. What was he supposed to say? How could he make this right?
His phone vibrated in his jacket pocket.
He pulled it out and flipped it open. There was a text message. Even as he began to read it, his phone rang.
“It’s Kalinda,” he said.
She gave him a push. “Go.”
He was already running, heading back to the hospital.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
KALINDA’S BODY WAS SHUTTING down. Simon knew it before he walked into her room and saw Fay and her husband in each other’s arms, weeping. He scanned her chart, then walked over to examine her, determined to figure out what was wrong.
Even though he already knew.
Fay saw him and lunged toward him. “Dr. Bradley, it’s bad. It’s really bad. You have to do something.”
“I know.”
He touched Kalinda’s face and felt the heat from her fever. The results of her latest blood work told the same story the nurse on duty had repeated when he’d arrived on the floor. The girl wasn’t responding to her treatments, her organs were failing and there was no miracle left to save her.
The burns didn’t just destroy in the moment. The damage continued long after the flames were gone. Healing exhausted the body, and the shock from what had occurred lasted far longer than anyone knew. She’d already used up her precious reserves hanging on this long.
Kalinda opened her eyes. “Hi, Dr. B. I don’t feel so good.”
He took her hand in his. “I know.”
On the other side of the bed, her parents moved next to her.
“Hey, baby,” her mother murmured. “You have to hang on. You know that, right?”
Kalinda continued to stare at him. “I hurt.”
“Can’t you give her something?” Fay demanded.
He glanced at the IV, taking in the already high dose. “She’s getting as much as she can take.”
“You have to do something.”
“It’s okay, Mom,” Kalinda whispered. “I’m okay. It doesn’t hurt that bad.”
Pain ripped through him as he watched the brave little girl trying to comfort her parents.
“We still have work to do,” Simon told her, doing his best to sound upbeat and positive.
“The surgeries don’t matter. It’s not like I can be pretty again.”
“Yes, you can. I can make you pretty.” Or at least normal, he thought grimly. Eventually that would be enough.
“No, you can’t.” Her blue eyes saw into his soul. “You’re leaving.”
He felt as if she’d shot him.
She was right, of course. How could she trust him? He’d never said he would stay. Someone else would finish what he’d started. Someone else would see her through.
He didn’t know what to say to her. There had been other children who had begged him not to go, but he’d never listened. He’d always known he was needed somewhere else. He’d left his patients, just as his doctors had left him.
The difference was his doctors had left because they had lives of their own to live. Families, commitments. He left because…
In that moment he couldn’t remember why, only that it was important.
“I’ll get better if you stay,” Kalinda whispered and held out her hand. “Pinkie promise.”
Just like Reese had pinkie promised to marry her if no one else would. For this little girl, a pinkie promise meant something.
He didn’t want to lie to her but he also wanted to save her. Staying? Impossible. Still, he moved his hand toward hers, pinkie extended.
Before they touched, the monitors began to scream. Red lights flashed and the sound of buzzing and sirens filled the small room. Kalinda’s hand dropped to the bed, her eyes rolled back in her head and she lost consciousness.
Simon took in all the data, then tossed the chart on the chair.