Page 27 of Darla's Christmas Knight
“Did you find something?”
She shook her head.
“You did all you could today. Sadly, Inez’s little boy won’t be the last patient you lose. And tomorrow you’ll continue doing the job you were trained to do.”
If only he could protect her from life’s tragedies.
Darla laid her head back against his chest. “I know,” she sighed.
He rubbed his hands over her back, vowing to do his utmost to be around to comfort her the next time she loses a baby on her watch.
God, let it never be ours.
It would devastate the precious woman in his arms.
Bobby rested his chin on her head and held her a little closer.
*
Darla woke alone. Which was nothing new. So why was she feeling so … well,alone? As she lay pondering the anomaly, the events of yesterday rushed back.
Bobby’s sweet note. Inez’s traumatic loss. Bobby’s visit.
Bobby Bell.
No. Robert Bellerose.
SirRobert Bellerose.
The man who broke her heart years ago.
The man whostayedlast night.
She had succumbed to sleep. Safely wrapped in his arms.
Reaching for his pillow, she pulled it to her face, inhaling deeply.
Finally.
A hint of leather. A note of bergamot. A trace of sweat.
And she recalled briefly surfacing earlier, hearing him whisper, “Need to go, love.” He’d kissed her cheek, adding, “See you tonight.”
Tonight.
They hadn’tdoneanything last night.
She gave a disheartened sigh.
And they don’t need to do anything ever again.
But she hadn’t told him last night, Inez’s loss still too raw.
And what if she lost—
She flung the pillow aside, got to her feet, and strode to thebathroom.
Time to start her day.
