The Girl Who Came Back. Barbara McMahon
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Название: The Girl Who Came Back
Автор: Barbara McMahon
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Современные любовные романы
isbn: 9781472025890
isbn:
ELIZA ENTERED the ICU and went straight to Maddie’s bed. The nurse greeted her with a smile.
“No change. Have a seat. Talk to her again, maybe she’ll wake up.”
Eliza pulled the chair closer to the bed and sat down. She gently brushed back some of the gray hair from Maddie’s forehead. It had been dark and thick all those years ago.
She took Maddie’s hand. For a moment, time seemed to shift. She remembered Maddie taking her hand when she’d first picked her up. Where had that been? In an office? Eliza couldn’t remember, only that her mother was gone and she was scared.
Then this stern-looking woman had reached out and taken her hand. Offered her home to an orphan who had nowhere else to go.
“I don’t think I ever told you how much I appreciated you, Maddie,” Eliza said in a low voice. She didn’t want the nurse to hear, but she had to tell Maddie. “Where would I be today if you hadn’t taken me in?” Gently she stroked the worn hand. Their roles were reversed now. She was the strong one, and it was Maddie who needed her help.
“I can stay as long as you need me,” Eliza said. “Wake up and we’ll make plans. I’ll find April and Jo and it’ll be the four of us again, if only for a visit. Do you know where they are? Did you ever find them? You said in your first letter that you hadn’t heard from either one. I don’t know where they were sent, but if I can locate them, I will. Wake up and tell me how to make that pecan pie of yours that was so good we almost got sick eating so much. Or how to make that honey ham we had on Sundays after church.”
Eliza swallowed. She’d forgotten the attempts Maddie had made to give them the best possible home. Money had been tight. She’d told them that more often than not when they’d asked for things. Eliza had a much better appreciation now of how Maddie must have stretched every dollar.
“I’m getting married soon,” Eliza said, hoping something would break through to Maddie. “He’s a lawyer in Boston. Very successful. You’ll have to come up to meet him before the wedding. You’ll be the mother of the bride. We still have to set a date. We’ll have to make it summertime. Boston in winter is too cold. You can’t imagine the snow.”
Slowly Eliza told Maddie more about her life in Boston, of her ambitions to one day open a catering firm. She wanted Maddie to know that her cooking had influenced Eliza’s choice of career.
Glancing at her watch, Eliza saw it was after eleven. The nurses had completely disregarded the visitor rules. It would be close to midnight by the time she got to bed. She squeezed Maddie’s hand slightly. “I have to go now. But I’ll be back tomorrow.”
Maddie’s fingers squeezed back.
“Maddie?” Eliza’s fatigue fled. Had she imagined it, or had there been a response?
She squeezed again. A moment later Maddie definitely squeezed her hand.
“Nurse!” Eliza looked around.
The young woman rushed to the bedside.
“Problem?”
“I don’t think so. I think she squeezed my hand.”
The nurse took Maddie’s hand and gently gripped it. A moment later she smiled. “She sure did. Let me call Dr. Pendarvis. He’ll want to know immediately.” Patting Maddie on the shoulder, she headed for the phone at the desk.
“Maddie, wake up. It’s me, Eliza. I’ve come to visit you but you’re asleep.”
The older woman’s eyelids fluttered, and then Maddie slowly opened her eyes, gazing at Eliza.
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