CAROL MARINELLI - Little Christmas Miracles - Her Christmas Wedding Wish / Christmas Gift - A Family / Christmas on the Children's Ward

www.millsandboon.co.uk

by

Judy Christenberryhas been writing romance for fifteen years, because she loves happy endings as much as her readers do. a former French teacher, Judy now devotes herself to writing full-time. She hopes readers have as much fun reading her stories as she does writing them. She spends her spare time reading, watching her favourite sports team and keeping track of her two daughters. Judy’s a native Texan but now lives in arizona.

MOLLY SODERLING hurried back down the hall to the one patient who had been on her mind all through her break. Toby Astin. The eight-year-old had also found his way into her heart, ever since he’d come into the hospital three days ago, the victim of a car crash. The same crash that had killed his parents and two other adults, and had left the boy an orphan. Less than a month before Christmas.

Molly’s heart ached for him. She knew exactly what he was feeling, as she, too, had lost her parents when she was a young child. She remembered how lonely she was the first Christmas without them, and every one since then.

In Toby’s eyes she saw the loss he suffered; in his clinging arms she felt his pain. In the three days he’d been here, no one had come for him. Perhaps after the funerals someone would claim him. She didn’t want Toby to be put into the foster care system as she had been.

As she turned down the pediatric wing, she saw two people clad in black enter his room. Perhaps they were mourners who’d attended the funeral for his parents today. According to his doctor, Toby’s uncle and grandmother had phoned to ask for Toby to attend, but Dr. Bradford had refused.

He was concerned the boy might suffer depression.

Molly had disagreed with the doctor, but he wasn’t going to listen to her. Having had to attend her parents’ funeral when she was seven, she knew how comforting it had been to see others mourning their deaths also.

Molly sighed. Then, forcing a smile on her face, she turned into Toby’s room.

“Molly!” he cried as if she were a lifesaver.

“Hi, Toby. Did you eat your dinner?”

“Yes, but—”

“Are you his nurse?” the man in the black suit asked abruptly, stepping toward her. He looked about thirty, with dark hair and striking blue eyes.

“I’m one of Toby’s nurses.”

“He seems extraordinarily attached to you.”

Was it condemnation she heard in his voice? Her shoulders stiffened. “We’ve become friends,” she said tersely.

Then she turned her attention to Toby. “Can I get you anything, honey?”

“I’d like some ice cream,” he said hesitantly, shooting a look at the man as if he would object.

“Sure. I’ll be right back with it.”

She passed the older woman dressed in a black designer suit, leaning against the wall. She wasn’t sure who the elegant-looking woman was. Maybe a family friend or maybe even the grandmother she’d heard mentioned. But no, she wasn’t acting like a grandmother, at least none Molly had ever imagined.

“Excuse me, Ms. Soderling,” the man called.

How did he know her name? Molly turned around. “Yes, sir?”

“We’re taking Toby with us in the morning.”

Before he could go on, Molly said, “I’m sorry to see him go. I’ll miss him. Are you his guardian?”

“Yes, by default.”

She stared at him, her eyebrows raised. Who would say such a thing, as if the boy was nothing more than a burden to be endured?

“The other couple, who also died in the car with Toby’s parents, were named in their will as guardians. However, my mother and I are his only relatives. I’m an attorney and I filed the papers this morning to be named guardian. They’ve assured me it would be approved. I want to get Toby home so he can begin to heal.”

“Good. He’s been feeling lost since no one had come to claim him.”

“The doctor in charge of Toby says he’s very fond of you.”

Molly frowned. “Yes, I told you we’ve become friends.”

“He’s eight years old. How could you be friends?”

Molly said nothing, turning to continue on her way.

“Wait!”

She didn’t like the order, but she obeyed. No need to irritate the man if he was going away in the morning. “Yes?”

“Dr. Bradford said you didn’t have any family here.”

“Why would Dr. Bradford tell you that?” she asked carefully.

“Because I need someone to come with us to Dallas to take care of Toby and help him settle in.”

“Sir, I’m a pediatric nurse, not a baby-sitter.”

“I know. And I’m willing to pay your going rate, twenty-four hours a day, if you’ll come with us in the morning.”

“For how long?” she asked, startled at his offering.

“For a month. You’ll make more than three times your salary, Ms. Soderling.”

“I don’t know if the hospital—”

“Dr. Bradford assured me he could spare you.”

Molly didn’t know what to think. “I’ll have to talk to Dr. Bradford.”

“He left a note for you at the nurses’ station,” the man said, as if that alone should persuade her.

He expected her to drop everything and go to Dallas for a month, as if it were nothing but a shift reassignment. Not that she had anything holding her here in Florida, especially at holiday time. Still, the man hadn’t even introduced himself! “Excuse me, sir, but who are you exactly?”

“I’m Richard Anderson, Toby’s uncle.” As he spoke, he stood straighter, his shoulders back in a proud gesture. But he made no move to shake her hand.

Neither did Molly. “I’ll go read the note,” she said. And she walked away.

At the nurses’ station, she got the Dixie cup of ice cream for Toby and asked the nurse on duty if Dr. Bradford had left a note for her.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry, Molly. I forgot to give it to you.”

“Thanks, Ellen,” Molly said, taking the note with her as she found a quiet corner of the floor to read it.

Indeed, Dr. Bradford had asked her to go with the Andersons to Dallas. Because of her rapport with little Toby, he thought her best for the job. He’d approved a month’s leave for her if she decided to go. And, she guessed, to make her refusal harder, he added that Mr. Anderson had offered two hundred thousand dollars to the pediatric wing if the hospital could supply a nurse for the boy.

That much money could help the children, Molly knew. And she knew Dr. Bradford was counting on her love of the kids…

But a month in Dallas with the seemingly pompous Richard Anderson? Could she handle it? The assignment would span the holidays, and aside from some volunteer work, she had no Christmas plans. At the very least she wouldn’t have to spend another Christmas alone. She could stand the thought of that. And she’d be with Toby.

Still unsure, she pocketed the note and brought the boy his ice cream. “Your wish is my command,” she joked to Toby as she pulled the lid off the Dixie cup and held it out to him.

Though his arm and collarbone were in casts, he could hold the Dixie cup in his injured hand and eat with his right.

“Thank you, Molly. You’re not going to leave, are you?”

The boy’s sad blue eyes reached right down into her heart. “No, sweetie, I’ll stay for a little while.” She smiled as she pulled up a chair next to the bed. His frown transformed into a broad grin and he dug into his ice cream. How could she leave him? Not just now, but when he went with his uncle and grandmother?