If Father were here, what would he tell her to do? What wisdom would he share?
Nathaniel continued, as if he knew her very thoughts. “I do wish I could have given you the care he might have, as I know I am lacking in his talent and experience.” He looked down and paused before meeting her gaze. “I do hope you know I did my best for you. Though I suspect, given the choice, you would not have had me here.”
Regret dumped on her back like a wagon-load of dirt. “I... I hope you do not think—” How to say it? “You are a gifted physician, Nathaniel.”
“Not like your father.”
The temptation to reach for his hand made her grip the sheet. “You are.”
“You would trust him with anything.”
She nodded. “Of course.”
Nathaniel paused, the depth in his voice expanding warm and wide. “What about me?”
“What do you mean?”
His eyes slipped from hazel to brown. “Would you trust me the same way?”
“You know I would,” she whispered.
“You would trust me with anything?” The richness in his voice harbored a question that went deeper than his simple words revealed and it cut at Kitty’s tender heart.
She licked her lips and looked at the far wall.
The words that vied for freedom trailed away and slunk back into the dungeons of her conscience. The memory of Nathaniel’s attack and her involvement replaced her receding nausea with a new wave of torment.
A warm hand encased hers and she turned, staring at Nathaniel’s strong fingers caressing her own, almost as if he’d seen into her mind and liberated the yearnings of her spirit. The jolt of heat that shot up her arm reminded her of the tender moments they’d shared. How desperately she’d wanted more. More time together. More laughter and secret smiles. Her throat ached and she forced down the lump of regret.
Kitty played with the soft sheets she’d pulled to her neck and stared at her toes poking up beneath the quilt. “Where are Eliza and Thomas?”
Nathaniel chuckled and rose to the table, pulling a small piece of bread from the loaf on the tray. “I sensed they could no longer stand the sight of me so I sent them into town on a few errands, as I have had to do frequently of late. They should return shortly.” He sat again and handed the bread to Kitty. “’Tis been far too long since you’ve had anything solid in your belly. I’d like you to have a few small bites. I need to see the color back in your cheeks. I’ve missed it.”
She inhaled the fresh scent of the piece he held before her and tried not to focus on his nearness. Why must he carry such tenderness in his warm stare? Why did his voice have to be so soft? Kitty held her teeth together, but somehow the words slipped free. “I hadn’t wanted you to come.”
He didn’t move. “I know.”
“You have enough people to care for, and after just being hurt yourself... it didn’t seem right for you to care for me.”
“Would you have me neglect my patients?”
“Nay.”
“Then how could I neglect you?” He smiled and pulled a morsel off the bread in his hands and nudged it toward her mouth. “Eat.”
She swallowed, wetting her mouth. Her body still complained and her head continued to ache, though her stomach grumbled at the smell of food.
Kitty leaned back when his fingers pressed closer. Chuckling, his face bloomed into the kind of smile she loved, bright and uninhibited. “Come now, don’t be stubborn. Take a bite.”
Her pulse tapped wildly as she licked her lips and opened her mouth.
“Good girl.” His fingers brushed against her lips and the fire in his gentle touch spread across her face. He took her hand once more, his angled features drawn. “Kitty, I hope... I do hope you feel that you can trust me, like you would your father.” He circled his thumb along the top of her hand, undoing the stone wall she’d so carefully constructed to guard her heart. “We are true friends, are we not?”
Friends. “Aye.”
“Friends confide in one another, do they not?”
A frown pulled down at her mouth, for surely he had a motive in asking such questions. But what?