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appreciate your
understanding. Now we know what the problem is, we can go home and
get it seen to.”
    “There’s no rush,” Mason replied and glanced
over at Isobel who nodded in agreement. “It’s nearly four o’clock.
He might as well stay the night. I’ll chart the medicine he needs
to help him do what needs to be done. The nurse will administer it
shortly and with a bit of luck, he’ll be as good as new in the
morning.”
    Charlie’s mother issued a soft sigh of
relief and reached out to shake Mason’s hand. “Thank you, Doctor,
for everything. You don’t know how comforting that is.”
    “My pleasure,” Mason replied and looked
away, uncomfortable with the praise. As far as he was concerned, he
was merely doing his job.
    “I’ll leave you to it,” he said and offered
a brief wave of farewell. At the same time, he turned and addressed
Isobel, pitching his voice low: “Nurse, can we speak for a
moment?”
    Isobel’s eyes widened in alarm, but she
quickly regained her composure. “Of course, Doctor.”
    He moved far enough away that they wouldn’t
be heard by the other patients in the room. Isobel followed slowly
behind him.
    “What is it, Doctor?”
    “Please, call me Mason.”
    “All right. Mason. Is something the matter?”
she asked fearfully.
    He stared down at this timid woman and
wanted to shake her and demand to know where the fun-loving,
spirited Isobel of old had gone. She was quiet and withdrawn and
solemn—nothing like the brash girl he used to know. Instead, he
asked gently, “What’s happened to you, Belle? What’s happened to
change you so much?”
    Her jaw tightened and crimson inched across
her face. She gnawed on her lower lip. He heard her soft intake of
breath a second before a single silver tear slid slowly down her
cheek. His gut clenched in an agony of pain and regret. She was
crying and it was his fault… Or maybe it wasn’t? When he was this
close to her his mind was in such a whirlwind, he no longer knew
what to think.
    “Belle?” he croaked. “Please, Belle. Please,
don’t cry. I never meant to make you cry.”
    She sniffed and swiped at the offending
moisture and then drew in another breath. “It’s not you, Mason. You
haven’t done anything wrong.”
    He shook his head, flooded with confusion.
“Then what? Please, tell me what’s wrong and what’s happened to
make you so sad. I want to know. I need to know.”
    Something in the earnestness of his tone
must have finally registered because a moment later, she lifted her
head and her eyes met his desperate gaze. The deep well of sadness
in her beautiful green eyes snatched his breath away. Once again,
he was flooded with the desire to help.
    He wanted to obliterate her sadness and
bring sunshine back to her face. He wanted to pull her into his
arms and promise she’d never feel this unhappy again.
    But she was married to Nigel and was a
mother to their children. She wasn’t Mason’s to love and protect
and cherish. She’d turned down his love and now belonged to someone
else.
    The reality of that came crashing down on
him and he took a step back. The action seemed to snap the fragile
bond between them. When she looked up at him the next time, her
eyes were blank again and the pain he’d spied in them only moments
earlier had disappeared.
    “Belle?”
    “I’m fine, Mason. It’s nothing. I-I’m just a
little tired. I’ve been working extra shifts to cover the staff
shortages. What I need is to go home and get a decent sleep. Lucky
for me, I’ll be out of here in about ten minutes.”
    She offered him a brief smile, but he could
tell it was an effort. Whatever was troubling her hadn’t gone away;
rather, she’d decided not to share it with him. He bit down hard on
the surge of hurt and disappointment.
    “Where did you go to college?” she asked,
her tone now light and curious as they headed out of the room.
    He stared down at her for a moment, willing
her to find the courage to confide in him,