To Save This Child
His future is in her handsKendal Collins is in Chiapas, Mexico, on a medical mission. When a two-year-old orphan is thrust into her arms, she finds herself falling in love with the boy. Miguel is now her responsibility, and she's going to do whatever it takes to help this child, including giving him a home and a mother–her.Dr. Jason Bridges warned Kendal about getting emotionally involved with the locals, but he forgot to warn himself about getting involved with her. Jason can't deny the feelings he has for Kendal anymore. Or the child… He wants them to be a family–the three of them.
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“What was that?”
Kendal bolted upright beside Jason, peering into the dark jungle.
In the same instant they both saw the figure move. It was a young woman, crouching in the undergrowth like a frightened animal.
“It’s the same girl who was outside the hotel,” Kendal whispered at Jason’s shoulder. “The one who had the child with her.”
She emerged into the moonlight and beckoned them. Kendal started to get up, but Jason grabbed her arm.
“That little child!” she protested. “What if he needs us?”
The woman led them into the jungle over a dappled moonlit path to a small cave where trickles of water dropped over the opening. “Aquí,” she said softly, putting a finger to her lips. In here.
Inside, the sleeping form of a tiny boy was visible curled up on a brightly woven blanket. He was pretty, like his mother, except his mouth and jaw didn’t look right.
“Oh,” Kendal breathed, feeling her heart melt.
Dear Reader,
When I ventured into the Yucatán jungle to visit with a Mayan medicine man a couple of years ago, I had no idea what I would find.
But as I followed my guide deeper into the heart of the jungle, the isolation and the ancient peace of the place closed around me. In such a remote setting, I realized, twenty-first-century trappings could quickly fall away. In such a setting, time would slow, priorities would emerge, sensations and feelings would be amplified.
The medicine man was not what I expected. A humble little man who spoke to my guide in the quiet, clicking cadence of the Mayans, he kindly shared with me his efforts to help his people attain better health, using simple herbs and ancient remedies.
Not long after that, I met a doctor who had performed surgeries for the Doctors Without Borders organization in the same region. I am very grateful to Dr. Michael Bumagin for sharing his technical knowledge of reconstructive surgery and the details of his service in Chiapas. (This is a work of fiction, of course, so any creative embellishments are mine, not Michael’s.)
Those experiences came together to form this story, where two people, swept away by both passion and compassion, find something unexpected in the remote jungle. They find a child who opens their hearts. And as they struggle to save that child, they find something else unexpected—a deep and lasting love for each other.
I treasure my reader mail. Contact me at P.O. Box 720224, Norman, OK 73070, or www.darlenegraham.com.
My best to you,
Darlene Graham
This story, my tenth Superromance novel,
is dedicated with deep appreciation to the gifted and hardworking editors who have given me so much encouragement and help over the past five years:
Paula Eykelhof, Zilla Soriano, Laura Shin and
Kathleen Scheibling
CONTENTS
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
EPILOGUE
PROLOGUE
Somewhere over the remote mountainous regions of Chiapas, Mexico
KENDAL COLLINS breathed a prayer of thanks that at last they were safe. At last. Safe.
Though the mountains rolling beneath the belly of their small plane looked rocky and steep, forbidding in their vast isolation, Jason Bridges appeared to be in control, his hands relaxed on the yoke of his Cessna Conquest as he executed flying maneuvers with his usual precision.
Shuddering, Kendal released what felt like the first full breath she’d drawn in days. Even during the dark time of their captivity, Jason had always sworn he would keep her safe, but only now that they were airborne would she let herself believe it. Finally, they were leaving Chiapas far behind.
“Hang in there, sweetheart.” Jason released the yoke long enough to squeeze her hand.
She gave him a brave smile, then twisted her torso, extending that smile to the two dear people strapped together into one of the rear-facing seats. Miguel Vajaras, age two, slept like the baby he was with his beautiful dark head lolling against the slender shoulder of Ruth Nichols, Jason’s scrub nurse. Ruth adjusted Miguel on her lap and put a shushing finger to her lips. Kendal nodded her understanding. Miguel had been so frightened, confused and crying right up until the plane had lifted into the air.
“Miguel.” Jason had distracted the child. “Look! Mountains!”
At the sound of Jason’s deep voice, Miguel had quieted abruptly, straining forward in the seat to look out the window. “Moun-nan,” he had echoed in baby talk. “Moun-nan. Eh-pane.” He had repeated the unfamiliar English words over and over, until the drone of the plane’s engine had finally put the exhausted toddler to sleep.
Kendal studied her adopted son’s innocent brown face, so angelic in repose, not quite able to believe this sweet child was, at last, going to be safe and was soon going to be her very own. This ordeal had been so hard on all of them, but now they were safe. Safe.
She longed to be back in Ruth’s seat so she could comfort her baby, but Jason wanted, needed, Kendal in the copilot’s seat. They weren’t out of Vajaras’s territory yet.
