Above Rubies (Rockland Ranch) Read Online Free

hovering above her. She fought to voice a question, but her fuzzy brain couldn’t make her mouth work.  The kind woman seemed to read her mind as she said, “I’m Naomi.  I’m just here because one of God’s precious daughters needs a little extra care.”  Kit felt the touch on her hands again as she drifted back to sleep, wondering who the daughter of God was.
                  Finally, Kit felt herself wake up with less of the mist drifting through her head.  She looked up to find an extraordinarily good looking stranger with tired, deep blue eyes sitting beside her bed.  She was instinctively afraid and tried to curl up and turn away, pulling the blanket tightly to her.  She was too out of it to move much and felt the need to be sick before she could react.  Her body began to wretch and she was too sick to shrink from him, as the tall, blonde stranger stood up to hold a bag in front of her and pull her hair back away from her face.  He spoke to her softly, gently rubbing her shoulder and somehow she knew, even through the fog, that she’d be okay.  She leaned her head back and closed her eyes again.
                  Sometime later, she was having strange dreams of a scary, dark street and a gang, and her foster father.  Her fear was overpowering, but then there was a kind man and an angel with silvery, gold hair, then a dark haired woman talking about God.  There was a baby and a muddle of pain, and fear and flashing lights.  The images were disjointed and warped, and through it all was a horrible, queasy nausea.  The strange images smoothed away to be replaced by a sweet unfamiliar sense of security.  Even as she forced herself to wake because she knew she was going to be sick again, she still had this peaceful feeling that all was well.
                  She fought to open her eyes and realized there was someone there beside her supporting her back and smoothing her hair as she was sick into the blue bag he held for her.  He gently wiped her face and helped her settle back against the pillows, then went to the restroom to dampen a cloth.  Her mind was still zoned, and she couldn’t quite remember who he was, or why he was sitting here beside her hospital bed being so kind to her.  She couldn’t even remember how she came to be here. 
                  Her eyes sought his in a silent quest to understand.  He met her gaze openly and honestly as he gently placed the cloth on her brow and said, “I’m not sure why it works, but it seems to.  Try putting your hand here on this ice pack too.  The nurse said it sometimes helps the nausea.”
                  There was none of the horrible, suggestive leering she had come to expect from her foster father’s eyes, or the cruelty she had seen in her foster mother’s, or even the impatience she was used to from the case workers.  There was only kindness and a sense of infinite patience.
                  She tentatively put her hand out to touch the indicated ice pack, still wondering what he wanted from her.  She’d learned a long time ago that nobody did anything for her without a reason.  She pulled the sheet up around her neck in a gesture of self protection, before returning her hand to the ice pack. 
    He reached out toward the I.V. line attached to the back of her hand and she flinched sharply.  His eyes narrowed, questioning, but his voice was kind when he said, “I’m not going to hurt you.  I was just unkinking the tubing.  Dr. Sundquist wants to get as much fluids into you as possible.”  He slowly reached for the line and smoothed the bend, watching her eyes as he did. 
                  He really didn’t frighten her.  The flinch had been instinctive.  Years of being struck had made it reflexive.  Realizing she wasn’t afraid of him filled her half drugged head with wonder.  She believed him.  He wasn’t going to hurt her and she closed her eyes