Soul Inheritance Read Online Free PDF

I’d just as soon stay.” Katherine’s face changed from one of desperation to stubbornness.
    The doctor began to protest, but saw there was little point. “Okay, I’ll let the nurses know. You can stay tonight.”
    She sat by her father’s side, dozing occasionally, trying to block out the evenings events.
    “ Oh, Dad. What am I going to do? I need you, now more than ever.” She leaned forward, clutched his warm hand. “I need to know what’s going on. What the secrets are. Why you didn’t trust me to know.”
    Laying her head on the edge of the bed she breathed deeply of the sanitized linens and let the tears come.
    “ Please dad, don’t leave me. You’re all I’ve got. You’re all I’ve ever had. Not now!” Katherine cried herself to sleep.
     
    ‡
     
    She woke to the sound of the curtains being drawn open and the bright light of morning filling the room. It was the first night in a long time when she couldn’t remember dreaming. As she looked at her father she could only hope his night had been as peaceful.
    “ Oh, sorry ‘bout that love.” A petite little nurse with fire red hair went to the head of the bed and began to check vitals and readings. Katherine squinted in the bright light and rubbed her eyes.
    “ Quiet the bright morn’ isn’t it? Going to be a glorious day indeed. You’ll be glad to know the readings ’re good. The doctor’ll be in shortly to let ya know what came back on the tests.”
    The woman was far too perky for Katherine to like her. She seemed to bounce with every step, her shoulder length hair shaking from one side to the other. However, the mild English accent was endearing and she decided to like her anyway.
    “ Can I get ya anything? Sure your throat’s sore after all that crying. Probably could find ya some eye drops, too. And there’s a cafeteria of course. Ya should probably go down and get some coffee and som‘en to eat. It’s like to be a long day for ya both.” She paused, waiting for a reply on any of the suggestions presented.
    Katherine stretched, contemplated, and then looked up at the nurse who now stood over her as if she were the patient.
    “ I suppose I could use a drink and a stretch.” She got up, paused to get her balance, then stretched her back.
    “ Be sure to eat, deary. We needn’t put ya in the next bed there. That wouldn’t help ‘im any. And talk to ‘im, a lot. If you’re everything to ‘im, like he seems to be to you, then he needs to hear your voice. And he can hear ya , so make it good. Good times, or plans you had or something worth not missing.” She patted Katherine on the shoulder.
    “ Off with ya, while I take care of ‘im.”
    Katherine obeyed. As she walked toward the elevator she shoved her hands in her pockets. She withdrew the key, turned it over in her palm.
    “ What happened? What exactly is our secret?”
    Wandering absently down the brightly lit hallways with their gleaming buffed floors Katherine made her way to the cafeteria. There she gathered a biscuit, some bacon and orange juice on a tray. From a small table by the window she looked out at the parking lot. Far off in the distance the mountains rose over the valley. They were captivating and she stared at them for a long time.
    “ Good morning.”
    Katherine came back to the reality of the cold, clean hospital as the doctor from the night before sat down.
    “ It’s quite a view. Guess we kind of get used to it after a while. We forget how special things really are when we’re around them all the time.” He looked at her. “The nurse said you were down here. I’ve finished up my shift. Thought I’d get some coffee and talk to you.” He cradled his coffee cup easily, looked back out at the mountains.
    “ It’s not good is it?”
    They looked at each other. In his eyes she saw the helplessness she’d felt in the bedroom last night.
    “ Well, his heart’s strong, for his age. No odd rhythms or anything abnormal this morning. His breathing was