A Nurse for Niall
Nursing the Heart
Marisa Masterson
A Nurse for Niall
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are all products of the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblances to persons, organizations, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
The book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. All rights are reserved with the exceptions of quotes used in reviews. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage system without express written permission from the author.
A Nurse for Niall ©2020 Marisa Masterson
Cover Design by V. McKevitt
http://www.virginiamckevitt.com
Vector courtesy of Vectzeey.com
Poem reference from
John Donne, The Complete English Poems
Editing by Amy Petrowich
Formatting by Christine Sterling
1st Ed.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
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About this Series
Author’s Note
Sneak Peek
Books by Marisa Masterson
About Marisa Masterson
A Nurse for Niall
Alice Cordell is done with isolation. After being shut away to nurse her dying father, she wants to find a community that needs her and will accept her, limp and all. To that end, she trains as a nurse, graduating with the school's first class. The future seems bright until she realizes she's once again being forced into isolation, cut off from her new community of Kilbourne City, Wisconsin
No one could blame Niall MacKenzie for growling at the woman. After all he’d caught staring into his home through a back window. Worse yet, only minutes later she told him she was his caretaker. He already hates most people in Kilbourne City, Wisconsin after the bitter lie the community accepts about him. Her insistence that he start doctoring those locals doesn’t endear him to her.
Soon he has a fragile nurse to watch over and resist. A woman that calls to him more as a man than a doctor. As for Alice, the surprise waiting for her will lead to an unwanted marriage and a rivalry that threatens her only hope for a career and a home.
Dedication
Thanks to Sam and Trevor for the trip to Wisconsin Dells. The area, and Sam especially, inspired me as I wrote this book. I appreciate the pep talks, Sam!
Chapter 1
Wanted:
Woman to fill role of caretaker and nurse for busy doctor. No one under the age of twenty-five need apply.
The paper crinkled as Alice Cordell once again read the advertisement. She’d folded and opened the small piece of newsprint so often that lines had formed through the words. Care was now missing from caretaker, but her brain filled in that part of the word, mulling over it. What was included in being a caretaker?
When Alice showed it to her teacher, Nurse Harrow stared at the small square ripped from the newspaper and gave her typical sigh. Nothing unusual there. Alice had heard that sigh many times.
The woman had never been encouraging during Alice’s time at the school. The instructor had a ready compliment for the other women in the course. Alice had witnessed that repeatedly. For some reason, Nurse Harrow wanted to discourage Alice from working as a nurse.
Other graduates had been placed by Nurse Harrow. When Alice made an appointment to find out her placement, the woman only shook her head and sighed, “Nothing just right for your physical limitations, I’m sorry to say.”
That day when she’d shown the advertisement to the head of the small school, the woman became brutally honest. “I don’t see you being able to work in a hospital or clinic. The hours are grueling. While you are talented at healing, your stamina is a problem.”
The woman fingered the square, her lips flattening. “This may be the answer. You spent years caring for your father, and you are more than qualified as a caregiver. You could help a doctor and care for the man’s home if you answer this.”
Nurse Harrow wasn’t unkind. Alice knew that. She was, however, very concerned that her graduates impress others with their skills. Well, Alice had no doubt her own skills surpassed others in this graduating class. Her leg was the problem.
That terrible day came to her in nightmares some nights. The day when she’d chased a small dog out of the road and been hit by a runaway wagon. In the awful dreams, she saw her eleven-year-old self and knew the team of horses would stomp her. With a scream, she’d thrown her body to the side, but not fast enough.
Her left side had suffered from the heavy wheel of the wagon as it rolled across her thigh just above that knee, breaking her leg and exposing a bone. Pain continued to intrude into her dreams for years afterward.
Alice’s limp had never stopped her. Not when the family doctor told her parents she’d never walk again. Not when she’d been cossetted and forced to stay in bed.
No, she hadn’t let it stop her. All too soon, her family grew bored of their bedside vigil and left her alone. Even at the tender age of eleven, she’d known she had to push herself or be permanently crippled.
Alice took those first halting steps with blood dripping from her mouth. She’d bitten her lip to keep from screaming at the pain movement brought. No matter, Alice had the goal to walk again, and she had done it. Haltingly at first, but she’d achieved her goal then.
And would again. She was determined to be both
