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Angie was sweet, kind, warm and giving. With her sunny disposition, she seemed to bring joy into a room. She had a sweet innocence about her that screamed “untouchable.” Besides, she was his sister’s age and too young for him.
Rachel had seemed to need Angie, and Angie had always been at the house. If she wasn’t, Rachel was on the phone begging her to come. Angie had worked in the family bakery in Horseshoe, but she spent as much time with Rachel as she could.
Busy finishing up law school at the University of Texas, Hardy had rarely come home on weekends. But after his mother’s death he’d come home often. Sometimes he had to wonder, though, if it was for his family or to see Angie. There was just something about her that made other people feel better—made him feel better.
Rachel had never liked to get dirty or sweaty. When they swam in the pool, Rachel would sit in a lounger while he and Angie frolicked in the water. He’d taught her to dive and how to hold her breath and open her eyes under the water. She’d been afraid to do that at first, and he’d laughed at her silly face when she finally did it. And he’d laughed when she’d made a belly buster off the diving board. He’d enjoyed being with her as much as Rachel did. Being six years older, sometimes he’d been ashamed to admit that.
Angie was a good cook and he lost track of the number of times she’d cooked in their kitchen—nachos, pizzas or anything Rachel wanted to eat. He’d eaten right along with them, soaking up the smile on Angie’s face. They’d fought over movies. She had liked chick flicks, and he had liked action films. They’d done a lot of compromising and teasing. Rachel had been an artist and always drawing in her sketchbook and frowning at them. At times it had felt as if it were just the two of them in the world. He couldn’t wait for Friday afternoons when he would head home to Horseshoe and Angie would be there.
God, that was so long ago. How could those memories still be so vivid? He took a long breath.
The sirens kept blaring as the ambulance sped toward Temple. It whipped in and out of traffic and zoomed through red lights. Other vehicles slowed and gave the ambulance right of way.
Oh, damn. He’d forgotten. He had a dinner date with his dad and Olivia in Austin. That was where he’d been going when he’d hit the little girl. He fished out his phone from his jeans and texted his dad and Olivia. Can’t make it. Sorry. Been involved in an accident. I’m fine. I’ll call later.
Messages immediately came back, wanting answers. Olivia and his dad were not very patient. He’d been dating Olivia on and off for about a year now. She understood him better than any woman he’d ever dated. But sometimes... He turned off his phone, not in the mood to answer questions. As he slipped the phone into his pocket, his eyes caught Angie’s and his heart did a nervous hiccup.
Angie held her daughter’s hand and stared at him with that incredibly hurt look he’d seen before. He looked away and let his thoughts drift.
Rachel had planned to study art in Paris. It was her first love. To help Rachel settle in, Hardison Sr. had decided they would take a family vacation to Europe. They’d been worried about Rachel being so far from home and her friends, especially away from Angie. Hardy had even thought of asking Angie to go with her friend, but he knew her morally upright mother wouldn’t allow it.
Their father had thrown Rachel a big going-away party in August at the Hollister’s ranch. Angie had been there. It was a party for teenagers, and he hadn’t planned on making an appearance.
The party was supposed to end at twelve. He’d arrived home about twelve-thirty to find drunk teens around the pool. Someone had spiked the punch. His dad had been in bed, trying not to interfere with Rachel’s fun. Hardy had called parents to come pick up their kids. His sister had been asleep on the sofa in the house, seemingly detached from her friends.
Going to his room, he’d found Angie in the hallway, sitting on the floor with her head on her knees.
“Are you okay?” he had asked.
“I feel woozy.”
“Someone spiked the punch.”
“I thought it tasted funny.” She’d raised her head and rested it against the wall. “Everything looks unfocused.”
“Come on. I’ll take you home.”
She’d gotten to her feet without a problem, but then she’d sagged against him. “I can’t go home. My mama will have a fit. I don’t do things like this and...”
He had helped her into his room. “Call your mom and tell her you’re spending the night.” Her mother, Doris, was known to be vocal and opinionated, and she would put Angie through the ringer. This wasn’t Angie’s fault. He hadn’t seen the need to punish her.
Afterward, she’d stretched out on the bed and gone to sleep. He had started to wake her and tell her to go to Rachel’s room, but she was sleeping so peacefully. After grabbing his toothbrush, he’d gone to a guest bedroom.
Sometime toward morning, he’d awakened and decided to check on her. Since she wasn’t used to liquor, he was worried.
She had been sitting on the edge of the bed.
“Are you sick?” he’d asked from the doorway.
“No. I just feel like a fool.”
He’d sat beside her in nothing but his pajama bottoms. He had realized later that he shouldn’t have done that. “Most kids have tasted liquor before their eighteenth birthday, so consider it a rite of passage. You’re now an adult.”
She’d brushed her sandy-brown hair back from her face and smiled at him. Even with the room in semidarkness, her smile was contagious. “Do you see me as an adult?”
“You’re my sister’s friend.” He hadn’t been sure how else to answer the question.
“That’s it?”
“Angie...”
Before he could stop her, she’d reached over and kissed his cheek. He had breathed in the scent of her and should have pulled away. But he hadn’t. She’d gently placed her lips on his and he was lost. He had wanted her in the worst way. He had wanted her the whole summer. Ignoring all the voices in his head, he’d kissed her back.
What had happened next was forever imprinted on his mind and on his heart. He’d taken her innocence.
There was no redemption for that.
Chapter Two
The ambulance wheeled into the emergency area of the hospital, and Erin was whisked inside. Angie climbed out without a glance at Hardy. She left him standing outside in the warm evening air. Pushing him to the back of her mind, she followed the stretcher.
She waited to the side as they examined Erin, her stomach a tangled mass of jittery nerves. Her baby looked so pale on the E.R. table. A nurse slit the new bathing suit with a pair of scissors and removed it. The doctor did a quick examination, calling out orders for tests that went over Angie’s head. Her eyes were focused on her unconscious baby.
An X-ray had been done quickly, and the doctor put it up on a screen. “She has a fractured femur, a possible concussion and we have to check for internal bleeding and rib fractures. Let’s get her up to the surgical ward. Notify Dr. Lawson and Dr. Robbins. Now.” The man in the blue scrubs turned to Angie. “Are you the mother?”
Angie had to swallow twice before she could answer. “Yes.”
“We’re taking her for tests and then to surgery. Her left leg is badly fractured and will require surgery. The surgeon will talk to you before he operates. You’ll have to sign papers.”
“I need to be with her. She’ll want her mama when she wakes up.”
The doctor gave her a compassionate look. “I understand that, but she’s not going to be awake for a long time.” The doctor looked over her shoulder and asked, “Are you the father?”
Angie swung around to see Hardy standing there. Her pulse pounded in her ears as panic gripped her. She couldn’t handle this now. Before words could leave her throat, Hardy stepped forward.
“I’m Hardy Hollister. The girl ran out in front of my truck and I hit her. Please do whatever you can to help her.”
“We will.”
Two nurses came in and pushed Erin’s bed toward the elevator. Angie was one step behind. She didn’t know why Hardy was still there. She wanted him to leave.
A nurse pointed to a door. “You can wait in there. After the tests, the surgeon will talk to you.”
“Thank you.” She took a deep breath and walked inside feeling empty, alone and scared out of her mind. Her baby had to be okay.
Without even having to look, she knew Hardy was behind her. His presence was strong and undeniable. But she was strong, too. He’d made her that way.
She faced him. “Would you please leave?”
“I have to know that she’s okay.”
“Wyatt will call you.”
He shook his head. “I’m not leaving, Angie. You don’t need to be here alone.”
Alone? Is he kidding?
“My family is on the way. You’re just a stranger to me, and I don’t want you here.”
His tanned skin paled. “I’m not a stranger.” Her words might have stung, but being an attorney he was used to brushing away barbs as no more than pesky flies. Just like he did women.
As a teenager, Angie had been so naive and in love with the fantasy of Hardison Hollister: tall, handsome, older and a little mysterious. She used to dream about her friend’s brother. It had to be love, because she thought about him all the time.
Suffering through the remnants of a hangover, she’d gained the courage to show him she was an adult. To maintain her sanity, she’d closed her mind to what had happened next.
It was a mistake, he’d said. He was sorry, but she was his sister’s friend and she could never be anything else to him. So she’d taken her mangled pride and did the best she could with a broken heart. Even now when she saw him around town or with one of his many women, she’d have the oddest moments where she thought she still had those feelings for him. Maybe some fantasies never died.
But she was older, mature and Hardy wasn’t going to mess with her mind again. She wanted him to leave so she could deal with her injured child. Later, she’d have to divulge her innermost secret. Not now, though.
She looked him straight in the eye. “It was an accident. I don’t hold you responsible. Is that what you’re waiting to hear?”
His eyebrows knotted together. “No. I’m genuinely concerned for her.”
“Really? What’s her name?”
“Uh...what?”
“You’ve avoided me for two years. Let’s don’t change things now.”
“You look at me as if I’m a leper or something. I can’t go back and change the past, but I’m not leaving this hospital until I know your daughter is out of surgery and doing well.”
“I don’t want you here. Can’t you understand that?” Her control slipped a notch.
His question, “Why?” blasted through her control with the force of a bullet, and it pierced through regions of her heart she’d kept safe. Safe from any emotions she might have had for him. Safe from admitting she was just as gullible as she’d ever been.
* * *
TWO DOCTORS IN scrubs and surgical caps walked into the room, preventing Angie from answering. Not that she had an answer she could share with him. She immediately went to the doctors.
One looked down at the chart in his hand. “Ms. Wiznowski?”
“Yes.”
“I’m Dr. Lawson, and this is Dr. Robbins, a pediatric orthopedist.”
They shook hands. “How’s my daughter?”
Dr. Lawson looked over her shoulder, and Angie cringed. She knew what the doctor would ask next.
“Are you the father?” he asked Hardy.
Hardy stepped forward. “No. I hit her with my truck. She came out of nowhere.”
The doctor nodded. “It’s commendable you’re taking responsibility.”
“How is my daughter?” Angie didn’t know why the doctor was talking to Hardy. Erin was no concern of his. That wasn’t quite true, but she couldn’t admit that now.
Dr. Lawson turned his attention to her. “Your daughter has taken quite a beating, but she’s young and has no life-threatening wounds.”
Angie sagged with relief. “Thank God.”
“But we do have some concerns. She has a bad cut on her head from hitting the pavement. We’ve used surgical tape to close it. She has two fractured ribs, but no internal bleeding. Our main concern is her leg. Dr. Robbins will discuss that with you. I just wanted to let you know she’s resting comfortably.”
“Thank you. Can I see her?”
“My surgical team is prepping her for surgery,” Dr. Robbins answered. “We need your permission to continue. The nurse will bring some papers in for you to sign.”
“Okay. Her femur is broken?” she asked.
“Yes. Severely, but I can operate and repair it. I’ll insert a lightweight titanium rod to stabilize the fracture.” He opened the file and drew as he talked. “It’s a new technique. I’ll make an incision on the top of her hip. Right about here.” He made a mark on the stick figure he’d drawn. “After I realign the bone, I’ll insert the rod through the center of the bone, which will then serve as an internal splint.”
“Will she need a cast?”
“No. We might put an immobilizer on her knee at first to prevent movement. These fractures take about six weeks to heal. In the meantime she’ll be on crutches so she can keep her weight off that leg. In a year, we’ll remove the rod.”
“So the prognosis is good?”
Dr. Robbins nodded. “Yes. I deal with a lot of femur fractures, and they heal beautifully, especially in young children. It just takes time.”
Angie thought of the wonderful vacation they’d planned and how excited Erin was to see Disney World. Now they would be spending the summer at home, healing and trying to come to grips with what had happened.
“Can I see her, please?”
“She’s in a sterile area. You won’t be able to see her until after surgery.”
“If she wakes up and I’m not there, she’ll be so afraid.”
Dr. Robbins touched her shoulder in a reassuring gesture. “I promise you, you’ll be there when she wakes up.”
“Thank you. How long will this take?”
“Maybe an hour or so, depends how everything goes. I’ll come back and talk to you when it’s over.”
The doctors walked out, and she felt more alone than ever. But Erin was going to be okay.
She took a deep breath and turned to deal with Hardy. “Erin is going to be okay. You don’t need to feel guilty anymore.”
“I know your ex-husband isn’t part of your life anymore, but shouldn’t he be notified?” he asked as if it was his right to do so.
