Linda Warren - One Night in Texas

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.

“That’s none of your business.”

“No matter what your relationship is, he has a right to know his child has been injured.”

She hated it when he took on his lawyer persona and kept probing until he got the answers he wanted. But he would be the last person she would tell about Dennis Green, her married-in-haste ex-husband.

“I’ll take care of it.”

“I’d like to try to explain. I need to explain.”

She also hated that honorable streak in him. Before he’d left for Europe, she’d seen him in town and they’d sat on a bench at the courthouse and talked for a few minutes. He had apologized once again for what had happened and wanted her to know how much he liked her and he wished her all the best in the future. Being young and incredibly naive, she’d wanted words of love and marriage.

When she’d found out she was pregnant, her first thought had been she had to tell him. But Hardy had been in Europe, and she’d had no way to get in touch with him. She’d kept praying Rachel would call and then she could talk to Hardy, but the call never came.

She had agonized over how to tell her mother—her very strict, religious mother. Patsy and Peggy, her twin sisters, were in Temple going to beauty school. She’d joined them there to attend Temple Junior College and take accounting courses. It had been her way to escape a confrontation with her mother and to escape the gossip, if only temporarily. Still, she couldn’t sleep or eat. She’d been a mess. Then she’d met sweet and kind Dennis, and her world had righted itself.

A nurse entered the room with some papers and a clipboard in her hand. She looked at Hardy. “Mr. Wiznowski?”

Angie wanted to scream with frustration. Why did they think Hardy had anything to do with Erin? Because he does. He is her father. He just didn’t know it.