Dallas nodded in understanding. "I didn't want to love Gillian either. I had been burned bad. Not the same circumstances as you and Deb, but still."
"You're glad you married Gillian, aren't you? No regrets?" Austin looked at his older brother. Dallas had had a tough time in the romance department. But everything had seemed to turn out fine for him.
"I'm very glad I married Gillian. My only regret is that I fought it for so long. I'm a firm believer in second chances now," he said with a smile. "Look, if Deborah had lived, you would have spent your lives together. Happily ever after, I suspect. But she's gone. She wouldn't have wanted you to live the rest of your days mourning her. You'll always love her. But there's room in your heart to love this woman, too."
Austin nodded. "I never believed in second chances until now. Until I nearly lost Theresa. I need her. Kelsey needs her."
Dallas walked around the bed and gripped Austin's shoulder hard, then let his hand fall to his side. "Speaking of Kelsey--"
Austin looked up quickly. "She's okay, isn't she?"
"Yeah. She's chomping at the bit, though. Wanted to know if she can visit her teacher yet. You've been gone for quite a while."
Austin nodded. "I'll go get her."
Dallas shook his head. "No, I'll go. You stay here. It's where you belong."
****
Theresa floated on a soft cloud surrounded by thick gray mists. The sensation felt like she was swimming, only there wasn't any water--only air.
Very strange . . .
She'd never been to this place before. She felt detached from her body. Reality suspended around her. Everything moving in slow motion.
Silence surrounded her. Shrouding her in a cozy blanket. Her heart pounded in her head. She was alone with herself. This had to be a dream, except she didn't feel like she was asleep.
Stranger still . . .
Through the foggy haze, Theresa strained to see something. Anything. There was nothing. An empty void. Vacuous space. Swirling streams of mists isolating her in nothingness.
Somewhere from the deep depths of her mind, she tried to dredge up thoughts. Memories. She drew a blank. Her brain seemed numb. Maybe she was drugged.
Something vague flickered through Theresa's mind. She wasn't swimming or floating. Flying. That's what she was doing. Flying through the gray fog.
That thought triggered another. Slowly, she tried to break free of the mists. Focus, Theresa. It was so difficult. So confusing. All this thinking made her head hurt and her entire body ached. Suddenly, Theresa realized she was hurt. Injured.
Flying
. She remembered now. She had been flying with Kelsey and her uncle. The plane had gone down. She remembered Kelsey screaming. Then nothing. Only blackness.
The mists threatened to suck Theresa back into the waiting vortex. She fought the pulling, swirling current. Struggled against the strong whirlpool of emptiness.
Another glimmer of memory teased the edges of her brain. Austin had been there. Rescued her. She remembered his strong arms lifting her, hauling her out of the wreckage.
The mists fell away. Memories floated back. Theresa knew what had happened. She knew where she was. The hospital. She was in the hospital.
As she surfaced from the mists, she became aware of muffled conversation beside the bed. Keeping her eyes closed, she listened.
"Why won't she wake up?" a child's voice whispered. A little girl. Theresa sighed in relief. Kelsey was safe. She had survived the crash. What about Tyler? Was he okay?
"I don't know why she doesn't wake up," a deep voice answered. "She hit her head pretty hard. The doctor said she should be coming around soon." The low timbre of Austin's voice flowed over Theresa. Through her. Warming her all over.
Austin and Kelsey were sitting near her bed. But why? Austin had said he never wanted to see her again. It was all too confusing. Her head ached even more. The mists threatened to engulf her again.
She knew she should open her eyes, but the effort was too painful. Just a little while longer in her safe foggy cocoon. Everything was coming back to her. If she opened her eyes, she would have to face the reality of Austin's rejection. She wasn't quite ready yet.
A sob yanked her thoughts back to the two people in the room. Kelsey was crying.
"Oh, Daddy. It's all my fault," Kelsey said through her tears. "I offered Miss Rogers the ride to Houston in Uncle Tyler's plane. I couldn't have her for my mother, but I thought we could be friends. And look what happened. I nearly killed her. Like I killed my real mother."
"Oh baby, you didn't kill your mother," Austin said. "It wasn't your fault. Sometimes, bad things just happen. Life happens and it's not always fair."
"But she died giving birth to me. How can you say it's not my fault?"
"Kelsey, your mother wanted a baby more than anything else in the world. So did I. She was so happy when she learned she was pregnant. The birth of a child is a miracle. There are a million things that have to happen right to make a healthy baby. Some of those things weren't right . . . there were complications. Yes, I lost your mother, but I have you to remember her by."
"Oh Daddy!" Kelsey's heart-wrenching sobs made Theresa want to cry, too. In her mind, she pictured Austin hugging and comforting his daughter. He might not be able to love another woman, but he adored his child. That made Theresa want to cry even more.
"Shhh," Austin said. "It's not your fault, baby. I never blamed you."
Kelsey sniffed. "I should have never tried to get you and Miss Rogers together. But I love Miss Rogers. I don't want her to die. I can't lose her. I just can't!"
"She's not going to die, sweetheart. She's going to be all right. I don't want to lose her either."
Something in Austin's voice made Theresa's heart nearly crater. She struggled to open her eyes and managed a peek at Austin and Kelsey.
Kelsey pushed away from her father and frowned. "You don't care about Miss Rogers. You've never cared. Don't pretend you care about her now."
"I'm not pretending, Kels. I
do
care about her. I want to marry her."
"Yeah, right. Like I believe that," Kelsey said. "The way you've been acting around her. You've been treating her like a jerk for months."
"I know I have. I didn't want to love her. But I can't help it. I do love her. And I think she loves me."
Kelsey heaved a deep sigh. "Of course she loves you. She told me so. You've made her miserable though. Do you really want to marry her?"
Austin nodded and Kelsey threw her arms around his neck. She kissed his cheek. "I'm
finally
going to have a mother. My wish is going to come true. I've got to tell Grams the news." She ran towards the door.
Austin stood up. "Kelsey, wait! What if Theresa says no?"
Kelsey turned and grinned. "Oh, give me a break."
After the door swished closed, Austin sat back down. For a moment, he didn't look at her.
Did he really want to marry her?
Theresa's heart thumped in her chest.
Austin raised his eyes toward the bed. Theresa met his gaze with a tentative smile. She was afraid. Scared that what she had overheard had been drug induced. Mixed up in the mists. Wishful thinking on her part.
He rose and came to stand near her. "You're awake." Taking her hand, he lifted it to his mouth, brushing it with a whisper of a kiss.
His touch was warm and sure. She loved this man so much. He was a good man. All of the McCade brothers were good men. "How is Tyler?"
Austin squeezed her hand. "He's good. He's pretty banged up, but he'll recover."
"Thanks goodness." Tears blurred Theresa's vision.
Austin's eyebrows slanted in a frown. "Don't cry. He's fine; I promise. Are you in pain? Do you want me to call the nurse?"
Theresa sniffed and shook her head.
Austin held her hand close to his heart. "Then what's wrong? Why are you crying?"
She could feel his strong heart beat against her hand. She had waited for this moment, for Austin's love. Was it real? Or would she wake up and find it had all been a dream? She took a deep breath. "I heard what you told Kelsey. Is it true?"
He squeezed her hand again, bringing it to his mouth for another kiss. With his other hand, he stroked her cheek. "Yes, it's true. I love you. And I'm sorry for the way I've been acting."
She turned her head away. She had to ask the question burning in her soul. "What about Deborah?"
Austin gently grasped her chin and made her look at him. Theresa felt the bed dip as he settled on the edge, keeping her hand in his. "Deborah will always hold a special place in my heart. She was my first love, my high school sweetheart . . . the mother of my child."
He let go of her hand and leaned toward her, bracing his arms on either side of her head. Theresa searched the hazel eyes, finding a hunger burning so bright it threatened to consume her. An answering heat glowed deep inside of her. A glimmer of hope flared in her heart.
"I've mourned Deborah's loss for twelve years," he said. "I've used my grief to protect myself from caring about another woman. Then you came along and turned my world upside down."
Austin brushed an errant wisp of hair from Theresa's forehead. She felt his fingers tremble as he tucked it behind her ear.
"I fought my feelings for you." His low voice rasped over Theresa's nerve endings. "I didn't think I could risk my heart again. The pain from losing Deborah was almost too much to bear. I didn't want to subject myself to that kind of vulnerability ever again. I told myself what I felt for you was nothing more than desire and lust."
Theresa watched Austin as he paused, struggling to find the words to express himself. She felt all of her love for him bubble forth.
Austin took a deep breath. "When I saw Tyler's plane go down, I realized I had been fooling myself. I didn't have a choice. I cared deeply for you and couldn't live without you."
He leaned even closer. "I love you, Theresa. Will you marry me?"
"Hey, Dad!" Kelsey called, bursting into the room.
Austin groaned and pulled back. Theresa bit her lip, her heart full from his tender declaration.
Kelsey stopped at the foot of the bed. "Grams wants to know when the wedding will be." Her eyes widened in surprise. "Oh, Miss Rogers! You're awake. Thank God!" She smiled at Theresa. "Isn't it great? You're going to be my mom after all. Well, when are we going to tie the knot?"
"
We
?" Austin turned to his daughter in exasperation. "I don't know when
we
will tie the damned knot," he said. "I just asked her to marry me, and she hasn't answered yet. With you interrupting us like this, she might change her mind when she realizes you come with me as a packaged deal."
Kelsey smiled again as she moved closer to the bed. "Yeah, right. She wants to be my mom. Don't you, Miss Rogers?"
Theresa looked at the little girl standing near her father. Her heart overflowed with the knowledge that Austin loved her. She wanted nothing more than to be his wife and have Kelsey for a daughter.
"Well, Miss Rogers? What's it going to be? Are you going to marry me and my dad?"
"Kelsey, be quiet!" He smiled an apology at Theresa. "This isn't how I pictured my proposal of marriage."
Her toes curled under the starchy hospital sheets. All of her aches and pains faded away as a warm glow of happiness surrounded her heart. Theresa laughed. "Yes, Kelsey. I'll marry you and your dad, but only if you do me a favor."
Austin searched her face. Theresa winked in reassurance to the question in his eyes.
Kelsey frowned. "What's that, Miss Rogers?"
"You have to stop calling me
Miss Rogers.
"
Kelsey sighed in relief. She grinned and leaned over to kiss Theresa's cheek and hug her, careful not to bump any of the tubes hooked to Theresa's arms. "Sure thing--
Mom
."
Theresa choked back tears at the words. She looked over Kelsey's head to the man she loved. Austin's eyes burned with emotion for her and his daughter. Theresa smiled at him. She lifted her hand and he caught it, raising it to his lips.
"Hey, you guys aren't going to get all mushy on me, are you?" Kelsey said, pulling back from Theresa, looking from one to the other of them.
"It's required between people who are going to get married. Or didn't you know?" Austin grabbed Kelsey and hugged her, then let her go.
Theresa heard Kelsey giggle, but her attention was riveted on Austin as he moved closer, bracing himself over her until his face was only a couple of inches away from her own.
"I know Kelsey asked you, but now I'm asking you again," he said softly, seriously. "Theresa Rogers, will you marry me?"
Swallowing a big lump in her throat, Theresa nodded. "Yes. Oh, yes!"