Finding Love in Payton (16 page)

"It's Bryan," she said, her tone rising two octaves.
"His finger ... his finger got slammed in a door. He's
crying; it's bleeding. I think it's broken."

A sudden, fierce panic rose in him. "I'll be right
there," he said, the angry howls of Bryan in the background making his stomach clench.

"Really? Are you sure? My mom's not around, and
I can't take him to the hospital by myself."

"I'm on my way, honey. Two minutes."

He hung up before hearing her reply, and was pulling open the back door within minutes.

"What's wrong?" his mom called out to him.

"Bryan's hurt. Dinah and I need to take him to the
hospital," he called out.

"Oh, no! Do you want me to come, too?"

"No. We've got it," he said as he lowered himself
into his sports car. "I've got my cell. I'll let you know
what's going on later."

As soon as he arrived at Dinah's, she greeted him
at the door, Bryan cradled in her arms. Straight away,
he gazed at Bryan. He was crying loud enough to beat
the band, and Dinah had tears of her own streaming
down her cheeks. "I don't know what happened," she
said tearfully. "I think a gust of wind blew a door
shut."

"It was an accident, Dinah. They happen." Care fully, he brushed his lips against her brow. "Let's go."
As best he could, he guided her to her car, where they
buckled a screaming Bryan into a car seat. "I'll drive.
You sit back there." He paused, trying to stay calm.
"Have you called the doctor?"

"No, it's Sunday ..." She shook her head. "I just
panicked."

Jeremy quickly dialed Stratton's mobile phone number, glad it was on the directory of his cell phone. As
he pulled out of her driveway, he handed her the
phone. "Talk to Stratton," he said. "He'll know what
to do."

In a daze, she did as she was told, and by the time
he made the way to the first stop sign, Dinah was
speaking quietly to Stratton, answering a series of
questions.

"Should we still go to the hospital?" he called out.

"Yes," she said, looking up from a still weepy
Bryan. "Stratton thinks he'll need x-rays."

"Okay." As best he could, he raced to the hospital,
then guided Dinah and Bryan into the emergency
doors. As he helped Dinah get checked in, he saw
Stratton enter the double doors.

"What are you doing here?" he asked his brotherin-law. It wasn't usual for Stratton to give up his Sunday afternoons for non-emergencies.

Stratton shrugged. "I had a few minutes."

With Stratton's help, they were rushed through the
preliminary paper work, and within minutes both Stratton and an emergency room doctor were unwrapping Bryan's hand from a blood-soaked towel and bag
of ice.

Jeremy winced as he caught hold of the little boy's
chubby hand. His nail bed was already black and blue,
and swollen at least two times its normal size.

Dinah's lip was red and puffy as well, and with a
tug in his heart, he realized that she'd been biting her
lip to stay in control. The sight made him want to pull
her into his arms and hold her tight. How many times
had she done such a thing, all by herself? How many
times had she chewed her lip raw in order to stay in
control, to do what was right for Bryan?

When did Dinah fall apart, ask for help? And more
importantly, had anyone ever been there to catch her
when she did?

"We'll need to go down to x-rays," Stratton directed. "Once those are completed, we'll know more."

She nodded silently, her brown eyes settling on
Stratton with absolute trust. Together, the four of them
went to the x-ray room, and Jeremy watched Dinah
cry silent tears as she held Bryan down so they could
get their x-rays.

Later, after ascertaining that his finger was only
bruised, not broken, they bandaged Bryan's whole fist
up, so it looked as if he wore a little club.

And because Dinah looked exhausted, Jeremy
stepped forward and listened to the majority of the
directions for care and follow up appointments.

Less than two hours after they had arrived at Memorial Hospital, they were leaving again. "I can't
thank you enough for meeting us here," Dinah said to
Stratton as they walked to the car, Bryan now sound
asleep in her arms.

Stratton brushed a stray curl from Bryan's forehead.
"I'm just glad you called."

She glanced at Jeremy. "It was Jeremy's idea. I was
so frightened."

Stratton smiled at her and squeezed her arm. "You
are a good mom. I would have been worried if you
hadn't been worried."

She chuckled at that. "I must be a great mom, then."

"See you two later. Call me at home if you need
anything, Dinah. I mean it."

"I will," she said, turning to Jeremy as he unlocked
her car doors. "I hardly even remember getting here,"
she said in surprise.

Jeremy glanced at her and once again wanted to
hold her close. "It's been quite an afternoon. Come
on, we'll get you two home."

He drove them to her house, then helped her settle
the still-sleeping Bryan in his bed. Then he finally did
what he'd been dying to do from the moment he'd
heard her frightened voice.

"Come here," he said, leading her to the couch.

When she followed him easily, he sat down, and
pulled her onto his lap. She settled in.

"I've been wanting to hold you since the moment I
saw your poor chewed-up lip. Let me do this."

Her fingers covered her mouth. "My lips?" Her eyes
widened as she finally noticed her raw mouth. "Oh my
gosh. What a mess I am."

"Not at all," he murmured. "You're just fine. Sit
here for a moment, then I'll make you some iced tea."

Finally, she relaxed against him, and right then and
there he knew he was a goner. He loved them both.
He wanted Dinah in his life forever, and Bryan, too.
All he had to do was figure out a way to make her
believe that he was worth it.

"Poor Bryan," Dinah's mother cooed a few hours
later as she knelt on the floor next to him.

He glanced up at her and smiled, then went back to
his trusty pile of measuring cups and plastic plates.
Miraculously, Bryan seemed to be recovering from his
little experience much easier than Dinah could have
ever imagined.

As soon as he'd woken up, he'd squirmed from her
arms and insisted on playing with his toys right next
to Bonnie, his bandaged hand hardly slowing him
down. Dinah wished she felt as perky.

"What a day you've had," her mom said, looking
over Bryan's head to Dinah.

She couldn't help but agree. It had been quite a day.
"I'm in no hurry to make another trip to the emergency
room any time soon."

"He's twenty-six months and already made a trip.
This doesn't bode well."

"He's a boy. That's what boys do," her father
quipped.

Like that was supposed to make her feel any better.
"I hope he gives me at least a year or two before we
make another trip," Dinah said, compromising. "He
may be all boy, but I'm just a mere woman."

Her mom laughed. "You did just fine, honey. You
always do."

Did she? There was a big part of her that didn't
think so. And a whole other portion of her that was
tired of handling crises alone. It had felt really good
to have Jeremy there, calling Stratton, talking to the
doctors and nurses, and holding her after everything
was okay. "Jeremy helped a lot," she said, feeling the
need to give credit where credit was due.

Her parents exchanged glances. "We heard. Daphne
called us on the golf course and relayed how Jeremy
was on his feet and out the door only seconds after
you called." She gave Dinah a sideways glance. "He
must really care for you."

Their quiet, assessing glances made heat rise to her
cheeks, which made her feel even more self-conscious.
How come at almost thirty years of age, she still felt
perpetually fourteen around her mom? Especially
when her mom gave her those assessing glances? "I
guess he does," she replied, mainly just to see what
her parents said to that.

"I like him, too," her dad boomed. "Like his parents, his sisters, that Stratton. You could do worse,
dear."

She bristled at his words. Gosh, her dad was making
her sound like some sort of old maid! "I was married
before, remember?"

"We liked Neil, too," her mom said, eager to play
mediator. "It's just that ... well, he's gone, honey."

She knew that all too well. "I don't think I need to
be in a hurry to do anything."

"We wouldn't want you to. Though, I would hate
your feelings about Neil to interfere with any thoughts
you might have of being with Jeremy."

"I loved Neil."

"We did, too."

"He was a good husband. A good father," she
pointed out, feeling the need to defend him though the
things they were saying out loud were nothing she
hadn't thought to herself before.

Her father nodded, his expression solemn. "Yes, he
was."

Dinah slumped. "Then why am I so afraid to fall in
love again?"

Her parents looked at each other in alarm, but for
once Dinah was tired of hiding her feelings behind a
sunny smile. "I had a good marriage with Neil. I
wanted him to settle down, wanted him to want to be
with me ..."

"You had a good marriage with him. He was a good man. He also hardly thought of the future, had to go
out with his buddies once a weekend, and had a needless accident while you were home with his baby."

"Dad!"

"I'm sorry, but I don't understand how we have to
make him out to be a saint when he was nothing of
the sort," he said, defending himself. "I thought Neil
was a great guy ... but he had faults. Just like you
and I do."

Her father stood up as if to prove his point. "He
was human. And he was speeding in the rain because
he liked fast cars and danger. The police reports
proved it."

She really didn't want to revisit those feelings. "I
don't know why we have to bring this up right now."

Her mother marched forward, her auburn hair
bouncing from the motion. "Maybe because we never
do. Maybe it's time to actually talk about things instead of pretending they don't matter. All I've ever
heard you say about Jeremy Reece is what's wrong
with him. `He's too young. He should be with someone else. He's just starting out'." Her expression softened. "But maybe, just maybe you're so busy looking
at all the reasons you shouldn't be together instead of
all the reasons you should."

It was nothing new to have her mother give her
relationship advice ... but completely weird to actually find herself listening to it. "What do you mean?"

"I mean Jeremy was there for you today, and he seems like the kind of guy who's going to be there
for you all the time."

Dinah knew that.

"And, I imagine, you would be there for him ...
right?"

With a start, Dinah knew that exactly. If their places
had been reversed, if he'd called her in a panic, she
would have dropped everything to be with him. That's
what love was.

Stunned by her revelation, she hardly heard her
mother drone on. ". . . he's dependable, likeable, cute
as can be, and shoot, the whole school board thinks
he's about as great as sliced bread."

That brought her up short. "Sliced bread?" she echoed with a smile.

Her mother rolled her eyes. "You know what I
mean. I think you should take a step back and do some
thinking, Dinah. Or you're going to miss out on a great
guy„

And with that, her parents took off, leaving Dinah
with a messy kitchen, a sleepy Bryan, and a whole lot
to think about.

"My turn for the fitting," Missy announced, walk- ing into the back of Beagle's Books. "Thanks for letting me come here to try on the dress instead of going
to your house. It's so nice to take care of this during
my lunch hour."

"I'm happy to do it," Dinah said, handing Missy a
vibrant scarlet colored dress.

"Red?"

"You're going to look beautiful in it. Besides,
Joanne said the red fabric was on sale."

"I bet an ivory color was on sale, too," Missy grumbled, heading to the rest room. "Joanne just has a flair
for the dramatic. I'll be out in a sec."

Moments later Missy appeared, looking resplendent
in red. "I like that color on you," Dinah said.

"Me, too ... if you want to know the truth."

Dinah was relieved to see that she didn't have too
many more alterations. Basically, all that needed to be
done was just a little pinning around the shoulders and
the hemming.

"Are you excited about the baby?"

Missy's eyes glowed. "So excited. Sometimes
Kevin and I can hardly believe that we're going to be
parents soon."

"When's your due date, again?"

"Around Christmas."

Dinah did some quick calculations. "The baby will
be sitting up and crawling this summer."

Missy glanced at her, wide-eyed. "Gosh, you're
right! It's hard to believe how different things will be
... just one year from now." She glanced at herself in
the mirror, turning this way and that, before directing
her attention back to Dinah. "Did you know this is my
second marriage?"