Colby thought how incredible it was
that there could be such
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pleasure in companionable silence.
It felt almost too perfect
to last. “What
are we going to do about this? she asked,
and immediately wanted to take the
question back. It was too
soon. He'd just broken his
engagement, and she didn't
want him to think she expected
something more from
him.
“You mean what
happens when the school year is
up?
She nodded.
“I think that's
something we need to talk about.
The phone rang. She sat up, wrapping
her arms
around herself.
“Phoebe? Ian
asked.
“I can't imagine
she would cal , Colby said, frowning.
The ringing stopped. A couple of
seconds later, it
started again.
“We'd better get
it in case something's wrong, he
said.
“The phone's in
the kitchen, she said. She watched
him leave the room, wishing she
hadn't said anything about
the future. She'd gotten so caught
up in what had happened
between them that she'd let herself
forget he had another
life in another world. He might no
longer be engaged, but
that didn't change the fact that his
stay in Keeling Creek
would be temporary. He'd said he
loved her, but she'd
long ago learned the lesson that
love didn't mean forever.
His footsteps sounded in the
hallway. She looked up
to find him standing at the door,
his face creased with
worry.
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“What is it? she
asked, knowing immediately that
something was wrong.
“We have to go,
he said, clearly shaken. “Luke and
Lena have been in an accident. Frank
heard about it on his
police scanner, and he and Phoebe
are on their way to the
hospital.
All the way back to town, Colby
prayed. Harder than
she'd ever prayed in her life.
Ian held on to her hand as the
Mercedes roared down
the driveway, his grip firm enough
that she knew he
suffered the same agonies as she.
It seemed like hours before they
final y reached the
emergency room door. As soon as Ian
stopped the car,
Colby jumped out and ran. He was
right behind her. Colby
went to the first nurse she saw.
“Our children, they were
brought in a little while ago. Lena
Williams and Luke
McKinley. Can you tell us where they
are?
“Certainly. Just
fol ow me.
Ian took Colby's hand, and they
anxiously trailed the
woman to an examining room, where
both Lena and Luke
lay in separate beds. The blood
drained from Colby's face.
Lena looked as white as the sheet
covering her. Her eyes
were closed, and a nasty-looking
gash arced across her
temple. A doctor was stitching it
up.
Luke lay on the other side of the
divider curtain.
Bandages encircled his hands, and
white gauze covered the
center of his forehead. A nurse
adjusted the IV taped to his
hand.
“Oh, thank
goodness, you're here.
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Colby swung around to find Phoebe
and Frank hovering
in the doorway. Phoebe had a
stricken look on her face.
“They're going to
be al right, aren't they? Colby
asked, hearing the fear in her own
voice.
Phoebe nodded and waved them outside
the door,
where she said, “Oh,
Colby, I'm sorry. I feel as if this is all
my fault. If I hadn't sent you two
off to the lake, maybe
this wouldn't have—
“Phoebe, what
happened? Ian interrupted gently but
with a distinct note of urgency.
Frank squeezed Phoebe's shoulder and
said, “They
were hit by another car, and. .
.apparently, they had been
drinking.
“Who had been
drinking? Colby asked, incredulous.
“Lena and Luke.
Ian leaned against the wal behind
him and dropped
his forehead onto the heel of one
hand.
Colby knew what he was thinking. If
Luke had been
drinking when the accident happened,
he would be in
violation of his probation. She
prayed that there had been
some kind of mistake.
“They've both
been out of it since they got them in
here, so nobody knows anything for
sure, Phoebe said. “And
the blood work's not back from the
lab yet.
“Did you call my
mom and dad? Colby asked, her
voice raspy with shock.
“No. I thought
you'd want to do that after we knew
more.
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“Good. Colby and
Ian went back inside and talked to
the doctor who just finished with
Lena. He assured them that
they were bruised and bumped up but
should be fine. He'd
given them something for pain, and
they would both
probably sleep for a while.
As soon as the doctor left the room,
Colby slid back
the curtain that divided the two
beds. She and Ian stood
between them, she holding Lena's
hand, he holding Luke's,
their own joined in the middle.
Luke woke up first. His eyes opened,
and he made a
visible effort to focus.
Relief flooded through Ian, making
him weak with
gratitude. “Luke?
He sat down on the edge of the bed and
pressed his hand to his son's face.
“I'm right here. You're
going to be al right.
“Where am I? Luke
asked, stil groggy. Before Ian
could answer, the boy sat bolt
upright and said, “Lena!
Where's Lena?
“She's right here
next to you, Ian assured him. “She's
going to be fine. Everything's okay.
Just relax, all right?
Luke sank back on the pillow, one
hand pressed to his
temple.
Colby moved to the other side of the
bed. “How are
you feeling?
“Not too great
right now.
“What happened,
son? Ian asked, his voice heavy.
“We. . .the car.
. .it came out of nowhere. I was trying to
get Lena to the hospital.
“Lena. Why? Colby
asked, her hands clasped together.
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“She called me.
She sounded upset about her dad, and
I could tell she'd been drinking. I
rushed over to your
house, and she was passed out. She
wouldn't wake up, so I
was taking her to the hospital
when—
“You weren't
drinking, son? Ian interrupted, relief
flooding through him.
Luke looked up at him and shook his
head with a half
smile. “After al
the trouble you've gone through to reform
me, I'm not gonna blow it that
easily.
Ian smiled down at him. “I
should've known that.
“Old Pokey won't
ever be the same, though, Luke
said.
“Don't worry
about that old truck. It's probably had its
nine lives, anyway. You just rest
now. Everything's going to
be all right.
Lena awoke a half hour or so later.
Colby was sitting by
her side when she opened her eyes
and realized where she
was. Tears rolled down her cheeks,
and she said, “Oh,
Mom, I'm sorry.
“Baby. Colby
leaned down and took her into her arms,
holding her as tightly as she could
with the tubes attached to
her.
Ian opened the curtain between the
two beds, while
mother and daughter held each other
for several long minutes,
reestablishing the precious bond
that had been threatened
in the past few months.
Colby finally pul ed away and
smoothed a hand across
Lena's hair. “What
happened, sweetie?
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“I should have
left it alone. Tears wel ed up in her
eyes again, and she bit back a sob.
Colby waited for her to go on,
knowing she needed to
get it all out.
“A letter came
for you today. It said Personal, but I
opened it. I shouldn't have. It was
from— Her voice
broke, and fresh tears made their
way down her cheeks.
“Oh, Lena.
Colby's heart fell as she realized who the
letter had been from and what it
must have said. She held
her daughter close again, wanting to
absorb her child's pain.
But she couldn't. For so long, she'd
tried to protect her
from this, and she had failed.
“He didn't want
to know me, Mom. What did I do to—
“You did nothing,
honey, Colby interrupted with
force. “Nothing.
He's the loser in all this. Not you. You've
got to believe that.
“I've been so
awful to you, Mom. I just couldn't believe
that he wouldn't want to see me if
he knew about me. I
wanted to blame you for it, to
believe that you were the
reason he didn't care about me.
“Oh, Lena. Colby
held her tight, rubbing her back,
her own voice wavering when she
said, “You don't know
how I wanted to spare you this.
“I know you did,
but I asked for it.
Colby drew back and looked down into
her daughter's
eyes. “You didn't
ask for any of this. You've done nothing
wrong, my precious girl. From the
moment I felt you move
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inside me, you've been the joy of my
life. And you always
wil be.
Lena buried her face in Colby's
shoulder, crying silently
and clinging to her. Colby held her
close and sent up a
silent, grateful prayer of thanks
for her safety.
Colby decided to wait until morning
to cal her
parents. Since the kids were al
right, there was no point in
getting them out of bed at two a.m.
The doctor wanted to
keep both Lena and Luke overnight
for observation.
Colby and Ian stayed with them.
Phoebe went home
around three o'clock and surprised
them by never even asking
how their evening had gone.
Lena and Luke were both awake off
and on, so
conversation between Colby and Ian
was limited. In fact,
they had no chance to talk alone at
al .
Colby cal ed her parents at seven,
and they arrived within
half an hour, hovering over Lena to
make sure she was all
right. Even though her parents had
met Ian and Luke once
at the church breakfast, Colby
introduced them again, and
she saw that both her mom and dad
were more than a little
impressed.
The doctor released both Lena and
Luke when he
came to check on them around eight.
It was after nine when
they got the paperwork taken care of
and checked the two of
them out.
At the hospital exit, Colby's father
insisted on driving
Lena and her home.
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GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
Ian shook hands with her parents.
“I hope to see you
again soon, he said, before turning
to Colby. “I'll cal you
later.
She nodded and watched him help Luke
into the car,
then pull away with a wave.
At the house, they got Lena settled
into her bed,
where she fell asleep within
minutes. After assuring herself
that her daughter was al right,
Colby went back downstairs
and saw the letter from Doug lying
on the coffee table in the
living room. She picked it up and
read it, aching for the
pain it had caused Lena. How could
anyone be so cruel
and callous? Even though she knew
Doug never intended
for Lena to see the letter, anger
propelled her toward the
kitchen. She grabbed the phone and
began punching in his
number, the letter still in her
hand.
“He's not worth
it, you know.
Colby swung around to find her
mother standing in the
kitchen doorway. She hung up and
pressed her forehead to
the receiver. “She
might have been killed, Mom. And Luke,
too.
“I know. Emma
stepped forward and put her hands on
Colby's shoulders, pressing her
cheek against her back. “I
know. But you have to let this go.
Whatever happens between
Lena and her father wil be between
them. You tried to
protect her and nearly lost her.
Focus on what you can
control—your
relationship with her—and leave the rest
alone.
Colby turned around and hugged her
mother. “How'd
you get so wise?
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“It comes with
the crow's-feet, she said, her eyes
shining with love. “I'm
so proud of you, Colby. You're a
wonderful mother. Don't ever forget
that.
“I had a
wonderful role model, she said. “And you're
right. She opened the drawer beside
her and pulled out a
book of matches. Moving to the sink,
she lit one and held
it to the edge of the letter. The
paper went up in a quick
blue flame, crumpled and turned to
ash.
Emma squeezed her arm. “She'l
be fine, you know.
She's strong like you.
“I hope so.
They were silent for a while and
then Emma said, “He's
awful y nice.
“You mean Ian?
Emma nodded. “Is
it serious?
Colby hesitated, not sure what to
say. In the hours since
she and Ian separated, she'd been
bombarded by doubts,