by Pamela Stone
Slowly Ashton appeared, and Hanna rushed to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him onto level ground. She couldn’t do anything but sit there in the mud and rock him in her arms like an infant. He clung to her, too emotional to remember to be embarrassed.
Vince hoisted himself up beside Ashton as two police cruisers and an ambulance arrived in a kaleidoscope of flashing lights and screaming sirens.
The emergency lights reflecting off the cloud of heavy fog left the cliff side eerie and mysterious. The situation turned chaotic.
Both kids’ clothes were muddy and ripped. Kenzie’s hair ribbon just a droopy remnant of the pretty bow. But they were safe.
Mackenzie clung to her father, much like Ashton clung to Hanna. Or was it the parents clinging to the kids? Boo couldn’t decide who to lick, and even Hanna got a slobbery tongue up her neck. Having never been comfortable with animals, it was amazing how much love she felt for the stinky wet dog as she wrapped her arms around him. He’d led them to the kids.
Richard, the medics and two officers buzzed around them. Richard ran his hand through Ashton’s hair. When a medic asked to examine him, Ashton realized he had an audience and released his hold on Hanna, but he sat beside her as the guy examined his ankle.
“Where are your shoes?” Hanna asked as the medics removed Ashton’s dripping sock and exposed a purple-and-red ankle twice the size it should be.
“At the bottom of the lake with the boat. I couldn’t swim with them on.” He winced as the medic gently rotated his foot.
“Life jackets. Did you have on life jackets?” Hanna demanded.
Vince stood, bringing Mackenzie with him to her feet. He didn’t even bother to push back his wet hair. His white shirt was stained and half the buttons were missing or unbuttoned.
“Yeah, we had on life jackets. They’re down on the ledge. I can go down and get them,” Mackenzie offered.
“No.” Vince gave her a nudge. “Wait in the truck. There’s a blanket behind the seat.”
Boo padded along behind Mackenzie, and Vince squatted down beside Ashton. “You were trying to climb the ledge?”
Vince rested a hand on Hanna’s shoulder. His quiet strength felt warm and reassuring. Amazing how much a simple touch could soothe her stress.
Ashton winced as the doctor gently rotated his foot. “We thought we could climb up, and Kenzie probably could have, but she wouldn’t leave me. It was slippery and my foot got stuck in a crack between two rocks, so when I fell, it didn’t. Then she held me up and I wiggled it out. Is it broken?”
The young medic grinned at Ashton. “I don’t feel any broken bones, but we’ll need an X-ray when we get you to the hospital. Feel like a ride in an ambulance? If you want, we could even turn on the siren.”
Not wanting to let Ashton out of her sight, Hanna climbed into the ambulance with him. There was only room for one parent so Richard reluctantly got back in the pickup with Vince, Mackenzie and the dog.
ONCE THEY WERE ON THEIR WAY to the hospital, Vince called Gray to get him to let everyone know they were safe. The pickup cab was quiet. Richard focused straight ahead on the ambulance. Kenzie huddled in the backseat, wrapped in a blanket and hugging Boo. Vince had never been this upset with her, but he kept it to himself, for now. At least he’d get a chance to deal with her later. He’d never been so frightened. His heart was just beginning to settle back to a normal rhythm.
Gray and Norma arrived at the hospital at the same time as the rest of them.
Norma kissed her grandson on his muddy cheek before they wheeled him into the emergency room.
Gray engulfed Kenzie in a bear hug. Richard’s clothes were wet, but in good shape compared to Kenzie’s and Vince’s muddy, soaked attire. Hanna paced back and forth in front of the emergency room’s swinging door, oblivious to the swipe of mud down one cheek and her soggy curls. Her pastel-blue pants and blouse would never come clean.
The air-conditioning and his wet clothes left chill bumps, but Vince couldn’t leave until he knew Ashton was okay. The medic tried to check Kenzie out, but she insisted she was fine. The girl had scaled the granite ledge like a pro, so Vince didn’t see a need to put her through an exam.
Grayson put a hand on Vince’s shoulder. “You found them. Everything is okay.”
Letting out a breath, the reality of how close they’d come to losing the kids began to register.
As Kenzie paced by, Vince grasped her arm. “Why the hell did you take the boat out in a storm? Don’t you have any common sense?”
Her eyes were full of tears and she looked like a drowned cat, but at the moment, he wanted to shake her as much as hug her.
“Ash was mad because his parents are morons, and we just wanted to get away from all the adults that keep ruining our lives so we took the boat.”
“You didn’t answer your cell.”
Her lip quivered. “Ashton didn’t want me to, but when the wind kicked up and the waves were tossing us around, I pulled it out to call you, but the boat rocked and I grabbed to hold on and dropped the phone overboard. Then things got scary. The motor wasn’t powerful enough against the wind, and we were going backwards more than forwards and waves were coming in the boat. Then the motor died, and I couldn’t get it started so we just drifted. I tried to paddle, but the waves were bigger than the ones at Galveston.” She sniffed. “I couldn’t do anything and then one wave came over the side and we had lots of water in the bottom of the boat. It sunk and we floated until we could reach the bank.”
“I still can’t understand how you did not notice the storm moving in.” His stomach churned from just the thought of what could have happened.
“Because I was so mad at Ms. Rosser.”
“Mad or not, you have to use good judgment.”
“I know.” Tears trickled down her dirty cheeks leaving mud tracks. “Daddy, I’m so sorry. I was so scared and I didn’t know what to do.”
Grabbing her, he swung her up—something he hadn’t done in years—and held her tight.
She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, burying her head in his shoulder.
Her heart beat against his. He couldn’t stand being angry at her, but neither could he let her think what she did was okay. “I love you, Kenzie. Next time, think about what you’re doing first.”
Her arms squeezed his neck so tightly he could barely breathe. “I love you, too, Daddy. I’m so, so sorry. Is Ash going to be all right?”
“I doubt he’ll even spend the night in the hospital.”
Grayson patted his back, and Vince loosened his daughter’s hold, letting her slide to the floor.
Kenzie scrubbed her wet face, only smearing the mud more. “I want something to drink.”
Vince handed her a couple of dollars and then looked across to where Hanna and Richard stood together.
“She’s just a kid, Vince,” Gray said as he watched Kenzie disappear down the hall.
“And I was too hard on her?” He massaged his temples. “God, man. I almost lost her, too.”
Gray motioned toward a couple chairs and sat down. “I know. And I know how devastating just the thought of what could have happened is right now, but the kids are safe.”
“Yeah, but Hanna won’t ever forgive me for this one. She’s told me all along that I was too lax.”
“I’m not so sure Hanna blames you.” Gray looked across the room, then back at Vince. “You gonna tell me what’s going on or do I get to guess?”
This wasn’t the time to get into that with his brother-in-law. “Nothing.”
“Uh-huh.” Gray stared at him. He wasn’t buying a word of it.
Kenzie returned with a soft drink and eyed Vince warily. He held out his arms, and she leaned back against him, taking his hands and hugging them across her belly.
“It’s okay, Kenzie. Everything’s going to be fine.” Squeezing her tight, he wondered how much longer she’d let him do that before she grew too old for hugs.
A nurse came through the
swinging doors, and Hanna, Richard and Norma followed her down the hall.
Vince left Kenzie with Gray and went to the men’s room. He looked in the mirror and scrubbed his hands up and down his face only to realize they were still shaking. He tried to wash some of the caked mud off his face and hands to at least be a little more presentable.
Kenzie met him at the door, anxious to go check on Ashton. He gave the Rossers a few minutes of family time then went to the receptionist’s station. “Is Ashton Rosser allowed to have visitors?”
She checked the computer. “He’s just waiting to be released. Emergency room four, just down this hall on the right.”
Holding Kenzie’s hand, he led the way down the hall and knocked on the door. “Ashton, up to a couple of more visitors?”
The kid was propped up in bed, his ankle elevated on two pillows. “Hey, Vince. Come on in.”
Kenzie was sheepish, so Vince walked in ahead and gave the ankle a once-over. “That’s some injury you’ve got there, pal.”
“Isn’t it cool? It’s purple and red and even a green stripe right there. They stitched this up here where the rock ripped the skin. I got to watch. The doc said the scar won’t be too bad.”
“No biggie. Girls love guys with scars.”
Ashton wrinkled his nose. “You think? I can’t practice baseball for a week or two.”
Kenzie eased up beside Vince, grasped his hand and looked at Ashton’s trophy ankle. “I’m sorry I almost got you drowned.”
“If it’d just been me, then I’d have drowned. We didn’t drown because you made me wear my life jacket and because Boo swam to shore and climbed out and got Mom and Vince.”
“So you’re really okay?”
“Sure. Look at my foot. It’s like twice the size of the other one.” He beamed as if having a sprained ankle somehow gave him passage into coolness.
“May not be so fun when the painkillers wear off,” Richard said.
Hanna met Vince’s eyes and offered a tentative grin, but she remained on the other side of the bed beside Richard.
This was a family deal, and he wasn’t family. “Kenzie, we should get you home and into dry clothes.”
Hanna stepped around the bed. “May I talk to you a minute first?”
Here it comes. Vince left Kenzie sitting on the corner of Ashton’s bed expounding about their experience and followed Hanna into the hall and to the window at the end of the corridor where it was quiet. He stared out at the pouring rain and waited. Waited for Hanna to yell about how his lazy parenting style had almost cost her Ashton. Or for her to tell him that she wanted him and Kenzie out of her life.
When Hanna actually touched Vince’s shoulder, he jumped. “She’s just a child, Vince. It wasn’t Kenzie’s fault. Or yours.”
“I shouldn’t have given a twelve-year-old so much freedom.”
“And if you hadn’t taught her to think for herself, we might be planning two funerals right now instead of just dealing with a sprained ankle and sunken boat.” She eased around beside him and caught his attention. Tears glistened on her lashes. “Look at me.”
He shoved his hands into his pockets and turned back to the window. Away from her hurt. “If I’d have been stricter with her, she’d have known better than to take the boat out. I gave a kid credit for having adult judgment.”
“Mackenzie is a little tenacious, but this little debacle was instigated entirely by Ashton.” Hanna flicked a tiny crust of mud off Vince’s neck. “Kenzie’s ability to think under pressure probably saved both their lives.”
“But I gave her too much leeway to do so. Not so smart.”
Hanna shrugged. “Agreed. There should be a happy medium.”
He stared out the window at the dark clouds and rain, and then turned. He had to see her. Placing both palms on the windowsill behind him, he leaned his weight on them and stared into that gorgeous, muddy face. Even on the rafting trip, Hanna had maintained a classy, together look. He grinned at the mud stains on her expensive outfit and the smudge on the right side of her nose. “Yeah. I’m gonna work on that.”
There were still tears in her eyes, but she returned his grin. “All we’ve heard since we walked into Ashton’s room is how you hoisted him up that cliff. If you weren’t his hero before, you sealed it this afternoon.”
It had been nine years since he’d felt this helpless. His common sense still told him he was raising Kenzie right, but the emotional dad who’d almost lost a child wasn’t buying it. “I’m not a hero.”
“Maybe not. I still don’t agree with the amount of leeway you give Kenzie. But Vince, without her ability to think on her feet and your fast actions, I’m not sure we’d have found them.”
He tilted his head and tried to read her. “Is Ashton still going home with his dad tonight?”
“Sounds that way. As long as the doctor releases him in time.”
Vince ran a thumb under her eye to dry the tear and only succeeded in smearing the mud. “And your little boy is hurt and you don’t want to be apart from him?”
The corner of her bow-shaped mouth turned up. “You know me too well.” She massaged her forehead. “God, I need a break. I need a couple of days of total freedom from single parenting and meddling mothers and controlling ex-husbands. I need to get a grip. I need sleep.”
“With ya there. After today, I just want to crawl in bed and sort it all out. Or not think about fatherhood at all. I don’t know.”
Her dark, sad eyes glistened with unshed tears. She stared at him a good two minutes. “Spring break is next week.” He nodded.
“Convince me we’ll be discreet.”
Chapter Ten
Tuesday morning, Hanna pulled her Volvo into the small parking lot across from the San Antonio River Walk hotel where she and Vince had arranged to meet. She hadn’t actually seen him since Saturday evening when he’d left the hospital, and they’d only found time for a couple of phone calls to plan their getaway.
What if he’d backed out?
She glanced at her cell phone for the umpteenth time, but there were no missed calls or text messages. Not from Vince and not from Ashton.
Vince had spent Sunday in Austin, replacing Kenzie’s cell phone and driving her and his parents to the airport for their flight to Disney.
Hanna had spent extralong hours at the shop Sunday and Monday, putting everything in order so her mother couldn’t complain about her neglecting her duties. Hanna was in her mid-thirties and really shouldn’t let her mother stress her out like this. She and Vince were only going to be gone two days and one night, but she wanted to minimize the flack.
As much as she hated to admit it, her mom was better at knowing what the customers wanted than she was anyway. Mom knew the locals’ favorite writers, and when new books were hitting the shelf. She was a wealth of information on local history and activities for the tourists. Hanna’s strong point was keeping the financial end of things straight. Boring accountant, divorced single mom. How depressing was that?
She glanced at the hotel. Surrounded by more opulent high rises, it was a quaint little four-story brick building nestled in the towering hundred-year-old live oaks. A splashing fountain added a welcoming touch to the circular brick courtyard. Hanna smiled. The hotel had the same classy, weathered appeal as Vince. Vince. What was she going to do if Vince wasn’t inside waiting for her? He might have changed his mind, decided that two days away wasn’t worth the risk of the kids finding out.
Steeling herself against further panic, Hanna grabbed her overnight case and locked the car. He wouldn’t do that to her.
She shouldered her purse and slid her sunglasses on top of her head to keep the wind from blowing her hair in her face. Pulling her little roller bag behind her, she started toward the hotel entrance.
This escape had disaster written all over it. What if they ran into someone from Marble Falls? She stopped. She should just get back in the car and drive as fast and far away as she could. She took another step forward. This escap
e might just save her sanity.
The heavy glass door swung open as she approached and refreshing air cooled her face. She looked around the plush lobby. Beautiful silk flower arrangements and leather sofas you could bury into. A polished wood reservation desk. Small but classy.
As she recognized Vince slowly walking toward her, she let out her breath. No man had ever looked as good as he looked to her in his familiar faded jeans and black shirt. That lazy smile and the crinkles at the corners of those denim-colored eyes. He kissed her cheek. “I planned to play the Southern gentleman and at least meet you at the car.”
Shivering in the air-conditioned room, she released her roll-along bag and wrapped her arms around him, tilting her face up for a real kiss. “You have two whole days to practice.”
He encased her in a full bear hug, then, keeping an arm around her, grabbed the handle of her bag, escorting her toward the elevators.
The clerk behind the counter smiled as they passed, and welcomed her to San Antonio. People roamed about the lobby and a young man and woman herded two small, swimsuit-clad preschoolers toward the pool.
Riding up in the elevator, Hanna’s stomach fluttered like springtime butterflies in the Hill Country. She glanced at Vince standing beside her and sucked in her breath. She’d never in her life done anything this spontaneous and irresponsible.
But never before had she been this emotionally drained and in need of something for herself. Something that she wasn’t doing for her husband. Or for her son. Or for her mother. Or because it was the proper and expected thing for her to do.
She turned as Vince touched her shoulder and the elevator doors glided silently open. She tried to still the butterflies. She’d never spent the night in a hotel with any man other than Richard. And they’d been married.
Vince inserted the card key and stood back for her to enter.
Grasping her small yellow purse, Hanna stepped into the room, and, in spite of the balcony and view of the river, her gaze landed on the king-size bed piled with assorted pillows and shams. This was far from a bargain-priced room.
