by Tasha Fawkes
The man who’d been driving the car was okay, but I didn’t give a fuck about him. A guy named Pete Masansky, aka Slim Pete according to the cops. When I arrived in the emergency room, the cops were already there. When I told them who I was, they told me what happened, or least what the officers at the accident scene told them had happened. They knew about Slim Pete. The guy was a bookie and con man, and a rather notorious one at that. He’d been wearing a seatbelt. Dana had not. Why? What business did she have with a bookie?
The cops had found drugs in the car, and he was now at the county jail, arrested for possession, reckless driving, and, God forbid if Dana didn’t pull through, vehicular manslaughter. After that, the pieces came together, slowly, one of the officers providing some of the information, a detective with the Robbery-Homicide squad filling in the rest. I got more details about the bastard as I waited to see Dana, at the moment undergoing an MRI, a CT scan, and a myriad of other tests.
And about Charlie, who police were bringing to the hospital after they interviewed him at the local substation. All I knew at the moment was that Dana had paid the fifty grand at the signing of our “contract” to Slim Pete, to pay off a gambling debt Charlie owed him. And then Charlie had dug himself an even deeper hole, or so I thought at first. Apparently, Slim Pete had told him to disappear while he arranged for Dana to pay off the new debt.
When asked by the cops how Dana had managed to pay off his first debt, Charlie apparently told them about me and my relationship with his sister. He didn’t have much information, not even my last name. He just told them that his sister was going out with a rich guy and that I had generously offered to pay off his debt.
From what the detective was able to tell me, Slim Pete had figured that Charlie and his sister were easy marks, easy targets to extort money. When interviewed, Pete had admitted everything and told them where Charlie was hiding. As soon as they picked up Charlie, he told them everything.
I couldn’t think of all that. All I could focus on was Dana. She looked so small and vulnerable lying in that bed in the ICU, an IV inserted into the vein on the back of her left hand, the clothes-pin like gadget clipped over her index finger monitoring her oxygen level and pulse. The machines around her recorded every breath, every heartbeat. An oxygen cannula was in her nose, the tubing tucked behind her ears providing her with pure oxygen. The doctors told me she had a concussion, but no serious damage to her internal organs.
The cuts on her hand and forearms suggested to me that she had covered her head as best she could during the accident, which was fortunate. The doctor also told me that after they’d performed all the necessary scans, that other than a few broken bones and contusions, she had lost the baby. I was still dealing with that, testing my emotions about the news. They would watch her overnight to ensure she didn’t develop any internal bleeding in her brain or organs.
My heart thudded dully as I waited for her to wake up. I’d been sitting next to her bed most of the day, and as yet she hadn’t opened her eyes. I could only pray that the doctors were right, that she didn’t have any brain injuries that just hadn’t shown up on the images they had taken earlier.
The moment I saw her lying on the bed in the ICU, I knew for a certainty that my feelings for her were real and that she was the most important person in my life. I didn’t care about my inheritance, pleasing my dad, or anything else but praying that Dana would be okay. That she would come out of this.
A soft sigh prompted me to lift my head and look at her face. Her eyes were still closed, but I could see her pupils moving slightly beneath her eyelids. My heart leapt with relief.
“Dana? Dana, you’re all right. You’re in the hospital.”
Ever so slowly, her eyelids opened and her eyes focused overhead on the ceiling. She blinked, ever so slowly, and then caught her breath. The movement caused her to wince.
“Try not to move around too much,” I cautioned. “You have a couple of broken ribs, and you broke your collarbone and your arm.”
Without moving her head, she glanced at me. I half-stood and leaned over her, kissing her softly on the lips. “You’re going to be all right.”
She tried to speak, but only a harsh noise escaped her throat. She swallowed and then tried again.
“Brady?”
“I’m here, Dana. You were in a car accident. Do you remember being in a car?”
She nodded, and her eyes immediately filled with tears. She tried to move her hand toward her stomach. I knew what she wanted to know and gently shook my head. “You miscarried, Dana. I’m so sorry.”
Tears spilled over her eyelids, and she choked in a sob, obviously in pain but unable to stop the flood of emotions that caused her shoulders to shake with silent weeping. She reached the hand with the IV toward mine, tightly clutching my fingers. I couldn’t do anything to ease her pain other than to gently stroke her head, tracing my thumb along her jawline, wishing that I could pick her up and cradle her in my arms to ease her pain, but I didn’t want to move her.
Her pained expression matched my own. At that moment, I realized how disappointed I was about the baby. Her pain caused me pain. Her sorrow caused me sorrow.
“Dana, you’re safe. You’re alive, and that’s all that matters. I know you’re upset, but we can try for another baby… if you want… later, after you’re better.”
She took several shallow breaths as I continued to wipe the tears from her cheeks. She pressed her lips together and then looked at me.
“What about… What are you going to do about your father, now that there’s no baby. Will he—”
I shook my head, smiling softly down at her. “None of that matters anymore. I don’t care about my inheritance or my father’s ultimatum. All I care about is you. When I heard you were in the hospital, I… ” I clasped her hand in mine and pressed it against my chest. “I love you, Dana. I love you.”
“The accident… when it happened, all I could think about was you,” she said. “I love you too, Brady.”
I leaned down and gently kissed her lips. “After you’re out of here, we’ll start our new life together. For real this time. I don’t care about my inheritance. It doesn’t matter anymore. I realize that now. All that matters to me is that you get through this. Okay?”
She nodded, then her eyes widened in fear. “Oh my God, my brother… Charlie!”
“He’s all right, Dana, he’s all right. He’ll be here soon. The police are interviewing him now.”
“The police?”
Her voice rose in panic, and I quickly sought to soothe her. “It’s all right, Dana, he’s not in any trouble.”
“Pete said…”
She choked back tears as she looked up at me.
“I was going to tell you about Charlie, and now he’s in debt again.”
“No, Dana, he’s not. Slim Pete was lying. He was trying to get money out of you, that’s all.” She stared at me for several moments in disbelief.
“Charlie isn’t gambling?”
I shook my head. “Not from what the detective told me. He feels Charlie is being honest. Charlie said that if he didn’t give Pete his phone, didn’t stay hidden until he called, that Slim Pete would hurt you, and hurt you bad.”
Dana’s eyes filled with tears again. “Poor Charlie… he tries too hard, but…” she sighed. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Charlie sooner, but it’s just—”
“It’s all right, Dana. Everything is going to be all right.”
A nurse brushed aside the curtain separating Dana’s bed from others in the ICU. “She needs to rest,” she said, then turned to Dana. “Your brother just arrived downstairs. Would you like to see him for a few minutes?”
I saw the look on Dana’s face—the love and relief. Genuine and all encompassing. It touched me to see her love for her brother. I stood. “You visit with your brother for a few minutes, Dana. Tell him everything. Tell him I want to talk to him, but not today. I’ll come back in a little while and sit with you, all right?”
“All right,” she said. “But what happened to the other car?”
“What other car?”
“None of this would have happened if it wasn’t for that car following us.” She frowned.
“I thought it was one of Pete’s goons, but he said it wasn’t. He figured it was the police.”
“Are you sure?”
She nodded, albeit gingerly. “I saw it for the first time that day I signed…” She glanced at the nurse and then back at me. “I saw it outside of the diner that day, and several times since then. Quite often, actually… it was following us. Pete tried to get away, but he was going so fast…”
I knew instantly what had happened, and it took every ounce of willpower for me not to display my emotions. I forced a smile and leaned down to gently kiss her on the forehead. “You visit with your brother for a few minutes, and then get some rest, okay?”
She offered a wan smile, and I left the ICU, taking the stairs down rather than the elevator because I didn’t want to bump into Charlie. Not yet anyway. He and I would be having a talk soon, but not today.
As I headed down the stairs, I recalled the file folder that my dad had given me. The photos of Dana. The man that had been following her wasn’t one of Slim Pete’s men, but I had a pretty good idea who it was. Probably the PI that my father had hired to gather information on Dana and our so-called relationship; the information that he had tried to throw back in my face.
By the time I left the hospital, my anger had transitioned from simmering to boiling. I had nearly lost her. And all because of my dad’s… no, I couldn’t place all the blame on my dad. My own behavior had contributed to this entire mess, this mess that almost ended in heartbreaking tragedy.
I’ve had enough.
I hailed a taxi and sat in the back, too shaken up to drive. With my hands balled into fists, I tried to calm my emotions as the driver took me to Dad’s estate. One minute I felt overwhelming relief and gratitude that Dana was alive and that we would have a second chance at building a true, honest relationship. Immediately on the heels of that relief came fury. Fury directed at my dad, but also directed at me.
As soon as the taxi pulled into the driveway and rounded the curving pathway to the front door, I had grown quite irate, my emotions in a turmoil. “Wait here, please. This will only take a few minutes. Leave the meter running.”
I quickly took the steps up to the front door. I tried the door, found it locked, and growled with impatience as I rang the doorbell, not letting my finger off the button the entire time. It took only a few seconds for a harried maid to open the door, her eyes widening in surprise when she saw me. Without a word, she stepped back, opening the door and allowing entrance. I said nothing as I brushed past her and headed for my dad’s office. Without knocking, I opened the door and entered, slamming it shut behind me.
My dad looked up, eyes wide with surprise.
“Brady—”
“She could’ve been killed!”
He frowned. “What?”
My chest heaving with emotion, I could barely get the words out. I was surprised when I felt the warmth in my eyes and heard my voice crack. “Dana! Car accident… ” was all I managed to get out before I had to stop, close my eyes, and take a deep, shaky breath.
“Brady, what are you talking about? What’s happened?”
I opened my eyes and saw him standing, his gaze concerned and confused. “No more bullshit! This time you went too far!”
“Brady, I don’t understand.”
“You hired a PI, didn’t you? To take those photos of Dana? To follow her?”
“I… I did,” he said. “But what’s happened?”
“Your fucking PI was chasing a car she was in. They crashed!” My voice broke again. “She’s in the hospital, in the ICU.” I swallowed. “She lost the baby.”
I saw the blood drain from his face.
“Brady, I…”
I cut him off, my voice trembling. “You went too far, Dad. I don’t care about the money anymore. You can disown me if you want to, but I’m marrying Dana. For real. I can’t…” I could hardly get the words out. “She almost died!”
He quickly stepped from behind his desk and approached, placed his shaking hands on my shoulders, his expression displaying shock. I tensed. And then, his voice soft, he spoke.
“My God, you really love her. You love her, don’t you, Brady?”
For several moments, I said nothing, but then I took a step back, shrugging his hands off my shoulders. “I do, Dad. I don’t care if you disown me. I’m going to marry her, and that’s all there is to it. You can come to the wedding or not. Right now, I just don’t give a shit.”
With that, I turned and left his office and stalked through the foyer, anxious to get back to the hospital and to Dana.
Epilogue
Dana
Seven months later
For the first time in my life, everything came together with the two people I loved most in the world: Brady and Charlie. My wedding day. I stood in the alcove of the church, waiting for the music to start, trying to tamp down my excitement, my heart racing with anticipation. Not fear, not anxiety, no regrets.
I loved Brady with everything I had. The accident had, for me at least, been a blessing in disguise. The truth to come out, all of it. Charlie knew everything, as did Brady’s dad. While both had been naturally upset at first, the incident and the revelations had proved cathartic for Charlie and served as a bridge for Brady and his dad to come together.
I think we all learned valuable lessons from that singular incident. Brady and I realized the depth of our affection for one another, and that the thought of life without Brady seemed empty for me. The accident and my ensuing recovery, as well as loss of the baby had also prompted Charlie to make several positive changes in his life. Over the past months, he had returned to school. He was attending Gamblers Anonymous meetings and making positive strides in battling his inner demons. He had moved out of Eric’s apartment, and with Brady’s help, had found a small apartment in a better area of town, close to the university.
Brady’s dad had come to visit me in the hospital, without Brady’s knowledge, to personally apologize to me for his role in my accident. I saw with my own eyes his genuine regret and pain when he told me he would never forgive himself for being involved in any way in the accident that had taken my baby’s life.
He gave his blessing to our relationship, and over the past few months, we had grown closer. He became the father I never had. He and Brady were mending their relationship, and Clint was so pleased with Brady’s continued performance at work that he had promoted Brady to CFO of one of the Shaw’s largest holdings just last month.
As for myself, I was entering my final year of nursing school and had Brady’s full support. A month after the accident, he had come home with surprise. He told me he had sold the penthouse suite and then had driven me into a residential neighborhood northeast of downtown Dallas. He pulled up in front of a moderately-sized ranch dwelling and grinning, turned to me as he dangled the key on the keychain in front of me.
“Welcome home, Dana.”
I couldn’t help it. I had burst into tears right then and there. It was everything I had ever dreamed of as a little girl. It even had a waist-high picket fence surrounding the property.
I heard the organ in the church nave begin to play the traditional wedding march, and I glanced down at myself one more time to make sure my dress was just perfect.
“You’re absolutely gorgeous,” Cassie said, smiling, her own lavender gown beautifully draping her perfect figure.
As my maid of honor, she stood in front of me, giving me a top-to-toe nod of approval. I smiled warmly at her. She had helped me choose my wedding gown—a close-fitted V-neck, sweetheart neckline bodice with sheer shoulder straps flowing into a gentle ballgown skirt with a chapel train.
“I’m ready,” I said, glancing at my brother standing beside me, so very handsome in his tux. He grinned
and offered me his elbow. He was giving me away, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
The doors opened, the music louder as Cassie led the way down the aisle. The moment I passed over the threshold, I only had eyes for Brady, standing so tall and proud at the altar. His father stood next to him as his best man. Everyone stood, but the faces, the gowns, the suits all passed in a blur as I only had eyes for Brady.
The ceremony was simple and before I knew it, we were announced as man and wife. The groom had kissed the bride, and we turned to the audience, both of us beaming with happiness. We quickly made our way hand-in-hand down the aisle as well-wishers and guests followed.
The reception was held at the Shaw estate. After the wedding, I changed into my reception gown, the purchase insisted upon by Cassie, also white, with a fitted bodice and Basque waistline, spaghetti straps, and soft knitted skirt. I felt like a Greek goddess in that gown, and the way Brady looked at me made my blood surge with anticipation to leave for our honeymoon.
I wasn’t sure where we were going, but Brady told me I would love it, and I believed him. At the reception, I received well wishes by so many guests and friends of the Shaw family I couldn’t possibly keep track of them all. Flutes of champagne, hors d’oeuvres, and a gorgeous wedding cake filled a table against the far wall of the room, where guests happily mingled.
I was pleased to see Charlie conversing with Clint, who had sort of taken him under his wing, and I had no doubt that Brady might have had something to do with that. The two got along well, and for the first time in many years, my little brother seemed truly happy.
“Can I sneak you away for a few minutes?”
I turned and smiled at Brady with a grateful nod. We quickly left the room where everyone was having such a good time, so much so that I don’t think anybody noticed that we had slipped away and dashed up the stairs to Brady’s former bedroom. Our suitcases were packed, and all I needed to do before we left for the airport was to change out of this gown and into my honeymoon outfit, another one that Cassie had insisted upon. Much more casual and appropriate for what Brady only hinted as a several-hour-long plane trip.
